The Neighborhood Of Flatlands, A Densely Populated Community Essay

First and foremost, South-Central Brooklyn is one of the most overpopulated community within Brooklyn, it is extremely diverse with many rich cultures and traditions. Within it, lies seven neighborhoods which are Flatbush, Borough Park, Ditmas Park, Midwood, Kensington, Manhattan Terrance, and Prospect Park South. It serves Community Districts 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17. It mostly consists of densely populated African American, Hispanic and West Indian neighborhoods. According to the 2015 U.S census bureau, the population of Brooklyn stands at 2,504,700 out of which South-Central Brooklyn has approximately 804,982 residents and it is expected to have grown gradually through the one year-period that has elapsed (United States Census Bureau, 2014). This is more than double the amount of the total number of people that was living in South- Central Brooklyn in 2000, which was only 317, 300. Presently there are 37% Caucasians, 36% African American, 16% Hispanic, 10% Asian, and 2% other (Indian) living in South-Central Brooklyn. The female population is 54.6%, and the male population is 45.4% (United States Census Bureau, 2014).

Now days walking down the streets of Atlanta, we see the new neighborhoods consisting of condos, Starbucks, yoga classes and Chipotle. Gentrification is a growing problem in urban areas as the influx of the riches have caused the displacement of lower class families due to higher economic demands and local politics. According to Diane K. Levy, Jennifer Comey and Sandra Padilla (2005), “We define gentrification as the process whereby higher-income households move into low income neighborhoods, escalating the area’s property values to the point that displacement occurs. In addition to changes in economic class, gentrification often involves a change in a neighborhood’s racial and ethnic composition…” (p.1). Though gentrification has lasting affects on the economic status of cities, there are also repercussions that not only effect working individuals but also the students that attend school in these gentrified areas. When areas are gentrified, schools are rezoned thus leading to long lasting consequences that students must face. Some believe that gentrification is beneficial to a growing economy in a growing city, but the realities of the its lasting effects on education are often left under the radar. The issues that lie within the education system as it pertains to gentrification include day segregation and unequal opportunities between affluent and low-income areas.

The loss of public housing and the expanse of the wealth gap throughout the state of Rhode Island has been a rising issue between the critics and supporters of gentrification, in both urban areas such as Providence and wealthy areas such as the island of Newport, among other examples. With the cities under a monopoly headed by the wealth of each neighborhood, one is left to wonder how such a system is fair to all groups. Relatively speaking, it isn’t, and the only ones who benefit from such a system are white-skinned. With the deterioration of the economic status of Rhode Island, and especially in the city of Providence, more and more educated Caucasians are leaving to seek a more fertile economic environment.

“I took a trip to Oakland, California and fell in love with the area. We stayed at an Air B&B for the three days of our stay and the house was absolutely beautiful, it looked like my dream home. Despite all the glitz and glamour around us we noticed a large amount of homelessness compared to Columbus. We found out that this property is not someone’s home but a house used strictly as an Air B&B. When you hear something like that and see the amount of homelessness it makes you wonder how many of these homes are strictly for show? So after researching I found out, the reason for the rampant homelessness can be attributed to large increases in rent. Even worse, the cause for the increase is due to Silicon Valley” (Kasongo, 2017). Unfortunately, rent increasing virtually overnight is the reality of many low-income families. This situation is called gentrification and is felt throughout the world, from the Midwest, East coast or even Western Europe, no region is immune to this process. Gentrification in the Midwest is extensive and wide causing the displacement of many low-income minority residents which can lead to even bigger issues.

Brooklyn is a “melted pot” in terms of its diversity in population and culture. In many different areas of Brooklyn there are Public Housing set-up for those who are considered “low-income families”. Public Housing in brief was originally set up for people who would temporarily live there until they could eventually afford something better. In this day and age now Public Housing have become a “safe haven” for families who are low income as well as receive benefits such as food assistance (food stamps), Section 8 ( program set up to help pay rent to families who may not be able to afford

The traditional working class nature of Pilsen is presently endangered by the gentrification of this mainly Mexican-American locality. The Pilsen Alliance, a waged people's organization created in 1998, coupled with city geography classes at DePaul University to carry out a building list of Pilsen in order to spot and coordinate around issues connected to gentrification.

As these young boys develop into men, there is a pressure to fit the mold of masculinity and demand respect. Like it is mentioned earlier in the book, the appearance and demeanor of those who participated in the study play a huge role in determining how they are treated. By opting to stand out and be themselves, they are taking a risk of being targeted by police or others who do not agree with them. Learning that the author was put into handcuffs and thrown into the back of a cop car just for turning around shows just how much power authorities have. I find it unfair that the only thing necessary for these kinds of behaviors is criminal “suspicion”. How does the officers’ bill of rights become more important than protecting a person’s basic

Jody Miller uses the urban neighborhoods of St. Louis as a canvas to paint a picture of the constant struggles that young African-American women face. Such as, neighborhood violence, sexual violence, gender and sexual harassment in school, as well as dating violence within their lives on a daily basis; Miller focuses on the gender inequalities that are present within the urban communities and how patriarchy is ingrained in the young men of urban subculture. The girls views the males of their communities as being more susceptible to violence because of their masculine personas and gang participation. This shows that although the girls acknowledge the potential victimization’s they are likely to face, they still succumb to their victimization, categorizing the violence against them as commonplace. This leads them to viewing themselves as second-class citizens within the community. While they have acquired knowledge that the neighborhood streets at nighttime are a male-dominated place, even though it is a public space for anyone, it is seen as dangerous for women at night, this example illustrates the preconceived need for self-isolation within the neighborhood. “Gail stated I’ll be walkin’ at night and people just be walkin’ behind you I mean, I do not know, everybody gets scared to walk at nighttime, so I guess it’s just normal” (Miller,2008, p36)

Racial residential segregation remains at an all time high in the United States. Studies found that households with different races, but the same income reside in neighborhoods that have different economic and racial compositions. These patterns were discovered all over the world. The Census has developed “new patterns in neighborhoods with is described and compared to the average racial and economic composition of the neighborhoods of each racial/ethic group at each exact level of household income” (Fox, 2015). This will allow comparisons to be made across the metropolitan areas and show that patterns hold for all levels of income.

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.

Williamsburg has become one of the most popular areas in the New York City. In the last fiteen years, the neighborhood has transformed from a hub of industry and haven for immigrants to a neighborhood filled with young professionals and a thriving art scene. According to NYU’s Furman Center, Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods saw average rent increase by 78.7 percent between 1990 and 2014, compared to 22.1 percent in the city as a whole (Kinney, 2016). These massive rent increases have meant that many long-term residents of Williamsburg can no longer afford to live in the neighborhood.

The Slums of Aspen, written by sociologists Lisa Sun-Hee Park and David Naguib Pellow, centers its story on the city of Aspen, Colorado. In the book, they highlight the opposite ends of Aspen, the recreational metropolitan area and the darker side, where people of color and immigrants are forced into unfair living conditions, lesser wages, and inequality. They are hidden away from the popular tourist destinations, which gives Aspen a false appearance of being perfect and prosperous. There is environment inequality between the classes and racism is apparent, even if the privileged do not realize it. One of the biggest points in the book revolve around the notion of nativist environmentalism and its relation to the Aspen logic.

The “Chicago School” model of assimilation highlights zones that move away from the central area, which have been known to initially concentrate ethnic groups (Gottdiener et al, 66). Immigrant groups from the introduction of Industrialization have filtered out into other zones, while African Americans have found it hard to leave the “black belt” (Gottdiener et al, 66). Zones throughout cities form based on where people desire the most as well as if they are affordable for that person. “Groups or individuals that were successful took over the better positions in the city, such as the choicest business locations, or the preferred neighborhoods. The less successful would have to make do with less desirable positions” (Gottdiener et al, 64). From this quote we can analyze that, in the model of assimilation, the less desirable positions are in the city center. The inner city zones have been noted to be sites of crime, as well as other social problems such as gangs and illness (Gottdiener et al, 65). While the inner city is less desirable, movement outwards towards the suburbs can be noted as the most desirable locations. With an increase in desire for these locations, comes the increase in price. Therefore, people living in the suburbs must be able to afford the higher prices of the real

In America the rich and the poor live two different lifestyles. Since the 1960s we have developed a new lower class, characterized not by poverty but by withdrawal from America’s core cultural institutions. To help get a clear picture of the lifestyle changes Murray creates two fictional neighborhoods named Belmont and Fishtown. Belmont based on a suburb in Boston and Fishtown based on the north eastern part of Philadelphia. The residents of Belmont are mostly upper middle class with professions such as physicians, attorneys, engineers, scientist, university professors, business executives, and managers of nonprofits and government agencies. They are highly educated with 63% of the adults having a bachelor’s degree and earning a median family income of 124,200 in 2000. The residents of Fishtown are working class with professions such as electricians, plumbers, machinists, assembly-line workers, construction laborers, security guards, and delivering truck drivers. The educational

Nowadays, there are more and more people educated in different degrees and different ways. It seems that "education" has become a common word in daily life and it seems to be easy to understand. In fact, education, as a social activity, with a long history of development, a complex and diverse internal structure, interacts with other social activities in multilevel and multifaceted way.