In addition to social networks, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Detroit residents to find basic networks for goods and services. As previously mentioned, Detroit is a geographically large city. Developments and introduction of business in one neighborhood, does not directly benefit all residents. Sheila Cockrel has noticed that more and more businesses such as convenience stores, cleaners, and pharmacies are being built in attempts to make neighborhoods more walkable. This helps residents who otherwise would have to go to the suburbs for such basic needs as food and water; a difficult task seeing as many neighborhoods lack a reliable transportation system. Many of the organizations we talked with share a common goal of trying to
The Downtown Eastside struggles with many complex challenges including homelessness, poverty, affordable and quality housing,
This paper focuses on an in depth community assessment of the past, present, and future of Shelby, Mississippi. Shelby was once a banner cotton center of Bolivar County. Shelby residents were once referred to as some of the most hospitable and happy people in the state. Shelby, Mississippi was also considered as one of the wealthiest towns per capita of the entire Mississippi Delta. Throughout the years, Shelby has changed from being a place of prosperity to a place needing revitalization. Many businesses have opened and closed in Shelby. Community development in Shelby would allow the town to compete with other small towns in the Mississippi Delta.
Growing up in a disadvantaged part of Washington, D.C. during the 90’s wasn’t always easy. At the time, D.C. was plagued by crime, violence, and poverty, and as a child/teen I often found myself confronted by these harsh realities. Now, as an adult, I actively seek out opportunities to work in underserved and disadvantaged communities because I understand how difficult life can be for those belonging to such communities. I have proudly served in a number of underserved and disadvantaged communities, including rural Guatemala and Flint, Michigan and it is my hope to continue to do
Detroit is home to many historical landmarks which have assisted in shaping Detroit into what it is today. One site that has highly impacted Detroit since 1915 was The Russell Industrial Center (RIC). The RIC consists of 7 buildings which take up over 2.2 million acres of land. Throughout the history of the RIC it has aided society by creating an environment everyone in the community is able to be a part of and allows people to come closer together. Originally, the RIC was built as an auto parts manufacturing company, but has evolved over time, allowing the surrounding community to also evolve. Through the ups and the downs the city of Detroit has
Recently in Detroit, with the efforts to negate the current standings, they provided housing aid. According to the housing statistic, the housing aid drew crowds in Detroit. “One in four working-age adults in Detroit are without a job and the city’s home foreclosure rate continues to be among the nation’s highest.”
I come from a small rural town nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. My hometown is split down the middle by a set of railroad tracks. On the north side, one can find pristine neighborhoods, newer schools, most doctors’ offices, and the only hospital in town. The south side of the town stands as a stark contrast. On the south side, you no longer find the wealthy neighborhoods but rather dilapidated and condemned homes and housing projects. One seems to find abandoned buildings on every corner, many inhabited by those that have lost their homes. Limited help is coming for those who need it, mostly through churches and volunteer programs targeting the underserved. Many doctors, dentists, and nurses are giving their time and resources to help
In American society, race and racial issues are viewed in a black and white manner. The media portrays matters of race in the simplest terms without taking intersectionality into account. Social class, economic factors, and historical factors impact how racial issues are regarded and handled in specific geographic locations. John Hartigan demonstrates this in his book, Racial Situations: Class Predicaments of Whiteness of Detroit, which describes the dynamics of three local communities: Briggs, Cork Town, and Warrendale. Hartigan examines how white identity varies in these three neighborhoods due to other social factors. Comparing how these local communities respond to race versus the media’s response shows how categorizing people into monolithic groups based only on race is a tactic that ignores the real issues and delays finding solutions.
If Detroit is not revitalized and branded it has been said that Michigan as a whole cannot rebrand. Detroit is the city that most people outside of the state look at and determine Michigan’s prominence, domination and future. Rather right or wrong that is simply the way that it is. Michigan over the past few years has attempted to gut the city of what they perceive as the ugliness of Detroit, people in poverty. In this attempt most of the people whom had to leave Detroit because of unemployment after the downturn are the very people that the State needs.
I have spent copious amounts of time in communities stricken with low socioeconomic statuses, less fortunate than the usual neighborhoods I see in Pikesville. The experiences has engrained a strong moral compass into me, leading me to have a solid goal; of beautifying and bettering areas of destitute.
I want to introduce myself to you. I am the Woonsocket Health Equity Zone (HEZ) Manager at Thundermist Health Center. The Woon HEZ collaborative uses a place base approach in order to ensure that all neighborhoods become the kinds of places that enable all children and families to succeed and thrive. This requires intentional efforts to build, sustain and operationalize certain types of community capacity. The HEZ grant renewal process is underway and one of our required year 2 activities around improving physical activity in the community is for the collaborative to engage the City to develop a plan to improve non-motorized transportation in priority areas. It has come to our attention that a few years ago the YWCA conducted and developed a Walkability plan for Woonsocket and that parts of that plan has been integrated into the
As I walk down Main Street of my hometown, I peer into the darkened windows of the numerous empty buildings. Not so long ago, Rutherfordton, North Carolina was a bustling little mill town; everyone and their mother had a job working at the local textile mills. Now, since the textile companies moved overseas in the WHATYEAR, the town’s economic situation and sense of community spirit is as nonexistent as the mills themselves. Here, there are little to no job opportunities. Young people graduate from high school and go off to college, never returning to the dry well of opportunities that is Rutherford County. There are a lack of services and support for the underprivileged in Rutherford County, and there are a lot of underprivileged. Parents
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.
Detroit is a very well-known and diverse city. “Somewhere behind its neglected, graffiti covered skyscrapers are charming reminders of a city that was once among the world’s wealthiest” (Gray). This city has been through a lot. Detroit was first founded by the French in 1701 and then used as a fur trade post. Jumping a little in the future, it has had riots and protest for equal rights among its busy streets. Detroit is also known as the Motor City. “By the mid-twentieth century one in every six working Americans was employed directly or indirectly by the automotive industry” (Sugrue). Yet after everything this city has endured Detroit is thought of as a place of fear. It has a lot of history and has a lot to offer if people would let
As well as cultural influences, the differentiated populations how they will influence the business, whether the neighborhood’s is ready to attack new and old problems, and the enthusiasm to learn about the new technology. The population estimated at 1,775,273 in 2013, has declined significantly in that the estimated number in 2012, and is now at -2.5 percentage wise. The unemployment rate has decreased and it is at 7.5% (Economic Research, 2014) and the population is shrinking because of those residents who move out of their homes and move to other cities to look for jobs (United States Census Bureau, 2014). That makes it hard when we lose clients to job migration. However when people move out there will always be people moving in and then we can start. Marketing, you can find us in the career section of the Detroit News and Free Press, also online at the Career Builder.com, the Monster.com, the Job Fairs, and the
Through my research I have found that most suburbs do not have the proper infrastructure to help those in poverty. The amount of pre-existing resource centers is small in number and also spread out sparsely throughout the town unlike within a large city where resource facilities are higher in number and geographically concentrated within the core. In Oakville, low income housing is tucked away, further exacerbating the problem by keeping it hidden within the otherwise wealthy community. And since most people can afford to drive, the public transportation network is less developed in the amount of routes and frequency of rides, making it more difficult for impoverished citizens to get to their workplace, foodbanks, or