Definition

A city is defined sociologically as a considerably large, populous, and stable community of diverse people. A sociologically relevant description of the city is to figure out those aspects of urbanization that distinguish it as a unique way for individuals to dwell in communities.

A city differs from towns and villages in size, its various institutions, and the various activities carried out there. The early cities naturally developed in fertile regions where the local countryside was productive enough to free up some residents from farming and sustain a variety of specialized trades.

Explanation

The city relies on a flow of commodities from the nation; therefore, the availability of communication and transportation technologies shapes the city’s development. Additionally, they are linked to social innovation, which promotes the ongoing creation of novel lifestyles. Cities are areas of contestation because they are also scenes of conflict and struggle between various social groupings.

A city in England was distinguished by the presence of a cathedral due to the significance of the country’s national Christian church. Although they were pretty vast, cathedrals were distinguished by their function as a bishop’s administrative headquarters and, thus, as a hub for public administration.

Cities have a greater impact on society than the ratio of urban to rural dwellers would suggest because they are not only the home and workplace of modern man but also the initiating and controlling hub of economic, political, and cultural life. They are drawing even the most remote regions of the globe into its orbit and weaving diverse areas, peoples, and endeavors into a different human world.

Since a city’s population cannot increase by itself, it must draw immigrants from neighboring cities, the countryside, and, until recently, from abroad. Therefore, the city has traditionally served as a breeding ground for new biological and cultural hybrids and a melting pot of races, peoples, and civilizations. It has encouraged individual diversity rather than just accepting them. Cities have brought individuals together from all corners of the globe.

Finding the types of social structure and behavior that often appear in dense, somewhat permanent communities with huge numbers of diverse residents is the main challenge confronting urban sociologists.

The division of labor that urban life creates and encourages makes sense of the city’s control over the nearby countryside. The division of labor and specialization of jobs are intimately related to the great dependency and unstable equilibrium of urban life.

Despite stating that the distinction between town and country is one of great historical importance, Karl Marx neglected cities in his analysis of capitalism. This neglect must be contrasted with F. Engels’ 1844 study of the urban working class in Manchester and elsewhere and his writings on the housing issue. Only Max Weber offered a historical examination of the development of towns and cities among the prominent sociologists of the early 20th century.