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Symbols, sentiments, and stories: Urban culture and social problems
Author(s) -
Schafer Tyler S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/soc4.12496
Subject(s) - gentrification , sociology , urbanism , urban culture , narrative , popularity , urban sociology , social science , sociology of culture , feeling , aesthetics , urban studies , perspective (graphical) , epistemology , history , social psychology , political science , psychology , linguistics , philosophy , civil engineering , archaeology , artificial intelligence , law , computer science , engineering , architecture
Cultural approaches to the study of urban life have enjoyed brief bursts of popularity within the social sciences over the past century. Although many urban sociologists acknowledge that meanings, symbols, narratives, and feelings, in other words local culture, help shape urban places, relatively few take this notion any further. In this article, I first lay out the foundations of cultural approaches to the study of urban life. Second, I argue for the continued significance of the distinction between space and place. Third, I describe a contemporary stream of urban sociology called the urban culturalist perspective. Fourth, I describe important insights gleaned from studies embracing cultural urbanist approaches to an area of urban research receiving increasing attention: gentrification. Fifth, and finally, I outline a few ways in which micro‐cultural investigations of urban phenomena provide useful opportunities for public sociology.