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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 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, including housing shortages, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, pollution, and crime

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Mass Suburbanization and its Results 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 Shift away from central cities set up economic and racial divisions that still exist today

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Map 16.1: Levittown, New York Developed by Abraham Levitt and Sons, Levittown was the first large-scale, mass-produced housing development in the U.S. More than 17,000 single- family residences, occupied by more than 82,000 people were located in Levittown.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Mass Suburbanization and its Results, Cont’d. Other factors that lead to 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 Edge cities are wealthy living areas that are not dependent on central cities

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Why Cities are in Fiscal Crisis People and businesses have moved to the suburbs Central cities are left with shrinking sources of revenue Many remaining residents are poor, unemployed, or older on fixed incomes; cities must still provide services for them Suburbanites who use city services do not pay taxes to the city

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Reasons for Crisis in Health Care in U.S. Cities 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 create an added burden Managed care plans and hospital chains streamline services to create a profit

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Housing Shortage Costs of safety standards and building codes lead to abandoned buildings Lack of safe, livable, low-income housing Federal housing has been high-rise buildings, which intensify problems Gentrification, which is the process of restoring older properties in central cities, depletes the stock of affordable housing

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Homelessness Data on the actual number of homeless are unavailable U.S. Conference of Mayors surveys show  People of color are over-represented (2004) 49% African Americans 35% Whites 13% Latinos/as 2% Native Americans 1% Asian Americans  Families and children are the fastest growing segment Perspectives to help the homeless focus on personal problems, which downplays structural factors, especially low-income housing and mental health care

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Reasons for Residential Segregation Custom steering people of color to different neighborhoods by landlords, homeowners, and realtors  African Americans have experienced the greatest level of residential segregation than any other minority group Unequal property taxation on comparable homes  African Americans are likely to move to suburbs with a declining tax base “White Flight” occurs as African Americans move in

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Major Problems in Global Cities Overcrowding Environmental pollution Disappearance of farmland Water shortages

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Major Problems in Global Cities, Cont’d. 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  Semi-peripheral nations are more developed than peripheral nations but less so than core nations India, Iran, and Mexico

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Functionalist Perspective on Urban Problems Urban problems are the result of: Mass migration during the Industrial Revolution lead to social disorganization Large-scale immigration in the late 19th and 20th centuries  Mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity Mass suburbanization Solution: Create metropolitan governments

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Conflict Perspective on Urban Problems Cities grow or decline according to decisions made by capitalists and the political elite Solution: Political activism and organized resistance to oppressive conditions

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Symbolic Interactionist Perspective on Urban Problems Urban living is 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  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