Urban sociology - Essay Example

Rainer Soenargo Robert Goldie LA 359 Urban Sociology Project Introduction In this project, I will address the areas and the ideas that I have collected as they relate to urban sociology discussed in the course. The work entailed going to the ground i.e. the districts that I will use for my work to see the traces of history and establish how symbolism is manifested in the way the people live. The project is bound to analyze symbolic interaction in the districts that I will embark on in my study.

The project will look at the way symbolism is manifested in the way people live and the things that can be used in the area under my scope to identify or link the people to the regions. Social psychology and the way it has been expressed through symbolism will be looked at intently to come up with a well-researched project that covers the topic. Historical connections that have been there since time immemorial shall also be evaluated in the project to better understand the concept of urban sociology.

Los Angeles will be my first Los AngelesSymbolic PlacesThe church of Los Angeles File Adapted from The church of Los Angeles is a significant part of the peoples’ lives in this region. It has been there for a long time as I learnt it was established in the 19th century by Franciscan Fray Luis Gily. The church symbolizes the Roman Catholic presence in the region and it still has an important role as far as the people in the region are concerned. Many people in the region are Roman Catholics which was a result of the establishment of the Church earlier in the 19th Century.

Since I needed to compare the regions and see how different the people are in the two districts I visited San Marino which is also in the region of California. The History of San Marino is expressed by the presence of archaic buildings such as the old mill and the Huntington Library. These are some of the things that are used to express the history of the people and know where the city has come from to be what it is today. The city of San Marino has a number of similarities with Los Angeles.

First the businesses that the people engage in are common in both cities. In urban Sociology it was important to look at how the people live and establish the way they make their living. Through this it was possible to evaluate whether the living standards and conditions were the same in both cities. The social stratification was the same in both where there are different classes of people which are cut mainly according to where one lives and the people that one interacts with. This was common in both.

Urban sociology tries to explore the interaction of man with the metropolitan environment (Fischer, p. 1322). To accomplish the goals of the project I also had to explore the challenges that people go through in each of the cities. First due to the urban lifestyle there are the common problems which one can get in any urban set up. The problems include minor insecurity. This was expressed by the people whom I came into contact to and who were willing to respond to my questions. Unless one interacts well with the people in these regions, it would be very hard to establish any differences between them.

This is because most things that do are similar and the major things and landmarks that one comes across while in the two cities are also similar. They are also located in close proximity and this further synchronizes the way people thrive in either of the cities. Apart from the historic locations and the museum and other buildings that have been kept to carry the history of the cities there is little symbolism that can be explored by a stranger in the regions. This can be possible when one gets into deep interaction with the people and learns the way they live and the ideologies that they subscribe to.

Cited WorkFischer, C.S. (1975). Toward a Subculture: Theory of Urbanism. American Journal of Sociology, California: University of California, (80), Page 1319–1341. Print.