Casual customer talk with beauticians, barbers, and druggists helps define a com~ilex set of mutual relations and expectations.Cit 117'nr t er ist ira 1 l y 11 r bn 17 it es m eet one n n o t h cr in h igh ly segm en t ed ro les.T h e y a~e , to be .sirre, dependent irpoii more people for the saiisfactions of their life-nccrl.c tlinn are rirrnl peoplc a n d t1iir.r are ossoriaterl with a g i m t c r niimbcr of organ,izecl g~oiif).r, h i t t h e y are less dependent upon pnrtirirlar pei..sons, and their dependence upon others is confined to a iiiglrly fractionnlizctl a.cpect of t h e other's ? m i n d 01 ortiuity. T h i s is es.scntial1y whnt i.c m e a n i b y .sciying thnt t h e city is characterized by secondayy rather than prinzary contacts. T h e contacts of the city may indeed be face to fore, birt t i 7 q are nevertheless impersonal, .siiperficid, lransitory, and segmental. T h e w s e r 7~, the indiflerencc, nnd the blase' outloolc which iir1~znite.e manifest in their relationships may thus be rega~~rlctl (is de71icc.c of inzniirnizing iiicrnsel7~e.s against the personal claims and cxpcctntions of othm-s.-Louis Wirth (7) Althougli the implications of urbanism for sorial participation have been a focus of systematic study for more than a generation now, many o f I~Virtli's early hypotheses about urban social participation (7) have been incompletely examined. Are the interpersonal relationships of the urbanite more segmental and transitory than those of his rural counterpart? Does he consequently develop a blask attitude toward other people and an intlifference to their problems and goals? Does he become increasingly self-seeking at the expense of neighborhood or community efforts-later regretting his loss of community (5)?