CHANGES IN US CITIES

1. URBAN DETERIORATION a. American cities lost their economic base and stability during the 20 th century due to suburbanization, especially the older cities on the East Coast

ALIQUIPPA, PA (NEAR PITTSBURGH)

B HOUSING ACT As urban land value plummeted after WWII, the government bought up land and began building public housing (government constructed, regulated, and subsidized low-income housing) => “The Projects”

1949 HOUSING ACT 1) The largest public housing unit in the world was 28 buildings housing 4,321 apartments in Chicago … all it did was created the biggest concentration of poverty in America

Chicago’s housing projects

Toronto, Ontario

1949 HOUSING ACT 2) Urban public housing has been considered a failure: apartments were abandoned and vandalized, the projects became the center of urban crime, and homeless rates increased instead of decreased during the late 20 th century

C. “WHITE FLIGHT” Urban demographics changed as white, middle-class residents moved to the suburbs and the poorer residents were left behind => central city residential sections became overwhelming minority, female, and poor

D. “FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY” Many urban poor are elderly or head-of- household women with small children

E. INNER CITY DECAY Those parts of large urban areas that lose significant portions of their populations as a result of economic or demographic change => loss of tax base => increased poverty

Camden, NJ

F. “GHETTOIZATION” A process when inner cities become areas of concentrated poverty where immigrants and minorities fight over scarce jobs and resources

Underclass needs the most social services but are the least able to pay taxes to support them

GHETTOIZATION 2) Poor, mainly minorities, are trapped in the inner cities without low-wage job opportunities, reliable transportation, or good schools => endless cycle of urban poverty (March 2014 national unemployment rate was 6.7%; the inner city unemployment rate was ≈15%)

G. TENEMENTS Rundown apartment buildings that are minimally kept up by landlords because their value is so low

H. SEGREGATION The process of consciously or unconsciously separating residential sectors by race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status

1) BLOCKBUSTING When real estate agents try to induce people to sell their homes because of a perception that a different race or ethnicity is moving into the neighborhood and lowering the property values

2) RACIAL STEERING: Occurs when real estate agents show homes only in certain neighborhoods based on the race or ethnicity of the buyer

3) REDLINING: The refusal of lending institutions to give loans to people wanting to buy in high-risk areas

2. GENTRIFICATION The movement of middle and upper- income people back to central cities who rehabilitate the residential structures and change the social character of neighborhoods

GENTRIFICATION a. Began in the 1990s as educated and affluent home seekers (mainly DINKs and yuppies) were attracted to the economic and cultural opportunities, nightlife and restaurants, and the turn-of-the-century architecture found in cities

GENTRIFICATION b.Has reversed some of the stagnation and decline in cities and led to government and private investment in revitalizing the older sections 1)New construction and companies => growth in non-basic services => growth in tax revenues => infrastructure upgraded and beautified

GENTRIFICATION 2)“Circular and cumulative” urban revitalization (the construction of new shopping districts, entertainment venues, and cultural attractions to entice young urban professionals back into the cities after a period of inner city decay)

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

C. POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE Used in revitalized older cities blending historical foundations with modern touches and bright colors; a reaction to modern architecture (geometric structures made of concrete and glass )

D. DOWNSIDES 1)Uneven development: Inequalities in public and private investment between rich sections and poor sections of an urban area 2)Negative effect on low-income residents who are “priced out” of their neighborhoods as land values and taxes increase, and higher-end stores are brought in

DOWNSIDES 3)Disrupts the social structures and sense of community of ethnic and older neighborhoods 4)Causes renewed tension between socioeconomic groups and a larger gap between the rich and poor residential sections of a city

3. CONTINUING US URBAN PROBLEMS a.Crime: Gang activity, organized crime, and drug cartels remain focused in large cities b.Urban hydrology: How a city gets clean water to its citizens, removes dirty water from the system, and cleans it before “recycling” it c.Urban heat island effect: Due to congestion, pollution, and building materials (concrete, stone, blacktop, metal, brick, glass, etc.), cities retain and create heat

CONTINUING US URBAN PROBLEMS d.Traffic congestion: Mass transportation vs. more/wider roads e.Aging infrastructure and buildings in older cities, especially on the east coast