Conclusion

Abstract

As we arrive at the end of our reflections on the nature and the polivocality of the informal city as canvassed through our examination of the everyday practices in the San Francisco Bay Area, we believe that the approach allows us to study a hidden dimension that sheds much light on our comprehension of the formal city. This approach is not only important to understanding informal factors that shape the behavior of the formal city, but also informs us on the nature of the relations between these two poles of the social system, and more specifically on the way the informal system behaves. Probably one of the most revealing aspects of the enterprise is that it shows us how important it is to factor in human agency in our understanding of urban processes.