Foundations Of Social And Behavioral Sciences Theory

Metropolis and Post-Metropolis

Iconic Modern Places, Pt. 3

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Urbanization = Social-Structural Differentiation

Density ➥ Complexity

➥ ➥

Differentiation

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Urbanization = Social-Structural Differentiation

Density ➥ Complexity

➥ ➥

Differentiation

Centralization

Traditional Urbanization

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Third Urban Revolution:

The Metropolis

“The metropolis has invariably functioned as the

privileged figure of modernity . . . [It] represents the

highest form assumed by both economic and aesthetic

forces. [It] becomes both a model of economic and

social development, and a metaphor of modernity...” Iain Chambers, Border Dialogues: Journeys in Postmodernity, p. 55

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Third Urban

Revolution

• The rise of the modern industrial

metropolis

- First modern factories were built

outside the city

‣ Small city size made noxious

production intolerable

‣ Cheaper, more abundant energy

‣ Less organized (therefore

cheaper) workforce

- When industrial production entered

the city, the metropolis was born

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Third Urban

Revolution

• The industrial metropolis involved:

- Massive urbanization (Britain

80% rural in 1750, 80% urban in

1900)

- The rise of nationalism (cities

condensed and focused the

material and symbolic capital of

the nation-state)

- Heightened state administration

to organize industrial capitalism

- Increased spatial differentiation

(rise of the modern suburbs)

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CSBS 310

Third Urban Revolution: Case Studies

Manchester, England

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Third Urban Revolution: Case Studies

Manchester, England

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Manchester, England: The Modern Metropolis

• 1700s: served as a collection point

for surrounding towns, villages and

farms engaged in handweaving (to

supplement decreasing income from

agriculture)

• The density of cotton-spinning in the

region surrounding Manchester

sparked commercial differentiation/

specialization

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Manchester: Density,

Differentiation,

Complexity

Large scale environmental

manipulation--canals, mines,

railroads

Bridgewater Canal, Britain’s first artificial waterway

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Manchester: Density, Differentiation, Complexity

Commodities traders emerged--

cotton shipped in from America,

finished textiles and other textile

related commodities shipped out

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Growth of machine

manufacturers in Manchester to

support textile industry, later

developed into general

machinery

Manchester: Density,

Differentiation,

Complexity

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Manchester: Density,

Differentiation,

Complexity

Growth of chemical industry,

originally to provide textile

manufacturers with dye and bleach

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CSBS 310

Growth of financing and banking

to support growing and changing

industries

Manchester: Density,

Differentiation,

Complexity

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Growth of commercial enterprise

to support bourgeois domestic

life: real estate developers,

homeware, public and private

education, cultural institutions ...

SUBURBANIZATION

Manchester: Density,

Differentiation,

Complexity

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Chicago: America’s

Manchester

• Began life as a small military

fort

• Rapid growth due to man-

made canals and railroad

• Centralized industry

spawned concentric-ring city

• Unlike Manchester, (and New

York, London, etc.) Chicago

didn’t have an “old city” so

the industrial metropolitan

form is more clearly visible

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Erie Canal, New York

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CSBS 310

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Urbanization = Social-Structural Differentiation

Density ➥ Complexity

➥ ➥

Differentiation

Centralization

Traditional Urbanization

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

I. Decentralization

II. Post-Fordism

III. Fragmented Inequality

IV. Globalization

V. Carceral Enclaves

The Fourth Urban

Revolution: Post-

Metropolis

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

I. Decentralization: The Explosion of the City-Region

• The industrial city was structured

through the logic of centrality: the

center organizes the periphery

• Segregated communities

connected through centralized

social institutions and centralized

transportation networks (trains,

street cars, buses)

The Chicago School

“Concentric Zone Model” (1925)

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Decentralization: The Explosion of the City-Region

• The post-metropolis is structured by

several different logics:

1. postfordist capitalism (flexible,

contingent labor; service sector

dominance)

2. automobility (the automobile as

integral to daily life; the auto as a

technological extension of the

body)

3. radical individualism (a loss of a

sense of public solidarity, common

good)

• Segregated communities connected

through decentralized social institutions

and decentralized transportation

networks Michael Dear

“Postmodern Urban Structure” (1998)

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Postmetropolitan transformation of the classic urban

concentric ring model

Multinucleated Metropolitan Region

“postmetropolis and postsuburbia”

Home

Work, Politics, Culture

Modern Industrial Urban Model

“city & suburb”

Work,

Politics,

Culture

Suburban Single-Family Homes

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

II. Post-Fordism: Restructuring Capitalism in the City

• Post-Fordism

- Rapid movement of capital

- Short-term, contingent

labor

- Outsourcing; sub-

contracting

- Increased socio-spatial

specialization (high-tech;

entertainment; bio-tech;

finance); vertical

disintegration

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CSBS 310

Post-Fordism: Restructuring Capitalism in the City

Labor in Post-Fordism

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

III. Fragmented Inequality:

New Geographies of

Ethnicity and Income

• The Traditional Models:

- Polar City: Bourgeois/

Proletariat (19th c.

Manchester, UK)

- Hierarchical City: Poor,

Middle Class, Wealthy

(London, New York)

- Racially Divided City: Black

vs. White (Detroit, Baltimore)

• Fourth Urban Revolution

- Metro-polar City:

“Polymorphous and

Fractured Social Geometry”

Chicago, IL

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Philadelphia, PA

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Baltimore, MD

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Los Angeles, CA

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Los Angeles, CA

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Chicago, IL

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Postmetropolitan transformation of the classic urban

concentric ring model

Multinucleated Metropolitan Region

“postmetropolis and postsuburbia”

Home

Work, Politics, Culture

Modern Industrial Urban Model

“city & suburb”

Work,

Politics,

Culture

Suburban Single-Family Homes

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Background Culture

(Binaries, Scripts,

Narratives)

The Cultural Fragmentation of Modernity

• Cultural De-fusion is a fundamental aspect of modern life because of the

endless plurality of background cultural elements and audience groups

Actor’s

Performance

Audience

Reception

Misinterpretation Miscommunication

Alienation/DistanceCynical/False/Inauthentic

relation to background culture➪ ➪

No single background

culture in modern

societies

No single audience in

modern societies

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Background Culture

(Binaries, Scripts,

Narratives)

The Cultural Fragmentation of Modernity

• Cultural De-fusion is a fundamental aspect of modern life because of the

endless plurality of background cultural elements and audience groups

Cultural

Symbols

Audience

Reception

Misinterpretation Miscommunication

Alienation/DistanceCynical/False/Inauthentic

relation to background culture➪ ➪

No single background

culture in modern

societies

No single audience in

modern societies

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Background Culture

(Binaries, Scripts,

Narratives)

The Cultural Fragmentation of Modernity

Actor’s

Performance

Audience

Reception

➫ ➫

➬ ➬

Cultural Fusion

Interpretation Communication

Psychological IdentificationCathexis

Narrower, Local Scales

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310