BUILDING ECONOMICS AND

SOCIOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT II
17091AA004 -
AKSHAY VARDHAN REDDY DEPA

1. Describe the characteristics of urban and

rural communities and highlight their
differences w.r.t social, economic, and spatial
characteristics?
Ans:
RURAL COMMUNITY URBAN COMMUNITY

SIZE The village The size of an urban

communities are community is much
smaller in area than larger than that of a
the urban rural community.
communities.
In other words,
urbanity and size of a
community are
positively correlated.
SPATIAL Rural areas are Urban area is a region
 located outside cities surrounding a city.
or towns. Rural areas
STRUCTURE Urban areas are very
have small
developed, meaning
settlements.
there is a density of
Agricultural areas are human structures
commonly rural, as such as houses,
are other type of areas commercial buildings,
such as forest. roads, bridges and
railways.
POPULATION As the density of Density of population
population is low, the in urban areas is
DENSITY
people have intimate greater than in rural
relationships and face- communities.
to- face contacts with
each other. In a village,
everyone knows
everyone
FAMILY Rural society has the So far as urban
joint family system. community is
The family controls concerned, greater
the behaviour of the importance is
individuals. attached to the
individual than to the
Generally, the father is
family. Nuclear
the head of the family
families are more
and is also responsible
popular in urban
for maintaining the
areas.
discipline among
members.
SOCIAL In rural areas, The most important
MOBILITY mobility is rigid as all feature of urban
the occupations are community is its social
based on caste. mobility.
 Shifting from one In urban areas the
occupation to another socialstatus of an
is difficult as caste is individual is
determined by birth. determined not by
heredity or birth but
Thus, caste hierarchy
by his merit.
determines the social
status of the rural
people.
SOCIAL In the urban Social distance is the
community social result of anonymity
DISTANCE
responses are and heterogeneity.
incomplete and half-
Most of one’s routine
hearted. There is utter
social contacts in a
lack of personal
town or city are
involvement in the
impersonal and
affairs of others
seminary in character.
OCCUPATION Agriculture is the In the urban areas, the
fundamental major occupations are
occupation of the rural industrial,
people and forms the administrative and
basis of rural professional in nature.
economy. A farmer has Divisions of labour
to perform various and occupational
agricultural activities specialization are very
for which he needs the much common in
cooperation of other towns/cities/
members metropolises.

Usually, these
members are from his
family. Thus, the
members of the entire
family share
 agricultural activities.

2.a. Define migration.

ANS: - MIGRATION :-

· Human migration is the movement by people from one place to

another with the intentions of settling temporarily or permanently
in the new location.

· The movement is often over long distances and from one country to
another, but internal migration is also possible; indeed, this is the
dominant form globally.

· There are four variations of migration depending on where the

destination and source are located

1. Rural – Urban: Traditional rural-urban migration exists in India as

villagers seek to improve opportunities and lifestyles. This has
shown a gradual increase, with its share in total migration rising
from 16.5% to 21.1% between 1971 and 2001.

2. Urban – Urban: There has been slight increase of urban to urban

migration from 13.6% to 14.7% over three decades (1971-2001).

3. Rural – Rural: According to the 2001 census data, rural to rural

migration hasbeen the most dominant. In 2001, rural to rural
migration (during the last decade) has accounted for 54.7% of total
migration within2 Study on Internal Migration and regional
disparity, 2002.

4. Urban – Rural: It is not that only rural to urban migration is

prevalent. Though unnoticed, the last decade the urban to rural
migration figure stands as 6.2 million people, i.e. approximately
6% of the population that moved between 1991-2001
DURATIONS: The duration for how long a migrant stay at his/her
destination is subject to personal and economic circumstances and it
falls into three broad categories:

5. Temporary/seasonal

6. Semi-permanent

7. Permanent

b. IMPACTS OF MIGRATION ON URBAN CENTRES :

8. Housing: Due to migration the density of population is increased
resulting in the lack of affordable housing

9. Slums: Overcrowding of migrants causes formation of slums and

squatter settlements

10. Education: Migration affects the availability on educational system

increasing illiteracy rate

11. Employment: Due to increase in population more people are

remained unemployed and more no. of labour decreases the daily
wage of a worker

12. Water and Sanitation: Due to increase in population in urban areas

the water scarcity increases and resulting in poor sanitation
facilities

13. Health and life: Due to more migration [population] in urban areas
water, air, soil, pollution is increased which causes health problems
leading to poor quality of life

3. a. DISCUSS HOW SOCIETY’S NEEDS GET REFLECTED IN

ITS BUILT FORM WITH EXAMPLES OF SKETCHES/
DIAGRAMS
14. Buildings, essentially social and cultural products, are influenced
by the ideas, values, beliefs, activities, relationships and forms of
 the social organizations that they sustain. Society produces
buildings, and the buildings, although not producing society, help
to maintain many of its social forms.
15. People make places in which to do things they do in their lives -
places to eat, to sleep, to shop, to worship, to argue, to learn, to
store and so on. The way in which they organize their places is
related to their beliefs and their aspirations, their world view
16. As worldviews vary, so does architecture, at the personal level, at
the social level and cultural level, and between different
subcultures within a society. 
17. It is more than obvious that buildings and the entire built
environment are essentially social and cultural products. Buildings
result from social needs and accommodate a variety of functions:
social, political, economic, religious and cultural.
18. Their size, appearance, location, and form are governed not simply
by physical factors but by a society's ideas, it's forms of economic
and social organizations, it's distribution of resources and
authority, its activities, and the beliefs and values, which prevail at
any one period of time.
19. As changes in the society occur, so too does change in its build
environment. New building types emerge as old ones become
obsolete. Some buildings are modified, extended and take on
different functions; others may simply disappear.
20. Society produces its buildings, and the buildings, although not
producing society, help to maintain many of its social forms. 
21. The relationship between Culture and architecture in some cities
you can study and understand the culture of its people from its
buildings
22. Architecture reflects that culture as the famous Greek building was
the birth place of limited democracy in the other hand famous
Egyptian building reflects the power of one man controlling the
whole country
23. The Egyptians’ pyramids culture emphasized on the importance of
one human being. The Greeks’ Parthenon culture emphasized on
 the importance and accomplishments of uman beings.

Egyptians’
pyramids

Greeks’ Parthenon
b.i) Nature of urban community:
Characteristics of urban community are as follows:
24. Large size and high density of population
25. Heterogeneity

26. Anonymity

27. Mobility and transiency

28. Formality of relations
29. Social distance

30. Regimentation

31. Segmentation of personality.

32. Large size and high density of population: The size of the urban
community is much larger than the rural community. Not only is
this, in urban areas, there high density of population. Density
increases the number of short-term, impersonal and utilitarian
social relationships a person is likely to have.
33. Heterogeneity: Urban population is heterogeneous. It consists of
various shades of people—different castes, classes, ethnic groups,
religions, etc. They are not all alike. Urban community is
noteworthy for its diversity.

34. Anonymity: The sheer pressure of number marks for anonymity.

Anonymity is a loss of identity and sense of belongingness. The
heterogeneity of city life with its mixture of people of all races,
castes, classes, creeds, occupations and ethnic origins heightens
the sense of anonymity.
35. Mobility and transiency: Urban life is dynamic. Social relations are
temporary. Therefore, permanency does not develop in urban
relations. There is a high rate of geographical as well as social
mobility in urban areas. Different types of mobility usually mean
transiency of contact. As such, urban social relations continue for a
very short time. Urban dweller continually makes new social
contacts.
 36. Formality of relations: In urban social life, relations are not
intimate and kinship based. Most routine social contacts in the city
are impersonal and segmented. Formal politeness takes the place
of genuine friendliness. The impersonality of urban life is a
necessary and convenient way of urban living.
37. Social distance: City people are physically crowded but socially
distant. Social distance is a product of anonymity, impersonality
and heterogeneity. Occupational differences may be even more
important sources of social distance. Urbanites become nigh-
dwellers, not neighbours. Apartment dwellers may live for years
without any acquaintance with many of the other occupants.
38. Regimentation: The city is always in hurry. The life (work and
entertainment) in the urban community becomes ‘clock regulated’.
Order, regularity and the punctuality are the characteristics of
urban life. On the streets, his movement is controlled by traffic
lights, on railway stations and other places by elevators and
escalators.
39. Segmentation of personality: Most routine urban contacts are of
secondary group rather than primary group nature. Most contacts
are instrumental, that is, we use another person as a necessary
functionary to fulfil our purposes. We do not necessarily interact
with entire persons but with people in terms of their formal roles
as postman, bus driver, office assistant, policeman and other
functionaries. We thus interact with only a segment of the person,
not with the whole person.

b.ii) Slums:
A slum is defined as residential areas where dwellings are unfit for
human habitation by reasons of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty
arrangements and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty
arrangement of street, lack of ventilation, light or sanitation facilities or
any.
The existence of slums is caused and sustained by a number of forces,
including rapid rural-to –urban migration insecure tenure, and
globalization. Rural –to-urban migration amplifies slum formation
because city planning and management systems are unable to effectively
manage the considerable population influx.

b. iii) Urbanization:
· It is an increase in percentage of urban population in a country.

· There is urban growth when there is natural increase in the urban

population.
· There is urbanization when the natural increase in the urban
population is greater than in the rural population.
· Urbanization started in the late 18th century during the Industrial
Revolution.
· The main causes are the pull factors, e.g. industrial development
provides employment opportunities.
· The level of urbanization is high, e.g. over 70%. However, the rate of
urbanization now slows down or even declines because
suburbanisation occurs.

EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION:
· A range of economic, political, social, cultural and environmental
factors affect urbanization.
· Urbanization is encouraged socially and culturally through the
media.

SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS: Cities have strong socio-cultural impacts

on their surrounding rural areas. The mass media depicts city life as
superior to rural life, the “STANDARD” language is deemed that of the
national capital, and better services are received in the city due to its
wealth. The fertility rate in cities is often lower than in rural areas due to
the absence of agriculture, the cost of children, food and living space in
cities, and family planning.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS:As a city grows, the cost of housing and

infrastructure also grows, since there are less water, land and building
material available, and greater congestion problems. As a city decays in
this way, governments often do not meet the service needs of residents
and urban development is dominated by private capital. Unemployment
grows, as do drug abuse, crime and homelessness.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: Waste is a major problem in large cities.

Air pollution results from over- dependence on motorized transport and
from burning of coal to supply energy. Water pollution results from poor
sewage facilities and disposal of industrial heavy metals into waterways.
Vast quantities of solid waste are produced in industries. Traffic
congestion and noise pollution are major environmental impacts of large
cities.

BENEFITS OF URBANISATION:
Improvement in economy Growth of commercial activities
Social & cultural integration
Efficient services
Resources of utilization

CONCLUSION: The challenge facing the world today is to minimize the

negative effects and builds the benefits. Infrastructure needs to be
improved. Opportunities should be created within rural areas to prevent
migration to cities.