The concern of the ecological school was to see what kind of effect urban space had on behaviour, specifically when contrasted with the rural way of life. The elements of urbanism: size, density, heterogeneity were taken as the crucial elements. The ecological school had a negative view of the growth of the city. For Wirth and his colleagues urban experiences were marked by stress, estrangement, individualism and social disorganization.

The motivation for their research was the social turmoil then accompanying the rapid growth and industrialization of the Western cities. In the early twentieth century Chicago was a leader in the process of rapid industrialization. The serious social problems accompanying these developments demanded study and explanation.