Comparing urban sociology’s human ecology and community psychology’s ecological metaphor

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how two distinct scholarly disciplines both concerned with place-based human behavior have independently developed an ecological framework: urban sociology’s human ecology, and community psychology’s ecological metaphor. A comparison of these two frameworks shows they are similar in many ways, including their foundations, processes, and legacies. These frameworks emerged independently in similar social and intellectual milieus separated by 50 years, suggesting that their similarities could be the product of convergent evolution. These similarities highlight opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration, while the differences identified by this comparison highlight opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning.

Acknowledgments

Some of the ideas in this paper grew out of conversations about the relationship between human ecology and the ecological metaphor with Patrick Janulis in 2011.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The field of community psychology has evolved significantly since this time, becoming substantially broader in scope. Additionally, fields of community psychology have also developed independently outside the United States, under different conditions and with different origins (see Fryer, 2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zachary P. Neal

Zachary P. Neal is associate professor of psychology and global urban studies at Michigan State University. His research focuses on the development of network methods and application of network science techniques to understand cities at multiple scales.