Deck 4: Chicago School: Urbanism and Urban Ecology

Question 1

By 1870, about 9.9 million Americans lived in cities, representing about ________ percent of the total U.S.population.

A)5
B)15
C)25
D)50

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Referring to Chicago as the "shock city" of the early twentieth century implies that the city had symbolic significance reflecting…

A)the crucial role of the city in the development of the Chicago School of urban sociology.
B)awe at its spectacular growth and technical progress and admiration for its lack of economic, political, and social problems.
C)awe at its spectacular growth and technical progress and concern about its emerging economic, political, and social problems.
D)the surprise and shock that people felt who thought New York City was the shock city of the era.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

One factor leading to Chicago being seen as the shock city of the period was its rapid growth.Another important factor in Chicago being seen as a shock city was its…

A)lack of major social problems.
B)large, diverse immigrant population.
C)population homogeneity.
D)lack of commercial development.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In addition to rapid growth causing unprecedented demands on the most basic city services, things were further complicated by a new urban population comprised of which of the following groups? (select all that apply)

A)migrants from small rural towns
B)European immigrants
C)migrant workers from large cities
D);aid off workers from Manchester

Question 5

In the early twentieth century, the Chicago School focused on…

A)social disorganization and its consequences.
B)the remarkable lack of social change in the city.
C)the technological developments highlighted in the "White City."
D)the positive aspects of urban life.

Question 6

Robert

A)survey research.
B)gathering and analyzing statistics.
C)extensive library research.
D)firsthand observation.
E)Park encouraged students to study the city through…

Question 7

In focusing on urban social disorganization, the Chicago School emphasized all but one of the following as inherent characteristics of urban life.Which was NOT one of their foci?

A)alienation
B)anomie
C)cultural opportunities
D)juvenile delinquency
E)child abuse

Question 8

The Chicago School focused on both ________ and ________.

A)social stratification; social organization
B)urban ecology; urbanism
C)mechanical solidarity; organic solidarity
D)the city as a world of strangers; the city as a world of friends

Question 9

The Chicago School followed the European scholars who developed ideal types that made a distinct contrast between…

A)Europe and the United States.
B)urban ecology and urbanism.
C)urban and rural life.
D)shock cities and urbanizing cities.

Question 10

In Park's theoretical model, the city is organized on two interconnected levels.Which of the following are those two levels?

A)biotic and cultural
B)human and natural
C)urbanism and urban ecology
D)Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Question 11

The large number of residentially segregated urban enclaves in early twentieth century Chicago led the Chicago School to see the city as a…

A)shock city.
B)biotic reality.
C)mosaic of social worlds.
D)dense settlement.

Question 12

Hutter notes that two contradictory views of the city emerged from the Chicago School.One was the notion of the city as impersonal and negative, derived from the social disorganization view.The other viewed the city more positively as a…

A)consequence of size, density, and heterogeneity.
B)biotic realm.
C)mosaic of social worlds.
D)consequence of the composition of the urban population.

Question 13

Like the European urban theorists, Wirth had an essentially ________ view of the impact of the city and urban life on individuals, the family, and the neighborhood.

A)positive
B)negative
C)biotic
D)heterogeneous

Question 14

If you believe that the variables of urban size, density, and heterogeneity cause both community and psychological outcomes, you would be using the ________ theory.

A)compositional
B)subcultural
C)political economic
D)determinist

Question 15

If you think it is the makeup of the population, especially in terms of social class and stages in the life cycle, that explains urban ways of life, you would be following the ________ theory.

A)compositional
B)subcultural
C)political economic
D)determinist

Question 16

Gans postulates that there are at least five urban ways of life that characterize downtown areas.One is cosmopolites.Which of the following is NOT one of the other four types?

A)the unmarried or childless
B)the sophisticates
C)ethnic villages
D)the deprived
E)the trapped and downwardly mobile

Question 17

For Gans, ethnic working-class villages are…

A)densely settled communities characterized by weak family ties and high levels of social disorganization.
B)relationships between neighbors that are essentially quasi-primary.
C)highly integrated, resembling small-town homogeneous communities.
D)depersonalized, isolated, and social disorganized.

Question 18

Claude Fischer suggests that the ecological variables of size, density, and heterogeneity do affect social life.However, unlike Louis Wirth, he argues that these effects can…

A)strengthen social groups and not necessarily break them down.
B)weaken social groups and lead to higher levels of social disorganization.
C)change the composition of a city and thus lead to higher crime levels.
D)force social groups to emphasize secondary social relationships.

Question 19

In focusing on ecological processes as they affect urban settlement, urban ecology uses which of the following sets of concepts?

A)size, density, heterogeneity
B)the social class, race and ethnicity, and life-cycle stage of urban residents
C)mechanical and organic solidarity
D)competition, dominance, symbiosis, invasion, succession

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT one of the zones in Burgess's concentric zone hypothesis?

A)central business district
B)zone in transition
C)zone of workingmen's homes
D)zone of urban villagers

Question 21

According to Burgess's concentric zone hypothesis, which of the following processes determine how land will be utilized in the five zones?

A)symbiosis
B)competition
C)succession
D)invasion

Question 22

Homer Hoyt attempted to improve on Burgess's model by postulating the existence of…

A)the same zones as Burgess, but in the reverse order.
B)zones defined by the amount of symbiosis within them.
C)multiple nuclei.
D)pie- or wedge-shaped sectors or zones radiating from the CBD to the periphery.

Question 23

In explaining their ________ model of urban land use, Harris and Ullman saw American cities going through a process of decentralized growth.

A)multiple nuclei
B)social area analysis
C)sector
D)concentric zone

Question 24

Shevky and Bell's social area analysis suggested that three dimensions of urban life create the spatial distributions found in American cities.Which is the set of three dimensions?

A)concentric zones, sectors, multiple nuclei
B)competition, succession, invasion
C)family patterns, social class and status, and race and ethnicity
D)size, density, and heterogeneity

Question 25

Walter Firey went beyond urban ecology by incorporating ________ and ________ into his analyses.

A)sentiment; symbolism
B)succession; invasion
C)social class; race
D)sectors; multiple nuclei

Question 26

One central criticism that symbolic interactionists make of urban ecology is that it…

A)overemphasizes the effects of symbols and sentiments in shaping urban life.
B)can only apply to Chicago.
C)overemphasizes power arrangements in shaping urban life.
D)neglects social psychological factors in shaping urban life.

Question 27

Hutter suggests that symbolic interactionism was an advance over urban ecology, but that symbolic interactionism did not fully incorporate the study of ________ into its analysis.

A)symbols and sentiments
B)social interaction
C)power arrangements
D)social area analysis

Question 28

Early in the twentieth century, Chicago was a cauldron of social change.

Question 29

Georg Simmel was the founder of the Chicago School of Urban Sociology.

Question 30

The differences between the determinist theory of Wirth and the compositional theory of Gans rests on different beliefs about how cities affect small groups.

Question 31

In arguing for his subcultural theory, Claude Fischer states that urbanism can generate deviance because it creates social worlds, rather than destroying them.

Question 32

Fogelson's research on downtowns supports the validity of the urban ecologist's view that there was a "natural" order for urban form and growth patterns.

Question 33

The Chicago School had two major theoretical components or approaches.Briefly explain them.

Question 34

Name and explain the three critical factors that Wirth emphasized as determinants of urbanism.

Question 35

Describe how Gan's approach to urban life is different from Wirth's view.

Question 36

Define and explain Fischer's subcultural theory.

Question 37

How did Walter Firey's research represent an advance on urban ecology and what did he focus on?

Question 38

Symbolic interactionists offer three major criticisms of the urban ecological approach to explaining urban social life.Explain them.

Question 39

Explain the determinist, compositional, and subcultural theories, and explain how they are related to each other.

Question 40

Give an overview of urban ecology.Be sure to explain the basic concepts, the various models developed, and consider the shortcomings of the approach.