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What is the significance or relevance of sociology to the field of urban planning?

Sociology is the study of society, the formation of people into groups of various types and sizes.  A city is a society, made up of many smaller societies; thus, sociology is of great use in urban planning. Sociology addresses questions such as what makes people want to or not want to congregate in a public space, what makes people want to send their children to neighborhood schools, what makes a downtown area safe and lively and what makes a downtown area crime-ridden and frightening. An urban planner who wants to know how to make a successful park would be well-advised to consider the sociology of the issue, contemplating what elements of a park will draw large numbers of people and what elements will not.  Whether areas should be mixed commercial/residential or not is a question that sociology is likely to have some thoughts about. Similarly, urban planning that tries to have mixed socioeconomic neighborhoods is drawing on sociological research that demonstrates how terrible economic segregation is. Many years ago, Jane Jacobs wrote a book called The Death and Life of Great American Cities in which she, knowingly or unknowingly, applied any number of sociological principles in her writing, for example, that people are more drawn to small, irregular spaces than to large, monolithic blocks of buildings.  For anyone who has an interest in urban planning, this book is a must!   

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