Sociology 101: Analysis of Wirth's Urbanism as a Way of Life

This assignment summarizes Louis Wirth's seminal essay, 'Urbanism as a Way of Life,' which explores the profound transformations in social life brought about by urbanization. The summary begins by discussing the historical context of city development, contrasting it with earlier folk societies, and then defines the city sociologically as a large, dense, and heterogeneous settlement. It delves into Wirth's theory of urbanism, highlighting the impact of city size, density, and heterogeneity on social interactions. The assignment details how these factors influence relationships, create segmented roles, and shape the 'schizoid' character of urban personalities. It examines the breakdown of traditional social structures and the emergence of complex social stratification within urban environments. The summary also touches upon the relationship between urbanism and sociological research, emphasizing the ecological perspectives of urban development and the influence of urbanism on social organization and collective behavior. The analysis underscores the key arguments of the article, providing a comprehensive overview of Wirth's contribution to urban sociology.

Running head: ARTICLE SUMMARY – WEEK 1
ARTICLE SUMMARY – WEEK 1
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ARTICLE SUMMARY – WEEK 1
Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a Way of Life. American journal of sociology, 44(1),
1-24.
This "Urbanism as a Way of life" mainly talked about urbanization of the world. This
has been observed throughout the world. The growth of cities is one of the most
impressive facts of modern times.
Firstly, this article talked about 'The city and contemporary civilization', as our city is
actually a product of growth rather than of instantaneous creation----in which
evidence, more or less, our social life bears the imprint of an early folk society.
therefore, the population in cities most come from old rural-folk society. When
viewing these two types of society, we may obtain a perspective for the analysis of the
basic model of human association as they appear in contemporary civilization.
Secondly, we moved on to 'A sociological definition of the city'. There has not been
derived a proper definition of cities. However, from a sociological perspective, a city
may be defined as a relatively large, dense and permanent settlement of socially
heterogeneous individuals. The cities can be differentiated with the presence of
hospitals, banks, schools and other such institutions. On the basis of the postulates
suggested by the aforementioned definition, a theory of urbanism may be formulated
in the light of existing knowledge concerning social group.
Thirdly, 'A theory of urbanism'. which mainly talked about some identifying
characteristics of the city. The size of the city and the density of the city is important.
In the general perspectives the larger, the more densely populated, and the more

2ARTICLE SUMMARY – WEEK 1
heterogeneous a community, the more accentuated the characteristics associated with
urbanism will be. The population aggregate size matters, by the dependent color, the
ethnic heritage, the economic and the social status, tastes and preferences, the bonds
of kinship, of neighborliness, and the sentiments arising out of living together for
generation are likely to be absent. even in the community, citizens may not have
chances knowing all neighbors through the attachment on the grounds of emotionality
and interpersonal relationships. As an explanation for the 'schizoid' character of urban
personality, citizens know a smaller proportion, and of these they have less intensive
knowledge. Characteristically, urbanites meet one another in highly segmental roles.
The reserve, the indifference, superficial and the blasé outlook which urbanites
manifest in their relationships may thus be regarded as devised for immunizing
themselves against the personal claims and expectations of others' typically, interests
are made effective through presentation. Density plays a huge role in the planning of
the city. The citizens always separate their home living, working place and all sort of
places as they concerned about the dentist and environment changes through whole
the city. The heterogeneity also plays an important role. The social interaction among
such a varied of personality types in the urban milieu tends to break down the rigidity
of caste lines and to complicated the class structure, and thus induces a more ramified
and differentiated framework of social ratification than is found in more integrated
societies. The structure is unstable and not safe, people may belong to different social
groups, but they might lack mutual trust.

3ARTICLE SUMMARY – WEEK 1
Lastly, we'd like to talk about "The relation between a theory of urbanism and
sociological research". The discussion will largely be based on the urbanism in the
ecological point of view. The urbanists rely on big cities especially center and capital
a lot since there are more resources and better equipment in which this attract more
and more people from small places or foreign countries. Moreover, the social
organization might be based on urbanism. The relation between collective behavior
and urban personality.
Analysis
The article that has been discussed in the above section attempts a discussion on the urbanization
of the world. The article discusses that the city is actually developed from growth rather than by
instantaneous creations. The authors define the city to be a relatively large, dense and permanent
settlement of socially heterogeneous individuals. The authors suggest that the cities might be
differentiated with the presence of hospitals, banks, schools and other such institutions. The article
further states that the social interaction among the variety of personality types in the urban milieu
helps in the disintegration of the rigidity of caste lines and the complications in the class structure.

4ARTICLE SUMMARY – WEEK 1
References
Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a Way of Life. American journal of sociology, 44(1), 1-24.