Wirth begins with argument that what is distinctively modern in our civilization is best signalized by the growth of great cities. Like Simmel before him, Wirth pointed out that nowhere has mankind been farther removed from organic nature than under the condition of life characteristic of great cities. For Wirth, the concept of urbanism is not delimited in space. Urbanism is a goal and a value.

Where does this dominance of the city come from?

The dominance of the city emerges from the concentration in them of :

• industrial and commercial centres
• financial and administrative facilities and activities
• transportation and communication lines
• cultural and recreational equipment such as the press, radio station, theatres, museums
• hospitals, institutions of higher education