Chapter 16 Urban Problems

Urbanization The process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in: –Cities rather than in rural areas –Began with industrialization, which lead to the growth of cities –Brought profound changes and problems © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Suburbanization Began with efforts to correct the housing shortage following WWII –The “Baby Boom” The Housing Act of 1949 gave builders incentives to develop affordable housing –Lenient lending policies allowed veterans to buy homes © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Suburbanization Availability of inexpensive land Low-cost mass construction methods New federally financed highway systems Inexpensive gasoline Racial tension in central cities Consumers’ demands for single-family homes on individual lots © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cities Today Many edge cities exist –Wealthy living areas that are not dependent on central cities Increasing Megalopolis: –Continuous concentration of 2 or more cities and their suburbs that have grown until: They form an interconnected urban area © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban Problems Fiscal Crisis: Causes of financial problems –People and businesses have moved to the suburbs –Central cities are left with shrinking sources of revenue –Suburbanites who use city services do not pay taxes to the city © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Health Care Crisis Medical facilities are subject to cutbacks when cities face economic problems People in impoverished sections are more likely to become ill or injured Drug-related problems and HIV/AIDS Managed care plans and hospital chains streamline services to create a profit © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Housing Problems Housing shortage: –Lack of safe, livable, low-income housing Empty buildings increase fear –Places for drug dealers and fugitives to hide Gentrification, the process of restoring older properties in central cities: –Depletes the stock of affordable housing © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Homelessness Data on the actual number is unavailable U.S. Conference of Mayors surveys show –People of color are over-represented African Americans make up the largest part of the homeless population –Families and children are the fastest growing segment © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Racial and Ethnic Segregation 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act has only slight decreased segregation in U.S. Unequal property taxation on comparable homes –African Americans are likely to move to suburbs with a declining tax base “White Flight” © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems in Global Cities Current urban problems include: –Overcrowding; Environmental pollution; Disappearance of farmland Natural increases in population account for 2/3 of new urban growth Migration has also caused rapid increases in population © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems in Global Cities As global urbanization increases, nations occupy different positions –Core nations are dominant capitalist centers Referred to as global and post-industrial cities –Peripheral nations depend on core nations for capital Most countries in S. America and the Caribbean © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems in Global Cities –Semi-peripheral nations are more developed than peripheral nations; less than core nations India, Iran, and Mexico Difficult for peripheral and semi peripheral nations to change position due to: –Exploitation by core nations © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives Functionalist: –Urban problems are the result of 3 processes: Mass migration during the Industrial Revolution lead to social disorganization Large-scale immigration in the late 19th and 20th centuries Mass suburbanization © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives Conflict: –Cities grow or decline according to decisions made by capitalists and the political elite –Solution: Other than major changes to the political economy, the solution lies in: Political activism and organized resistance to oppressive conditions © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives Interactionist: –Urban living experienced differently according to how people subjectively experience it –Georg Simmel thought urban life is so stimulating that people become: Insensitive to those around them © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perspectives Urban living gives people opportunities for individualism and autonomy –Louis Wirth thought that urbanism produces feelings of alienation and powerlessness –Solution: The way to avoid alienation is to develop sub-cultural ties © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.