Urban Sociology - Essay Example

30 May Urban sociology: Question When the says that the urban environment is largely a mental construct, it means that people interpret the environment around them according to their individual minds. For example, some people may view a city as an emblem of utopia, while others may see the same city as an example of dystopia. A city is like an ambiguous image which is open to multiple interpretations on a perceptual level. Some of the most important factors which create differences between people in context of their environmental cognition are related to how much knowledge people actually have, how they organize their information, and what socioeconomic status they possess.

Not two people can be found who are exactly alike on all these three levels, which is why the urban environment is largely a mental construct.Question 2: The term “use significance” implies that people have an innate disposition to interpret the daily environments they are exposed to according to an idea called setting for activities. This idea varies from person to person. Some activities which are personally valuable for one person might be totally insignificant for another person. So, if a certain physical environment does not offer any personally meaningful activities to one person, it will of no use or significance for him/her, but same cannot be said for every other person too.

The most important factor by which people tend to analyse locations or environments is this use significance. In my daily physical environment, my college campus, the local library, and the coffee shop are some of the things which have use significance for me.