Keywords
urban epistemology
Chicago School
new urban sociology
epistemological obstacles
How to Cite
Abstract
The development of urban epistemology encompasses two influential paradigms: first, the early urban sociology of the Chicago School in the early 20th century in the United States, and later, the new urban sociology in the second half of the century in Europe. This article examines the dominant paradigms linked to the field’s development, highlighting key epistemological obstacles shaped by socio-historical conditions that hindered paradigmatic shifts. An analysis of the work of prominent figures shows how new urban sociology addressed many early limitations. An examination of current developments reveals a fragmented field, which can be classified into three strands: one develops new conceptualizations of the city, another further advances the new urban sociology and defines it as critical urban sociology, and a third seeks to transcend the field by redefining the existing field or shifting toward new fields. In view of the ongoing crisis of the subdiscipline, the article proposes a foundation for further development of epistemological tools to study the urban.
References
Bachelard, Gaston (2012): Oblikovanje znanstvenega duha. Prispevek k psihoanalizi objektivnega spoznanja. Ljubljana, Studia Humanitatis.
Bourdieu, Pierre (1991): The Peculiar History of Scientific Reason. Sociological Forum, 6, 1, 3–26.
Bourdieu, Pierre (2003): Sociologija kot politika. Ljubljana, Založba /*cf.
Brenner, Neil (2004): New State Spaces: Urban Governance and the Rescaling of Statehood. New York, Oxford University Press.
Brenner, Neil (2009): What Is Critical Urban Theory?. City, 13, 2–3, 198–207.
Brenner, Neil & Christian Schmid (2015): Towards a New Epistemology of the Urban?. City, 19, 2–3, 151–182.
Bulmer, Martin (1984): The Chicago School of Sociology. Institutionalization, Diversity, and the Rise of Sociological Research. Chicago, London, University of Chicago Press.
Burgess, Ernest W. (1967): The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research Project. V: Park, Robert E. & Ernest W. Burgess (ur.): The City. Chicago, London, University of Chicago Press, 47–62.
Castells, Manuel (1976a): Is There an Urban Sociology?. V: Pickvance, Christopher G. (ur.): Urban Sociology: Critical Essays. London, Tavistock Publications, 33–59.
Castells, Manuel (1976b): Theory and Ideology in Urban Sociology. V: Pickvance, Christopher G. (ur.): Urban Sociology: Critical Essays. London, Tavistock Publications, 60–84.
Castells, Manuel (2002): Urban Sociology in the Twenty-First Century. Cidades, Comunidades e Territorios, 5, 9–19.
Castells, Manuel (2010): The Rise of the Network Society. Malden, Wiley-Blackwell.
Cohen, Steven (2018): The Sustainable City. New York, Columbia University Press.
Couclelis, Helen (2004): The Construction of the Digital City. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 31, 1, 5–19.
Durkheim, Emile (2013): The Division of Labour in Society. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Dutton, William H., Blumler, Jay G. & Kenneth L. Kraemer (1987): Wired Cities: Shaping the Future of Communications. Boston, G. K. Hall.
Engels, Friedrich (1969): Položaj delavskega razreda v Angliji: po lastnem opazovanju in avtentičnih virih. V: Marx, Karl & Friedrich Engels (ur.): Izbrana dela v petih zvezkih. I. zvezek. Ljubljana, Cankarjeva založba, 535–890.
Eremia, Mircea, Toma, Lucian & Mihai Sanduleac (2017): The Smart City Concept in the 21st Century. Procedia Engineering, 181, 12–19.
Evropska komisija (2016): Urban Agenda for the EU. Pact of Amsterdam. https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/themes/urban-development/agenda/pact-of-amsterdam.pdf (zadnji dostop: 2025-06-05).
Flanagan, William G. (1993): Contemporary Urban Sociology. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Gans, Herbert J. (2009): Some Problems of and Futures for Urban Sociology: Toward a Sociology of Settlements. City & Community, 8, 3, 211–219.
Gottdiener, Mark & Joe Feagin (1988): The Paradigm Shift in Urban Sociology. Urban Affairs Quarterly, 24, 2, 163–187.
Gottdiener, Mark & Ray Hutchinson (2011): The New Urban Sociology. Boulder, Westview Press.
Hall, Peter (2014): Cities of Tomorrow. An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design Since 1880. Chichester, Wiley Blackwell.
Hillier, Bill (2008): Space and Spatiality: What the Built Environment Needs from Social Theory. Building Research & Information, 36, 3, 216–230.
Kuhn, Thomas (1998): Struktura znanstvenih revolucij. Ljubljana, Krtina.
Lefebvre, Henri (2000): Writings on Cities. New York, Wiley-Blackwell.
Lefebvre, Henri (2013): Produkcija prostora. Ljubljana, Studia Humanitatis.
Logan, John R. & Harvey Molotch (1987): Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place. Berkeley, University of California Press.
Löw, Martina (2016): The Sociology of Space. Materiality, Social Structures, and Action. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.
Marcuse, Peter (2009): From Critical Urban Theory to the Right to the City. City, 13, 2–3, 185–197.
May, Tim, Perry, Beth, Le Gales, Patrick, Sassen, Saskia & Mike Savage (2005): The Future of Urban Sociology. Sociology (Oxford), 39, 2, 343–370.
McKenzie, Roderick D. (1967a): The Ecological Approach to the Study of the Human Community. V: Park, Robert E. & Ernest W. Burgess (ur.): The City. Chicago, London, University of Chicago Press, 63–79.
McKenzie, Roderick D. (1967b): The Metropolitan Community. New York, Russell & Russell.
Mlinar, Zdravko (1990): Prostor in sociologija. Družboslovne razprave, 7, 10, 3–12.
Ocejo, Richard E., Kosta, Ervin B. & Alexis Mann (2020): Centering Small Cities for Urban Sociology in the 21st Century. City & Community, 19, 1, 3–15.
Park, Robert E. (1915): The City: Suggestions for the Investigation of Human Behavior in the City Environment. American Journal of Sociology, 20, 5, 577–612.
Park, Robert E. & Ernest W. Burgess (1967): The City. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Pickvance, Christopher G. (1976): Introduction. Historical Materialist Approaches to Urban Sociology. V: Pickvance, Christopher G. (ur.): Urban Sociology: Critical Essays. London, Tavistock Publications, 1–32.
Roseland, Mark (1997): Dimensions of the Ecocity. Cities, 14, 4, 197–202.
Sassen, Saskia (2000): New Frontiers Facing Urban Sociology at the Millennium. British Journal of Sociology, 51, 1, 143–159.
Sassen, Saskia (2001): The Global City: New York, London, Tokio. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Sassen, Saskia (2006): Urban Sociology in the 21st Century. V: Bryant, Cliftin D. & Dennis L. Peck (ur.): 21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook. Thousand Oaks, SAGE Publications, 476–486.
Simmel, Georg (2000): Izbrani spisi o kulturi. Ljubljana, Studia Humanitatis.
Taylor, Nigel (1998): Urban Planning Theory Since 1945. London, SAGE Publications.
Tönnies, Ferdinand (1999): Skupnost in družba: temeljni pojmi čiste sociologije. Ljubljana, Fakulteta za družbene vede.
Uršič, Matjaž & Marjan Hočevar (2007): Protiurbanost kot način življenja. Ljubljana, Fakulteta za družbene vede.
Walton, John (1993): Urban Sociology: The Contribution and Limits of Political Economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 19, 1, 301–320.
Winkowska, Justyna, Szpilko, Danuta & Sonja Pejić (2019): Smart City Concept in the Light of the Literature Review. Engineering Management in Production and Services, 11, 2, 70–86.
Wirth, Louis (1938): Urbanism as the Way of Life. American Journal of Sociology, 44, 1, 1–24.
Wu, Cary (2016): Moving from Urban Sociology to the Sociology of the City. The American Sociologist, 47, 1, 102–114.
Združeni narodi (2015): Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N15/291/89/PDF/N1529189.pdf?OpenElement (zadnji dostop: 2025-06-05).
Zukin, Sharon (1980): A Decade of the New Urban Sociology. Theory and Society, 9, 4, 575–601.
Zukin, Sharon (2011): Is There An Urban Sociology? Questions on a Field and a Vision. Sociologica, 3, 1–18.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Barbara Zagorc