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Urban theory describes the economic, political and social processes which affect the formation and development of cities.


Overview

Theoretical discourse has often polarized between
economic determinism Economic determinism is a socioeconomic theory that economic relationships (such as being an owner or capitalist, or being a worker or proletarian) are the foundation upon which all other societal and political arrangements in society are based. ...
Marx, K. (1976) Capital Vol 1Harmondsworth: Penguin (Original work published in 1867) and
cultural determinism Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
Weber, M. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, London: Allen & Unwin (Originally published in 1905) with scientific or
technological determinism Technological determinism is a reductionist theory that assumes that a society's technology progresses by following its own internal logic of efficiency, while determining the development of the social structure and cultural values. The term is ...
adding another contentious issue of reification. Studies across eastern and western nations have suggested that certain cultural values promote
economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
and that the economy in turn changes cultural values.Allen, M. W. Ng, S. H. Ikeda, K. Jawan, J. A. Sufi, A. H. Wilson, M. & Yang, K. S. "Two Decades of Change in Cultural Values and Economic Development in Eight East Asian and Pacific Island Nations" in Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology Vol. 38: pp. 247-69 Urban historians were among the first to acknowledge the importance of technology in the city.Hommels, A. "Studying Obducracy in the City: Toward a Productive Fusion between Technology Studies and Urban Studies" in Science Technology and Human Values, Vol. 30 No. 3: pp.323-51 It embeds the single most dominant characteristic of a city; its networked character perpetuated by information technology.Graham, S. & Marvin, S. (1996) Telecommunications and the City: Electronic Spaces, Urban Places, London: Routledge Regardless of the deterministic stance (economic, cultural or technological), in the context of
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
, there is a mandate to mold the city to complement the global economic structure and urbanomics gains ascendancy.


Political processes

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...
described monumental architecture as an "expression of power" seeking to produce "respectful terror". Gigantism, geometry, and order are characteristic of cities such as
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
.


Economic capital and globalization

The
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
was accompanied by urbanization in Europe and the United States in the 19th century.
Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, which was being transformed by the cotton industry. He noted how the city was divided into the wealthy and working class areas, which were physically separated so that one could not see any of the latter from the former. The city was therefore a function of
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
.
Georg Simmel Georg Simmel (; ; 1 March 1858 – 26 September 1918) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and critic. Simmel was influential in the field of sociology. Simmel was one of the first generation of German sociologists: his neo-Kantian approach l ...
studied the effect of the urban environment on the individuals living in cities, arguing in ''
The Metropolis and Mental Life "The Metropolis and Mental Life" (German: "Die Großstädte und das Geistesleben") is a 1903 essay by the German sociologist, Georg Simmel. Overview One of Simmel's most widely read works, "The Metropolis and Mental Life" was originally provid ...
'' that the increase in human interaction affected relationships. The activity and anonymity of the city led a 'blasé attitude' with reservations and aloofness by urban denizens. This was also driven by the market economy of the city, which corroded traditional norms. However, people in cities were also more tolerant and sophisticated.
Henri Lefebvre Henri Lefebvre ( , ; 16 June 1901 – 29 June 1991) was a French Marxist philosopher and sociologist, best known for pioneering the critique of everyday life, for introducing the concepts of the right to the city and the production of so ...
argued in the 1960s and 1970s that urban space is dominated by the interests of
corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
s and
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
. Private places such as shopping centres and office buildings dominated over public space. The economic relations could be seen in the city itself, with wealthy areas being far more opulent than the run-down parts of the poor. To fix this, a
right to the city The right to the city is an idea and a slogan first proposed by Henri Lefebvre in his 1968 book . This idea has been taken up more recently by social movements, thinkers, and certain progressive local authorities as a call to action to reclaim th ...
needed to be asserted to give everyone a say on urban space.


Economic sustainability

In fact, urbanomics can spillover beyond the city parameters. The process of globalization extends its territories into global city regions. Essentially, they are territorial platforms (metropolitan extensions from key cities, chain of cities linked within a state territory or across inter-state boundaries and arguably; networked cities and/or regions cutting across national boundaries) interconnected in the globalized economy. Some see global city-regions rather than global cities as the nodes of a global network.Scott, A. J. (ed.) (2001) Global City-Regions, Oxford: Oxford University Press Sennett, R. 1990 The Conscience of the Eye, the Design and Social Life of Cities, London: Norton & Company The rules of engagement are built on economic sustainability – the ability to continuously generate wealth. The cornerstones of this economic framework are the following ‘4C’ attributes: (1) currency flow for trading, (2) commoditization of products and services in supply chain management, (3) command centre function in orchestrating interdependency and monitoring executions and (4) consumerization. Unless, decoupling the economy from these attributes can be demonstrated; symbolic capital expressions as legitimate as they may be; must accept the domineering status of urbanomics.


Revisiting economic measurements

Arguably, the culprit of this economic entrapment is the high consumption lifestyle synonymous with affluence. The resolve may well be that ‘less is more’ and that true welfare lies not in a rise in production and income. As such,
Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
(GDP) is increasingly being questioned as inaccurate and inadequate. GDP includes things that do not contribute to
sustainable growth Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desir ...
and excludes non-monetary benefits that improve the welfare of the people. In response, alternative measures have been proposed such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI)Talberth, J. Cobb, C. & Slattery, N. (2006) "The Genuine Progress Indicator 2006 – Executive Summary" in Redefining Progress http://www.rprogress.org/publications/2007/GPI2006_ExecSumm.pdf Accessed 16 May 09 and the Index of Sustainable Welfare - ISEW.Hanley, N. Moffat, I. Faichney, R. and Wilson, M. (1999) "Measuring Sustainability: A Time Series of Alternative Indicators for Scotland" in Ecological Economics, 28(1) pp.55-73


See also

*
MONU - magazine on urbanism ''MONU'' is an English-language, biannual magazine on urbanism that focuses on the city in a broad sense, including its politics, economy, geography, ecology, its social aspects, as well as its physical structure and architecture. Therefore, arch ...
*
Rural economics Rural economics is the study of rural economies. Rural economies include both agricultural and non-agricultural industries, so rural economics has broader concerns than agricultural economics which focus more on food systems. Rural development a ...
*
Urban economics Urban economics is broadly the economic study of urban areas; as such, it involves using the tools of economics to analyze urban issues such as crime, education, public transit, housing, and local government finance. More specifically, it is a bra ...
*
Urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
*
Urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
*
Urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
*
Urban studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to the impact of urban design on community development efforts. The core theoretica ...
*
Urban vitality Urban vitality is the quality of those spaces in cities that are capable of attracting heterogeneous people for different types of activities throughout varied time schedules. The areas of the city with high vitality are perceived as alive, live ...


References


External links


MA Theories of Urban Practice program in New York City


Notes

*Papageorgiou, Y. & Pines, D. (1999)An Essay on Urban Economic Theory, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers *Steingart, G. (2008) The War for Wealth. The True Story of Globalization or Why the Flat World is Broken, New York: McGraw Hill
Aseem Inam, ''Designing Urban Transformation'' New York and London: Routledge, 2013.
{{ISBN, 978-0415837705. Urban planning Urban economics