Addressing Problems Of Urban Communities

Living in communities that are run down, neglected and forgotten takes a toll on all members of the community. This is especially true when residents witness new properties being erected around the city as their own neighborhoods are deemed “ghettos” and not receiving the investment necessary for improvements. Many of the low income housing that is available to city residents aren’t the most desirable properties as they may have structural deficiencies, lead paint, rats and roaches running amuck. Many older properties also do not have adequately functioning heat or hot water availability. The housing projects also do not have air conditioning. On hot days, having no cool break in addition to all the other negative social factors, this can be a deadly combination that may perpetuate frustrations and ultimately lead to violence.

From 1890 to 1920, cities in the United States experienced a rapid growth that was unprecedented in years previous. This growth was caused by a number of factors and resulted in both positive and negative consequences. Such factors included, industrialization, technological advances, migration and immigration. Although American cities greatly improved by the expeditious urbanization, these factors also developed numerous challenges including pollution, sanitation problems, a need for environmental reform, political corruption, overcrowding, high crime rates and segregation.

All in all the industrial revolution had a positive effect on society, accomplishing things many do not realize and creating a turn of events that would put the USA as the world power. New farming methods meant better diets, which lead to lower death rates. Efficient and useful inventions, as well as machinery, made it easier for people to work, and made more job opportunities, as well as enjoyment in the workplace. More and easier ways of travel became commonplace, such as railroads. In addition, as cities began to grow, streetlights provided safety at night, and our economy grew greatly. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because it caused children to be used as workers and made school

It was activists from the wealthy and poor blocks that organized to reduce crime. These tenant activists involved city agencies and lending organizers to work to create a better a community (Snyder, 2015). The residences formed a relationship with their local police to implement social control that worked this its environment. They identified the need for formal social control as informal social control activism was not enough. The community began to bridge the gap between policy and the neighborhood. Through community activism, Washington Heights continued to see a decline in crime and the start of gentrification. Today, Washington Heights has one of the lowest crime rates in New York City and the borough of Manhattan (NYC Police, 2017). The community’s relationship with the New York City Police Department is not perfect. Areas that are predominantly people of color or lower socioeconomic status do face barriers in working with police. However, this is not an isolated issue as most of the country, especially people of color, have a negative relationship with police members. It seems to be a systemic problem within the police and how social control should be enforced. Washington Heights is an example of how communities and law enforcement can come together to change a neighborhood.

Crime is something that happens every day. Many people fear it, but it is a factor that people cannot escape. In places, like Detroit, people are surrounded by violent crime. Either they are the victims of it, or the committers, but it was not always like this. During the sixties, Detroit was one of the most lucrative cities in the country. Many people moved there to seek jobs in the automotive factories which increased the population to 1.85 million. (Padnani, 2013) However, this is not the case now. Many of the factories have moved, putting people and their families at a disadvantage. A numerous amount of workers relied on these jobs to feed their families. Since then, Detroit has faced a significant amount of hardships that has caused the city to deteriorate effecting education, employment, and the crime rate each factor acts as a chain reaction. The lack of diversity in the city can be a factor of the crime rate as well because Detroit is filled with a large population of minorities. Many politicians have looked for ways to solve the problem, but nothing has been proven to work.

There is a strong support for the belief that when citizens feel that their neighborhood is no longer safe, the feeling of insecurity forces them to move away. What it is important to mention is that this option will most likely be available to the middle class or those who can afford to move, but not to the poor, who have fewer choices. If the middle class moves out and the poor stay, the neighborhood will inevitably become economically disadvantaged. If by any of the already mentioned reasons an individual has to move out to a more hospitable environment, he will lack his trust and confidence in police 's ability to provide its first obligation, which is safety to the public. To deter this, police must

The authors hypothesized in their study that concentrated disadvantage would decrease and residential stability would increase the collective efficacy of a neighborhood. In the study, concentrated disadvantage and residential stability were examined to determine if there is a relationship with interpersonal violence. It was also hypothesized that collective efficacy has some sort of an effect on neighborhood stratification (Sampson et al., 1997).

The crisis in Baltimore city has had a widespread effect on the entire population. Despite, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings ensuring that the security and civil rights of the citizens will be protected; the people of Baltimore have lost faith in those who have the authority to make significant changes within the city. Because of their distrust and constant frustration, the people within the city have decided to riot and cause havoc throughout the neighborhoods of Baltimore. The growing violence within the city of Baltimore shows that the frustration of the people runs deep and it will take a substantial amount of time to correct the issue. Many believe that constant funding will bring about change instantly. There will be change but it will take some time and due to slow progression many become frustrated. The frustration of the people has been compounding due to a variety of things such as lack of employment, minimal funds, and the constant frustration of those in authority i.e. the police. The consistent rioting of the people in Baltimore have led to issues of safety in the area. Those who have decided not to riot must then take refuge within their homes or another safe haven because their safety is being jeopardized. Safety is a huge issue amongst the city of Baltimore and have led to violent crime rates, property crime rates, and unsafe streets.

This project is a focus on how variables such as population, ethnicity, and income affect crime rates throughout different neighborhoods throughout a city. I feel that this information finding this information could be useful to many people. For example if you are looking to buy a new home or even start a new business, you’ll probably want it located in a safe neighborhood. This study will help identify the signs of a safe neighborhood. Knowing why crime rates are higher in some areas may also help prevent the crime rate to rise in other neighborhoods. For example, if crime rates are higher in neighborhoods with

Crime is more dominant in low-income housing. The US has relatively high rates of crime, ranking third in intentional homicide, fourth in rape, and eighth in the rate of robbery in the world. Most of this crime is caused by America’s poverty. Families that make 15 thousand or less are three times as likely to commit a crime than families that bring in 75 thousand or more. In public housing it is a lot more likely to become a victim than in other areas. There is a cost that comes with it, whether it is injury, theft or the emotional damage caused by witnessing violence. This reality they face

Gentrification is often related to the improvement of community in terms of crimes, economy and housing conditions. In this article, Scott C Macdonald discusses the relationship between gentrification and crime rates and how it affects the residents of gentrified neighborhoods. Furthermore, Macdonald explains why gentrification should reduce crime by stating that affluent neighborhoods typically have low crime rates that poor neighborhoods, thus as the urban neighborhood become more affluent the crime rates should decrease because of the change in social class. Similarly, the new comers of the neighborhood tend to be more engaged in the neighborhood security activities such as organizing citizen patrols and neighborhood watches than

This can be described as a plan for a community and individuals, within that community using local resources and expertise to support themselves, and the vulnerable in that community in an emergency. In a manner that will complement the response teams alongside the emergency services.

The article shows how the Theory of Collective Efficacy can be possible in our communities even if the neighbors don’t have close ties with each other. The theory states that in order for collective efficacy to work the community should have a high presence of informal social control and cohesion. As the article demonstrates the residents in this community shared similar believes and values. They felt the need to form community level interventions that would make their community safer to live in. The people were able to stablish an organized crime watch to be able to monitor their neighborhood and

Urban decay is caused by a clear lack of order and social control in a specific area (Ross 1999). Some of the consequences faced by urban decay include: high crime rates, deindustrialization, infrastructure decay, depopulation, and increased unemployment. Through a lack of adequate funding, communities are facing the consequences to their “state of peace, safety, and observance of the law.”(Ross 1999). In many cases, low income families are forced to live in areas that are experiencing urban decay which transfers the problems related to the city directly to them. With a lack of government funding, the infrastructure and resources available to primary and secondary educational facilities are extremely scarce. This results in a catastrophic decrease in the quality of education in these areas. Teachers are incentivized to accept jobs that provide them with higher wages and better working conditions. In these areas, it is difficult to find quality teachers willing to work in areas with lower wages, and a lack of resources. This is shown through the increased high school dropout rates in areas experiencing urban decay (Ross 1999). Because urban decay leads to high stress and depression for low income families, an increased chance of drug use and criminal activity involvement increases (Latkin 2005). Psychological damage in these areas have impacted behavioral problems with the members of the community. Depression and interpersonal problems are causing delinquent activity and increased crime rates in impoverished areas. These areas are the home for a cycle of poverty that is extremely hard to

"Living in a place shouldn't condemn a person to poor health, weak education, unsafe living conditions or segregation from other races, socio-economic classes, and religions. However, in cities around the world urban youth face countless barriers to successful lives." (Fletcher). One of the biggest issues facing social services today is the urban youth problem. Many people believe that this issue with the urban youth is that they are all thugs, poor, and/ or pregnant teens. The truth is urban youth face these issues is because of the disadvantages they are provided with. The stigma against the urban youth just enhances the problem. The education system is lousy, the health system is inadequate, and the segregation is very high. All these issues are not the fault of this group, these systems are completely out of their grasps.