THE CITY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LIMITED TORONTO THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON The MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAI THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY SHANGHAI THE CITY BY ROBERT E. PARK ERNEST W. BURGESS RODERICK D. McKENZIE WITH A BIBLIOGRAPHY BY LOUIS WIRTH [Illustration: [Logo]] THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO·ILLINOIS COPYRIGHT 1925 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO All Rights Reserved Published December 1925 Composed and Printed By The University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. PREFACE Some years ago I was asked to outline a program of studies of human nature and social life under modern city conditions. The first paper in this volume was written in response to that request. The other chapters are by-products of the more detailed monographic studies suggested in that paper and already measurably carried to completion. They have arisen naturally as a commentary upon and interpretation of these larger studies, exploring and delimiting the field of observation and research in which these subjects lie. It has seemed, therefore, that although they were written at different times and by different hands, they might serve as a general introduction to further studies in the field. Some of the larger monographs referred to above are nearly ready for the press and when published will constitute, with this volume, a series in the sociology of urban life. Most of the papers in this volume have already found their way into print, in whole or in part, either in the _Proceedings of the American Sociological Society_ or in the pages of other sociological publications. The chapter “The City,” which gives the title to this volume, was first published in the _American Journal of Sociology_ for March, 1915. It has been revised and to some extent rewritten for publication in this volume. No attempt has been made, however, to redefine the point of view or the project as originally outlined.