ABSTRACT
In urban sociology, there are three major paradigms that guide research. In the United States, early urban sociologists based at the University of Chicago followed what we today call the Human Ecology paradigm. Human ecologists study how patterns of urban life emerge from such processes as the operation of real estate markets. Competition for land results in patterns of development that reflect optimal uses for a specific purpose—commercial use versus residential use, for example. These patterns are also influenced by the age and desirability of such areas, as well as their proximity to given amenities. A park would enhance the value of a residential area whereas a railroad track would be a plus for locating a factory.
Political Economy emerged in the 1970s as a response to the inability of Human Ecology to explain certain phenomena. Political Economy tends to examine urban structure as the outcome of specific social processes among political and economic elites: city officials and developers working together to redevelop a neighborhood, for instance. Political Economy thus explains such phenomena as racial segregation in cities not as the outcomes of a free market, but rather as the result of social conflict in which racism, classism, and ethnic rivalries influence how property owners and rental agents work with people seeking a place to live.
More recently, various “critical” approaches seek to problematize the ways in which urban life is lived and experienced. Historical events such as a decline in manufacturing are seen not just as past events, but as ongoing aspects of the urban environment as residents experience or avoid deindustrialized neighborhoods. The city is thus a collection of areas to be avoided or visited.
