Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados n. 19 Rio de Janeiro 1978
Abstract
Sociologists who have written about cities consider them either a dependent, or a contextual or an independent variable. Authors who belong to the first perspective regard the city as a variable which is dependent on a complex network of historical factors. Authors who consider the city as a contextual variable regard it as a locus which is the centre of convergence of various processes and then analyse the importance of urban life for several phenomena. Regarding the city as a contextual variable is not incompatible with regarding it as a dependent one, as both approaches deal with different levels of analysis. The latter is concerned with historical explanations for the origin and development of cities, whereas the former is interested in studying what influence specific cities can have on the life of their inhabitants. Authors who consider the city as an independent variable regard it as able to generate various effects on social life and to create an 'urban culture'. This last perspective is very influential but misleading. It mistakes the city for the cause of several social processes when it is much more the consequence of them and/or the place where they occur, that is, a dependent and/or a contextual variable rather than an independent one.
A Cidade como Categoria Sociológica
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