Sociology notes

A. Social sciences – not an exact science
1. Historical
2. Sociological-
a. relationships, topology classification of indiviuals or things
3. Political
4. Geographical
a. scale – national, local - locations

B. North American Cities - different perceptions of the city
1. socitey is becomging bimodal
2. city dwellers = root of civilization
3. tigris and euphrates
4. civilization began with 1st cities
5. cities = core
6. man appeared between 250-150,000 yrs ago
C. Autonomy vs district wide policy

D. Two paths in learning
a. ‘knowledge about ‘ – 1st hand experience subjective (personal and random) holistic, senses involved, connected with other components of its surroundings emotions.
b. “acquaitance with “ – objective learning – logic and reason stressed. Everything can be dissected into smaller parts for learning the scientific method

E. Saint- exupery book “ the Little Prince about boy who travels thorughout galaxy, grownups never understand anything, unimaginative. All knowledge is becoming more specialized, Specialization leads to tunnel vision where we lose sight of the whole.

F. Paradigm – points of view, Paradigm shift= shifts in points of view.

G. Central business district – cities are like tree rings, oldest rigns are closest to the center,
1. low income people live on more expenseive property
2. social income musical chairs.
3. THE FILTERING PROCESS
a. poor middle rich
b.
4. new - the word most used in advertising, a new this a new that =best

H. OSCAR LEWIS – poverty begets poverty, culture of poverty world can’t fight poverty

J. Gordon Childe – 1900-19500 - Urban Revolution
1. P . O . E. T.
a. Population – food surplus increases
b. Organization division of labor, need nobility to rule , need defense
c. Environment
d. Technology
2. Thesis on the origin of cities
3. urban archeologists CO14 dating

K. CIVIS – person living in the city
Civitas – the city’s sphere
URB –physical setting, buildings streets of a roman city
Mesopotamia – where civilization began

L. Urbaniziation – proportion of people living in cities
1. slow process
2. linked with industrialization
3. 1800 3% of worlds population lived in communities over 5000 people
4. now 50 % live in cities over 5000
5. Ist city to urbanize = Great Britain

M. United Nations standars of cities
1. Large cities >500,000
2. City >100,000
3. urban locality >20,000
4. rural locality< 20,000
5. Mega cities > 10 million
a. 26 mega cities on globe now
b. 21 mega cities are in less developed 3rd world countries
c. in future there will be 15 more mega cities
d.
N. True cities began in 3500 B.C. in mesopotamia
1. agriculture began 10,000 years ago
difference between urbanism and urbanization, urbanism deals with the behaviors of urban dwellers

O. 3 Theories on the origin of cities
1. Childes ‘ POET
2. Jane Jacobs Trade theory
a. Early cities began from trade
b. Obsidian used as barter tool cities were founded near resources
c. Origin point = caves were spiritual, river valleys caves, where water wsa
i. Cities provide protection
ii. Surplus of agricultural items
iii. Temples serve as graineries
iv. Accurate records for long term writing
v. Religion and warrior classes provide services
3. Mixed land uses

P. Thor Heyer Dahl –trans oceanic book KON TIKI Star charts south sea islanders used them , the polynesian rift

Q. Theories on urbanization – evolution of cities
1. Gideon Sjoberg said cities possess these
a. Animate energy sources / slaves –human power for rowing boats
b. Segregation based on wthnicity or occupation
c. Little functional land specialization
d. Believed war introduced civilization and cities

R. Diffusion of cities
1. City building eras
a. Greece- used the sea , colonized near by accessible for trad
b. Close knit cities founded through religion- religion = basis for citizenship and social organization
2. 1095 Pope Urban II calls for Holy wwar
3. Barn = the great hall- family room = barn
4. crusades brought new interest to foreign land s
5. new class of people arose the Burgeois or burghers = merchant dominated by non-christians
6. geto = jewish quarter in Venice
7. 1348-1350 The plague malaria – bad air
8. 1600 – 1700 the industrail city
a. new souces of power, and production, expansion of factory system
b. Great Britain had industry of wool and looms
c. Scientific agriculture Jethro Tull
d. Ireland potato famine
e. Age of reason britain want sto clear out subsistence farmers think about free trade
f. The industrial city 1600-1700

Q. Hippodamus of miletus
1. planner of colonial cities. Laid out city according to riligios and mystic coordinates
2. used a grid system of streets
3. Plato – ideal city = 5040 males

R. Important disticts in Greece
1. Acropolis – religious and political center, temples gods
2. Agora – marketplace

S. Rome – road builders, “ all roads lead to roam”
1.*castra – role of conquest in spreading of Roman cities is shown by variation of castra in places names
2.castra – military encampent
3. Lancaster, chester of manchester etc.
3. Not until 19th century did Europe see so big or so advanced technology as rome
4 No nation states – only medievil walled fortress, powerful lord
4. Rome fell because roads made it easy to attack them
5. Islamic became control fo the meditteranean

T. French Geographer Jean Gottmand coined term MEGALOPOLIS – a regional city
U. Exurb – non metropolitan counties within metropolis
Barstow is an exurb of L.A.

U. Victor Gruen is known for malling (mauling) America
Edina Minnesota, Southgate

*how do we gauge the change in city
*existence of sprawl or spillover from central city across legal corporate boundaires
* functional interdependance between individuals and institutions, malls and people for example, employment
V. MSA metropolitan statistical area
1. county is basic unit of MSA
2. if a city fo 50,000 people exists then its entire county = 1MSA
3. adjacent coutines are added to MSA if they are interdependant S.B. Riversid MSA
4 advantages of MSA – county data usefull because it is unifrom FBI
4. disadvantages
a. large counties include large rural land
b. there are many adjacent counties with influence
5. Subunits of MSA
a. PMSA = largest
b. CMSA= Consolidated Metro statistical unit = bigger
c. Urbanized area = 1000 people / square mile
d. Census Tract – 4000 people stable
e. Census block – enclosed within 4 intersecting streets
W. Rise of sundbelt not due to southward movement of smokestack industires
1. sunbelt has new economic activites – aerospace welctronics real estate
2. sunbelt states colorado, nevad arizona are
a. business friendly , have lower wages and lower taxes lowere rates of unionization
3. Problems –
a. Lowere levels of quality housing
b. Traffic sprawling
c. Sewers problems infrastructure
d. Air condition is great factor in sunbelt expolsion
X. demographic transition describes shifts in birth rates and death rate due to rapid industrialization and urbanization

Population growth - Birth rate – Death rate = growth rate

1. Pre industry hi–hi = lo
2. Industrial hi-lo = hi
3. Post industry lo-lo=lo
ZPG = zero poulation growth