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What Make Urban Environments Unique

Urban centers are some of the most densely populated and diversified places in the world people from varied cultural backgrounds converge. As rational beings, humans are embracing such behaviors due to particular reasons that could entail the search for better social amenities, jobs and infrastructure (Abdul-Azeez and Opoola 140). Accordingly, cities accommodate unrelated persons with particular interests. Thus, urban environments exhibit unique attributes that promotes more freedom and have significant influence in human cultures and relations.

About four specific aspects make urban centers distinct from other environments. First, residents of cities are strangers with weak ties because they originate from varied backgrounds. Secondly, “weak norms, relativism and instrumentalism” shapes the urban centers. Consequently, urban environment promotes individualism as every resident is focused on personal interests rather than communal benefits. Moreover, urban centers rely primarily on formal institutions to attain and maintain order since there is no dominant culture that could otherwise rule the dwellers. As densely populated areas, urban environments comprise numerous people from varied cultural backgrounds who interact primarily on formal and economic occasions and when seeking government-sponsored amenities such as water and electricity. Hence, cities accommodate persons who are not interested in controlling or gaining deep social understandings of their neighbors but rather working on personal interests.

Conversely, the distinctive attributes of cities have adversely impacted on human relations and cultures. Since persons from different cultural backgrounds converge at urban centers, there is no specific or orderly culture in cities. Besides, urban centers tend to be ‘messy’ due to the relative freedom that allows each resident to defy their cultural norms because none of their community members are available to observe and control them. Unfortunately, there exist weak relationships between residents of cities as no one cares about their neighbor. Subsequently, dewelles of urban centers could encounter significant degree of anonymity, isolation and lack of social support (Desmond 1315). Thus, undesired instances such as “personal disorganization, mental breakdown, suicide, delinquency, crime, corruption, and disorder” could be more rampant in cities. Moreover, urban populations could exhibit immoral behaviors due to the relative absence of cultural norms and rules that could govern and shape conducts of people. That is, the capitalist and self-interest behaviors that shape urban centers attract perception whereby none of the residents would bother correcting or advising their neighbor, thus resulting in lots of existential problems, isolation and conflicts (Murtaza 583). Hence, the poor human relations and cultural erosion in cities attract detrimental impacts.

However, urban areas are more prone to freedom compared with other environments because of their profound innovation and adequate room for deviation from the otherwise restrictive rules and regulations that cultures attract. Residents of urban centers would strive to determine and develop more suitable social, economic, political and other strategies by exploring their skills, experiences and knowledge without limitations from cultural rules that entail imposition of taboos on particular activities. Besides, residents of cities would determine and embrace their most preferred and suitable cultural practices while defy the undesired ones. Also, urban residents would adopt new practices that could otherwise be forbidden by their original culture.

In conclusion, individualism, weak ties, weak social norms and the reliance on formal institutions to attain and maintain order serve as specific aspects that make urban environments distinct from other environments. Besides, cities are more prone to freedom due to the presence of adequate space for innovation and deviation of cultural regulations. Urban residents enjoy the freedom of determining and embracing their most desired cultural practices while discarding others. Unfortunately, undesired instances such as isolation, depression, incarceration, corruption and suicides are rampant in urban centers due to poor human relations and defiance of the otherwise beneficial cultural norms. Therefore, the unique urban environment attracts both beneficial and destructive consequences.

Works Cited

Abdul-Azeez, Ibraheem Adegoke, and Nurain A. Opoola. “An appraisal of the factors influencing rural-urban migration in some selected local government areas of Lagos State Nigeria.” Journal of sustainable Development 4.3 (2011): 136.

Desmond, Matthew. “Disposable ties and the urban poor.” American Journal of Sociology 117.5 (2012): 1295-1335.

Murtaza, Niaz. “Pursuing self-interest or self-actualization? From capitalism to a steady-state, wisdom economy.” Ecological Economics 70.4 (2011): 577-584.