Baltimore Urban Geography

Baltimore city had a strong economy, and it was among the top prosperous cities in the United States (U.S)leadingin wages, jobs, and industries up until the 1950s. Since the 1960s, however, the city has seen a decline in its economy as a result of systematic governance failures. Recently, Baltimore has been experiencing an increase in homicide unlike prior years, and in fact, by the end of 2015, various law enforcement organizations predict the city will break its homicide record. As a citizen, Baltimore’s murder rate is a crucial issue to tackle than police brutality because it is symptom indicative of larger issues that need to be addressed and solved in the black community. Three major issues often talked about in Baltimore

Comparatively, the inner-city demographics hindered the boy’s chances of social mobility and personal growth along with the social brutality. A city is like a machine in the sense that every part of the city works together to bring

Social and economic disparities are plaguing the city of Baltimore. There are numerous issues that the city of Baltimore is facing, many of which did not come to light until the case of Freddie Gray. On April 2015, a 25-year-old black man by the name of Freddie Gray fell victim to police brutality. After the discovery of his death and the unreasonable way he was treated, Baltimoreans began to protest. The anger and frustration began to escalate due to other social and economic problems the city faces regularly.

Moreover, he lives in a society where the predominant caste system inherently assigns each individual with a predetermined role. Thus, children like Jamal, Salim, and their companion, Latika, become both socially and spatially excluded by society. In fact, they are denied the same opportunities as regular children and their freedoms are regulated by the absent, yet restrictive influence of the social system. It is absent because these kids lack the basic necessities to aid them in their survival; they are on their own, with no one to look out for them except for themselves. On the other hand, the same system limits these kids by denying them access to resources that would help improve their situation (i.e. education, healthcare, etc.). Through the fates of such characters, the viewer is given glimpses into the relatively unexplored, misunderstood and complex world of street children, as their live their lives outside the conventional view of childhood. More often than not, those who are born into such impoverished conditions, remain in the same state, up until their death. Jamal, for instance, becomes a “chai wallah...[who serves] tea [to] people.” His mobility is restricted, and his opportunities are limited due to his lack of education and reduced social status. It also is implied that this is the fate that society has set out for

inner city with precision which can represent larger topics such as race and class in our

The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While

This was a city that was known for its violence, crime, and poverty. Author Wes Moore gives us statistics throughout the book. We know that when Author Wes was in middle school, 99% of the children were black and 70% of those children were on the school lunch program. At the time, Baltimore City had a dropout rate of 70% and its graduation rate was 38%. “In 1991, 11.7% of girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen had given birth. More than one out of ten” (Moore 100). Drugs were not uncommon either. According to Author Wes Moore, “There were over 100,000 known addicts in Baltimore, and the real number was arguably higher. The city’s population was just under 700,000” (111-112). When a child is exposed to these situations and scenarios, especially when they are a part of daily life, it becomes a norm in. Other Wes Moore witnessed these events take place. His brother was involved in the dealing of drugs and, later on, Other Wes Moore became part of the drug business as

During the 1990s, a decrease in the employment sectors many black middle class families moved out into Baltimore County. The cost of housing made it difficult to sustain the cost of living. In 2014, the number of Whites within Baltimore had the highest number in migration. However, within the white population a better advantage of resources were available such as loans, jobs, entertainment, education, and technology making it easier to live within Baltimore. Gentrification has pushed Blacks with low income to move out while the White population continues to move into Baltimore because of the access to better quality of life. Many within this type of White population have higher education, are able to save and plan to start families, and moved due to housing related purposes.

Regarding the film and associated reading, they both are related and embraces a specific way in which a person or group lives. The film directly wavers between middle-class values and street values in the way it portrays the value of hard work and ambition versus the unrest of poverty and street surviving. For example, Mookie was criticized by his boss and girlfriend for being lazy and lacking ambition. Actually, he was never given a chance by the boss' son who didn't like blacks. In the excerpt, There Are No Children Here, the children were exposed to so much unrest at a young age that most fell victim to life in the streets and therefore followed the street values that correlate with it. However, the story embraced the desire for the children in those circumstances to be rewarded with an education, a good job and to leave the poverty stricken atmosphere (Kotlowitz, 17). The theme was racial imbalance which promoted the dislike of police

Many cities are known for their downtown area and their harbors that are along the different waterways. Baltimore Maryland is a well-known area when it comes to its downtown harbor. Each year the downtown area attracts thousands of tourists and celebrities. Its most popular time of the year is during the late spring and summer. Many tourists like to come and enjoy the harbor and the seafood that the city is well known for. Although the city experiences some pretty harsh winters, the summer is a totally different story. The city of Baltimore was founded in July of 1729, and was named after Lord Baltimore. In 1814 the colonist won the battle of Baltimore which forced the state of Maryland to become part of the union, but kept slavery legal. In 1861 union troops started a war which lasted until 1865. In February of 1904 the city experienced the great fire of Baltimore

Viewing the complex matter of gentrification succinctly, it helps to uncover how multifaceted it is; in that gentrification involves the oppression, marginalization, displacement of vulnerable populations, particularly, the poor, and the black who are often already negatively impacted by the effects of classism, and racism. Gentrification threatens to erode the communities and livelihood maintained by these set of people because their displacement becomes a precondition for the total transformation of the area.

In the beginning of the movie one can tell that the less developed, or "slums",

Detropia is a documentary directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that explores the decline of Detroit, Michigan. The film is to raise awareness of the city that used to flourish but is now struggling to support its citizens with the downfall of its automobile industry. Detropia was made in 2012 and highlights important stories and viewpoints of citizens still living in Detroit who are filled with hope for its future. I chose to review Detropia because it really corresponds with what we have been discussing in Geography, such as urban geography and population growth. Urban geography is a subdiscipline of geography that deals with areas of the Earth’s surface that have a high concentration of buildings and architecture. The documentary Detropia goes into depth of why Detroit’s population is dissolving and what is being done about it.

In the Iranian film, Children of Heaven, the city has an affect how people communicate, how they develop. Correspondingly, an urban atmosphere affects what people’s attitudes and cultures are depending on their social status is. There are many somatic setting differences between the unfortunate and the fortunate, for example what Ali’s family wears and where the family lives compared to the gated communities as shown in the film. Moreover, the consequences of the urban environment in a city. Ali and Zhara are definitely exposed to an urban environment that could potentially shape how they act, or who they become as they get older.

The city that we modeled is Chicago, and what we noticed throughout our intense research was that Chicago most resembles the Sector Model. Hoyt’s Sector Model is an urban city model describing urban land uses and patterns. In this model, social classes are separated by a series of sectors and or wedges which originate from the core, the central business district, and in the case of Chicago, the ‘Chicago Loop’. The blah blah blah of Chicago has lead to the formation of these characteristics that so closely resembles Hoyt’s Model.