Terry Nichols Clark’s research while affiliated with University of Chicago and other places

This chapter makes three specific points joining current discussions on urbanization in the global urban age. First, we discuss the traditions in sociological writings on urbanization in the nineteenth century and explain how they have shaped sociological urbanization research until present. We contrast the major theoretical perspectives on urbanization developed mainly over the twentieth century. We illustrate how varying interpretations of what is urban have resulted in divergent theoretical perspectives. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of adding culture to the demographic process in theorizing urbanization as the world becomes more global and cultural factors become more salient. Finally, we propose that, rather than assuming uniform global urbanity, further investigation can productively study the variability of urbanization in different places and the dynamics of how these are changing. We introduce a scenic approach to capture some of these new changes.

There has been a cultural turn in urban development, as an increasing number of scholars are stressing the importance of culture in urban research and policy agendas. Specifically, the bohemian cultural scene could drive an integral cultural policy approach between the cultural scenes city and the creative city approach. Based on amenities data from 65 major Chinese cities, this paper investigates the relationship between bohemian cultural scenes and creative development of Chinese cities as well as regional differences using tree-based model, ordinary least squares (OLS) and truncated regression, and provides conceptual and quantitative support for a bohemian cultural scenes policy. Factor analysis suggests the bohemian cultural scene in Chinese cities consists of two dimensions: self-expression and charisma. According to regression results, bohemian scenes significantly promote urban creative development; specifically, charisma has a stronger impact on urban creativity than self-expression. There are also significant regional differences: northern and eastern cities should focus on the development of the charismatic dimension, creative subjects should adjust away from prudent industriousness and practice dynamic experimentalism; whereas southern cities should focus on the self-expressive dimension, and continue to promote tolerance, inclusivity and expressive practice. Finally, the bohemian scenes policy demands an integral policy approach sensitive to the existing socioeconomic context: policymakers should incorporate specific amenities into existing qualities of local spaces and cultural consumption to stimulate creative development.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) has been variously considered as historian, sociologist, and political theorist. His most well known work is Democracy in America (1835–1840), a classic study not only of democracy in America but of democracy itself. Sociologists have found in this analysis of the early years of the American Republic a seminal source of inspiration for the study of contemporary American society and politics. In the 1970s, interest of sociologists in Tocqueville's work began to dwindle. By contrast, in political science Tocqueville's status as a classic thinker of democracy was never in question. In recent years, however, sociologists have joined political scientists in responding to Tocqueville's call for a “new political science.” His writings provide sociologists with an enduring source of inspiration for the analysis of social problems such as slavery, revolution, inequality, individualism, materialism, religion, and colonialism.

Where and how does arts activity drive neighbourhood revitalization? We explore the impact of arts establishments on income in US zip codes, nationally and across quantiles (from four to seven subgroups) of zip codes stratified by disadvantage (based on income and ethnicity/race). We focus on what is new here: how neighbourhood scenes or the mixes of amenities mediate relationships between the arts and income. One dramatic finding is that more bohemian/hip neighbourhoods tend to have less income, contradicting the accounts from Jane Jacobs, Richard Florida and others. Arts and bohemia generate opposing effects, which emerge if we study not a few cases like Greenwich Village, but use more careful measures and larger number of cases. Some arts factors that distinctly influence neighbourhood income include the number of arts establishments; type and range of arts establishments; levels of disadvantage in a neighbourhood; and specific pre­ and co­existing neighbourhood amenities. Rock, gospel and house music appeal to distinct audiences. Our discussion connects this vitalizing role for arts activity to broader community development dynamics. These overall results challenge the view that the arts simply follow, not drive, wealth, and suggest that arts-led strategies can foster neighbourhood revitalization across a variety of income, ethnic, and other contexts.

This chapter builds on past work to examine the distinctive ways in which ethnic restaurants help to define the contemporary scenescape in US cities. It uses the example of restaurants to illustrate how to apply and extend a scenes approach. Restaurants in general and ethnically themed restaurants are crucial components of many cities and communities' consumer offerings. They often make the scene. After briefly reviewing some general principles of the scenes perspective, the authors discuss ethnic neighborhoods and the role of consumption venues such as restaurants in defining their identity. The authors stress multiple ways that ethnically themed amenities and local populations may overlap in various contexts, as well as how they can join with other dimensions of local scenes. These ideas are illustrated by examining multiple types of ethnic restaurants across all US zip codes, paying particular attention to the degree to which they correspond with coethnic residential populations, and how this varies by group and city. The authors also investigate the types of scenes typical of cosmopolitan areas that offer diverse ethnic cuisines.

Cities, all over the world, have become more diverse than ever. This poses great challenges to urban studies and theorising. In this article, we review current debates in urban theory through Howitt’s (1998) three-facet conceptualisation of geographical scale and find that urban theorists have high levels of disagreement on the areal (scale as size), the hierarchical (scale as level) as well as the dialectical (scale as relation) aspects of the city. We show that, if urban theorists are to find a common approach to the city, we should contemplate: 1) what cities to study; 2) from which geographical level(s); and 3) how the city relates to other entities. We illustrate how the theory of urban scenes could potentially be used to address these debates in urban theory.

This chapter examines the development and infrastructure of the third sector in France. The nonprofit sector in France (also referred to as the “social economy”) emerged out of an ideological struggle between the Catholic Church and republicanism over the rights of the individual. Until 1901, individuals had few legal opportunities to even associate in groups; associations were only permitted under specific conditions set by the government. The genesis of the French social economy has been marked by a strong statist presence in which the institutional logic of bureaucracy was most prominent. After providing an overview of the legal structure and evolution of the French third sector, this chapter considers the French social economy as well as funding in the third sector. It also presents case studies to illustrate the tendency of the French nonprofit sector to move from a strong statist position to a solidaristic and activist approach.

This chapter examines the development and infrastructure of the third sector in Japan. The third sector in Japan can be classified into two different types of organizations: the first is heavily networked with the state and acts as mainstream social welfare service providers within an institutional logic of bureaucracy; the second is typically a product of local communities and engages in advocacy work rather than service provision. This chapter first provides a background on the Japanese third sector and its legal structure before discussing its sources of funding. It also describes changes over time in Japanese civil society and goes on to consider three unique opportunities and challenges faced by nonprofit organizations (NPOs): growing social heterogeneity among citizens; the Japanese state's perceived crisis of legitimacy; and increased desire for greater accountability of public services at the grassroots level. The chapter concludes with case studies of NPOs that attest to Japan's rapidly changing political culture.

This chapter focuses on China's third sector. China's nonprofit sector had its roots in an institutional logic of bureaucracy, and is now opening up to professionalization and in some cases, activism. However, the government, worried about social “instability,” continues to impose severe restrictions on many kinds of activity by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). For example, it bans the formation of any autonomous organization around politically sensitive issue areas such as human rights and the free movement of labor. This chapter first provides a historical background on Chinese civil society before discussing the NGOs' legal structure and funding as well as associational life in the country. It also considers the rise of New Political Culture in China and contemporary trends in the third sector, along with some of the challenges confronting China's social organizations. Finally, it looks at the case of the Anti-PX movement and its protests in Xiamen in June 2007 to illustrate the particular set of tensions faced by civil society in China.