Poverty can be defined by a multitude of factors, and can be displayed in different forms in different regions. No two regions have identical dimensions of poverty, thus making it interesting for human geographers to explore, while also making it difficult to find a perfect solution. Portland is an interesting subject for studying poverty, given its lack of ethnic diversity but political progressiveness. It is curious to see how Portland’s politics and state of being conflict to create the inequalities present in the city today. According to Social Explorer, the city’s neighborhoods are mostly affluent, especially in the west, and in parts of Central Portland. East Portland consists of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, where, on an average, …show more content…
An education- qualification divide can also be seen in the city’s map. Residents with a bachelor’s degree or more live in West Portland, while the less educated parts of the population live in the West and Southwest parts of the city. Central Portland has the highest education levels in the city, with over 90 percent of the population having a bachelor’s degree or more. Correlating this map with the “Living in Poverty” map, we can surmise that residents with higher education are not poor. This can be attributed to their opportunities in tertiary or quaternary activities, that make more income per capita, which could create a class divide, thus explaining the darker colors separated from the lighter shades on the education map. Furthermore, populations that are less educated may not have the ability to migrate to a wealthier region, as explained by NYU sociologist Patrick Sharkey. Therefore, mapping the population’s achievement in obtaining a bachelor’s degree, one can notice the relationship between education of poverty: the more educated you are, the less likely you are to live in a poor …show more content…
Portland, known as the largest “big city” lacking ethnic diversity (Atlantic), poses a really interesting question about the relationship between race and poverty. Given the lack of racial diversity in the city, it isn’t easy to make connections between race and poverty rates; however, after acute observation, it is possible to notice a trend in Portland: West and Northwest Portland comprises of a population greater than 85 percent that is white, who have decreased levels of poverty when compared to other parts of the city. Additionally, they have greater rates of the population with a higher education, and over 90% of this population are homeowners. While race does not directly affect poverty levels in Portland, it does determine other conditions in a region that may have an effect on poverty
Income inequality has a direct relationship with middle class Americans’ destructive and poor lifestyle. In the poor areas of South Chicago, the black communities suffer “higher crime rates, poor performance in school, and family management,” said Robert Sampson, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago. Similarly, Harvard University sociologist William Julius Wilson found “patterns of racial exclusion” and “concentrated poverty” among the middle-class Americans in South Chicago “are much more likely to be exposed to crime and other manifestations of social dislocation and social problems…” Poor minority groups are not only affected by destructive and poor lifestyle due to income inequality but also, poor whites are affected. Poor
After finishing Albert Camus’ The Stranger, it is easy to see that I have read something similar to this work previously. I found myself able to correctly predict exactly what was going to happen to Meursault. This phenomenon is easily explained in Thomas Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor. In Chapter 5 of Foster’s work, he discusses how the majority of literature really builds off other works of literature. The tale of someone that has a mediocre live goes through a redemption with himself is very similar to the tale of Buddha.
The west and south of downtown Atlanta are the most disposed to poverty. Thus, despite the city’s growth, poverty remains still a significant issue, affecting mostly the communities of color.
Katherine S. Newman is an anthropologist who has carried out extensive and highly respected research on poverty and urban life. Previously at Columbia University, she is currently Ford Foundation Professor of Urban Studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is the author of several books; Declining Fortunes: The Withering of the American Dream, 1993, and Falling from Grace: Downward Mobility in the Age of Affluence, 1999. Her writings are on middle class economic instability, urban poverty, and the sociology of inequality. She previously taught at the University of California (Berkeley), Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton (Bibliography of Newman, Katherine, 2010).
First, we will analysis supermarket ratios, and income disparities to defined lack of access between Jackson Heights and Bayside. Second, we will analysis poverty rates, unemployment rates, and income disparities to defined economic disparities. Third, we will compare violence ratios to defined neighborhood stability. Finally, we will compare percentages of racial and ethnic populations, healthy food intake ratios within Jackson Heights and Bayside to define the racial and ethnic
The drastic reduction of stable manufacturing work in American cities remains one of the biggest, if not the foremost, issue linked to poverty. The growth in blue-collar factory, transportation and construction jobs that were traditionally held by men has dissipated for a variety of reasons, from Globalization to the rise in Illegal Immigration. This structural change in the inner-city job market is of particular interest because of the amalgamation of both Economics and Poverty/Segregation issues. Without clearly defining and addressing this crucial structural issue, the war on poverty will be extremely difficult to successfully address and overcome.
Compared to California’s education demographics, San Leandro has a higher percentage of high school graduate, but a lower percentage of higher educational attainment compared to the entire nation (bachelor’s degree or higher). Using Thompson and Hickey’s model for social class in the United States (2005), my family would be considered working class. This is defined as “clerical, pink and blue collar workers with often low job security; common household incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000 [and] high school education” (Thompson et al., 2005). My mother currently works as a part-time waitress and is going to community college to receive an associate’s degree in accounting. My father has been working as a full-time cook at a Chinese restaurant in Oakland Chinatown for about 25 years. His highest level of educational attainment is high school. These racial and social class demographics are important in understanding my social location.
"Everyone believes the face of poverty is black. The white poor blend in, the black poor stand out," suggests social activist Bell Hooks (4). At first glance, Hooks's observation seems statistically relevant: 24.7% of African Americans in the United States were living below poverty level in 2008, compared to 11.2% of whites (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith 14). However, this casual analysis fails to compare the size of the two populations, which balloons the seemingly paltry 11.2% up to nearly 27 million, versus 9 million for blacks (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith 14). As SUNY economist Michael Zweig notes, "The fact that minorities are poor in greater numbers than their share of the total population contributes to the misconception
The classism that gentrification brings into communities cannot be understated, simply because it is one of the negative driven byproducts of it, because when individuals are forced to see homes in their respective communities go for 2 to 3 times the market value for what they were previously going for, it sends the message that those within a higher income bracket are able to dictate the set prices in real estates. Furthermore, this financial inequality goes beyond just the housing market. Areas that have seen the wholesale installment of the businesses that stem from gentrification are often overlooked and not taken in consideration when it comes to the prices set by them. It is almost as if these independent coffee shops, Whole Foods Markets,
Race and ethnicity is key factor to poverty in the U.S. since an African-American is three times more likely to be in poverty than a non-Hispanic white. People with different ethnic backgrounds may experience alienation, or discrimination as a result of their differences with the people around them. Blaming the victim is a common explanation for poverty, but it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny since there are countless factors
Portland, Oregon, is known to be not only the hippest major city in America but the whitest. Although Portland has a reputation for being a place that is open and accepting of anything, it has also become one of the country's worst examples of Black displacement and gentrification. Portland officials say they value class and racial diversity and are making efforts to address the larger city crisis.
The first of the four maps displayed the general population that lives in poverty and in what part of the city they live in. Within the map, I noticed that the majority of people that live in poverty are in the southern region of the city. The northern part of the city has a lower poverty rate; This is because the north part of the city is the richest part of the city. The south part of Atlanta is most related to the projects; It is where the gangs are most prevalent. When you are in a city or town that has a numerous amount of gangs, the life style of the people living in the town will be different than those that do not have gang influence around. There are many contributions to why poverty is skewed the way it
Detroit has been classified as one of America’s most violent cities with a high crime rate. Most of the residential neighborhoods are full of dilapidated buildings, mediocre shopping centers, burned down or vacant houses. Compared to the adjacent city, Dearborn where the crime rate is lower, there is no dilapidated building, there are no burnt down houses in any of the residential neighborhoods. Many Detroit residents often move to suburban cities like Dearborn to escape the decay of their neighborhoods. Moving to these well-kept neighborhoods insinuate the better the neighborhood the lessor of crime. This week articles closely examine the social and economic disparities in urban residential neighborhoods and correlate these disparities to crime and criminal activity. The articles for this week takes a look at Wilson and Keller’s Broken Windows research which argues that neighborhood with physical and
Identifying economic class goes beyond determining how much money a person makes; it is also defined by where a person lives. The lowest people on the economic scale are assumed to live in central cities; the middle-low income people live in the inner-ring suburbs, and the wealthiest live in the exclusive outer-ring suburbs. The authors point out that as one moves outward from the central city to the inner-ring to outer-ring suburbs incomes rise
When people talk about racism throughout modern society, a question that emerges is “How does modern racism influence residency and neighborhoods in economic and political viewpoints?” Some argue that segregation within the housing market has been a devastating, long-term, issue for African Americans as a result of racial zoning due to income along with race, while others believe that the United States has indeed enforced policies to prevent blacks from obtaining and maintaining wealth to merge with white communities. My own view is that there is not an individual economic or political reason to link the issue of residential segregation, but a combination of both working with one another to promote this notion of residential segregation. Evidence to support my claim include an understanding of what racism actually is, either systematic, institutional, or prejudice throughout modern society. Then, racism understood throughout the housing market with political and economic support. Furthermore, what racial zoning is and its effect on neighborhood value, such as economics, politics and education. Finally, historic evidence and witness accounts to support residential segregation, and opinions on the matter.