Social Identity In New York City

New York City is one of the world's most known cities, it is known as the melting pot. New York City has a blend of cultures all in one city. From the statue of liberty, malls and sky scrapers to the parks and restaurants, there’s always something to do or see. But like any other city, crime does exist. With that being said people are starting to feel unsafe. Citizens are moving from the place they once called home. Most believe that there's life in a civil society where kids can grow safely, nourish and thrive off the environment.

New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to

Coney Island is a peninsular residential neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It is about 4 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. It is a home for 22,764 people. Coney Island is also a very diverse neighborhood. According to city-data, 51.2% of residents were White, 29.3% were Black, 18% were Hispanic or Latino, and 3.8% were Asian. The term “gentrification” was first coined in 1964 by Ruth Glass. Glass observed; "One by one, many of the working class quarters have been invaded by the middle class - upper and lower ... Once this process of 'gentrification ' starts in a district it goes on rapidly until all or most of the working class occupiers are displaced and the whole social social character of the district is changed" (Glass, 1964, p.xvii). Since then, many places started getting gentrified. Because of this, thousands of poor working class people lost their home. As an icon of New York City, there are definitely that the state government want to gentrify Coney Island in order to attract more investors to come start their business in here. However, even though local residents who have been lived in Coney Island for many years think gentrification is a good thing, but at the same time they are trying to save

In its long and illustrious history, New York City (NYC) has gone through tremendous change. From a small trading post on the tip of Manhattan Island, to the greatest metropolis in the world, NYC has continued to evolve over time. One period in particular that had more degrees of change than many others, was 1860 to 1865. The lives of the residents of the great port city would be completely changed forever.

“It got to be easy to look at New Yorkers as animals, especially looking down from some place like a balcony at Grand Central at the rush hour Friday afternoon.” (Tom Wolfe). “O Rotten Gotham” argues that New Yorkers are in a state of behavioral sink. It would not be long before a “population collapse” or a “massive die off”.

Gentrification is a major reason for the increase in rent prices throughout New York City. Harlem rent prices have gone up over the past years because of new condominiums and businesses that are being built in neighborhoods. The displacement of residents leads to an increase of people becoming homeless in the city. According to the author, Ivan Pereira, “Harlem saw a 9.4 % average rent price increase during that same period from $2,191 last year to $ 2,397 in January” (Pereira 1). The change causes longtime residents to move out because of a variety of factors including unaffordability, pressure from property owners, diminishing or lack of stores that cater to them and many more. The more condominiums and business’s being built makes living

While explaining his new daily routine, he expressed his views on the city, “I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the contrast flicker of men and women and machines give to the restless eye” (56). When he says this, his tone is a tinge of sadness but mostly acceptance. It doesn’t seem to affect or bother him that he feels solitary in a big city. He admits that he feels lonely, but he also believes other people in New York feel lonely as well. Showing that even though a big city can be exciting and filled with opportunities, it’s not always as grand as people make it

Jacobs instead champions a combination of aesthetic and practical diversity in the city. Aesthetic differences can come from buildings constructed during different eras. Jacobs adds that having an organic mix of commercial buildings and apartments adds to a city’s diversity and beauty. To conclude her argument, Jacobs states that standard commercial establishments are mixed in with landmarks in functional cities and cites New York as an example. As a native New Yorker, many restaurants, bars and other commercial buildings are located in propinquity to landmarks such as Carnegie Hall and the Empire State Building. Jacobs believes that this combination advocates as the standard for urban planning.

New York City is made up of five boroughs, which include the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Within these boroughs, there are high and low-income neighborhoods that contain either high or low status organizational structures or facilities. Each division has their own characteristics and top attractions, such as the Empire State building, Central Park, or Times Square. As New York City may be known for great food and fun attractions, New York faces infrastructure problems within each borough. New York City’s infrastructure funding is limited in lower income neighborhoods, where money needed to upkeep the city goes toward prime tourist’s areas or residents living in high status neighborhoods, such as The Upper East Side of Manhattan, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and Lenox Hill, Manhattan. Moreover, abandoned buildings, poor sewage conditions, and rocky roads and streets are examples of low-income area infrastructure problems that may hinder neighborhood growth both structurally and economically. Harlem, East Brooklyn, and South Bronx are low-income parts of New York that lack new and refined facilities, roads, plumbing, and fundamental structures, which contribute to high crime and arrests.

In order to understand why developers targeted Harlem for gentrification, it is crucial to discuss the causes of gentrification. As the time has progressed people’s preference have changed. The inclination toward fewer children, higher divorce rate, women in the workforce and the postponement of marriage have encouraged people to settle in urban neighborhoods. Young women’s participation in the professional

Ever since I can remember I have had a fascination with New York City, partly because the way that the movies have portrayed it as being almost magical and full of endless possibilities way but mostly because I love large cities. Although I live near Glasgow which could be considered to be a large city I don’t think it has the same allure as NYC. The architecture is so different and I think that what makes New York so special. Endless rows of skyscrapers that send shadows flowing

No matter how much a person desires to live according to their personal autonomy, he or she will never escape the influence of societal forces. Explicitly or subtlety, these forces shape our individuality. One intriguing manner that these societal forces manifests itself in is our name. As Ruth Graham writes, “It’s becoming increasingly clear today that names carry a wealth of information about the world around us, the family we arrived in, the moment we were born—and that they mark us as part of cultural currents bigger than we realize.” Names alone provide evidence that individuals are made by interactions with social institutions and groups. Ultimately, the inescapable nature of society’s influence demands individuals to ponder how much personal autonomy is actually autonomous and to what extent does the pursuit of personal autonomy lead to a life of emptiness and vanity.

Since the early 2000s, gentrification accelerated in various New York City neighborhoods. Data shown that about 29.8 percent of New York City has been affected by gentrification in low-income communities (Governing Data 1). This is over a 20 percent increased from the previous decade in New York City alone. Gentrification is a term used to describe displacement or renewal in urban neighborhoods as a result of increasing property values and rent prices. Gentrification has existed since the 1960s but has rapidly increased since then . Gentrification has now become a common and global controversial topic in many low-income neighborhood. Although, gentrification hasn’t always been bad from increasing job opportunities to lowering crime rates. Gentrification has impacted and transformed underprivileged districts in New York City. However, at the advantage of who ? Thus, gentrification has only increased average rates of poverty and infused neighborhoods with “white privilege”.

Society has a way of making assumptions based on one’s physical characteristics. Often at times we categorize individuals to a particular social group. In regard to society’ perception of an individual this however, contributes to the development of social construction of racism. Most people want to be identified as individuals rather than a member of specific social group. As a result, our social identity contains different categories or components that were influenced or imposed. For example, I identify as a, Jamaican, Puerto Rican and a person of color. I identify racially as a person of color and ethically as Jamaican and Puerto Rican. According to Miller and Garren it’s a natural human response for people to make assumptions solely

Social identity theory, it is a person’s sense that is based around the group they are in, either by their personal identity or with different kinds of social identities. That is, people will try to improve their own image of themselves. The theory was proposed by Henri Tajfel. People can increase their self-esteem by both their own achievement and interaction with a successful group of people. This shows the importance of social belonging. This theory is based around three mental processes, social categorization, social identification and social comparison.