BY-NISH

The human species was born on the plains of Africa, but in the millennia since, weve come to make cities our home. According to the United Nations, more than 50% of the worlds nearly 7 billion people now live in urban areas, and the rate of urbanization is accelerating. By 2050, of the 9 billion people living on Earth, 6.5 billion will be city dwellers more than 70%.

FACTS ABOUT CITY LIFE


Recent data from the 2010 U.S. Census show important trends within the bigger data points: Cities now represent 80.7% of the U.S. population, and the majority of growth is central, urbanized areas they now hold 71.2% of residents, versus 68.3 in 2000. At the same time, rural areas were home to a falling percentage of population, 19.3% compared to 21% a decade earlier.

A VILLAGE

A CITY

SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE CITY

In the eighteenth century, the family had been a unit of production and consumption as well as of political decision-making. The function and the shape of the family were completely transformed by life in the industrial city. Ties between members of households loosened, and among the working class the institution of marriage tended to break down.

 Women of the upper and middle classes in Britain, on the other hand, faced increasingly higher levels of isolation, although their lives were made easier by domestic maids who cooked, cleaned and cared for young children on low wages. Women who worked for wages had some control over their lives, particularly among the lower social classes.


However, many social reformers felt that the family as an institution had broken down, and needed to be saved or reconstructed by pushing these women back into the home.

MEN, WOMEN AND FAMILY IN THE CITY

The city no doubt encouraged a new spirit of individualism among both men and women, and a freedom from the collective values that were a feature of the smaller rural communities. But men and women did not have equal access to this new urban space. As women lost their industrial jobs and conservative people railed against their presence in public spaces, women were forced to withdraw into their homes.

 The public space became increasingly a male preserve, and the domestic sphere was seen as the proper place for women. Most political movements of the nineteenth century, such as CHARTISM (a movement demanding the vote for all adult males) and the 10-HOUR MOVEMENT (limiting hours of work in factories), mobilized large numbers of men Only gradually did women come to participate in political movements for suffrage that demanded the right to vote for women, or for married womens rights to property (from the 1870s).

 By the twentieth century, the urban family had been transformed yet again, partly by the experience of the valuable wartime work done by women, who were employed in large numbers to meet war demands. The family now consisted of much smaller units. Above all, the family became the heart of a new market of goods and services, and of ideas. If the new industrial city provided opportunities for mass work, it also raised the problem of mass leisure on Sundays and other common holidays.

LEISURE AND CONSUMPTION

For wealthy Britishers, there had long been an annual London Season. Several cultural events, such as the opera, the theatre and classical music performances were organised for an elite group of 300-400 families in the late eighteenth century. Meanwhile, working classes met in pubs to have a drink, exchange news and sometimes also to organise for political action. Many new types of large-scale entertainment for the common people came into being, some made possible with money from the state.

A OPERA

A PUB

 Libraries, art galleries and museums were established in the nineteenth century to provide people with a sense of history and pride in the achievements of the British. At first, visitors to the British Museum in London numbered just about 15,000 every year, but when entry was made free in 1810, visitors swamped the museum: their number jumped to 127,643 in 1824-25, shooting up to 825, 901 by 1846.

 Music halls were popular among the lower classes, and, by the early twentieth century, cinema became the great mass entertainment for mixed audiences. British industrial workers were increasingly encouraged to spend their holidays by the sea, so as to derive the benefits of the sun and bracing winds. Over 1 million British people went to the seaside at Blackpool in 1883; by 1939 their numbers had gone up to 7 million

A MUSIC HALL

Politics in the city What is Politics??

Politics is the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level, when there are more than 2 people involved. Modern political discourse focuses on democracy and the relationship between people and politics. It is thought of as the way we "choose government officials and make decisions about public policy"


In the severe winter of 1886, when outdoor work came to a standstill, the London poor exploded in a riot, demanding relief from the terrible conditions of poverty. Shopkeepers closed shops fearing people marching from Deptford to London. The marchers had to be dispersed by the police. A similar riot occurred in late 1887; this time, it was brutally suppressed by the police in what came to be known as the Bloody Sunday of November 1887.


Two years later, thousands of Londons dockworkers went on strike and marched through the city. The 12-day strike was called to gain recognition for the dockworkers union. From these examples you can see that large masses of people could be drawn into political causes in the city. A large city population was thus both a threat and an opportunity. State authorities went to great lengths to reduce the possibility of rebellion and enhance urban aesthetics, as the example of Paris shows.

Politics in Present day India

Politics in India takes place within the framework of a federal Westminster-style Parliamentary democratic constitutional republic, in which the President of India is head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. Nominally executive power is exercised by the President and is independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.


Federal and state elections generally take place within a multi-party system, although this is not enshrined in law. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the highest national court being the Supreme Court of India. India is the world's largest democracy in terms of citizenry. India is a nation that is characterized as a "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic". Like the United States, India has had a federal form of government since it adopted its constitution.


However, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and its central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system. The national government has the power to dismiss state governments under specific constitutional clauses or in case no majority party or coalition is able to form a government. The central government can also impose direct federal rule known as president's rule.


Locally, the Panchayati Raj system has several administrative functions and authorities. For most of the years since independence, the federal government has been guided by the Indian National Congress (INC).The two largest political parties have been the INC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Although the two parties have dominated Indian politics, regional parties also exist.


As the 1991 elections gave no political party a majority, the INC formed a minority government under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and was able to complete its five-year term. The years 19961998 were a period of turmoil in the federal government with several short-lived alliances holding sway.


In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the INC won with a majority of more than 200 seats and formed the government by creating a coalition with other parties which were willing to form alliance with it. Indian democracy has been suspended once. Nevertheless, Indian politics is often described as chaotic. More than a fifth of parliament members face some criminal charges and around 40 of them are accused with serious criminal charges.

Summary
FACTS ABOUT CITY LIFE: The human species was born on the plains of Africa. According to the United Nations, more than 50% of the worlds nearly 7 billion people now live in urban areas. Cities now represent 80.7% of the U.S. population, and the majority of growth is central, urbanized areas.

Summary contd.
By the eighteenth century,the function and the shape of the family were completely transformed by life in the industrial city. Ties between members of households loosened, and among the working class the institution of marriage tended to break down. Women of the upper and middle classes in Britain, faced increasingly higher levels of isolation.

Summary contd.
Women who worked for wages had some control over their lives. Many social reformers felt that the family as an institution had broken down, and needed to be saved or reconstructed by pushing these women back into the home.

Summary contd.
MEN, WOMEN AND FAMILY IN THE CITY: The city encouraged a new spirit of individualism among both men and women. As women lost their industrial jobs, women were forced to withdraw into their homes. Most political movements of the nineteenth century, such as CHARTISM and the 10-HOUR MOVEMENT, mobilized large numbers of men. If the new industrial city provided opportunities for mass work, it also raised the problem of mass leisure on Sundays and other common holidays.

Summary contd.
LEISURE AND CONSUMPTION: Several cultural events, such as the opera, the theatre and classical music performances were organised for an elite group in the late eighteenth century. Meanwhile, working classes met in pubs to have a drink. Libraries, art galleries and museums were established in the nineteenth century. Music halls and cinemas were popular among the lower classes. British industrial workers were increasingly encouraged to spend their holidays by the sea.

Quiz time.
Unscramble: 1. Banru 2. Naitirb 3. Amenic 4. Mistrahc 5. Cisum

urban Britain cinema Chartism music