what is the definition of urban social geography?
Examinates the urban environment that affect human relationships on social, economic and political levels, and how those human relationships shape dynamics of the actual city itself
what are the two mixes of approach of urban social geography?
- interdisciplinary
- broad variety of topic, sources and methods
what is the interdisciplinary approach on urban studies and urban social geography?
different scientific domains (geography/planning; sociology; cultural studies; history)
what descriptions of urban space using statistical data and analysis are there?
- maps
-graphs and tables
-mathematical equations
what is cartesian approach?
aim to be scientific (objective)
what are the description of urban space in detail, without answering questions of causality or demonstrating clear relationship among variables?
- participant observation
- ethnographic interviewing
- close-reading
- discourse-analysis
- surveys
what are the three research questions that determines the methode?
- a clear research question: explicit, focused, unambiguous, and researchable
- research question related to debate in existing literature
- methodology requirements:
- provides an answer to the research question
- feasibility
- knowledge and skills
what is the behavioral approach?
study of peoples activities and decision making process within their perceived worlds
what are three characteristics of the behavioral approach?
- relation between urban setting and peoples behavior
- the way urban populations experience the city
- how do urban settings influence individual and group behavior (deviant behavior)
what is the structralist approach?
study of underlying mechanisms and structures that shape peoples behavior in cities
what are three examples of the structuralist approach?
- universal cultural structures determine human behavior (anthropology)
- neo-marxist approach: class conflict
- organization of society, powerful groups and institutions govern behavior
what are the two ‘howevers’ in the structuralist approach?
- there are many different interest (other than class)
- human agency
what is the poststructuralist approach?
study of culture to understand language and discourse on urban settings, this approach is the opposite of the structural approach
what are characteristics of the poststructural approach?
- opposed to structuralist approach
- not one underlying mechanism/structure, but numerous shifting variables
- urban division and inequality reflects in forms of representation, such as language, clothing, music etc.
- representations involve shared meanings = discourses
cities are not just phisical spaces, but:
- cities are products of human imagination: human geographies
- plurality of visions and changes over time
- visions/ideologies of public space in relation to class, gender, ethnicity affect urban planning and design
what is sociospatial dialectic?
urban spaces are created by people, and people accomodate to urban environment
sociaospatial dialectic
- space defines nature of relationships between different social groups
- distance important determinant of quality of life (facilities and opportunities)
- formal, legal boundaries (housing, education)
what is macro-geographical dilectic?
macro analyses of cities and urbanization
- map important differences between cities in different world regions
- focus on differences between european and north american cities
on what 5 differneces between european and north american cities does the macro-geographical dialectic focus?
- history european cities
- minority groups in north america
- urban government
- welfare state (housing, social care, education)
- privatism vs public sector
what are 4 basic characteristics of the impact of change?
- rural-urban movement
- agricultural development (surplus)
- political stability
- expansion long-distance trade
when were the waves of urbanization in ancient cities, middle ages, and modern era?
ancient cities: ca 4000 BC
middle ages: ca 900-1850
modern era: after ca 1850
what is the economic change?
shift from agricultural and manufactoring industries to services
how economic change?
market dominated by fewer corporatoins and flexible product systems
where economic changes?
redeployment of activity (movement of production to low labour areas)
