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Himalayan Journal of Sociology & Antropology-Vol. IV (2010)

URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY:
AN OVERVIEW OF THE DISCIPLINE AND SCOPE
@ Amrit Kumar BHANDARI
ABSTRACT
Based on the review of some selected literatures, this article attempts
to explain Urban Anthropology as an emerging sub-ield within Socio-
cultural Anthropology. In this process, it reviews the history of the sub-
ield in short and elaborates its ield of scope in the modern rapidly
urbanizing world. Deinitely, the process of urbanization has also been
given adequate emphasis by highlighting its concept and nature. Even
the status of urbanization in Nepal has also been given place in brief.
The article towards the latter part explains about the prospects of Urban
Anthropology in Nepal.
KEY WORDS: Urbanization, Urban Anthropology, Anthropology of the
City, Anthropology in the City and Nepal
CONCEPT OF URBANIZATION
Urbanization characterizes the recent development in human culture.
It has been perceived and explained by different scholars in different
ways relecting the domain and interest of their concerned disciplines.
Champion (2001) asserts that some have conceived of urbanization in
the physical sense of the increasing area of land being developed for
urban use, while others view urbanization as a social process of people
adopting the attitudes and behaviour traditionally associated with
life in cities and towns, irrespective of where they might be living.
Some of the scholars deine it in demographic sense as congregation
of people in a deinite territory; some perceive it in physical sense as
the transformation of a rural setting into an urban one while others
perceive as occupational shift and means of economic transformation.
But most of the scholars share the common view that it resembles
the highest level of socio-cultural evolution that human beings have
attained to date.
According to Orum (2004), Urbanization is the process whereby
large numbers of people congregate and settle in an area, eventually
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developing social institutions, such as businesses and government,
to support themselves. Urban areas, or those pockets of people and
institutions thereby created, are generally characterized as relatively
dense settlements of people. Furthermore, it is claimed, they sometimes
originate from the effort by authorities to consciously concentrate
power, capital, or both at a particular site.
Urbanization is important from the socio-cultural evolution point of
view too. A rural setting gradually loses its rural features as they are
evolved into or replaced by the urban ones and hence become more
developed and civilized. Thus, some scholars even equate the process
of urbanization with civilization. Smart and Smart (2003) consider
urbanization to include not only the growth of cities, but also the
transformation of existing urban places. Similarly, in the words of
Roberts and Kanaley (2006); Urbanization - the spatial concentration
of people and economic activity- is arguably the most important social
transformation in the history of civilization since man changed from
being a nomadic hunter-gatherer and adopted a settled, subsistence
agricultural way of life. While the timing and speed of urbanization
have varied and are varying between countries, regions, and continents,
the urbanization process has taken hold everywhere. It has proven to
be an unstoppable and a mostly desirable phenomenon. Cities are
the foundation of modern civilization; they are the engine room of
economic growth and the centers of culture, entertainment, innovation,
education, knowledge, and political power.
As the process of urbanization intensiies, there occurs a shift in what
are called rural features of a socio-cultural setting. Occupation shift,
production-related shift, higher level of population etc. are some of the
examples of such changes in a rural society. Similarly there occurs a
distinct change in micro-social institutions like marriage, family and
kinship and communal feelings with the rise of individualistic feeling
among the people. In this context citing Kumar (2003) becomes quite
relevant who expresses that Urbanization is the directed concentration
of population in urban space. The city itself becomes a narrative device
for understanding the process of urbanization. The continually changing
tempo of urbanization is not the outcome of a natural order of things,
but rather a consciously directed human action. With urbanization,
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Himalayan Journal of Sociology & Antropology-Vol. IV (2010)
people moved from rural to urban residences, with an accompanying
shift from agricultural to industrial occupations. A sense of community
in these urban spaces became vastly different from rural models that
were based on kinship networks and traditions. The fast pace of city
life and the frequently competitive existence of urban dwellers make it
far more dificult to connect with the community.
Therefore, urbanization is the process whereby large numbers of
people concentrate and settle in an area, ultimately developing social
institutions, such as businesses, trade and government, to support
themselves. Urbanization further includes the expansion of cities into
surrounding communities like suburbs and regions. The perception and
concept of urbanization largely depends on the interest of the discipline
and the concerned. But what is common in almost all scholars is the
view that it is a developmental process. Now it has become ubiquitous,
too. It relects the highest level of civilization that humans have
experienced so far. S,o improvement in the quality of life of people
has to be preferred over-looking at the increase in population for
conceptualizing and explaining the fact of urbanization.
URBANIZATION IN NEPAL : A GLIMPSE
Urbanization process has been intensifying throughout the world in
the recent years and Nepal is no more an exception. Rural to urban
migration is happening at a faster rate and the number of urban,
urbanizing and semi urban areas are increasing throughout the country.
Some areas are exhibiting a spontaneous process of urbanization while
other are forcefully declared as urban areas by the Government in
the name of municipalities. Oficially, the Government of Nepal has
declared 58 urban and semi urban areas as municipal areas: 53 of them
being municipalities, 4 sub-metropolises and 1 metropolis. According
to Portnov et.al. (2007) Currently, 58 municipalities in Nepal qualify
as urban centers. FiveKathmandu, Lalitpur, Biratnagar, Pokhera and
Birgunjhave more than 100000 inhabitants; the population of 11
others ranges from 50000 to 100000 residents; 22 towns have 25000
to 50000 residents, while the 20 smallest towns have less than 25000
residents.
According to Raithelhuber (2001:35) the urbanization process in Nepal
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is characterized by a rapid growth of small and medium-sized urban
centres, most of which are situated in the Terai latland in the south of
the country along the East-West Highway. But the urban centres are
located not-only in Teari region but also in Hilly and Mountain Region.
The Nepalese Government has declared areas with relatively less
infrastructure also as municipalities which consequently have given
rise to number of problems. Historical data show urbanization as an
ever increasing process in Nepal as the population of designated urban
areas is found to be increasing in each census report. As per the record
of Census of 2001, the urban population in Nepal is 14.20 percent
(CBS, 2003). But this igure includes the population of designated
urban areas only and does not give the exact population of all urban
centers in Nepal.
Most of the urban areas in Nepal have been the symbolizing unplanned
and unmanaged settlements. As a result, we can see more and more
sufferings of a multifarious nature among the urban dwellers of our
country. Ertur further criticizes urbanization processes in Nepal by
saying: Urban areas and towns lack basic infrastructure services. Safe
drinking water supplies and electricity are inadequate in urban areas
and towns, a situation that is endemic nationwide. There is virtually no
sanitary waste disposal system, and solid waste systems are extremely
inadequate. Urban road conditions are dilapidated. None of the urban
areas has a functioning storm-water drainage system (1994:19).
Therefore, there is an urgent need of developing a systematic town-
planning system in order to solve the problems arisen due to unmanaged
urbanization in Nepal. Since municipalities are regarded as the major
urban areas, in part of government, the declaration of municipality
should be done only after installing basic urban amenities.
URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY: CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW
There are a number of sub-ields developed within Socio-Cultural
Anthropology. Medical Anthropology, Ecological Anthropology, Legal
Anthropology, Environmental Anthropology, Economic Anthropology,
etc. represent some of such subields. Urban Anthropology is one of the
recent developed sub-ields of Socio-Cultural Anthropology. According
to Kemper and Rollwagen, At the simplest level, Urban Anthropology
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Himalayan Journal of Sociology & Antropology-Vol. IV (2010)
is what urban anthropologists do. While some anthropologists do
research in particular cities, they do so without much, if any, concern
for the urban context; others are concerned with the structure of city
life and its impact on human behavior locally or cross-culturally; and
still others are concerned with the development of international urban
systems through time and space as distinctive social-cultural and
political-economic domains. The focus of ield research is usually on
relatively small populations (e.g., people from one village who have
migrated to a city, the culture of one ethnic population of one city,
female members of one gang in one city). Urban anthropologists then
describe and explain why a particular population behaves as it does
(1996:1337).
Urban Anthropology marks a distinct divergence from the traditional
anthropological orientation while focusing the more civilized urbanites
of the cities. With this shift in focus, "Urban Anthropology counters
Anthropologys traditional emphasis on "primitive" and peasant people
to the exclusion of urban, complex and industrial societies (Basham
1978). Kemper and Rollwagen further explain about the domain
of Urban Anthropology stating: In more theoretical terms, Urban
Anthropology involves the study of the cultural systems of cities as well
as the linkages of cities to larger and smaller places and populations
as part of a worldwide urban system. Thus, Urban Anthropology
emphasizes ethnographic research on the cultural systems of selected
populations, compares the cultural systems of these populations, and
offers contextual explanations for the attitudes and behaviors observed
among these populations (1996:1337).
Urban Anthropology is focused more on the detailed and systematic
study of the cultural systems of the cities. For this, it uses Anthropologys
key method of ethnography. Conducting ethnographic studies of
various cultural groups of cities is obviously a tricky and challenging
affair, and Urban Anthropology is getting maturity in this complex ield
of scope. Kemper (1996) uses a different way for presenting his idea
regarding the concept and mission of Urban Anthropology stating that
From the perspective of urban anthropologists, Urban Anthropology
is neither a new pop ield added to traditional Anthropology nor does
it intend to neglect less complex societies. On the contrary, it aims to
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rehabilitate the so-called primitive. In this way, Urban Anthropology
differentiates itself from colonial Anthropology, which assumed that
primitive people are essentially different from Western civilization.
Within Urban Anthropology also we may ind a debate between
Anthropology of the city and the Anthropology in the city. As Angelini
(2009) puts that Anthropology of the city analyzes how urban form
and processes are shaped by diverse political, economic, and cultural
forces. Study in the city provides descriptive accounts and involves
reinement of social scientiic concepts to bring them closer to the daily
entanglements of urban life. Whether one uses Anthropology of the
City or Anthropology in the City in research or academic discussions,
Urban Anthropology has been the ultimate beneiciary of the debate as
it has helped the discipline to expand further.
BRIEF EARLY HISTORY OF URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY
Urban Anthropology emerged as a sub-ield of Socio-Cultural
Anthropology after 1960s, but is has its historical roots in Urban
Sociology. As Sajnek (1996) puts The most important were in the
University of Chicago sociological tradition of research into the
neighborhoods and institutions of that city initiated by Robert Park
after World War I (Hannerz 1980). But soon after, it appears to have
diverged markedly from the urban Sociology but not completely
detached as the lines between the two ields have blurred with the
exchange of ideas and methodology, to the beneit and advancement
of both disciplines.
Urban Anthropology crept up" gradually and was almost unnoticed until
the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Its roots lie more in the sociological
study of industrial societies than in traditional Anthropology. Therefore,
early sociologists were the irst to turn their attention towards urban
life. From the 1930s to the 1950s, cultural anthropologists interest in
the study of peasants and the impact of cities on their lives increased
(Redield, 1947). By the 1950s, a number of anthropologists were
already conducting research on urban phenomena (Childe 1950, Bott
1957, Sjoberg 1960). The expansion of Urban Anthropology in the
1960s relects the recognition that traditional target groups, such as tribal
and peasant people, became increasingly integrated into the urbanized
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Himalayan Journal of Sociology & Antropology-Vol. IV (2010)
world. Particular attention was given to rural-urban migration, urban
adaptation, ethnicity, and poverty (Lewis 1968, Hannerz 1969) (Cited
in Al-Zubaidi, n.d.).
Kemper and Rollwagen (1996) mention that by the end of the 1950s,
anthropologists and other social scientists were combining ethnographic
observations drawn from speciic case studies with national level
census data to develop new ideas about trends in urbanization in Latin
America, Africa, and Asia. Among the various individual scholars who
contributed to lay the foundations for what Urban Anthropology has
become today (i.e. the study of the city conceived as a community) was
the sociologist Louis Wirth. His essay Urbanism as a Way of Life
proved to be essential in distinguishing urbanism as a unique form
of society that could be studied from three perspectives: a physical
structure, as a system of social organization, and as a set of attitudes
and ideas (Basham, 1978)
Each decade after 1960s, the discipline saw a tremendous growth of
its scope as a number of scholars from various world started to get
attracted towards it. Not only the number of scholars increased, there
was a signiicant upsurge in the ield of Urban Anthropology, thus,
expanding its horizon. More and more urban issues started to come
under the lens of urban anthropologists across the world in terms of
researches and studies. Such researches and studies came not only
from USA but also from different parts of the world such as Europe,
Latin America, Africa and, though in small number, from Asia. Not
only researches were conducted but also there increased the number of
publications relating to the discipline of Urban Anthropology. Articles,
journals and even handbooks started to appear in the public.
SCOPE OF URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY
Traditionally, Anthropology was understood as the study of simple
societies. Anthropologists were thought as the scholars with particular
interest in ethnographic studies of isolated primitive societies. The
study of western urban civilized, industrialized societies was believed
to be the domain of Sociology while the study of primitive people,
rural or village social life was left in the ield of Anthropology. But this
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historical distinction of the scope of Sociology and Anthropology started
to weaken from the latter half of the 20
th
century when anthropologists
started to turn their attention towards urban socio-cultural lives and
associated dynamics.
While Western civilization inspired theories on the dynamic forces
of modernization and change, primitive culture was conceived as
stagnant in place and time. This rift in perception generated and relected
the division of labor between Anthropology and Sociology: the study
of Western civilization and the industrialized world was reserved for
the ield of Sociology, while the analysis of primitive cultures ceded
to Anthropology. Thus, the emergence of Urban Anthropology resulted
in part from the consequences of World War II and the processes of
decolonization. From the perspective of urban anthropologists, the
interest in cities has reafirmed the traditional claim of Anthropology
to concern itself with a variety of human cultures and societies. Hence,
they do not ind the classiication of Anthropology as a ield that studies
"primitives" and Sociology as a ield that focuses on industrial societies
justiiable. For, in their view, differentiating "the West" as industrial
and "the rest" as "primitive" does not constitute a valid opposition
because a society does not exist that has not been profoundly touched
by industrialization. Theoretically, Urban Anthropology involves the
study of the cultural systems of cities as well as the linkages of cities
to larger and smaller places and populations as part of the world-wide
urban system (Kemper 1996).
Obviously, the shift of main attention of Anthropology from a primitive
society to complex urban societies demanded a great transformation
in the ield and method of traditional Anthropology. This was more
crucial as urban socio-cultural life had a great variation as compared
to the rural one. In this context Angelini (2000) states that the
term Urban Anthropology came to designate a subield of cultural
Anthropology in the 1960s, even though anthropologists have been
conducting research in cities since the 1930s. While ethnography, the
core methodological tradition of Anthropology, derives from in-depth
studies of rural and village life, the development of Urban Anthropology
also relects broader conceptual debates within the discipline. New
conceptualizations of the city have inluenced how anthropologists
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Himalayan Journal of Sociology & Antropology-Vol. IV (2010)
think about culture and social change. However, the particular methods
and perspectives deployed by anthropologists generate new ways to
understand the dynamics of urban life, as well.
Today, Urban Anthropology distinguishes itself from urban Sociology
mainly in terms of a different perspective: while sociological studies
are more focused on fragmented issues, Urban Anthropology is
theoretically rather directed toward a holistic approach (Ansari and Nas
1983: 2). Whereas Urban Anthropology in the 1960s and 70s focused on
particular issues such as migration, kinship, and poverty, derived from
(or in contrast to) traditional-based ieldwork, urban anthropologists
had, by the 1980s, expanded their interests to any aspect of urban life.
As a result, Urban Anthropology became more integrated into the
discourse of the other social sciences (Al-Zubaidi, n.d. ).
According to Richard G. Fox (1977), different research traditions
within Urban Anthropology maintain continuity with traditional
Anthropology and its methods by not focusing on urbanism itself, but
on smaller units within cities. One example is the Anthropology of
urban poverty. Oscar Lewis introduced the term "culture of poverty,"
which he understood as a form of life that exists independently of
economical and political deprivation. Naturally, this evoked a series of
critiques (Al-Zubaidi, n.d. ).
Urban Anthropology has been largely merged with geography,
ecology, and other disciplines. Along with a theoretical interest in and
conceptualization of urban space and urbanism, contemporary issues
of Urban Anthropology include rural-urban migration, demography,
adaptation and adjustment of humans in densely populated
environments, the effects of urban settings upon cultural pluralism
and social stratiication, social networks, the function of kinship,
employment, the growth of cities, architecture, crime (and other urban
dilemmas), and practical urban problems such as housing, , transport,
use of space, waste management, and infrastructure.
Kemper and Rollwagen present the method, concept and ield of
contemporary Urban Anthropology as Whereas the efforts of urban
anthropologists in the 1960s and 1970s were focused on issues (e.g.,
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migration, family and kinship, social networks, poverty, ethnicity, and
urban adaptation) derived from or contrasted with traditional rural-
based ieldwork, by the 1980s anthropologists had expanded their
interests to include virtually every dimension of urban lifefrom
individual life stories to city neighborhoods and institutions (e.g.,
hospitals, schools, jails) to linkages among places and populations of
different scales within the overall urban system. Anthropologists began
explicitly to turn their attention to class-based models of cities and
their contexts, the impact of colonialism on cities, and their integration
into a worldwide economic system. As a result, Urban Anthropology
became more integrated into the discourse of the other social sciences,
and urban anthropologists cited non-anthropological works more
frequently and with less hesitation (1996:1341).
Thus the contemporary Urban Anthropology has become much
inclusive and integrated whereby it has been characterizing the holistic
nature of Anthropology when applied to the urban sphere. Its domain
is so widened and evolved that now urban anthropologists have been
able to raise their insights into a broad range of human issues from
cities. They are not only conined to local, isolated communities only
as their active engagement is on the study of cross-cultural comparison
of communities within regional, national and international level.
PROSPECTS OF URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY IN NEPAL
Researches on Urban Anthropology in any country can be done in two
ways: by examining the types of cities or examining the various socio-
cultural issues within the cities. These two methods are overlapping
and dependent of each other. By deining different types of cities, one
would use social factors as well as economic and political factors to
compare and categorize the cities. By directly looking at the different
socio-cultural issues, one would also be studying how they affect
the intra-city dynamics. Urban Anthropology is its least developed
stage in Nepal. But, it has an excellent prospect in Nepal. Nepalese
cities possess a number of issues that can be quite relevant for Urban
Anthropology. The prospect of this sub-ield in Nepal can be explained
as follow:
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Himalayan Journal of Sociology & Antropology-Vol. IV (2010)
1. Comparative Study of Nepals Emerging Cities: Using the
tradition and concept of Anthropology of the City, one can
assume the comparative study of Nepals emerging cities in
terms of socio-cultural, economic, political and other aspects
related to socio-cultural life. Following this tradition, Nepalese
cities could be theorized using a number of metaphors such as
Sacred City, Industrial City, Gendered City and so on as Low
(1996) exempliies.
2. Study of Intra-City Dynamics: In the other way, early
urban anthropologists were actively engaged in documenting
urban ethnography which can be very useful in the context of
Nepalese cities, too. Likewise, issues such as caste/ethnicity in
Nepalese cities, labor and immigration, gender issues, family
life and kinship networks in these cities, urban poverty which
is believed to be a problem arises out of urbanism, migrant
adaptation, neighborhood etc. can be great inputs for urban
anthropologists. Similarly, community studies, contemporary
urban issues like urban class structure, religion, gender issues,
slum dwellers problems, etc. would be equally productive
issues for urban anthropologists.
3. Urban Planning and Policy Debates: Urbanization in
Nepal is so far a loosely treated concept and process. It has
largely remained unmanaged, unplanned and unscientiic.
Ertur (1994:20) is quite right in identifying it who argues
that within the development context of Nepal, the concept of
"urbanization" is a misunderstood, as well as misinterpreted,
process. Urbanization in Nepal has to be an important and well-
emphasized development agenda. As Sharma remarks Nepal
remains one of the least urbanized countries in the world and
also in South Asia. While this low level of urbanization is a
matter of considerable concern for the economic development
of the country, the present state of urbanization and urban
development also manifests distinctive characteristics and
problems that demand urgent attention. (2003:375).
So, in our context overcoming the problems given by unplanned
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urbanization by utilizing the opportunities given by urbanization
should be the utmost priority at the current period. However so far
in our context, problems caused by the urbanization process have
weighed much heavier in comparison to the possible opportunities
and prospects that may be beneicial for the betterment of people
and for uplifting their quality of living standard. Urban Anthropology
can be effective in urban planning and solution of a variety of
problems associated with urbanization. Here, recalling Low is quite
signiicant who asserts that Stack (1996), Bourgois (1995), Susser
(1991) and Newmann (1992) argue that while anthropological data
are essential to understating urban problems, anthropologists have
hesitated to participate in urban public policy debates (1996:384).
This is particularly true for the case of mainstream Anthropology and
anthropologists of Nepal who are yet to cast a prominent mark on
Nepalese urban policy debates. More or their less apathetic nature
has been the utmost challenge for this subield of Socio-cultural
Anthropology itself. This is particularly true in the sense that available
dominant literatures on cities and urbanization in Nepal are hardly
from anthropologists. It is they who can contribute the most and the
best in the development of the ield of Urban Anthropology in Nepal.
CONCLUSION
Urbanization represents the latest stage of civilization at least
theoretically. Cities are considered as relatively recent development
of human culture made possible by a stable food sup ply. Almost
everywhere in the world, people are moving from the rural area to
towns and cities. This rural-urban migration is happening so fast that
the various agencies that monitor such movements cannot agree on the
pace. Most scholars agree that the world will be predominantly urban
in the 21
st
century.
Despite being labeled as the study of primitive society, Anthropology
started studying cities and urban life formally after the 1950s. In fact,
the term Urban Anthropology appeared as a subield of Socio-cultural
Anthropology in the 1960s, while anthropologists had been conducting
researches in cities much before this. This is an emerging subield of
Anthropology which has already seen an attraction of a number of
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scholars towards it in various parts across the globe. Already a number
of anthropologists have established themselves as urban scholars and
researchers and hence have broadened the horizon of Anthropology
and strengthened the scope of the discipline in the urban context too.
Urban Anthropology may offer a number of prospects for an urbanizing
country like Nepal. Nepalese cities can offer a variety of inputs to
Urban Anthropology but so far the gains have been cipher. Nepalese
anthropologists to date have not been able to lay the foundation of
the subield in Nepal yet. They seem to be hesitant or even apathetic
towards this sub-ield so far. But if we are to catch or match the world
trend, we must accomplish this task sooner or later so I do not see any
reason to delay in this regard.
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