Elaborate urbanism as a way of life in India. (UPSC CSE Mains 2019 - Sociology, Paper 2)
Louis Wirth’s formulation of ‘urbanism as a way of life’ explains that the city, characterised by a relatively large, dense and permanent settlement of socially heterogeneous individuals, gives rise to various kinds of social relationships and patterns of behaviour among the city-dwellers. Further, Louis Wirth also argues that the city effects are wider than city itself. Thus, the city draws the surrounding villages and even remote communities into its orbit. In other words, urbanism as a way of life is not peculiar to city-dwellers alone as the influences of the city (i.e., impact of urbanisation) stretch far behind its administrative boundaries. In brief, urbanisation in its demographic sense refers to the trends of growth of the urban population. In societal context and in its sociological sense it also denotes a distinct way of life typically associated with living in the city and the process of transforming rural ways of life into urban ones.
Urbanism is characterised by
- The norm and social role conflicts: The diversity of social life springs from the size, density and heterogeneity of the population, extreme specialization of the various occupations and class structures existing in the larger communities. These latter factors generally result in divergent group norms and values and conflicting social roles.
- Rapid social and cultural change: Rapid social and cultural change also characterize urban life. So there is decline in the significance of traditional and sacred things. The reduced size of the modern family is the result of rapid social and cultural change.
- Impersonalness and lack of intimate communication: There is superficiality and impersonalness among the urbanities. Urban society is highly heterogeneous and specialised. So, the result is lack of intimate relationship. The urban people live close together but without emotional ties. Urban social relation takes place between strangers.
- Materialism: Urban people give primary importance to material possessions. They live and are known for their status symbols, bank balances, assets, salaries, buildings with modem furnishings etc.
- Individualism: In urban society people become more j individualistic, self-centred, selfish and so on. They give primary emphasis to their own interests and personal happiness, they develop the attitude towards competition, conflict in relation to economic goods and social position.
- Mobility: Here in urban society there is greater mobility. People move from one job to another, from one locality to another. The ^ residential mobility tends to weaken ties to the local community.
- Increase in formal social controls: Social controls in urban society Is more formal. Responsibility for controlling behaviour in cities is largely shifting to the police, the courts and other agencies of government to enforce the norms of certain groups. Cities vary in the extent or the degree to which they are characterised by urban qualities. Some cities have less norm and role conflicts, social change, mobility, individualism and impersonality than others.
According to Morris Janowitz, Sociologists have failed to take into consideration those impressive degrees and patterns of local community life exist within metropolitan limits. He has suggested that the role of mobility and impersonality in urban life should not be overstated in the factory and other work situations. Indeed, urbanism is a matter of degree.
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