The Urban Ethos

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study adolescents’ attitudes to rural living in relation to a dominant urban ethos.The question is raised whether processes of urbanization and individualization have left ‘place’ with a less important frame of reference than before. Are young people from the provinces nowdrawn towards the same values as city youth? If this is true, it is consistent with sociological theories about central developmental traits of our time,but in opposition to common assumptions among Norwegian researchers concerning special characteristics of growing up in local communities, especially in north Norway. The empirical analyses demonstrate that groups of pupils relate to these questions along different dimensions. District pupils have a more negative outlook on where they live and on settling there than do city pupils. Irrespective of geographical background, youth express similar preferences in relation to their home place. This leads to a discussion about the diminishing significance of place for the orientations of the modern individual. Even though local attachment and local identity may still be valid concepts, many young people today express values and preferences that are attached to urban settings, which indicates the existence of what I call an urban ethos.