Lewis Mumford: What Is A City By Lewis Mumford

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The traditional views held regarding the impacts a city and its structure may have on the individuals that live in it are usually either positive or negative. Take for example the idea of “urbanitas” put forward by Lewis Mumford in his article “What is a City”, or the distinctive dichotomy promoted by Alan Trachtenberg between the City of Destruction and the Celestial City when trying to understand how a city can influence an individual. Both these arguments are accurate depictions of what happens in a city, and yet do not completely describe the true effects the environment of the city has on human nature and social relations. Rather the built environment of the city acts as an enabler for the individuals that live within it, a double-edged sword that has the potential to both protect and hurt and impact both a positive or negative effect, as opposed to simply being one or the other as the works of Mumford and Trachtenberg originally suggest.
Article 1: “What is a City” by Lewis Mumford
People are drawn to cities due to utility; it is easier to find things that an individual may not necessarily have simply due to the concentration of people in a city. This means that people are forced into acting in commune with others, to engage in “urbanitas” or good behavior while in contact with other humans who use the city for utility too. The built environment of the city necessitates this change in social behavior.
Take for example the product line that the protagonist of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times works in at the outset of the film. While there is a clear dislike between the film’s protagonist and the man next to him, the man does everything he can to ensure that Chaplin is able to get his job done. Despite the obvious size differen...

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...ving together as well as the greed brought about by overloading this same system as put forward in “What is a City” by Lewis Mumford. However, the current view society holds about these two different impacts a city structure causes in the individuals that reside within it is that a city can either support one or the other, either presenting the image of the City of Destruction or the Celestial City as explained by Alan Trachtenberg in his article “The Incorporation of America”. However, after the careful analysis of the way various films such as Wilder’s Double Indemnity, Chaplin’s Modern Times, and Wyler’s Dead End represent these effects, it is far more sensible to describe the effects of a city on its inhabitants in terms of their nature to be like a double-edged sword that offers the individuals the opportunity to either help or hinder their progress in society.

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