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Published byDrusilla Gibbs Modified over 8 years ago
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CHANGES IN US CITIES
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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
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ALIQUIPPA, PA (NEAR PITTSBURGH)
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B. 1949 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”
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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
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Chicago’s housing projects
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Toronto, Ontario
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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
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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
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D. “FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY” Many urban poor are elderly or head-of- household women with small children
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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
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Camden, NJ
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F. “GHETTOIZATION” A process when inner cities become areas of concentrated poverty where immigrants and minorities fight over scarce jobs and resources
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Underclass needs the most social services but are the least able to pay taxes to support them
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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%)
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G. TENEMENTS Rundown apartment buildings that are minimally kept up by landlords because their value is so low
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H. SEGREGATION The process of consciously or unconsciously separating residential sectors by race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status
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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
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2) RACIAL STEERING: Occurs when real estate agents show homes only in certain neighborhoods based on the race or ethnicity of the buyer
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3) REDLINING: The refusal of lending institutions to give loans to people wanting to buy in high-risk areas
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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Baltimore’s Inner Harbor
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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 )
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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
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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
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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
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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
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