Contemporary Urban Issues AP Human Geography Cities and Urban Land Use Unit

Inner City Problems

Physical Problems of Inner Cities: Deterioration Filtering: the process of dividing up a large home into small apartments for low income families Filtering leads to deterioration: (1.) Landlords stop maintaining houses (2.) Buildings deteriorate and grow unfit for occupancy (3.) Owners abandon the property which lead to zones of abandonment and uneven dvlp Camden, NJ

Physical Problems of Inner Cities: Deterioration Redlining: drawing lines on a map to identify areas in which they will refuse to loan money Redlining leads to deterioration: (1.) Families who try to fix up homes in the area have difficulty borrowing money Detroit, MI Camden, NJ

Physical Problems of Inner Cities: Deterioration Urban Renewal: blighted neighborhood are acquired and demolished - residents are relocated, often to public housing Public housing leads to deterioration: (1.) Funds given are reduced (30%) (2.) Become unsatisfactory living quarters Camden, NJ New Orleans, LA

Social Problems of Inner Cities: Underclass Cycle of economic and social problems that creates a culture of poverty Poverty characteristics of u-class: (1.) Homelessness (1 million each night in U.S.) (2.) High crime rates due to drugs, gangs, and hs dropout (3.) Ethnic segregation (minority-majority neighborhoods) (4.) Single parent households (80 – 90% in U.S.) Camden, NJ New Orleans, LA

Ethnic Segregation of Houston

Economic Problems of Inner Cities Lack of investment by business owners Gentrification can create an inability of some owners to pay for their home due to increased taxes Joblessness due to: (1.) Deindustrialization (2.) Suburbanization (3.) Lack of job skills Camden, NJ New Orleans, LA

(1.) Lowest-value homes are becoming more clustered in certain parts (2.) Higher-value homes are increasingly being built in the suburbs (3.) The inner city remains an area of low-value homes

Da Burbs!