Politics and decision-making is very much responsible for the nature of cities and their growth patterns. Cultural Factors Cultural changes have transformed the shape and look of cities, just as cities have shaped culture. The counterculture of the 1960s brought renewed interest in urban life and disdain for the suburbs. Postmodernism has had a profound effect on the skyline of most cities. Working women have had a fundamental impact on urbanization.
Edge cities are partly a response to two-income household.
Growth of clerical work in suburbs also related to social changes. Retail and entertainment have moved to the suburbs partly because of household changes. Mixing of groups can create conflict but can also be edifying experiences, encouraging pluralism rather than parochialism. They exist because people choose to live there, invest there, build there, work there, play there. The factors we already considered are important to understanding the urbanization process and also why some cities have been more successful than others.