Chapter 8 Cities and Communities True or False 1. At present, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas. Answer: True 2. During the nineteenth century, as agriculture became more mechanized, more people were drawn into rural areas than into cities. Answer: False 3. Redlining is the practice of identifying the homes in racially homogenous white neighbourhoods that carry the largest mortgages. Answer: False 4. Edge cities are suburban counterparts to the traditional downtown areas of large central cities. Answer: True 5. The social and economic integration of different groups within a city relates directly to the form and spatial layout of city neighbourhoods. Answer: True 6. Chicago School sociologist Ernest Burgess developed a model of urban community structure based on crime statistics. Answer: False 7. A general critique of the urban ecology perspective is that it fails to consider the role of political and economic forces that affect the development of cities. Answer: True 8. When a city is viewed as a growth machine, urban change is seen as driven by a powerful set of economic elites. Answer: True 9. Sociologists regard the growth in the number of Americans living by themselves principally as a negative trend that points to growing levels of social isolation. Answer: False 10. According to German sociologist Georg Simmel, individuals find both freedom and isolation in rural communities. Answer: False 11. New Urbanists call for a return to mixed-use, walkable urban communities as a response to suburban sprawl. Answer: True 12. When sociologist Barry Wellman claimed that community was neither "lost" nor "saved" but was instead "liberated," he was arguing for thinking about community strictly in terms of geography and the physical layout of neighbourhoods. Answer: False 13. Social capital refers to the resources available to individuals through their financial reserves and investment savvy. Answer: False 14. Jane Addams founded Hull House, the first settlement house in America, in Chicago. Answer: True 15. Although scholars have shown that developers and the business community reaped most of the benefits of the urban renewal policy articulated in the 1949 Housing Act, urban renewal unequivocally improved housing for the poor in blighted neighbourhoods that typically lacked social cohesion. Answer: False 16. Urban renewal was used in many cities to consolidate growing populations of African Americans and to reinforce racial segregation in urban neighbourhoods. Answer: True 17. The disappearance of manufacturing jobs from central cities was a factor contributing to the transformation of vibrant neighbourhoods into neighbourhoods with concentrated poverty. Answer: True 18. Scholars who study intensely violent neighbourhoods find that a strong sense of community cannot flourish there. Answer: False 19. The Fair Housing Act (1968) made discrimination in the public housing markets illegal, whereas discrimination in private housing markets was unaffected by the legislation. Answer: False 20. The dominant model of assimilation for immigrant families in America is one of upward mobility into the cultural mainstream. Answer: False 21. One way to demonstrate the degree to which the world has become connected is through telephone conversations rather than Internet traffic. Answer: False 22. About 23 million immigrants are now estimated to live in the United States. Answer: False 23. Global cities are hubs of international finance and technology in a world where business activity crosses national boundaries easily. Answer: True 24. Demographic shifts in Miami, Florida over the last 40 years show a dramatic rise in the Latino population. Answer: True 25. When manufacturing jobs that once formed the base of urban labor markets began to decline rapidly, they were replaced exclusively by low-wage service-sector jobs. Answer: False Multiple Choice 1. At present, __________ of the world's population lives in urban areas. A. one-quarter B. less than one-third C. one-third D. more than one-half Answer: D 2. How does the U.S. Census Bureau classify urban areas? A. as areas with a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile B. as areas with a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile, plus all surrounding areas that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile C. as areas with a population density of at least 5,000 people per square mile D. as areas with a population density of at least 5,000 people per square mile, plus all surrounding areas that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile Answer: B 3. The U.S. Census Bureau's definition of urban areas is based on __________. A. density B. heterogeneity C. remote sensing D. UN estimates Answer: A 4. Our world is becoming __________. A. decreasingly suburbanized B. decreasingly urbanized C. increasingly urbanized D. increasingly conurbanized Answer: C 5. According to demographer Kingsley Davis, in the modern world, the process of urbanization follows a(n) __________. A. bell-shaped curve B. circular function C. S curve D. straight line Answer: C 6. Before the emergence of widespread industry, the pace of urbanization was __________. A. virtually non-existent B. slow and gradual C. level D. rapid and steep Answer: B 7. After cities reach their carrying capacity, the demand for labor __________ and the cost of urban space __________. A. escalates; subsides B. escalates; also escalates C. subsides; escalates D. subsides; also subsides Answer: C 8. Cities first arose over __________ years ago. A. 5,000 B. 7,500 C. 8,500 D. 10,000 Answer: A 9. Before industrialization, daily life for the vast majority of people focused on __________. A. travel and trade B. cottage industry C. mining D. immediate sustenance Answer: D 10. __________ was the first nation to industrialize. A. Britain B. China C. Germany D. The United States Answer: A 11. The main cause of population growth in cities in the nineteenth century was __________. A. increasing life expectancy B. increasing numbers of births C. migration D. higher wages Answer: C 12. What is the Great Migration? A. the movement of African Americans from the rural South to industrial cities of the North B. the movement of Latinos from Central and South America to the American Southwest C. the movement of Mormons to present-day Utah D. the movement of European Jews to Palestine in the 1920s Answer: A 13. Dallas/Fort Worth is an example of an urban form known as a __________. A. biurb B. megaurb C. polyurb D. conurb Answer: D 14. __________ is classified as a megacity because its population exceeds __________. A. Denver; 1 million B. Jacksonville; 2 million C. Houston; 5 million D. Lagos; 10 million Answer: D 15. In the twentieth century, the pace of suburbanization quickened because of all the following EXCEPT __________. A. government subsidies for cars B. government subsidies for home ownership C. government subsidies for highway construction D. government subsidies for gentrification Answer: D 16. How did government policies contribute to the preferential treatment of whites in the suburban housing market after World War II? A. Loans for homes in racially homogeneous white neighbourhoods were typically redlined. B. Loans for homes in primarily black neighbourhoods were typically rated higher than loans for homes in racially mixed neighbourhoods. C. Loans for homes in racially mixed neighbourhoods were typically rated higher than loans for homes in primarily black neighbourhoods. D. Loans for homes in racially homogeneous white neighbourhoods were typically rated higher than loans for homes in primarily black or in racially mixed neighbourhoods. Answer: D 17. All of the following problems are typically associated with suburban sprawl EXCEPT __________, A. damage to the environment B. increasing traffic congestion C. redlining D. growing commutes Answer: C 18. Edge cities have developed as suburban counterparts to __________. A. the traditional downtown areas of large central cities B. the traditional factory zones of large central cities C. the traditional transitional zones of large central cites D. the tradition bedroom communities of large central cites Answer: A 19. Over the past several decades, __________ have been the fastest growing ethnic groups in rural America. A. Asians and Latinos B. Asians and African Americans C. African Americans and Latinos D. Latinos and whites Answer: A 20. An influential group of sociologists who used the city of Chicago as a laboratory for the study of urbanism is known as the __________. A. Chicago Eight B. Chicago Federation C. Chicago School D. Chicago Urbanists Answer: C 21. Urban ecology, a sociological perspective on how neighbourhoods form and change, famously borrows ideas from what other academic discipline? A. biology B. economics C. geography D. linguistics Answer: A 22. That people adjust to their surroundings and find the best fit within their environment is an idea central to __________. A. migratory patterns B. redlining C. urban ecology D. urbanization Answer: C 23. Over time, __________ occurs as individual members of immigrant groups begin to integrate with the wider culture and the wider economy, identifying less with the culture of their homeland. A. assimilation B. cultural relativism C. cultural restructuring D. framing Answer: A 24. Descendants of German immigrants, who inhabited Cincinnati's Over the Rhine neighbourhood and worked in the city's German-owned breweries, later moved to other parts of the city and found employment in other kinds of businesses. What term do sociologists use to describe this phenomenon? A. assimilation B. cultural relativism C. cultural restructuring D. framing Answer: A 25. In the context of urban ecology, what do the initials CBD stand for? A. central boundary definition B. central business district C. city boundary definition D. city business district Answer: B 26. Burgess's model of urban ecology is a model of __________ A. concentric zones spreading outward from a central business district B. concentric zones spreading outward from a central zone of transition C. linear arrays spreading across different types of residential zones D. linear arrays spreading outward from a factory zone Answer: A 27. What is one criticism of Burgess's model of urban community structure? A. It fails to account for variations in the spatial structure of cities outside the Northeast and Midwest of the United States. B. It places too much emphasis on the growth of the black community. C. It places too much emphasis on the idea of the city as a growth machine. D. It fails to account for the process of assimilation. Answer: A 28. How does the perspective of the city as a growth machine counter the Burgess urban ecology model? A. It denies the role of private property, whereas the Burgess model does not. B. It denies the role of taxes as drivers of city growth, whereas tax policy is integral to the Burgess model. C. It recognizes the role of political and economic forces, whereas the Burgess model does not. D. It recognizes the role of key social institutions, whereas the Burgess model fails to consider them. Answer: C 29. Thinking of cities as the product of intensive and strategic investment is central to __________. A. the growth machine perspective B. redlining C. urban ecology D. urbanization Answer: A 30. How are sociologists who view the city as a growth machine likely to think about issues of racial and ethnic segregation? A. as a natural process B. as the product of ecological change C. as the product of contentious debate D. as the outcome of the efforts of political and economic elites Answer: D 31. All of the following strategies have been used to keep racial and ethnic minorities out of certain urban areas EXCEPT __________. A. allocating tax subsidies to favoured developers B. strategic investment in poor neighbourhoods C. policing policies D. removal of homeless shelters Answer: B 32. The number of Americans going solo (that is, living by themselves) __________. A. is decreasing B. is increasing C. is neither decreasing nor increasing D. has been decreasing and increasing in regular waves for decades, depending on economic conditions Answer: B 33. In Manhattan, about __________ of all households are occupied by a single individual. A. one-quarter B. a third C. half D. two-thirds Answer: C 34. __________ is the lack of interpersonal connections and civic engagement. A. Social context B. Social isolation C. Social mobility D. Social slavery Answer: B 35. Which of the following characteristics of cities was NOT deemed essential by Chicago School sociologist Louis Wirth? A. density B. diversity C. heterogeneity D. size Answer: B 36. German sociologist Georg Simmel argued that shifts in the environment affecting substantial portions of the population __________ consequences on the ways that individuals act and interact. A. have B. have no C. have few D. have only subliminal Answer: A 37. From the perspective of German sociologist Georg Simmel, in the anonymity of the city individuals find both __________ and __________. A. freedom; innovation B. freedom; isolation C. isolation; community D. community; innovation Answer: B 38. Sociologist Herbert Gans, in his study of community life, focused on __________. A. ecological factors like size, density, and heterogeneity B. demographic factors like age, race, occupation, and income C. cultural factors like language, religion, and norms of behavior D. political factors like conflict and power Answer: B 39. Claude Fischer's theory of __________ helps us understand why certain urban neighbourhoods take on particular identities. A. ecological stressors B. income C. organizational behavior D. subcultures Answer: D 40. With which of the following attributes of city life, more so than the others, did writer and activist Jane Jacobs concern herself? A. the demographic composition of neighbourhoods B. the environmental hazards of neighbourhoods C. the cultural dynamics of neighbourhoods D. the physical layout of neighbourhoods Answer: D 41. The work of Jane Jacobs inspired the ideas of which school of urban design? A. New Communitarianism B. New Criticism C. New Preservationism D. New Urbanism Answer: D 42. Which of the following forms of community would a New Urbanist favor? A. an urban-fringe community with separate zones for housing and for commercial enterprises B. a gated community of single-family homes interspersed with public spaces C. a walkable urban community combining different types and scales of housing, offices, retail outlets, medical services, schools, recreational areas, and other commercial or industrial components D. a mixed-use bedroom community Answer: C 43. Which concept of community best encompasses the fundamental concerns of sociologists who study today's cities and communities? A. Community comprises family members and neighbours, along with nearby friends. B. Community comprises individuals located in the immediate space surrounding a person, whether family or not. C. Community is the degree to which individuals connect with, support, and interact with each other. D. Community comprises strong friendships with people we come in contact with through school, work, or other social institutions. Answer: C 44. What does recent sociological research suggest about online social networks, in terms of how they are changing personal and social life? A. Online social networks may be a poor substitute for voice-to-voice interactions. B. Online social networks may be a poor substitute for face-to-face interactions. C. Online social networks may expand and enhance our offline social networks. D. Online social networks may compete with and undermine our offline social networks. Answer: C 45. Social capital refers to the resources available to individuals __________. A. given their financial and economic status B. through their relationships and networks C. through their cultural affiliations D. given the advantages conferred on them at birth Answer: B 46. Research suggests that communities with high levels of cohesion and trust have __________. A. higher levels of violence when the community is very poor B. higher levels of violence whether the community is very poor or middle income C. lower levels of violence, but only if the community is very poor D. lower levels of violence, even if the community is very poor Answer: D 47. Which urban scholar described the array of social problems bundled together in the urban slums of Manchester, England in the 1840s? A. Auguste Comte B. Friedrich Engels C. Karl Marx D. George Simmel Answer: B 48. Hull House, the first settlement house founded in America in 1889, was designed to __________. A. resettle Chicago's urban poor in agricultural communities of the upper Midwest B. promote social integration among the urban poor from various ethnic and immigrant backgrounds C. deter cultural deficiencies of the urban poor, especially among recent immigrants D. separate the native-born urban poor from immigrant communities whose social problems drained public resources Answer: B 49. Perhaps the most notorious example of a government policy directed at the problems of the urban poor that instead resulted in removal of the poor from urban environments was the __________. A. 1889 Hull House Settlement Act B. 1949 Housing Act C. 1965 Hart-Cellar Act D. 1968 Fair Housing Act Answer: B 50. Which group or groups reaped most of the benefits of the urban renewal policy enacted in the Housing Act of 1949? A. the urban poor B. developers and the business community C. rent-controlled property owners D. new immigrants housed in blighted communities Answer: B 51. Which of the following outcomes was a product of the urban renewal policy instituted in the Housing Act of 1949? A. growing populations of African Americans were consolidated in racially segregated urban neighbourhoods B. growing populations of Latino Americans were dispersed from blighted neighbourhoods targeted for redevelopment C. blighted neighbourhoods targeted for redevelopment became socially more cohesive D. residents of blighted neighbourhoods targeted for redevelopment were integrated into mixed-income communities nearby Answer: A 52. How did researchers St. Clair Drake and Horace Cayton describe Bronzeville, the name given to the African American section of Chicago's South Side, in 1945? A. as a "Black Metropolis," where violence, overcrowding, and dilapidated housing were the norm B. as a desolate and violent "urban ghetto" C. as a "vibrant community" where black cultural and social life thrived despite high poverty D. as a slum rife with "gambling dens" and "call-houses" Answer: C 53. Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the new urban poverty that became associated with American cities in the post-civil rights era? A. growing concentrations of the urban poor within a smaller number of extremely high-poverty neighbourhoods B. severe racial segregation C. joblessness D. smaller concentrations of the urban poor within a growing number of extremely high-poverty neighbourhoods Answer: D 54. One of the most influential theories of urban transformation that helped to explain the deterioration of black neighbourhoods from vibrant metropolises to violent ghettos began by documenting __________. A. the decline in marriageable black men B. the disappearance of black churches C. the disappearance of manufacturing jobs from cities D. the rise of welfare receipts Answer: C 55. One of the most influential theories of urban transformation that helped to explain the deterioration of black neighbourhoods was put forth by which American sociologist? A. William Julius Wilson B. St. Clair Drake C. Horace Cayton D. Mike Davis Answer: A 56. Ethnographers are researchers and scholars who __________. A. experiment with people and places under laboratory conditions B. study people and places by immersing themselves in a community C. study the historical documents associated with the founding of new communities D. ask questions about the people and places in a community using questionnaires and random sampling Answer: B 57. In which U.S. metropolitan area are African Americans most likely to live in racial isolation? A. Detroit B. Houston C. New Orleans D. St. Louis Answer: A 58. In the decades since 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was passed with the hope that it would end the racial segregation of American neighbourhoods, racial segregation has __________ in most of America's major cities. A. steadily declined B. only slightly declined C. steadily increased D. slightly increased Answer: B 59. What was one of the outcomes of the passage of the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965? A. the flow of immigrants coming to the United States increased B. the flow of immigrants coming to the United States from Europe ended C. existing national origins quotas for immigration remained in place D. most prohibitions against immigrants from Asia based on national origin remained in place Answer: A 60. East Hollywood, which contains a substantial number of immigrants from Latin America, Armenia, and Southeast Asia, is an example of __________. A. a cultural capital B. structural discrimination C. segmented assimilation D. a global neighbourhood Answer: D 61. What is the Hispanic equivalent of the black ghetto? A. barrio B. guayaba C. almendra D. la migra Answer: A 62. About __________ immigrants are now estimated to live in the United States, an increase of almost __________ from just two decades ago. A. 23 million; 11 million B. 33 million; 20 million C. 43 million; 20 million D. 53 million; 30 million Answer: C 63. The primary points of entry for the majority of immigrants coming to America from abroad are __________. A. suburban areas of major cities B. major cities C. rural areas D. ethnic enclaves in small-town America Answer: B 64. Service-sector jobs, which began to replace manufacturing jobs in the 1970s, refer to __________. A. relatively low-wage work B. relatively high-salary work C. middle-income jobs dominated by college graduates D. low-wage and high-wage work Answer: D 65. The Palermo Soho neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, which contains high-end fashion boutiques and trendy new restaurants, is one example of a(n) __________. A. central business district B. concentric zone of transition C. bright light area D. urban glamour zone Answer: D Scenario Multiple Choice 1. Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies one of the causes of the rise of urbanization in the United States during the late nineteen and early twentieth centuries? A. Caroline, a widow, left her rural town seeking a greater sense of community in a bigger city. B. Martha was dissatisfied with the education that her children were getting at their backwoods one room schoolhouse, so she moved her family to a city with an improved school system. C. Toby, the son of former slaves, hoped to find employment and tolerance in the North. D. William and his family were tired of feeling isolated in their rural town, so they moved to a city where they would have many close neighbours. Answer: C 2. Which scenario typifies a federally subsidized exodus of whites from central cities? A. After earning her MBA, Kate found a better job in the suburbs, so she and her family moved out of the city to reduce her commute. B. Kent had no trouble securing a home loan, so moving to a bigger house in the suburbs was an easy way to escape urban life. C. Lisa was intimidated by nonwhite minorities who were moving in large numbers to her city, so she relocated to an ethnically homogenous white suburb. D. Mary and John were tired of using public transportation, so they bought a car and relocated their family to the suburbs. Answer: C 3. A group of aldermen and alderwomen is discussing their city's future but want first to understand its past. They are studying historical records of residential and commercial migration patterns, immigrant clusters, and functionalities of different areas. In general, they're looking at how and why residents might have moved and settled where they did. It would be helpful if the group had a thorough understanding of __________. A. the Great Migration B. social networks C. urban ecology D. urban renewal Answer: C 4. Applying her understanding of cities as growth machines, what can Gabby logically conclude about how and why her city's population has increased so rapidly over the past decade? A. Local builders, government officials, media moguls, and university officials used taxation, policy regulations, and civic engagement to develop strip malls, improve public transportation, and build sport and entertainment venues designed to increase population and economic activity. B. Local residents, in an effort to attract a greater influx of new residents to the city, devised effective ways to promote their city in over-the-phone interviews. C. To lure more residents to the city, entrepreneurs and philanthropists worked together on United Way campaigns. D. Wealthy landowners bought up much of the city's property. Answer: A 5. It seems obvious that rural areas foster a greater sense of community and social connectedness than urban areas, but how might cities be able to create a similar feeling of community? A. develop more pedestrian areas where residential sites are interspersed with locally owned businesses B. divide residential areas into informally structured communities, each with its own budget, monthly meetings, and informal leaders and officers C. establish more formal boundaries to segregate residents with similar interests and demographic factors D. strengthen the police force in residential areas to ensure greater feelings of security Answer: A 6. Which of the following scenarios is an accurate reflection of the impact of technology on community life? A. Keisha has already experienced social isolation in the city where she lives, and her sense of disconnectedness increases with the infusion of technology and social media into her everyday life. B. Lydia's social capital has improved since she started using social media to stay connected socially and professionally to friends and work contacts. C. Marco spends so much time on his smart phone that he rarely socializes with his fellow college students, greatly reducing his number of social networks. D. After graduating from college, Rafael returned to his small hometown to look for work because he still has a lot of personal ties there. His job search, therefore, is more focused on face-to-face contacts than on social media. Answer: B 7. Which of the following statements best illustrates the consequences of urban renewal policies initiated in American cities after World War II? A. African American communities became more isolated from white sections of town, racial segregation was reinforced, and developers benefited more from the policies than the residents of poor urban neighbourhoods. B. African American communities improved, which led to better integration and communication with white sections of cities. C. African Americans took much more pride in their renewed neighbourhoods, which improved local schools and businesses. D. Urban renewal projects did very little to alleviate the housing shortage for African Americans. Answer: A 8. Which of the following factors contributed most to the transition of poor yet vibrant African American communities of the 1940s into the abandoned, violent ghettos of the 1980s? A. civil rights protests and the resulting legislation that benefited only well-educated African Americans in upscale communities B. increased in-fighting among African American leaders and confusion and division among African American communities largely because of the civil rights movement C. loss of manufacturing jobs, mass unemployment, a shortage of male breadwinners, increase in single-parent families, and the exit of middle-class African Americans families D. loss of pride among African Americans and decrease in the sense of shared ethnicity and community Answer: C 9. Which of the following scenarios accurately reflects the impact on cities of the huge increase in immigration to the United States since 1965? A. Formerly segregated neighbourhoods have been transformed into global neighbourhoods and segmented assimilation, often involving downward mobility for some immigrants, is the norm. B. Huge increases in crime, directly attributable to immigrants' ignorance of U.S. laws, have strained understaffed city police forces. C. Local schools have used the sudden enrolment of many students with varied ethnicities as a teaching tool for better understanding other cultures, and students have been encouraged to help newcomers integrate effectively. D. Unemployment rates have skyrocketed because of the massive influx of undereducated, unskilled labourers, who have taken low-level jobs away from native-born U.S. citizens, Answer: A 10. What has been the effect of global cities on urban areas, economically, socially, and politically? A. Politicians have focused more money and time on courting the immigrant vote, immigrants' political and civic involvement has exploded, and tolerance for new immigrants has blossomed. B. Life for local residents has greatly improved: lower tax rates, increased interest in and funding for locally operated ethnic grocery stores and restaurants, and improved schools are all evident. C. Manufacturing jobs have been replaced by service-sector jobs, infrastructures and landscapes have been transformed to attract international businesses, a gap has formed between the global elite and the global service class, and city governments have focused less on local residents. D. Recent immigrants have been thriving because international corporations are eager to utilize their language skills and cultural knowledge. Answer: C Short Answer 1. What was the main reason for the population growth in England's cities during the period of rapid industrialization in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Answer: The main cause of population growth in cities was not higher birth rates compared to rural areas, but rather migration: the movement of people from the country to the city. England's cities grew as its population was drawn away from rural areas, where agriculture was becoming more and more mechanized. 2. Define megaregion and give an example of a megaregion in the United States. Answer: A megaregion is an area where two or more large cities in geographical proximity are linked together through infrastructure and through economic activity. In the United States, the Northeast corridor, which links Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., is one continuous megaregion. 3. What is white flight? Answer: White flight refers to the movement of white families out of central cities and into the suburbs, a pattern typically driven by an influx of African Americans or other racial and ethnic minorities. 4. What is unique about the urban ecology approach to understanding how cities form and grow? Answer: The urban ecology approach borrows from biology to explain the formation of different types of urban areas based on their role or function within the city, as well as the sorting of individuals and groups into the areas that provide the best fit. 5. Why has Burgess's concentric zone model of urban formation and growth been deemed inadequate with respect to the segregation of African Americans in American cities? Answer: Burgess's idea of integration and assimilation as "natural" processes has been shown to be incomplete because of informal and formal policies used to restrict African Americans to particular areas of a city. Black communities often remain separate from a city's larger economic, social, educational, and political life— occupying a city within a city—unlike other ethnic groups that may become socially and spatially integrated over time. 6. How does the growth machine perspective of cities help us to understand the transformation of New York's SoHo neighbourhood from manufacturing district to a wealthy and fashionable retail and residential community? Answer: In SoHo, redevelopment groups composed of representatives from the business community and the city government pushed forward changes in zoning and land use that transformed who could live in the neighbourhood and what businesses could operate in the neighbourhood, recreating the physical space and the types of individuals within it. The physical transformation of the neighbourhood was part of a broader effort to create a new neighbourhood identity, a rebranding of SoHo as a destination for artists and a centre for culture and shopping. 7. Why is sociologist Eric Klinenberg optimistic about the growing numbers of Americans living by themselves, after completing research for his book Going Solo, which documents this growth? Answer: Many of the individuals with whom he spoke expressed great satisfaction with their living situation and remained closely linked with friends and family despite living alone. 8. What adaptation did sociologist Georg Simmel ascribe to the residents of Berlin in response to the constant barrage of stimuli found in urban settings? Answer: Simmel argued that the constant barrage of stimuli found in urban settings and the impersonal character of economic interactions led individuals to live life with an indifferent, blasé attitude that provides a shield against the chaos of the city. 9. Why do cities have higher rates of artistic innovation, higher rates of crime, and more "extreme" lifestyles than rural areas? Answer: According to one sociologist (Claude Fischer) who has studied this question, cities have higher rates of artistic innovation, higher rates of crime, and more "extreme" lifestyles because the sheer size and density of urban spaces leads individuals to sort themselves into subcultures with similar interests or occupations, be they punk rockers, professional same-sex couples, or artists. 10. What is missing from the classic sociological thinking on urban communities, which implicitly conceives of an individual's community as comprising family members and neighbours, along with nearby friends? Answer: It doesn't take into account the question of what the boundaries of an individual's community might be in today's world where many of our social ties are located well beyond the immediate space that surrounds us. With the growth of communication technology and the rise of the Internet, community can no longer be thought of as something contained within a geographic area. 11. Why might "The Strength of Weak Ties," a study of job-referral networks by Mark Granovetter, be of interest to a job seeker? Answer: Granovetter found that the professionals he interviewed did not hear about their jobs through contacts that they saw or interacted with frequently. Instead, they got word of potential employment options from contacts that they saw only occasionally or rarely. Whereas one's closest friends may all know each other and have similar sets of information sources, weak ties were most useful to job hunters because they have access to unique information and unique contacts, opening up new opportunities for the job seeker. 12. Who founded Hull House and what was its principal goal? (REMEMBER Answer: Hull House was founded in 1889 by Jane Addams in Chicago. She combined her analysis of social inequality with activism to create the first "settlement house" in America, where aid and services designed to promote social integration among neighbourhood residents from various ethnic and immigrant backgrounds could be provided. 13. Name one failure of urban renewal. Answer: Most answers will likely note that urban renewal all too often reinforced racial segregation by consolidating growing populations of African Americans in areas where they were then isolated from the largely white sections. One failure of urban renewal is the demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis, Missouri. Initially constructed in the 1950s as part of an urban renewal program, it quickly fell into disrepair and became a symbol of failed urban planning and public housing. The project was ultimately demolished in the 1970s. 14. Why have some metropolitan areas, such as Houston and Los Angeles, seen a drop in black isolation? Answer: Houston and Los Angeles have seen a drop in black isolation mostly because of the influx of immigrants into traditionally black neighbourhoods. 15. Why are cities such as London, New York, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, and Moscow called global or globalizing cities? Answer: A global city is an urban centre where the headquarters of transnational firms that create and control the international flow of information and commerce are located. Hubs of international finance and technology, they coordinate regional business activity that spans the boundaries of nations. Essay 1. Explain why the process of urbanization in the modern world follows an "S curve." Answer: Sociologist and demographer Kingsley Davis (1965) argued that, in the modern world, the process of urbanization follows an "S curve," whose shape is driven by the timing of industrialization. According to this model, before the emergence of widespread industry, the pace of urbanization is slow and gradual. With the onset of industrialization, cities grow rapidly as large segments of the population move from rural areas to urban areas, drawn by plentiful jobs in the city and technological advances that reduce demand for labor in rural areas. After cities reach their carrying capacity, demand for labor subsides, the cost of urban space rises, and cities may become overcrowded. As a result, migration into the city slows and the pace of urbanization levels off. 2. Why do sociologists contend that the federal government facilitated and subsidized white flight? Answer: Instead of using its role in the home mortgage industry to promote homeownership for all groups, the federal government adopted a set of standards that typically made homes in minority and mixed-race neighbourhoods ineligible for loans, deeming them too risky for investment. Home ownership, consequently, was largely restricted to whites, especially in the suburbs. 3. Why did researcher Mike Davis label the Los Angeles metropolis a "fortress of exclusion"? Answer: Mike Davis documented the way that "growth coalitions" sought to keep poor African American and Latino populations from spreading into spaces deemed historically important by allocating tax subsidies to favoured developers and by excluding groups representing the city's poor communities from taking part in decision making on urban planning. He documented strategic investment in favoured neighbourhoods and a set of policing and land-use policies designed to keep the poor and racial and ethnic minorities out of these areas. He also cited the city's removal of homeless shelters and mental health facilities from neighbourhoods where wealthy property owners wanted to develop new real estate investments. 4. What argument did Jane Jacobs make about the value of saving New York's Greenwich Village from urban renewal? Answer: Jane Jacobs argued that vibrant neighbourhoods that encouraged the use of public spaces could foster social connections, interaction, and public safety. She contended that Greenwich's dense, tree-lined streets, which combined businesses and residences, promoted social interaction by giving ownership of public space to all different types of community members. She argued that the physical layout of Greenwich and the quality of life it engendered should exempt it from redevelopment. 5. Why have social networks caused traditional definitions of community to expand? Answer: With the growth of communication technology and the rise of the Internet, community can no longer be thought of as something contained within a geographic area. The range of activities in which people participate provides opportunities for the formation of social ties and communities in the home setting, at work, in religious communities, and, of course, online. 6. Why have so many of the policies directed at poor urban areas sought to alter or remove the poor residents from "blighted" urban areas rather than aid them? Answer: Answers that receive full marks are likely to touch on any number of topics, including biases toward blaming the poor for being poor. The problems associated with urban poverty are often explained as the result of cultural deficiencies of the urban poor themselves, not as linked to any broader structure of inequality. Public policy targeting the urban poor often reflects this scornful view. And, as we have seen in the-well documented study of Boston's West End, the concerns and needs of residents of poor communities are frequently ignored in Favor of business and political interests that are in a position to reap most of the benefits of redevelopment for themselves. 7. What changes have led to neighbourhoods with concentrated poverty in the United States? Answer: All the following changes have led to concentrated poverty: the decline in manufacturing jobs in central cities, skyrocketing joblessness, fewer "marriageable" men who can support a family and play the role of breadwinner, a sharp rise in the rate of single-parent-headed families, and the exodus of middle-class African Americans from urban ghettos. 8. Explain how, even in the most distressed neighbourhoods across the country, a strong sense of community can flourish. Answer: Scholars studying intensely violent neighbourhoods find that individuals and families rely on dense networks of support for childcare, friendship, emotional support, and financial assistance in times of crisis. Over the years, many scholars studying communities that have been identified as "blighted" and thus targeted for redevelopment were, in fact, socially cohesive communities where residents rejected the "slum" label attached to them by outsiders. 9. What are the three pathways to assimilation for immigrants that sociologists have identified? Answer: Sociologists have found that immigrants follow one of several possible pathways to assimilation. One path is the traditional trajectory of upward mobility and cultural assimilation into the mainstream. But another increasingly prominent path involves downward economic mobility and assimilation into the urban poor. A third path for immigrants is to integrate into the economic mainstream while sustaining ties to the culture in the origin community by remaining within residential enclaves. 10. What are remittances and why are they so important to countries like Jamaica, El Salvador, and Lebanon? Answer: A remittance is money sent from migrant workers and immigrants to family and friends at home. Remittances that flow from the United States each year to countries like Jamaica, El Salvador, and Lebanon can amount to a substantial portion of the national income of those countries, up to 20 percent. Estimates suggest that $300 billion of financial assistance flows out of the United States each year to countries abroad. Test Bank for The Sociology Project : Introducing the Sociological Imagination Jeff Manza, Richard Arum, Lynne Haney 9780205949601, 9780205093823, 9780133792249
Download
Close
Close
