Organizational Social Life in Urban Places: An Ethnographic Argument

Stores, bars, cafés and restaurants are necessary to attract people at night. The mixture of workplaces and residences generally assures that there are always people around keeping the streets safe with their presence. The “eyes on the street” is one of the several phrases that Jacobs coined and entered into the terminology of urban

The observation of social actions and their effects in the work place are covered throughout sociology. Specific examples can be seen in the movie, “Office Space” directed by Mike Judge. Several theories that can be observed throughout this movie are Strain Theory, Dysfunction of Bureaucracy and the use of primary groups.

South Street Philadelphia’s sidewalk’s safety is not determined by the strangers shuffling in and out of the area, but instead by the local residents and community members who live there. Based on my personal observations, the biggest asset to South Street in regard to safety and overall quality of the area are the locals who reside there. This idea of community investment relating to the safety of a street is presented in Jane Jacob’s novel The Death and Life of Great American Cities and is one of her ideas that is accurately displayed throughout South Street. By examining the various ways people interact in different areas and shops on South Street, I was able to evaluate what aspects of her writing proved to be beneficial to the overall safety of the area.

When people think of their environment people think of their immediate surroundings; however, one's environment goes beyond and further into the psychological connection to one's personal environment. To further explain, Gallagher discusses three different aspects of The Power of Place: Outside In, Inside Out, and Synchrony. The book opens doors previously unnoticed about psychological ecology. From reading the book one learns that settings influence behavior more than the personalities of most people.

In the essay “Walking and the Suburbanized Psyche,” Solnit argues that human beings are losing the ordinary connections between the body and the world is caused by the advanced innovations that are being implemented. Walking has been part of human culture since the time of the Homosapien. According to Solnit, if walking continues to be devalued by our society, a lot of practical benefits and lifestyle will be gone. Back in the days, many people treated walking as a pleasure when one person takes another person out for a walk. It represents one of the cultural activities. Furthermore, walking not only can be a delightful activity, it also serves as a transportation tool. The efficiency of getting around the neighborhood

Many aspects of our identity such as our language, culture, and religion were shaped by the past, and by not embracing these past events, a large part of one’s identity is being disregarded. An example of this is Brazil, a country where the dominant language and religion today was brought over by the Portuguese in the 15th century. This event is an important factor in the lives of many people living in Brazil, as many of them trace their ancestors, language and religion back to the original Portuguese settlers. If citizens were to ignore events of the past and not realize the origins of their practices, they would lose an aspect of their identity in the process, although it is difficult to ignore such a large legacy present in one’s life. This makes disregarding the past ineffective because the results of historical globalization are so prominent in everyday life and cannot be easily

Elijah Anderson published a novel called “The Cosmopolitan Canopy” where he looks at the “race and civility of everyday life”, as he puts it. He throughout the novel defines the “cosmopolitan canopy” as accepting of people from all backgrounds. In other words, the canopy is composed of a diverse population, lots of people and public spaces. Most importantly it has the spirit of positivity and civility. The best example of this would be Reading Terminal market in Philadelphia. Anderson believes that it epitomizes the idea because of how interactive people of different races, social and economic classes are getting along (10). The novel looks critically at public space in Philadelphia, who is allowed in them and how people interact within them.

Riding the subway to a New York City resident is nothing new. It’s something that many of us New Yorkers have to use as transportation because living in a crowded city with limited space to drive is not very ideal. For the people who do drive, they do so for personal comfort and convenience. But for us commuters, having to not look for parking and worry about traffic takes up less of our time. On the other hand we experience train delays and disturbances in personal space. Nonetheless, the pros outweigh the cons and using the subway has become a part of our daily routines for many of us New Yorkers. Marc Auge states that, “If he draws himself into the field of his ethnological inquiry, it is no less fitting for his readers to broaden the scope of appreciation of the work for riders.” With that in mind, I observed the connections with my experience riding the subway in a city integrated with many different peoples and cultures.

This is report is about the reactions of personal space when invaded. A total of 20 strangers were tested to see how different genders and ages react to strangers coming to close. The experiment took place in Woden plaza where a student stood behind a subject and watched there reaction from the closeness. It was found that 60% of the subjects did react to the close proximities. This reports also shows different theories to why people act the way they do when they feel violated.

In urban sociology studies it is important to examine ethnic and minority groups in order to understand the diverse makeup of cities. American history has had an important influence on the immigration into the United States during the Industrial Revolution. Different immigrant groups have thus adopted different values and practices which have been influenced by where they reside. The demand for industrial labor workers in America, resulted in the transformation of cities with nearly 50 million recorded immigrants (Flannagan, 92). Immigrants took jobs as laborers and were known to be primarily European, with some Asian and cases of illegal immigrants as well. Thus, members of groups were able to move upward in society, which lead to different

In Brent Staples’ personal essay “Black Men and Public Space”, he tells the readers what happen to a young black man in an urban setting. He pinpointed that people often stereotype you because of color, race, gender, culture or appearance. In addition, the author expresses to us that he notices the space between him and other people, such as women on the street. Some people may disagree that women set a certain amount of space when walking by a black man on the street. This statement is not true and public space is not about race, gender, color, culture, or appearance.

According to many studies, social interaction is consistently proven as correlated with health. This research has been successful in proving the number of benefits resulting from these human relationships such as; reduced stress levels, lower blood pressure, and cognitive health. In order to facilitate these interactions, many place makers aim to reject the increase of inhospitable environments and rather implement environments that promote socialization. In his book, Street Reclaiming, David Engwicht successfully expresses the ways in which we can foster these spontaneous exchanges

Thesis: The study of urban politics using traditional definitions of urban, especially sociological research inadequately defines or captures the daily activities of localities. There is a missing link between community power and local economy in the literature. To bridge the gap Molotoch demonstrates that the underlying interest of local politics is growth. Local power centers around landed-elite who promote and compete against other localities for resources in order to turn a locality into a growth machine. Growth is measured by the increase in population.

Currently, public spaces are transformed by manifold individuals (agency, interest, and access) that roles in executing those spaces, to be more complex and contested. Resulted in a public space that is still tangible, but not publicly accessible for all, whereas, the boundaries of intangible conflicts lie between who is in control and who uses the space. Engagement

The intensification of rapidly changing stimulations in the city requires the individual to “create a protective organ” manifesting itself in a “matter-of-fact attitude”. This attitude rather than concerning itself with emotions takes on a rational mentality and gives rise to intellectualism. In other words, instead of letting constant encounters with unexpected smells, objects, actions, noises, events, people agitate the nerves and react emotionally, the individual approaches everything in a logical manner. This rational mentality of a purely intellectual individual inevitably leads to a blasé mind set, an apathetic outlook to that which is happening around them. This blasé attitude is a necessary response against the threat of individuality.