Urbanism, the Goods, Bads,and the Furture

As we enter the twenty first century we are loosing our sense of community and place. People are more likely to move often, less likely to know their neighbors, and less likely to attain an attachment to a certain area. At the same time small coffee shops, bars, and general stores are being replaced by larger chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Wal-Mart. Although the loss of community is disheartening we are spoiled to be living in one of the wealthiest time periods in history. The upper economic classes are growing and are excessively privileged with amenities which people could not imagine having 100 years ago.

Before this surge of wealth there was a period of time where ‘urbanism’ controlled the social and economic climate in cities around the country. It brought large groups of people close together. They formed communities where neighbors had unspoken respect for each other. People policed themselves and benefited from a communal trust. There was an abundance of social organizations from fraternal clubs to religious groups which represented the people to the local government. The social aspects of urbanism embodied the ideals of a perfect democratic society.

Unfortunately there were also many negative aspects of urbanism. Society was full of bigotry, extreme hard work, and garbage. The factories were always in production leaving no time for silence. Men worked remarkably long hours for little pay and could not provide unnecessary amenities. And the cities were covered in piles of rubbish.

As we look at these two time periods we can see a lot has changed. The positive characteristics of society today are the negative characteristics of urbanism and the positive aspects of urbanism are the negative aspects of society today. Is it possible in the future to combine the positive elements of urbanism with the positive elements of today’s society?