In “What is a City?” Lewis Mumford writes that “The city in its complete sense, then, is a geographic plexus, an economic organization, an institutional process, a theater of social action, and an aesthetic symbol of collective unity. The city fosters art and is art; the city creates the theater and is the theater. It is in the city, the city as theater, that man’s more purposive activities are focused, and work, out though conflicting and cooperating personalities, events, groups into more significant culminations.” He also writes that “One may describe the city, in its social aspect, as a special framework directed toward the creation of differentiated opportunities for a common life and a significant collective drama.”
With these ideas in mind, go to Madison Square Park and find a place to observe the people who have gathered at the park. How, and in what ways, can you see their actions as a “theater of social action” and a space of “significant collective drama.” How do their actions shed light on what Mumford means by these two descriptions of the city?
As you observe, find a way to capture examples of the park (as microcosm of the city) as a “theater of social action” and a space of “significant collective drama” using any medium that you find appropriate. When you return to your computer, post your “notes” and write a brief analysis in which you say how these examples help to elucidate Mumford’s conception of the city as something more than an agglomeration of people and buildings.
You should post everything to the course blog site. Remember to categorize it appropriately.
After the deadline has closed, please read the blogs of your classmates and comment on at least 2 of them.
Deadline for blog: Sunday, October 29 at 5:00 pm
Deadlines for comments: Monday, October 30th at 11 pm
