Urban politics
Encyclopedia
Urban politics is politics in and about cities
. This term refers to the diverse political structure
that occurs in urban area
s where there is diversity in both race and socio-economic status. Urban politics is political science
that falls into the field of urban studies, which incorporates many aspects of cities, suburbs, and urbanization
. This includes such topics as:
The ongoing urbanization of the world is sometimes portrayed as a sort of natural process, as determined by economics
or something else beyond the control of humans. The study of urban politics reveals a different truth altogether; that the process of urbanization is itself is inherently political. To study urban politics is to study what happens on the ground, among people who share the same space for day-to-day living. This makes the study of urban politics particularly challenging and difficult to analyze.
The Marxist approach to urban politics conceptualized the city as a geographical entity produced and reproduced through capitalism, not as a neutral vessel in which autonomous local politics too place.’ Marx considered any time spent on questioning the “organization, motivation and power of urban elites and managers” as a distraction from the direct acts that moved advanced capital. “Marx commentators reconceptualised the city as a site of capitalist oppression, where the agents of capial acted to produce favourable conditions for capital accumulation but also as a site of conflict, which is both produced by and helps sustain capitalism. (Jones 100)
Interior borders can affect the metropolis. In ancient Greece the drawn boundaries were intangible. To be in the city was more than to be within a boundary, it was to be a citizen of that territory. The politics of the ancient Greeks restricted women, slaves, foreigners, and men under age eighteen from citizenship. (Toothman 1) With citizenship came added powers, including the right to participate in politics. A city needs trade. Say it uses trains for the transportation of its traded goods. The necessary tracks upon which these trains run are borders themselves. It is ideal to minimize these internal physical divisions of the city fore they can lead to social divisions and worse problems following that. Just think, the land closely surrounding the tracks is now of a lower value. This means that it will sell cheap and appeal to the poorer citizen. With lower income owners flocking to this track area this may encourage other groups to move around as well, maybe outside the city to the suburbs. (Jacobs 258).
“..the city can be a metaphor for history or futurity, and established traditional structure or a fluid space of evolutionary possibility and hopeful excess.” (Owens 300) This daunting task of steering the massive vessel forward or behind is left to our politicians and populous through policy, trade, production, safety and the many more workings of urban politics.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
. This term refers to the diverse political structure
Political structure
Political structure is a term frequently used in political science.The term political structure, used in a general sense, refers to institutions or groups and their relations to each other, their patterns of interaction within political systems and to political regulations, laws and the norms...
that occurs in urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s where there is diversity in both race and socio-economic status. Urban politics is political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
that falls into the field of urban studies, which incorporates many aspects of cities, suburbs, and urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
. This includes such topics as:
-
- The structure of political power.
- Race, ethnic, class, and gender relations in cities and suburbs.
- The politics of space and spatial relationships.
The ongoing urbanization of the world is sometimes portrayed as a sort of natural process, as determined by economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
or something else beyond the control of humans. The study of urban politics reveals a different truth altogether; that the process of urbanization is itself is inherently political. To study urban politics is to study what happens on the ground, among people who share the same space for day-to-day living. This makes the study of urban politics particularly challenging and difficult to analyze.
The Marxist approach to urban politics conceptualized the city as a geographical entity produced and reproduced through capitalism, not as a neutral vessel in which autonomous local politics too place.’ Marx considered any time spent on questioning the “organization, motivation and power of urban elites and managers” as a distraction from the direct acts that moved advanced capital. “Marx commentators reconceptualised the city as a site of capitalist oppression, where the agents of capial acted to produce favourable conditions for capital accumulation but also as a site of conflict, which is both produced by and helps sustain capitalism. (Jones 100)
Interior borders can affect the metropolis. In ancient Greece the drawn boundaries were intangible. To be in the city was more than to be within a boundary, it was to be a citizen of that territory. The politics of the ancient Greeks restricted women, slaves, foreigners, and men under age eighteen from citizenship. (Toothman 1) With citizenship came added powers, including the right to participate in politics. A city needs trade. Say it uses trains for the transportation of its traded goods. The necessary tracks upon which these trains run are borders themselves. It is ideal to minimize these internal physical divisions of the city fore they can lead to social divisions and worse problems following that. Just think, the land closely surrounding the tracks is now of a lower value. This means that it will sell cheap and appeal to the poorer citizen. With lower income owners flocking to this track area this may encourage other groups to move around as well, maybe outside the city to the suburbs. (Jacobs 258).
“..the city can be a metaphor for history or futurity, and established traditional structure or a fluid space of evolutionary possibility and hopeful excess.” (Owens 300) This daunting task of steering the massive vessel forward or behind is left to our politicians and populous through policy, trade, production, safety and the many more workings of urban politics.