The reading was a quick overview and summary into sociology and the urban life. In Cities, Change, and Conflict: A Political Economy of Urban Life, the study of sociology begins with the start of urbanization and industrialization. While at the beginning most theories were based off of personal experience, it wasn’t until the Chicago School that sociological theories were put to test. There was some trouble understanding the theories, since most of the theories were not put into practice and were vague. However, if there were a way to relate the theories using case studies that would have made the reading more straightforward and beneficial. Also most of the studies listed are understated, and could be related to other studies. For instance when mentioning community ethnography, the article could have mentioned the culture of poverty when including how previous studies had tended to see life in poor areas as disorganized.

Question: How much would Ernest W. Burgess theory of urban ecology, the neoclassical school of economics, relate to New York City today?