Urban Sociology

Urban sociology is a branch of sociology which is concerned with the moral life urban or the city community. In other words, urban sociology is the study of the sociology in urban center or cities. Due to existence of various cultures in the urban centers, urban life is not an experience restricted to civilized life.

Development of Urban Centers

Urbanization refers to the development of cities. It also depicts the vast growth rate of human population in the urban area. Urbanization therefore, involves movement of people either temporarily or permanently from village to the urban centers. However, these people come from different culture and ethnic groups.

It is until the nineteenth century when urbanization became a global phenomenon. In fact, during the eighteenth century, there were only twenty one recognized cities around the globe, each with less than one hundred thousand population. All these cities were in Europe. It was toward the end of the nineteen century when the average number of population in each city reached an approximate of eight hundred thousand. However, in the modern world, the populations of the main cities range from one million to over twelve million.

The significance of urban centers is widely recognized in the modern world. Nevertheless, cities are frequently studied through a moral approach in spite of a scientific approach. These studies have outlined the past and the present importance of the urban centers, and its dominant position in social development.

Urban centers are believed to play significant role in the development of art, scientific advancements and the spread of information. Research study on urban sociology affirms that, without big cities, the industrial civilization and the complex modern world would not have existed. However, the cities are criticized for corruption, misery and vice practices. The life in the urban centers is inevitably and encourages selfish attitudes, human exploitation and inhuman behaviors.

Origin of Urban Sociology

The growth of urbanization and the development of social practices developed an interest in the scientific study of the human life in the urban centers. As a result, urban sociology was initiated. Although urban sociology was initiated during the colonial era, it was until the twentieth century when this discipline came into practice. Presently, a lot of research has been carried out on specific fields in the urban sociology.

As a result, many books and reading material have been written on classification of cities, development of urban centers, citizenship, social organization, demographic trends, urban environment, urban life and its effect on human life. Intensive studies have as well been done on the social welfare mechanism, religious, cultural and learning in urban areas.