Human ecology and urban sociability

Sociological approaches

Abstract

Considered one of the founders of urban sociology, the so-called Sociological School of Chicago was responsible for an important elaboration of theoretical synthesis in the modern sociological field, finding relevant points of contact between the theories of Georg Simmel and Ferdinand Tönnies, to mention two "canons" not much referenced these days. Taking the city (or the "urban phenomenon") as its unit of analysis par excellence, it promoted, side by side an original theoretical perspective, a vigorous research agenda and refined empirical approach to urban social phenomena, including opening the way to development of other sociological perspectives. The purpose of this article is to give a brief account of the repertoire and conceptual grammar elaborated in his formative period, especially through the pioneering figures of Robert Park, Roderick McKenzie and Ernest Burgess. I believe that the theoretical movement / research program known as Human Ecology was the first to seek a solution, strongly anchored in an empirical approach, to understand the possible correlations between certain socio-spatial configurations and behavioral dispositions of individuals in modern urban societies, contributing to emergence and consolidation of the notion of urban sociability.