Essay about Comparison of Urban Sociological Theories

Comparison of Urban Sociological Theories In order for an urban sociologist to discover â€Å"How urban societies work,† theories of â€Å"urban ecology† or â€Å"political economy† are used as a guide in their research. Urban ecology refers to the importance of social structure and social organization as shaping social life in the city. Urban ecologist concerns for social order, social cohesion, community ties and social differentiation offer key insight to how societies work (Kleniewski, 2001). Alternatively political economy stresses the use of power, domination and resources in the shaping of cities (Kleniewski, 2001). Urban sociologists’ theoretical approach to research questions is based on fundamental assumptions that they find most useful for†¦show more content†¦He believed that social interactions in modern industrial cities were impersonal and fragmented. He believed that factors such as size, density, and heterogeneity were responsible for social relations found in cities (Kl eniewski, 2001). This theory of human ecology was used to study human behavior such as, lives of gang members, homeless people and immigrants and to study changing land uses over time in order to show how the different populations of the city adapt to and compete for territories (Kleniewski, 2001. In comparison to urban ecology, political economy is concerned with how urban societies work. Although, political economist developed different understandings and interpretations of how urban societies actually work. In the 1970’s the city had many social problems which included welfare, unemployment and tax inflations. Theorist of political economy, Marx, Engels and Weber viewed the city as a site of struggle due to unequal distribution of resources (Kleniewski, 2001). Therefore in contrast to the urban ecology theory of humans being immediately dependent on their environment, the theory of political economy stresses that the city relies not only on its environment but its social arrangement, economic and political functions. Also in contrast to urban ecology, residential patterns are not only influenced by humans just adapting to their natural environment butShow MoreRelatedChoosing Selves : The Salience Of Parental Identity811 Words   |  4 Pagesselecting a college is co mplicated than policy making, this study bridged the gap by relying on ethnographic data from middle-class parents in a large city who were considering sending their children to a diverse neighborhood public school. From a sociological perspective, the authors examined parents’ choice of a particular, based on consumption (as a social and cultural process) and their own identity construction. 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