Hoselitz’s “Generative and Parasitic Cities” belongs to an earlier developmental moment in comparative urban theory, when the central problem was how urbanisation related to economic growth and cultural transformation. The opening statement frames the paper as a synthesis and a theoretical proposition: it seeks both a general account of the relation between urban growth, economic progress and cultural change and a programme for further comparative research. Its iconic distinction between generative and parasitic cities asks whether urban concentration actively contributes to wider development or primarily absorbs resources without producing corresponding transformative effects. The theoretical contribution is typological but relational, because the meaning of an urban centre depends on its wider economic and cultural effects. Methodologically, Hoselitz constructs comparison through ideal types and through attention to the institutional and value structures associated with urban specialisation. The paper bridges development economics, sociology of modernisation and comparative urban studies.
URBANISM MEETS ART