to acknowledge people's bonds to place, entrepreneur's collision, and the regulatory function" (p. 41). Thus, the reality of places is constructed through social actions including both individual and collective efforts, through informal associations and institutions of government and the economy, rather than through the inherent qualities (Logan and Lolotch, 1987, p.45). Hence, the conclusion is well constructed. The authors effectively use 'compare and contrast' structure and 'cause and effect' structure in the chapter to build and enhance their argument. They also back up their arguments citing various researchers throughout the chapter, in almost all the sections, making their argument more persuasive. Logan and Molotch enhances the Davis (ch. 2) Prevalence of Slums In the second chapter of the book "Planet of Slums," Mike Davis seeks to answer what characteristics and types of slums are prevalent in different parts of the world. Davis continues his startled, alarmed, disgruntled and depressing tone from the previous chapter. Overall, the chapter is divided into two parts. The first part attempts to explore and examine the global slum census, and the other part describes the various slum typologies Chris Abani's quotes perfectly sets the tone for the chapter. Davis starts this chapter by referring to "The Challenge of Slums," a report published by the UN-HABITAT. He dedicates the first two paragraphs to build credibility and validity of the report. Davis (2006) writes that the report is a "truly global audit of urban poverty" (p. 20). In the 'A Global Slum Census' section, Davis provides factual data and figures to portray the staggering rise in urban slum population, particularly of least-developed countries. He writes that only six percent of the city population of the developed countries includes residents of slums, while 78.2 percent of urbanites in the least-developed countries resides in 23). He also comments on the UN's official definition of the slum, "characterized by overcrowding, poor or informal housing, inadequate access to safe water and sanitation, and insecurity of tenure." (Davis, 2006, 23). According to Davis, this definition is "restricted to the physical and legal characteristics of the settlement" (Davis, 2006, 23). Moreover, slums are diverse in different parts of the world. In Latin America and in some Asian cities, hand-me-down housing is common. In most of the Third World, hand-me-down housing is less common than tenements and purpose-built rental housing. In sub-Saharan Africa, older inner-city tenement housing is more or less
...ll. The inner city has many complications the fact that most are African American is a mere coincidence. If we as a nation are capable of fixing all institutions and structural issues we could bring the slums out of poverty. The cycle of unemployment and poverty is a terrible cycle that cannot only be judged by race and cultural values. When reading this book keep in mind the difficulties, any family or person could go through these tribulations. There are many arguments and sides to each problem; this is another one of those. The battle for inner city poverty, and the factors that go along with it, has not been finished. Wilson brings out a different aspect which could help people expand horizons and come up with better solutions.
In the Pulitzer prize-winning novel Evicted, sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight families as he exposes how the lack of affordable housing perpetuates a state of poverty. He even goes so far as to assert that it is eviction that is a cause of poverty, not the other way around (Desmond 229). While this latter argument is as engrossing and it is striking, analyzing it with justice is simply not possible within the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, it is these two factors—inescapable poverty and eviction—that engender an unrelenting condition of financial, emotional, and communal instability, effectively hindering any chance of upward mobility.
From "No Place Like Home/Community and the Marketplace" (p. 191 - 193) How Cities Work by Alex Marshall, University of Texas Press Austin, 2013.
Twenty years ago, Stack sought to explain why the impoverished area was not subject to conventional judgment and evaluation by describing the primary differences between that society, and the more affluent culture that defines the standards. To say, for example, that the average black household is unstructured would be a misstatement. On the contrary, these households are elaborately structured, but in a more fluid manner than the conventional home. Typically, these subcultures are negatively defined – or judged by what they are not. Through this lens, The Flats appears to be a disheveled mess of rats scurrying for the next scrap of food. Walking into this situation, Stack had to prove the notion that “distinctively negative features attributed to poor families, that they are fat...
This investigation is based on the assumption that gentrification with all its troubles can’t be prevented and is an inherent part of every city. What are the negative impacts of gentrification? What are the underlying mechanisms that feed these impacts? What drives these mechanisms? What would be an alternative scenario?
“Understanding people who are homeless also plays a very important role – as many poor people who are being provided homes through government schemes are renting their homes to others and they are going back to their previous dwellings (slums/huts). The solution to slums is not to evict people, or to eradicate the dwellings, but to create conditions so that people can improve their own dwellings, with the assistance of the community. One of the best ways to do that is by giving slum-dwellers security of tenure, so they know they are protected against arbitrary, unfair, or illegal eviction. If people know that, even if they only make a couple of hundred dollars a year, which many people do, they'll spend money improving their house that they wouldn't otherwise do if they were afraid of being evicted. If governments acted in partnership with people in this way, many good things could
Cairo is what is considered a mega city, it is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa, and as such it is plagued by most of the problems that major Third world cities face, in overcrowding, pollution and poverty. Of course being the capital it is also home to a wide spectrum of social classes and groups. This paper will focus on how the dynamic between these social classes is affected by poverty and overcrowding and how the community as well as the government cope with these problems or don’t. First, we must analyze the situation with poverty and overcrowding like how they are measured and portrayed to society, and then we can assess the effect of this portrayal on the different social classes in Cairo.
A reoccurring theme that arises in cultural geography is social norms and how they affect us. Both readings go into great detail of how these social norms and economic forces influence how we as society design and build new landscapes. The landscape I analyzed was Tim Horton’s field. I will look closely at the stadium as a whole and particularly the actually field. This essay will look at the socio-economic factors that decided everything from the choice of the name to the actual design and build of the stadium; there will be direct comparisons of the previous field to reinforce my points.
Inner City Communities are often areas which are both densely populated and deteriorating(quote). The areas and its residents have strongly been correlated with social and economical disparity. Residents of inner city communities have been plagued with problems including: “high unemployment, poor health care, inadequate educational opportunities, dilapidated housing, high infant mortality, and extreme poverty” (Attitudes and Perceptions, n.d). Though the inner city communities have been stricken with
Homelessness is associated with a culture unique to individuals who have, unstable housing or no housing who live on the streets, public places, shelters, halfway homes or in their cars. Homelessness is defined statistically as a state of not having a place to stay (Ravenhill, 2016). The statistical definition of homelessness conflicts with the perception of homeless people because for some homeless individuals the concept of home refers to a refuge, safe place, relationship with other homeless individuals, a unique personal space or an emotional and psychological refuge (Ravenhill). Even though homeless individuals do not have a stable place to stay they may have a place they call home.
He attempts to appeal to the emotional side of a person by showing the struggling times the homeless face. When he interviewed a homeless a woman who did not graduate from high school, he says “ashamed of a learning disability that got in the way of her reading” (p.395). This line appeals to the emotional side of the reader because it shows how this woman did not pass because she had a disability and because of it the world had shut her off forcing her into a tent city. Scott Bransford later in his article refers to these tent cities as the Hoovervilles and slums. This allows the connection with the environment to compare the historical past of America to give a better sense of understanding to add a connection with the Great Depression. The slums reference also allows a connection to be made by how the American society resembles a struggling nation rather than the stable nation it portrays to
Of the many problems affecting urban communities, both locally and abroad, there is one issue in particular, that has been victimizing the impoverished within urban communities for nearly a century; that would be the problem of gentrification. Gentrification is a word used to describe the process by which urban communities are coerced into adopting improvements respective to housing, businesses, and general presentation. Usually hidden behind less abrasive, or less stigmatized terms such as; “urban renewal” or “community revitalization” what the process of gentrification attempts to do, is remove all undesirable elements from a particular community or neighborhood, in favor of commercial and residential enhancements designed to improve both the function and aesthetic appeal of that particular community. The purpose of this paper is to make the reader aware about the significance of process of gentrification and its underlying impact over the community and the community participation.
...he squatter camps of the city which they are living. Moreover slums are also the source of all kinds of social evils such as drugs and prostitution because of the lowest security.
Shanty towns, as Google defines them, are deprived areas on the outskirts of cities consisting of large numbers of crude dwellings. There is already a countless number of shantytowns around the world, but that number is growing. The main reason why families are moving into shantytowns is economic opportunities…“The driving force behind these migrations is the abundance of jobs in the cities” (Teghrarian, 1997). People, in hopes of pursuing a new career and making money for their family, often resort to these shantytowns for a temporary living space, but soon find out it’s too hard to leave (Painting with appositives). The families that populate shantytowns often work harder than the average citizen, but are forced to live in dirt and tents,
Many synonyms have been used in literature to refer to informal settlements. These include spontaneous, irregular, unplanned, marginal and squatter settlements. Some literatures have used the terms slums and informal settlements interchangeably (UNHSP, 2003). While a clear definition for informal settlements is still difficult to find (ibid), some organisations have given descriptions of informal settlements....