Homework for Sept 22, 2011

Malerie Brill                                                                                                 9/21/11

Urban Anthropology, SSN 182

Homework #2

Pages 101-118

In the article, “Urbanism As a Way of Life,” Louis Wirth describes how cities have a different mode of life than anywhere else. In order to say somewhere is a city, you have to take into account the many characteristics that make it a city. Size, density, transportation, communication, facilities, culture, recreation – these are all characteristics of an urban community. Not only are there many characteristics of a city, but there are also many variations in the people and neighborhoods.

Wirth talks about how the city affects people in the way they act and live. He says relationships are a lot different in the city than in rural areas. He says as city dwellers we become less open, less friendly, and more guarded. It’s a world of total strangers. Cities are highly competitive, and Wirth says the only reason we develop friendships is for selfish reasons. He also makes a statement that says the only thing that is keeping the city together are the laws in place.

While we discussed this in class, I became angry at all the assumptions that Wirth came to about cities. I can see on some level why he would make these points that he is, but I disagree with him in a lot of different ways. I believe we as a city are competitive, but I do not think that most people make friends for selfish reasons. I do believe people in cities have different relationships with people then people in rural areas, but I don’t think we are hostile and rude as Wirth makes it seem like.

Pages 119-130

Urban communities are full of complete strangers living together, and because of this, Sally Engle Merry wrote this article on Urban Dangers. Because of Wirth’s article, Merry decided to conduct her own study on the subject of urban dangers. She chose a subsidized housing project in the Northeastern part of the country to conduct her research. She studied the different people and ethnic groups that lived in the project. She was able to see how each group felt about their safety living in the projects. The turnover rate in the project was only 5%, but the sense of community was lacking. The ethnic groups were spread out over the neighborhood, but most of the residents maintained only close relationships with people of their same ethnicity. They would pass their immediate neighbors every day in the stairwells and not even attempt to get to know them.

As Merry got to know some of the residents, she began to see the difference in how each person felt about their safety. After more research, Merry states, “…[D]anger cannot be equated with the statistical probability of being the victim of a crime. Instead, it’s the individual’s interpretation of the surrounding environment.” She also suggests that it is not the people who are detached from the neighborhood that are dangerous, but it’s the ones who only appear to be attached.