Urban Sociology Assignment: Exploring Urban Theories and Practices

This urban sociology assignment explores several key concepts and figures in the field. It begins with an analysis of the Urban Growth Machine, discussing its implications for land commodification and economic development, and using Jersey City as a case study. The assignment then delves into Louis Wirth's concept of Urbanism, outlining its characteristics and perspectives, and highlighting the influence of ecological, individual, and cultural forces. Furthermore, it examines urban planning, particularly the ideas of Le Corbusier and Robert Moses, contrasting their approaches and discussing the role of figures like Jane Jacobs in preserving urban neighborhoods. Finally, the assignment analyzes the impact of Wal-Mart on consumer products, discussing its business model, labor practices, and economic effects. The assignment provides a comprehensive overview of urban theories, planning strategies, and their social and economic impacts, with references to relevant academic sources.

Running head: URBAN SOCIOLOGY
Urban sociology
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1URBAN SOCIOLOGY
Answer 1:
Urban Growth Machine is a thesis based on urban politics, according to which the all
over objective of growth unites for a whole cause of pluralistic interest. This theory states about
the commodification of land. The entrepreneur and the organization share an interest in local
growth of the land, which elevates the land values (Molotch 2011).
The main benefit of the Urban Growth Machine is that, it works on the way of increasing
the allover economic growth of an urban setting as it objectifies and ultimately increases the
price of the land. It ultimately increases the job placements within the city.
According to Molotch (2011), growth could be considered as a liability for the local
residents financially, as it differs from the quality of life. It ultimately increases the number of
residents, rather than improving the life style.
In Jersey City, the value of land is at its high because of the urban development
happening there. This makes the entrepreneurs and businesspersons who want to develop their
business in this city to attend the social meetings with the important representatives from the city
whose support is required for the development of the project (Malone 2017).
Answer 2
Louis Wirth developed his own concept of Urbanism in 1938, when huge changes were
happening in the cities as the people were moving into the city and the world was urbanizing
rapidly. Wirth believed that, living in a city was the only way of modern life. He named four
different characteristic of urbanism such as, heterogeneity, impersonality, anonymity and
homogeny of behavior (Wirth 1964).

2URBAN SOCIOLOGY
Urbanism can be approached from these three perspectives.
 A system with a population base, ecological order and technology.
 A social organizational system with ecological order, social structure, and social
institution
 A set of ideas and attitude, which works as tools of for social control.
All three parts of this model is necessary for urbanism as a city needs a population base,
adequate social structure and ideas which makes the city livable for the people staying there.
According to Wirth, a city cannot be defined based on the number of the population.
Urbanization is actually a cumulative accentuation of the all over mode of life which is directly
associated with the growth of cities. Wirth and Park studied urbanization and made a strong
analogy with Darwin’s survival model. Wirth further achieved a balance of ecological, individual
and cultural forces (Park, Burgess, and McKenzie 1984).
Answer 3:
Urban planning can be said as a technical process concerned with the use of land for a
developmental purpose. It includes use of the land, protection of the land, permission for
planning and use of the public welfare of urban development (Bloom 2014). One of the most
noteworthy ideas Le Corbusier developed was the concept of “Towers in a Park. Influenced by
La Corbusier, Moses always favored bulldozing the crowded areas and replacing them with high-
rise projects.
Robert Moses planned to develop the New York City after the great depression. He
planned new strategies to bright the city in light.

3URBAN SOCIOLOGY
The strength of his approach was he wanted to reshape the whole city and expand it to the
suburbs. The negative part of his approach was that he overlooked the inner infrastructure of the
city, which actually needed the development. He did not care about the large number of lower-
class urban people (Mennel, Steffens, and Klemek 2007).
Robert Moses’s concept illustrated the fact that cities were being demolished in the
neighborhood to produce sky-high buildings and swanky roads. In addition to preserving the
existing lives of lower and middle class people residing in New York, activist Jane Jacobs fought
for the preservation of the Landmark of New York city. Jacob worked towards preservation of
the city neighborhood (King 2013).
Answer 4:
Wal-Mart delivers consumer products in America by producing extraordinary low cost.
Their consumers are mainly youths, local native communities and the young professionals. They
have maintained their relevance and importance for decades by providing the people with low
cost goods (Bonanno and Goetz 2012).
Wal-Mart is hugely dependant on the low cost manufacturing of products in some
countries like China and Taiwan. This led them to sack many employees, which ultimately has
raised unemployment in the country while causing employment in the global market(Bonanno
and Goetz 2012). Wal-Mart also provides low wages in order to provide the common people
with low cost goods.
The video showed that how the people are now dependent on Wal-Mart as they produce
low cost goods to the people and thus endorsing them even after knowing the fact that it is
crushing the economy of the country.

4URBAN SOCIOLOGY
References:
Bloom, N.D., 2014. Public housing that worked: New York in the twentieth century. 2nd
ed. University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 128-151.
Bonanno, A. and Goetz, S.J., 2012. Walmart and local economic development: A
survey. Economic Development Quarterly, 26(4), pp.285-297.
King, K., 2013. Jane Jacobs and ‘the need for aged buildings’: Neighbourhood historical
development pace and community social relations. Urban Studies, 50(12), pp.2407-2424.
Malone, D., 2017. Growth Machine Politics and the False Promise of Jobs in Jersey City. Theory
in Action, 10(1), p.32.
Mennel, T., Steffens, J. and Klemek, C. eds., 2007. Block by block: Jane Jacobs and the future of
New York. Princeton Architectural Press.
Molotch, H., 2011. The City as a Growth Machine: Towards a Political Economy of Place. City
Reader, pp.251-262.
Park, R.E., Burgess, E.W. and McKenzie, R.D., 1984. The city. University of Chicago Press.
Wirth L., 1964. Urbanism as a Way of Life. The American Journal of Sociology, 44(1), pp. 1-24.