CSS Sociology (Chapter 8th)
Community
The rural community, Traditional Characteristics of rural life,
The urban community,
Rural – Urban convergence,
Urbanism,
Future of cities in Pakistan.
Introduction:
Community refers to one of the most important aspects of our life-where we are born, where we live, attend
schools and mosques make lose friends, find and lose jobs, raise families, grow old, and die. A community is a
population that share a common territory and meets basic physical and social needs through daily interaction
among residents. The basic elements of a community are locality and sentiments which shape a community as an
area of people living in social cohesion. As for locality, a community occupies a territorial area permanent or
changing. The community sentiment is the social coherence which the people inculcate within themselves. This
sense of belonging together and to the residence in the real sentiment of community. A common way of life of
people along with its awareness on a common territory is a community.
Meanings:
The word community has beenderived from two words of Latin, namely “com” and “munis.” In English, com
means together and munis mean to serve. Thus, community means to serve together.
Definitions:
1. “The smallest testimonial group that can embrace all aspect of life.” (Emily S. Bogardus)
2. “A community is a local grouping within which people carry out a full round of life activities. (K. Davis)
3. “A community includes 1) a grouping of people, 2) with in a geographical area, 3) with a common culture
and a social life which organize their activities, 4) with a division of labor into specialized and
interdependent functions, 5) whose members are conscious of their unity and of belonging to the
community, 6) whose member can act collectively in an organized manner.” (Horton and Hunt)
Characteristics and Kinds
Communities are divided into rural and urban. Both types of communities have different and almost opposite
characteristics. Let us understand the basic difference by highlighting the basic characteristics of both the kinds.
a) A Rural or Village Community:
The village is the characteristic unit of our rural life. It refers to a small and homogeneous community based mainly
on primary relationships. “The village is the name given to settlements of ancient agriculturists.” Agriculture is not
only their main occupation but rather their way of life. From the sociological point of view village life represents
following traditional characteristics.
Characteristics of Rural Community Life
1) Isolation:
Sociology in Pakistan believe that till 20th century the village in Pakistan were more or less self- contained isolated
units. Their inhabitants were more or less not concerned with the outsiders. They were able to meet their basic
needs of life on their own. However, at present, the developments in infrastructure, transportation and
communication have connected villages with neighboring cities and towns socially and economically.
2) Homogeneity:
The village settlers in Pakistan are quite homogeneous from cultural and ethnic point of views. This homogeneity
helped to encourage the conservatism, traditionalism, ethnocentrism among rural communities. Another source of
their homogeneity is religion which is strong determinant of people's attitudes and thinking.
3) Farming:
More than 90% of our rural population has farming as their profession. In our villages people are either landlords
or land cultivators. Even shopkeepers and others are in one way or the other deeply involved in agricultural way of
life.
4) Primary Social Relationships:
In village communities the relationships among the people are informal, direct, face to face and personal. They
recognize each other by name, face and other details example, family background, race, profession etc. It is totally
different from urban societies where people have impersonal, formal and indirect relationships. Therefore, in rural
areas, people tend to be cooperative and in urban areas competitive.
5) Closed Class-System:
Sociologists believe that the degree of social mobility in rural society is lower in comparison to urban areas where
there are thick opportunities of employment, education and earning wealth. People in rural areas do not easily
change their class and conditions of life the distribution of wealth is highly rigid. Thus, rural community displays
water-tight compartmentalization. Poverty and illiteracy are its chief characteristics.
6) Informal Social Control:
The informal social control employs control on social behavior of individual through customs, traditions, mores,
institutions, socialization etc. It is powerful determinant of the social behavior of our rural population because of
the agrarian and feudal setup of our rural society. The threats of social boycotts, ex- communication, non-
cooperation, criticism, pressures of baradari, Decisions of "Jirga"etc. are powerful elements of social control in
rural areas of our country.
7) Combined Family System:
These are some of the most important traditional characteristics of our village life. Besides these features, village
life is liked for its simplicity, peace and non-violence. As Sorokin says: "Rural community is similar to calm water in
a pole and urban community to boiling water in a kettle".
8) Conservative Outlook:
Generally rural communities are prone to be conservative in their ideas and thinking. Traditional cultural values
combined with religious orthodoxy are identified as general traits of rural communities. Same is true in case of
Pakistan.
Allen Edward in "RURAL SOCIOLOGY" says:"Although the gap between rural and urban community is
decreasing as both are far from the line of convergence".
b) Urban Community:
The urban community implies large, heterogeneous, densely settled population, availing highly advanced
infrastructural and technological facilities.
According to sociologists, an urbanized area is a city and the densely settled territory around it (its Suburbs) that
together contain from 2,500 to 50,000 or more people. On a larger scale, a metropolitan area is either a city with
50,000 or more inhabitants or an urbanized area that is socially and economically linked with surrounding
countries.
However, the specific definitions of urbanized and metropolitan areas are less important than the basic concept
behind them: they are large, densely populated centers whose economic and social activities are closely linked
with surrounding communities.
Characteristics of Urban Community Life
The sociologists suggest that the characteristics defining city life include:
1) Large Community:
The size of community, dwelling in city, is greatly higher in comparison to village and town communities.
2) Heterogeneous Population:
The population in cities is heterogeneous including people from diverse races, ethnic groups sand different regions
and other nationalities. Responsibilities are delegated more widely and class differences between citizens also be-
come more distinct. Thus, city life becomes a compromise between varying interest and cultures and, therefore,
unstable and much prone to conflict. In comparison to rural life, the urban culture is less integrated.
3) Nuclear family:
The nuclear family becomes more usual and the extended family more uncommon in cities. In industrial urban
society the close-knit family unit breaks down as family members move away in search of employment which the
large cities offer. The concept of self-reliance and self-support is the chief characteristic of urban life.
4) Secondary Relationships:
In city life secondary relationships increase, while the close interfamily relationships decrease. Therefore, it
becomes more and more difficult for people to know many members of locality personally. Thus, secondary
relationships (that are impersonal, indirect, and formal) become more dominant in that community and people are
on less familiar terms or often may not know their immediate neighbors.
5) Formal Social Control:
The social structure in urban areas is highly complex and therefore, highly formal agencies of social control are
used to ensure social order and solidarity. There is an increase in planning, training, schooling and other
specialized agencies, including sophisticated policing techniques, such a highly complex structure is not within the
reach of traditions, customs etc. to control it.
6) Developed Infrastructure:
Efficient forms of transport and communication aredeveloped in cities. Because in cities place of work becomes,
very often, more widely separated from the place of living, and daily travel, often involving long distances,
becomes necessary. Thus, the standard of living is said to be better in cities than that of rural areas.
7) Multiple Social Problems:
Urban life gives birth to a number of social problems most of which are unfamiliar to rural dwellers. The problems
include overcrowding, suicide, electricity shortfalls, health and environment decay due to noise and smoke
pollution, alcoholism, beggary, unemployment, high death rates, poverty, and crime.
8) Secular and Liberal Outlook:
The capacity of acculturation and assimilation is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Urban people, unlike
rural people who are conservative and traditionalists, are liberal and modern. The beginnings of exact and
predictive science occur in cities. As these become more elaborate and wide- ranging the value of religion declines
and secularization occurs. The wearing jeans, driving cars, doing jobs by urban women are some of the evidences
of liberalism and secularism even in our society.
9) Open-Class Society:
Social mobility is higher in urban centers than rural areas. Availability of opportunities enables urban dwellers to
change their class easily.
Rural-Urban Convergence
The convergence of rural and urban communities has long been present in the form of towns. Though towns are
more advanced than rural communities, the natures of relationships are personaland informal. The towns are most
likely to bridge the gap between rural and urban communities but with respect to characteristics, they have
potential to become urban areas. The characteristics are high education, abundant supply of labor, better
communication facilities and water reserves. Due to these characteristics, towns catch the attention of factory-
owners who established their industrial units in such areas. Many scholars argue that the distinction between rural
and urban communities just represents rhetoric or a philosophical separation, as the concept of rural is diminishing
and the major differences between two forms of communities are vanishing.
The factors affecting and directing rural-urban convergence are:
a) Diffusion of urban culture:
Urban culture is making its way in rural areas which is one of the major reasons behind the convergence of both
communities. Kingsley Davis, a contemporary sociologist, has rightly pointed out that "the city effects are wider
than the city itself People in rural communities are now more exposed to urban culture due to many factors of
which the most important in the context of Pakistan is migration.
b) Migration:
Due to high rural-urban migration in Pakistan, the both ways of life are converging. There has been a striking
increase in migration towards urban areas which is resulting in cultural diffusion.
c) Transportation:
Due to the improvement in transportation facilities, people of bothsettings are now more exposed to each other.
d) Communication means:
Improvement in communication means is resulting in rural- urban convergence Due to communication outlets like
radio, television, newspapersand telephones, the rural communities are more exposed to urban way of life. They
are likely to get influenced by the lifestyle and consumption patterns of urbanites.
e) Changing physical geography:
It has been observed that the urban areas areincreasing with respect to their geography, and in such
expansionism, the geographical divide between both communities is reducing. Many rural communities have now
become part of developing urban centers.
f) Increasing health awareness:
Due to increasing health awareness in rural areas and lack of such facilities there, people are likely to move
towards urban communities, resulting in their convergence.
g) Political awareness:
The political parties have realized that majority of the vote bank reside in rural areas. Due to this awareness, the
political parties and their workers are more likely to visit such areas. Further, due to increasing political awareness
in rural areas, they are more likely to come to urban areas to participate in conventions and processions.
URANISM
Urbanism, as differentiated from urbanization, represents patterns of living reflected by characteristics such as
anonymity, impersonality, interdependence, mobility and technological reliance. Urbanism is a characteristic way
of life followed by people living in urban areas. The following four characteristics of urbanism are given by Louis
Wirth.
a) Anonymity:
Urbanism is characterized by anonymity; people do not know each other personally and personal reciprocated
association lacks in them. This is what Simmel referred to as the blasé attitude of urbanites.
b) Individualism:
People in urban areas are highly individualistic. They are moreconcerned with self-interests rather than interests of
the community.
c) Superficiality:
The degree of superficiality is high in urbanites due to impersonal andformal social relationships. People come in
interaction on the basis of interests andtheir interaction time is limited.
d) Transiency:
The span of relationship is limited due to high degree of mobility inherent in urban areas. People readily move
from one place to another and due to this transition, they are less likely to keep permanent relationships.
Some other characteristics of urbanism can be:
e) Organic solidarity:
One of the characteristics of urbanism given by Durkheim was the concept of organic solidarity. He argued that
the dissimilarities in urban life will become a source of integration between urbanites as people in urban areas will
be dependent on each other due to high degree of specialization.
f) Rapid social change:
People living in urban areas are more likely to accept any new change.
g) Conspicuous consumption:
Urbanism is characterized by high degree of consumption most of which reflects a way to communicate one's
social standing or social class in society.
h) Heterogeneity:
Heterogeneity is an important characteristic of urbanism as urban areas represent people belonging to diverse
socio-cultural, religious and ethnicbackgrounds.
FUTURE OF CITIES IN PAKISTAN
Pakistan is one of the developing countries that are facing rapid changes brought about by urbanization. The
annual growth rate of urbanization in Pakistan is 3.1%. The United Nations Pakistan is one of the developing
countries that are facing rapid changes brought about by Population Fund (UNPF) estimated that by 2030 almost
half of the population of Pakistan will become urban.
Theprocess of urbanization in Pakistan was abrupt in nature as many of the developmentalprojects in urban areas
were on immediate basis rather than properly being planned. The factors which can shape the future of cities in
Pakistan are multifold and can be summarized as:
(a) Governance:
The future of cities in Pakistan would depend on the quality of governance. Currently, the organizations
responsible for planning and development lack technical expertise, planning and resources to cure negative
consequences of urbanization in Pakistan
(b) Rising urban poverty:
The rising urban poverty is one of the biggest challenges that the cities are facing. The rise in urban poverty can be
attributed to factors like poor management, unemployment, inflation, migration and low development
expenditure.
(c) Issues of service delivery:
One of the major problems due to ever-increasing urbanization is the issues faced by governments in provision of
services. The lack of infrastructure and high cost of provision of such facilities to far-flung areas of cities are
impeding the delivery process.
d) Rising population:
Another major issue facing cities of Pakistan is the ever-growing population. The table presented below show an
alarming situation of population growth in Pakistan by 2030.
Table Population in Major Cities by 2030
Major Cities Population in 2030
Lahore 14626000
Karachi 27993000
Faisalabad 6192000
Rawalpindi 4149000
Multan 3025000
Gujranwala 3143000
Sargodha 1087000
Hyderabad 3005000
Peshawar 2778000
Quetta 2038000
Islamabad 3175000
Source: Ministry of Planning, Government of Pakistan
e) Pollution:
The cities of Pakistan are generating and are getting, affected by many environmental hazards. It is alarming to
know that only 1% of the wastewater gets treated in Pakistan as the rest is dumped into rivers and streams
through various drains. Further, only the 50% of the solid waste generated in cities is collected. The water supply
lines in many areas of cities pass through sewers that contain industrial wasteslike zinc, nickel, cadmium, lead, etc.
The mixing of these wastes with water is resulting in many health problems.
f) Housing:
The urban areas are also facing shortage of houses. Due to this shortage and the increasing demand of houses, the
prices and rents of houses have also been increased by many owners which are resulting in increasing urban slums.
The examples of this trend can be witnessed in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad.
g) Crime:
The crime rate in cities is increasing due to the anonymity and impersonality that is a characteristic of such a
setting. Many people migrate to urban areas in search of better life without recognizing that the current
infrastructure of cities is not able to accommodate many of them. When the expectations of migrants with respect
to better life are not fulfilled, the resultant frustration and deprivation can instigate them to aggression and
criminal activities. A good example of this case can be Karachi where due to over-urbanization, many crimes like
mobile snatching, robbery, murder, involvement in extremist groups and encroachment are a common issue.
Further, due to high living cost and increased economic inequality in urban areas, migrants may resort to
illegitimate means to survive. Further, migration from other parts of Pakistan to urban areas of Karachi has given
rise to many inter-ethnic conflicts over economic resources.
