The article is a sociological study of the growth of the Chicago and describes about city`s processes of expansion, metabolism, and mobility. Expansion as physical growth Expansion as a process Social organization and disorganization as the process of metabolism Mobility as the pulse of the community

1. The Growth of the City
Ernest Watson Burgess
From the book `The City ` by Robert Ezra Park and Ernest Watson Burgess

2. Robert Ezra Park (1864 –1944)
American urban sociologist who is considered to be one of the most influential figures in early U.S. sociology.
Pioneer in the field of sociology, changing it from a passive philosophical discipline to an active discipline rooted in the study of
human behaviour.
Taught at the University of Chicago , where he played a leading role in the development of the Chicago School of sociology.
Noted for his work in human ecology, race relations, Human migration, cultural assimilation, social movements, and social
disorganization.

3. Ernest Watson Burgess (1886 –1966)
Canadian-American urban sociologist.
Educated at Kingfisher College in Oklahoma and continued graduate studies in sociology at the University of Chicago.
Urban sociologist at the University of Chicago.
Served as the 24th President of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Theorized that a "natural community" emerges within any large city
Conducted studies on marriage

4. The article is a sociological study of the growth of the Chicago and describes
about city`s processes of expansion, metabolism, and mobility.
Expansion as physical growth
Expansion as a process
Social organization and disorganization as the process of metabolism
Mobility as the pulse of the community

5. Expansion as physical growth
• Expansion of city is indicated by the physical growth of a city.
Physical growth of a city means the development/expansion of
city services to meet the needs of growing population; like
physical and social infrastructure.
• When number of neighbourhood towns expands over period of
time then it gradually leads to conurbation.
• The term conurbation was coined by Patrick Geddies and it`s a
region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other
urban areas that, through population growth and physical
expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban area.
• Conurbation has many nuclei of denser growth and these
nuclei represent the central area of various towns.
• These nuclear patches are connected by lesser denser urban
area which is called as suburbs of these towns. Suburbs are less
occupied by building and often have open spaces.
• The aggregation of people in such expanded urban areas give
rise to new problems in the organization of the life and well-
being of the inhabitants in their varied activities.

6. Expansion as a process
• The process of expansion a city can be illustrated by concentric zone model.
• The Concentric zone model, or Burgess Model is a model to explain how a settlement, such as a city, will grow. It was
developed by Ernest W. Burgess between 1925 and 1929. Burgess studied the growth of Chicago in the late 19th and
early 20th century as many people moved to Chicago at that time. Burgess Model is based on human ecology theory.
• I LOOP - Central Business District
• II ZONE IN TRANSITION - Business and light manufacture
• III ZONE OF WORKING MEN`S HOMES - Inhabited by workers in
industries who shifted from zone II
• IV RESIDENTIAL ZONE- High class apartment building and single
family dwellings
• V COMMUTER ZONE – Suburban area / satellite cities

7. Expansion as a process
• The tendency of inner zone to invade the outer zone is called
succession.
• The reason for succession in Chicago are:
Chicago River, Lake Front, rail road lines, historic factors in the
location of industry, resistance to invasions etc.
• In Chicago half a million of people enter daily in to the `Loop`
of the city as major social infrastructure amenities like
department store, office buildings, rail road stations, hotels,
theatres, museum, city hall are all located in the central core of
the city. And also all local and outside transportation lines
converge in to the CBD.
• Expansion of the city and Communal urban life: As the city
grow physically the technical services will also expand to serve
the increasing needs. In Chicago three million of the population
dependent up on one unified water supply system, one giant
gas company, one huge power plant. Here communal
existence and economic corporation stabilized the City`s social
organization.

8. • Social organization and disorganization of an urban area is compared to
the anabolic (building up) and katabolic (breaking down) process of
metabolism.
• In American downtowns the natural rate of growth is not the only reason
for excessive increase in population. Migration of Negroes due to war is one
of the major reason for population influx in North American downtowns.
Thus the city shows variation in the standard composition of age and
gender and this implies the abnormalities of social metabolism.
• Organization and disorganization have reciprocal relationship.
Disorganization is not pathological and it points to reorganization which
maintains the social equilibrium.
• As city expands there will be reorganization of individuals and groups by
occupation. The zone surrounding the CBD is graded as `slums`. These are
crowded deteriorating areas overflowing with immigrant colonies, example
China town. The wedging out from this zone is black belt, which is free and
disorderly life. In Deutschland, people leads a German Jewish life style.
• This differentiation in to natural economic and cultural groupings gives form
and character to the city. The division of labours in city illustrate
disorganization, reorganization and differentiation. The occupational
selection depends of nationality, racial temperament and old world
economic background. Example; Irish policeman, Negro porter, Belgian
Janitor, Chinese laundries. Whereas migrants of America and Europe have
better professional life.
Social organization and disorganization as the process of metabolism

9. Mobility as the pulse of the community
• Movement means a fixed and unchanging order of motion designed to control a constant situation.
Change of movement in response to a new situation is called mobility.
• In city mobility is expressed in adventure. It indicates crime, risk of life and property from accident,
robbery, homicide in city. Mobility involves change, new experience, stimulation.
• For a person stimulation is essential to growth. Response to stimulation is good as long as it is integral
reaction of entire personality. When the response is segmental then it became pathological. When
there is an increase in the number and intensity of stimulation it tends to demoralize the person. This is
want happened in the deterioration zone of the city.
• Mobility is also found in regions like juvenile delinquency, boys’ gang, crime, poverty, wife desertion,
divorce, abandoned infants. Like pulse of human body mobility can be considered as pulse of a city
which indicates all the changes takes place in the community.
• The elements entering in to mobility is classified in to two:
1. The state of mutability of a person (tendency to change)
2. The number and kind of stimulations in the environment.
• Mutability of city population varies with age and sex composition, degree of detachment of a
person from family and other groups. The new stimulations to which a population responds can be
measured in the terms of change of movement or of increasing contacts.
• Mobility measured by movement: The number of passengers travelled by horse car increased as
new modes of transportation like elevated, subway and surface electric and steam suburban lines
introduced to the city.
• Mobility measured by increasing contacts: Measured based on the number of letters delivered and
number of telephone calls made.
• Mobility can also be measured in the terms of land value. Highest land values in the city are at the
point of greatest mobility in the city .i.e. the Loop.