Traditional views regarding the impacts that a city and its structure can have on the individuals who live in it are generally positive or negative. Take for example the idea of ​​“urbanitas” advanced by Lewis Mumford in his article “What is a City”, or the distinctive dichotomy promoted by Alan Trachtenberg between the City of Destruction and the Celestial City when trying to understand how a city can influence an individual. Both of these arguments are accurate descriptions of what happens in a city, and yet they do not fully describe the true effects that the city's environment has on human nature and social relationships. Rather, the built environment of the city acts as an enabler for the individuals who live within it, a double-edged sword that has the potential to both protect and harm and to have both a positive and negative effect, rather than being simply one or the other. other as the works of Mumford and Trachtenberg originally suggest.Article 1: “What is a City” by Lewis MumfordPeople are attracted to cities because of utility; it's easier to find things that an individual doesn't necessarily own simply because of the concentration of people in a city. This means that people are forced to act in common with others, to engage in “urbanitas” or good behavior while in contact with other human beings who also use the city for utility. The built environment of the city requires this change in social behavior. Take for example the product line where the protagonist of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times works at the beginning of the film. Even though there is a clear antipathy between the film's protagonist and the man next to him, the man does everything he can to make sure Chaplin is able to get the job done. Despite the obvious difference in size…half of the paper…being together as well as the greed caused by overloading this same system, as proposed in “What is a City” by Lewis Mumford. However, society's current view regarding these two different impacts that a city structure causes on the individuals residing within it is that a city can support one or the other, presenting the image of the City of Destruction or the City Celeste as explained by Alan Trachtenberg in his article “The Incorporation of America”. However, after careful analysis of how various films such as Wilder's Double Indemnity, Chaplin's Modern Times, and Wyler's Dead End depict these effects, it makes much more sense to describe the effects of a city on its inhabitants in terms of their nature be like a double-edged sword that offers individuals the opportunity to help or hinder their progress in society.