Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

When one lives in a small village where almost everyone knows each other, there are very few things which you can do without others knowing of your intentions. Chauncey (1995) notes that “in a home town you need to conform at all times to the social conventions of the community being the subject of the constant surveillance of the family and neighbors” (p. 131). The city gave more freedom and the Committee of Fifteen that was established a century ago already then warned of the dangers that cities posed for people (Chauncey, 1995). The fundamental mechanism of freedom in the city may be accounted for by the absence of the omnipresent neighbors. In a big city, one has no neighbors, and a man is unaware even of his close friends’ intentions. The man is free to lead the life he wants (Chauncey, 1995).

With all the freedom that the city gives its dwellers, there are a number of compromises that people have to take when deciding to settle down in the city. Wirth (1938) presents an interesting contrast for readers saying that “Frequent close physical contact, coupled with great social distance, accentuates the reserve of unattached individuals toward one another” (p.16). This statement shows that city dwellers residing in densely populated areas are physically close to one another. However, in social terms, they are more reserved and distant from each other. Conversely, in a village people living far from each other may be more intimate and more socially interested in each other. Choosing to live in a city, one needs to be ready to adapt to the rapid tempo and the complicated technology characteristic of a big city (Wirth, 1938). Although Wirth wrote on urbanization and its effect on people in the mid of the 20th century, his words are still relevant to this day.

The big city life is hectic and demands quick movement from people. This gives way to irritation and nervousness which may be considered the attributes of big cities (Wirth, 1938). The biggest paradox of the city is that irrespective of the dense population and a majority of social groups, many people still feel lonely and don’t have friends that they can rely on. The loneliness and isolation are especially pressing for those who had lived most of their life in the village and opted to move to the city at an adult age.

The hypothesis ‘the city air makes you free’, although introduced quite a long time ago, is still true to this day. However, the notion of ‘freedom’ may be understood in many different ways. Firstly, the city gives one freedom in terms of choices professional, educational, esthetical, freedom to interact with people of different cultural, political, and social backgrounds (Rocca, 2012). Admittedly, life in a small village ties a man close to the community, their views, principles, and opinions. On the contrary, the freedom of the city presents a man with a myriad of opportunities to choose from. Having said that, the hypothesis of city freedom is not as strong as it was in the early 20th century. The age of globalization is making itself felt, and people who live in smaller cities or villages may still be connected to the rest of the world through the use of Internet technologies. With all the opportunities of the Internet, it is still a virtual world and fails to present all the tangible opportunities of a big city.

Reference List

Chauncey, G. (1994). Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. New York, New York: Basic Books.

Rocca, F. (2012). Urban Climatology: A Phenomenological Perspective on the Postmodern. Web.

Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a Way of Life. American Journal of Sociology, 44(1), 1-24.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, August 20). Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free. https://ivypanda.com/essays/urban-life-city-air-makes-you-free/

Work Cited

"Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free." IvyPanda, 20 Aug. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/urban-life-city-air-makes-you-free/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free'. 20 August.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free." August 20, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/urban-life-city-air-makes-you-free/.

1. IvyPanda. "Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free." August 20, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/urban-life-city-air-makes-you-free/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Urban Life: City Air Makes You Free." August 20, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/urban-life-city-air-makes-you-free/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1