The Tulsa Studies....

Every city is different. Each is a product of the experiences of history that formed its culture and character, but cities are always dynamically changing. New forces from within, as well as broader societal influences outside, produce constant transformations.

In these studies we look at Tulsa from four different perspectives. Looking backwards, we review examples of how we became the Tulsa we are today. Looking at today's Tulsa, we search for new trends and directions that are shaping our city now …and that are shaping the Tulsa we will become in the future.

The studies are made up of brief illustrated essays. They are not meant to be a comprehensive analysis of our city since these already exist in many forms. These studies simply look at what we see around us and what meaning we can find in what we see.

Two of these collections of essays examine topics that have been little discussed. The first is the role of the automobile (and other technologies) in altering the nature of "community" in Tulsa. The second is the influence of Tulsans’ travels in exposing our citizens to influences from other cultures.

Our Past Is Still Present
collection one
Articles in This Collection:

We look to the past to learn how we came to be city we are today. The influence of our past is felt in our values, character, and culture. Our past is also visible in the iconic architectural landmarks of the city. Our past is still present.

Tulsa was a Creek settlement first, then a cowtown, and then a boomtown. By the end of the 1920s we had become a mature city with an established culture and character that still describes much of who we are.

All of these changes happened quickly. Lots of people from lots of places, creating a new culture, a “Tulsa” culture that was distinctly defining of our own city.

By the late 1930s we were recognized as the Oil Capital of the World, and by the 1950s we began the slow process of transitioning to greater economic diversity. Oil finds in other parts of the country were eclipsing Oklahoma’s role in the industry, and by the 1970s we were clearly entering the modern era of our city’s history: we were settling into a new role, but one still not yet fully defined.

What lessons can we learn from our past?

In the articles in this section we look at factors that contributed to the formation of Tulsa's culture. We also examine how our patters of urban living have changed over the years.


Our current flag is Tulsa's fourth official city flag. Each of our flags tells the story of a different period of our history. In this article we'll look at each one to see which period it represents and what it says to us.
The oil barons of early Tulsa left a deep mark in our character and culture as a city. This article looks at the heritage they left behind and how we are still influenced but it.
Tulsans have often been ambivalent about our city's relationship with the State of Oklahoma, but Oklahoma is the state we are in. To understand Tulsa, we also need to understand our state and our city's relation to it.
As a supplement to the article on the evolvement of Oklahoma politics, here is a collection of facts and trivia presented in bullet-point style.
VIDEOThe most famous movie about Tulsa bears our city's name. The film won no Academy Awards, but it is a portrait of Tulsa at the height of the oil boom. Don't miss it! This is the complete movie as originally released.
VIDEOThe federal government made this 10 minute film for showing abroad as part of America's image campaign during the cold war. It was produced about 1950. Many of the scenes in the film are still recognizable today.
VIDEOThe Dust Bowl forms an enduring part of America's image of Oklahoma. Produced by the federal government in 1936, this film is a classic American documentary that tells the Dust Bowl story from a contemporary perspective.
The Flâneur
collection two
Articles in This Collection:

"Flâneur" is a French term, dating back to the 16th or 17th century, referring to the urban wanderer, the city explorer, the aimless walker observing the sights of city life. Walter Benjamin described the flâneur "as the essential figure of the modern urban spectator, an amateur detective and investigator of the city."

It is the spirit of Benjamin's description that we dedicate this section of the Tulsa Studies. The illustrated articles in this section are devoted to things we see happening around us today in Tulsa, however weighty or insignificant things may seem at first glance.

The subject matter of these articles may be anything ...the idea is simply to capture what's happening and what's interesting. The goal is Observation, the activity of looking.

What is found can be surprising, and often full of meaning,

NEWFar from the world of color postcards on the souvenir stands are other Tulsa views with different stories to tell. This collection provies some "alternative" views of Tulsa.
Fall brings cool breezes and a landscape of new colors. In this study we look at Fall in Tulsa.
Tulsans have often been ambivalent about our city's relationship with the State of Oklahoma, but Oklahoma is the state we are in. To understand Tulsa, we also need to understand our state and our city's relation to it. In this article we review some highlights of our state's political development.
Tulsa streets have become museums of the people with expanding selections of wall art. We find some that is just graffiti, but even the graffiti often has esthetic charm. In this collection of photos we look at examples of wall art and consider the question of what it means.
Graffiti is not only on the walls of the city, it is a continuous art exhibit passing through town on sides of the train cars of the Burlington Northern. Train gaffiti tells us something about the breakdown of social order as we once knew it.
Tulsans have often been ambivalent about our city's relationship with the State of Oklahoma, but Oklahoma is the state we are in. To understand Tulsa, we also need to understand our state and our city's relation to it. In this article we review some highlights of our state's political development.
A Tulsan Abroad
collection three
Articles in This Collection:

Tulsans have always been travelers. From the original native peoples of the Plains to the settlers who who came in the 20th century, Oklahoma has always been the home of travelers. The petroleum industry added an international dimension to our travels and gave us global connections.

As Tulsans traveled the world representing the oil companies headquartered in Tulsa they experienced new cultures and different ways of life, just as leisure traveleres of our own day do. The experience of travel, and the knowledge gained by travelers, is something we bring home. By what we share of our new knowledge, and by our example, we influence others around us. The influence of travel on us is transmitted to those around us.

This section is dedicated to the little discussed question of how our city is affected by the expereinces of our travelerers and what they bring home. We'll do this primarily by looking at the personal experiences of Rodger Randle, the Center's Director, and by his own example of the transformative character of travel.

The devastating earthquakes of January 2023 have drown our attention to southeastern Turkey. One of the most impacted cities was Urfa (Sanliurfa), a place I visited near 20 years ago. This essay provides impressions of the people as I saw them during a much happier time. Urfa is, or was, one of the most enjoyable and livable places I have visited.
Lima, Peru, is the second largest metropolitan area in South America, but its old historic center still maintains a flavor of earlier times. These photos provide impressions of the city from a trip made 15 years ago.
Among the most interesting Afro-Descendent of the Americas are the Garífuna found in Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala. This collection introduces the Garífuna and their way of life.
Photos collected from several countries I have visited serve as a reminder of how much we all have in common with one another, regardless of our outward differences. I may be different in race, age, or background from the people in these portraits, but I see myself reflected in the face of each one.

For the version in Portuguese of "People Like Me", click here.
Tulsans have often been ambivalent about our city's relationship with the State of Oklahoma, but Oklahoma is the state we are in. To understand Tulsa, we also need to understand our state and our city's relation to it. In this article we review some highlights of our state's political development.
The Car and the City
collection four
Articles in This Collection:

Tulsa was changing during these years, but other American cities were changing too. Throughout the country, the automobile was transforming the landscape of cities. The old patterns of how people lived were being replaced by new ones, impacting the nature of community and altering how people related to each other in the new urban geography of car-based living.

The articles in this section of this study are about transformation in Tulsa and how, after decades of changes, we have become the place we are now. Why have we come to be so different from the city we once were? What was the role of the automobile in causing this change? What other factors contributed? These are the questions we will consider in the course of this study.

The method we will follow is simple. Dividing the project into three sections of past, present, and future, we will gather articles that provide observations, facts, and bits of history about Tulsa. You can think of it as a “city tour” that explores Tulsa’s origins, examines current trends, and projects future possibilities.

The automobile was once a glamourous thing that came in bright colors. Today they come in shades of grey. Why has the role of the automobile changed in American society, and what does it tell us about who we are today?
Low-rise apartment buildings were found throughout Tulsa's older neighborhood. Many still stand. In earlier days they were an essential element in allowing neighborhoods to be walkable communities.

OU Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture

Prof. Rodger A. Randle, Director
The University of Oklahoma Tulsa
4502 East 41st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135
E-mail: randle@ou.edu