A Spirit of Urban Capitalism: Market Cities, People Cities, and Cultural Justifications

• In Event: 4122 - Section on Community and Urban Sociology Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 08. Culture and the Economy

Abstract

Research on the sociology of cities has long foregrounded how elites uphold the capitalist system for their own benefit, but much less research has focused on the wider processes of how city residents in everyday interactions make sense of and bolster unequal, capital-intensive urban life. We argue for the importance of cultural justifications in reifying socially constructed meanings of cities by creating a “spirit of the city.” We thereby focus on not only power brokers, but also on how residents and urban institutions provide regular maintenance to urban capitalism. This framework is further delineated by identifying two ideal types of systems of justifications. Using case studies of Houston, Texas, USA, and Copenhagen, Denmark, we show how one type of city hews closely to neoliberal assumptions, which we deem the market city, while a less-researched, but empirically demonstrated ideal type is the people city, which puts a resident-focused cultural model at front.

Authors

• Kevin T. Smiley, State University of New York-Buffalo

• Michael O. Emerson, North Park University