Urben design reflection paper - Essay Example

The actors in this case, are city dwellers and the stage provides room for acting scripts that make up their lives. The life in urban places usually affect people and their lives as they undertake their daily chores. People’s lives comprising of actions, relationships among city dwellers, and other activities are essential physical structures in any setting deemed to be a city Lewis Mumford’s point of view coincides with Louis Wirth’s stand that the city influences entire relationships among people living within it as well as their development activities.

The author also decries the failure by city dwellers to comprehend and embrace the functional social setups of the city. Mumford expands the point of projection that people view the city from and delves into the analysis of the same a social institution instead of the traditional physical fact perspective. According to him, the city is a wholesome sense in itself, is a topographical plexus, an institutional process, an economic organization, a platform for social action, and a hitherto artistic symbol of collective unity.

Mumford moves away from the built environment while making analysis of a city. His viewpoint is rather broad and includes evaluation of the city as a centre of social set of connections and a theatre where people work out their definite activities by engaging in both cooperative and conflicting personalities, groups, and events to produce results that are more significant. The author appreciates the role of built environment as a natural habitat but he limits that role to a well-choreographed set stage.

According to him, the built environment facilitates and in the process intensifies the performance of actors who are people in this case. The author explains that the primary character of a city is to create drama as much as all the basic structures of cities exist in other setups including suburbs as well. However, Mumford asserts the opportunity of engaging in social disharmony and conflict only happens to those who access urban proximities and densities. In his words, a city is a special framework shaped towards the creation and development of differentiated chances for common life and an integral component of social drama.

Lewis Mumford advanced the polynucleated ideology in the setup of contemporary cities. This idea proposes cities with various centres, which differs from mononucleated cities. These are cities with one centre. Mumford believes that his proposal comes with multiple benefits including the capacity to allow cities to expand constantly while the administration subdivides them into districts. This ideology would allow the expansion of emerging sprawls but with human considerations understanding aspects that are both manageable and practical.

According to him, the practical factors should get the chance to determine the limiting factors including density, size, layout of the city, and area that deviate from the traditional technological concerns and geographical reasons. Mumford highlights that limitations on size, area, and density are important to enhance effective social interactions bringing a better sociological understanding. Cities have the capacity to promote acceptable social values among the dwellers and increase the ability of human relationships and personalities.

Mumford further defines a city as a space of societal culture and civilization. He holds this as the modern