Communities and Urbanization Essay -- essays research papers

COMMUNITIES & URBANIZATION Introduction George Murdock once said that a community is one of the two truly universal units of society organization, the other one being family (Schaefer, 461). We are all part of a community, and in many cases, we are a part of multiple ones. In chapter 20 of our textbook, we are looking at communities and urbanization. It discusses urbanization and how communities originate. It also looks at the different types of communities. Communities are defined as â€Å"a spatial or political unit of social organization that gives people a sense of belonging† (Schaefer, 548). It can be based on a place of residence, such as a city, neighborhood, or a particular school district. It could also be based on common identity, such as gays, the homeless, or the deaf. Lets take a look at communities and urbanization through the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and symbolic interaction. According to the functionalist perspective, communities are very much structured to maintain their stability as a society. When you look at such things as urban ecology, it is a prime example, because it looks at how different elements in urban areas contribute to stability (Schaefer, 464). According to the conflict perspective, communities are very much structured in a way that separates different communities by certain conflicts. You have the upper class of a community, and then you have the lower working class. You have black and Jews, and then you have the KKK. All these things cause different communities to be separated and structured to unify each different community. One very example of the conflict perspective in this chapter is new urban sociology. Symbolic interaction can be viewed many different ways according to communities. Anywhere from the upper class using very proper etiquette and high posture, to gays wearing a piercing only on their right ear. You also have your working class that may look older and more rigid than the officials and owners of companies who have not had to do a lot of manual work throughout their lives. The list can go on and on. All of these are ways that symbolic interaction helps to set up different communities. How did communities originate?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A community is a spatial or political unit of social organization that gives people a sense of b... ... way. Conclusion In this chapter, we learned about how different communities were developed. We learned about preindustrial cities, industrial cities, and postindustrial cities. We learned the process of urbanization through the functionalist and conflict perspectives. We also learned about the many different types of communities that there are. Communities are found everywhere. No matter where you go, you will always find yourself in a community of some sort, and you will always belong to a community somewhere, whether it be residential or political, or both. It’s amazing to think about all the different types of communities there are in this world, and which types of communities you yourself might be associated with. RESOURCES Armour Vivian. Personal Interview: Treasure of a Small Town School. 18 Nov. 2004. Asset-Based Community Development Institute. http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd/abcdbackground.html Co-Intelligence Institute www.nwu.edu/IPR/abcd.html Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Date Accessed 18 Nov. 2004 Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology 8th Edition The American Heritage. Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000. Houghton