Design of Post-Industrialized Cities - Essay Example

Paper The Chicago School of Urban ecology was begun by several who were associated with the of Chicago between the 1920s and the1940s. These writers included Robert Park, Ernest Burgess and Louis Wirth. These writers developed ideas which were the basis of theory and research in urban sociology for many years. The two most notable concepts which were developed by the Chicago School were the ecological approach in urban analysis and the characterization of urbanism as a way of life. The Chicago School believed that the siting of major urban settlements and the distribution of different types of neighbourhood throughout these urban settlements could be understood using similar principles to the type of ecology concerned with nature. The Chicago School asserted that cities do not develop randomly but instead they develop according to favourable conditions in the environment. One example of this is the way in which large urban areas are found predominantly along shores of rivers or on fertile plains, as those features have been advantageous to their development. The School was influenced by the processes which were seen to occur in nature such as the effects which competition in an area has on the distribution of the various species of animal in an ecosystem. This became part of the theory which asserted that cities become ordered into 'natural areas' through processes such as competition, invasion and succession. It was theorised that patterns of location, movement and relocation in cities follow similar patterns to those observed in any ecosystem (Giddens 06). Lewis Wirth claimed that urbanism was a way of life. He noted that there were distinct differences between the way which people lived their lives in urban areas and in rural areas. Wirth highlighted the heterogenous nature of the people in the urban area as the predominant reason for this difference. In rural areas, people in any particular area live similar lives, with similar cultures, beliefs and ideals. In comparison, those in urban areas are diverse in cultures, beliefs and ideals, which Wirth theorised could drive the division of the urban area to naturally divide into neighbourhoods in which these characteristics were shared (Wirth 64). While this may be true, Wirth neglected to note that there were internal factors which were present in urban areas and not in rural areas. For example different occupational factors and class factors were present in the urban areas at the time compared to the rural areas, and these may also have been driving forces in separation of the urban neighbourhoods. Robert Park asserted that the city was a social organism which was formed of distinct parts joined together by internal processes. Park theorised that the 'web of life' ensured that competitiveness was present between inhabitants of any urban area and that this led to natural structuring of urban areas. This was a result of comparing the nature of urban areas to Darwinian struggle present in any ecological system. The model put forth by Park also has several criticisms. For example the comments which he makes toward natural processes and the structuring of society are oversimplified. There are many differences between humans and other creatures in nature such as technological advances. These ensure that humans are not dependent on the natural habitat in the same ways as other animals although there are still benefits to be derived from natural features. Park also fails to take account of other factors such as government regulations. While there are critiques to be applied to the Chicago School of urban ecology, I do generally agree that this is a simplified but accurate view of early cities. I feel however that cities have developed in the modern day past the theories put forward in this school. Paper 2 Cities and urban areas began to move from industrialised areas to post-industrial areas during the 20th Century, when manufacturing industries began to close down and were no longer the focus of these cities. The cities began to develop new opportunities in other areas to replace these industrial areas, such as commercial premises. Alongside these changes from industrial to commercial areas also came the change in residential neighbourhoods and the general structure of urban areas as a whole. These newly developed areas became known as post-industrialised cities. While there have been many positive changes acknowledged in the move from industrialised to post-industrial cities, there have also been several issues highlighted. These issues include social polarization, decentralization and uneven development. Social polarization is the effect which may occur within a society where segregation occurs. This may be due to factors such as income inequality, fluctuations in house prices and economic displacements among others. This results in a segregation of the population into areas based on income capacity, from high income to low income. With this there come various negative effects such as where low-income areas become run-down and areas of high crime, where more affluent areas attract a greater number of businesses and funding from various sources. This may further widen the divisions between the different communities. Decentralization is the effect whereby the authority, responsibility and financial resources are redistributed through an area in a way in which decisions are placed at a local rather than central level. In industrial cities, the administrative control of many issues such as public spending, law and other types of resources was centralized in one place in the city. With the move to post-industrial cities, this has been changed so that local areas take more responsibility for their own resources. While this may be seen as positive in some respects there are also disadvantages to this system. One advantage to decentralization is that those who are based in a particular area have a higher degree of awareness of the specific needs of that area. This can ensure that public spending in that area is adequate for different things. Also, it may mean that certain facilities are nearer to communities. For example in industrialised cities which traditionally had a centre, there may have been facilities such as hospitals and libraries which were situated a long way from those living on the outskirts. Decentralization means that it may be easier to access many of these services as they are moved out to the suburbs. Decentralization may be disadvantageous in circumstances where the resources are not enough. It can mean that few resources must be spread through more services, which can decrease the quality of the services provided (Decentralization Thematic Team). There is also an issue in post-industrial cities where there may be uneven development in some areas. For example more money may be invested in developments which are considered to be of greater public attraction or more inviting to business investment, and there may be less money put into developing low-income neighbourhoods, leaving these underdeveloped. One example of an area which has moved from an industrial city to a post-industrial city is Bridgeport, Connecticut. The city is well known for the problems associated with this move in the 1970s and 1980s which brought about increases in unemployment, crime and an increasing drug problem. This is not a problem which is specific to this city as there have been many other examples observed throughout the urban centres of Connecticut. Many of the problems in these cities are now recognised however, and there are many strategies being implemented at the current time to address these problems. Paper 3 The City Beautiful Movement began during the mid 19th Century. The philosophy of the well-known landscape architect and reformer Frederick Law Olmstead was the initial idea behind the movement. Olmstead and his partner Charles Vaux designed and implemented the plan for Central Park in New York in 1858. This plan showed how beauty and open space could exist in the inner confines of the city, bringing peace and health to city dwellers. At the time, many city dwellers had migrated to the cities believing that they would find greater opportunity there than in their homelands. However when most of them got there, the reality was poor and crowded living conditions, often surrounded by complete strangers with no means of escaping for a break. These conditions led to health problems for many and also an increase in crime and other problems for society. Olmstead had a design philosophy which focused on balancing large paved areas with areas of trees and greeneries. It was felt that being able to create these types of open spaces for the city residents would help to counter many of the increasing problems associated with the city areas. The idea of the philosophy was to locate parks and playgrounds throughout the city areas so that all residents had access to them. These early urban reformers also believed that increasing the areas of natural environment within the city would bring additional benefits to the city such as increased property prices and create a greater attractiveness for enterprise investment. The overall aim of the City Beautiful Movement was therefore to improve the urban environment through beautification. The first expression of City Beautiful in the US was at the World's Columbian Exposition which was held in Chicago in 1893. The exhibit, known as the 'White City' was the epitome of combining city planning and architectural beauty. The buildings were classically inspired, with state of the art sanitation and transportation systems. The White City was to become an inspiration to architects across the US. However the City Beautiful Movement did not become known by that name until around six years after the Exposition. The City Beautiful Movement officially began in 1899 and was at its peak during 1900 to 1910. The movement concentrated on the construction of grand neo-classical style buildings, the creation of parks, and implementing boulevard systems in place of plain paved streets. Other examples of the City Beautiful Movement include Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The urban renewal of this area began in 1896, when the city was largely unpaved and had major sewage problems due to its downstream location in relevance to other Pennsylvanian cities. A series of improvement bonds were passed which enabled the building of large areas of parkland and an improved sanitation system (The City Beautiful 05). There is a social importance to the work of the City Beautiful Movement in that the designs which they promoted and utilised helped to alleviate many of the problems previously associated with the inner cities. For example they created open spaces into which people could escape from the oppression of the inner city apartment blocks. This would help in alleviating the stress of the situation to the city residents and may also help alleviate other problems such as crime and illness which were associated with constantly living in close proximity to one another. References Giddens, Anthony. Sociology. Malden, MA: Polity, 2006. The City Beautiful Movement and Harrisburg's Old 8th Ward. Stephanie Patterson Gilbert. 2005. 25 October 2007. . What is Decentralization Decentralization Thematic Team. No date. 25 October 2007. . Wirth, Lewis. Urbanism as a Way of Life. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1964. Read More