Our Cities Are Fundamentally Changing Us

The disparities between city folk and countryside dwellers has been a modern clash of the post industrial era. The distinctions between the ideologies of these groups - although not as clean cut and perfect considering the rapid growth of the American suburb - has been defined and outlined by polarizing opinions on topics concerning politics, religion, and family amongst many others. These distinctions are stark at times, especially during times of political debate around elections and midterms. Many patriotic optimists would argue that, at its core, we’re all just humans together under the roof of the same nation. Others would add that these differences, though geographical, aren’t as dividing as we might think. But at its core, the urban lifestyle is changing the way we think and act as human beings in a way that promotes difference in opinion and lifestyle across the country.

As someone who has lived primarily in suburbs over the course of my life, I’ve double dipped in both sides of the country and city living dichotomy. Interacting with my family and friends who drive up north to my Los Angeles suburb to visit often acted, dressed, and talked differently than anyone who flew in from rural parts of the country or more excluded gulches of California like Ojai or Fillmore. For the most part, most would agree that this experience of conflicting lifestyles between city and country folk isn’t a new occurrence. But the question of why these differences exist and perpetuate across generations is harder to pin down.

German sociologist and critic Georg Simmel provides his own theory as to why these changes take place in his essay “The Metropolis and The Mental Life”, describing city dwellers as “individuals who had been liberated from their historical bonds sought now to distinguish themselves from one another. No longer was it the ‘general human quality’ in every individual but rather his qualitative uniqueness and irreplaceability that now became the criteria of his value” (Simmel).

In short, Simmel’s thoughts on the difference between city living and country dwelling boil down to the vast opportunity for change and variation that is offered within a city. Before the industrial revolution and modern engineering brought together the larger metropolitan areas that we label as cities, smaller towns and villages were the only option for people. In smaller villages, opportunities to branch out, develop a new skill or meet new people are far and few in between if they exist at all. The outline of a country lifestyle would be built on the idea of working with what you already have rather than at your disposal rather than reinventing the “general human quality” that Simmel describes. In other words, someone living a more isolated lifestyle in the countryside is significantly less likely to stray from their roots and values in which they were born into.

This brings us back to the idea of cities, which inherently create a mosaic of different people and opportunities in a way that directly opposes the more internal design of the country. As Simmel puts it, the array of opportunities and diverse experiences offered by cities have “liberated… historical bonds” and allowed people to branch out from the limits of their village or home town. These changes allow those living in cities to develop their own individual identity and create images of themselves that vary and differ greatly from their roots.

This image of the city dweller painted by people like Simmel can be used to view the differences across our country in a new light. Rather than having fundamental differences, the ability to craft and reimagine one’s identity through the multiple avenues available within a city.