Urban America Research Paper

“Words are not passive; indeed, they help to share and create our perceptions of the world around us. The terms we choose to label or describe events must, therefore, convey appropriate connotations or images of the phenomenon under consideration in order to avoid serious misunderstandings. The existence of different terms to describe gentrification is not an accident, neither is the plethora of definitions for it” (Palen & London, 1984, p. 6). SAY SOMETHING Peter Marcuse (1999) argues that, “how gentrification is evaluated depends a great deal on how it is defined” (p. 789). Defining gentrification properly is necessary for anchoring an analysis of neighborhood change, particularly in light of recent scholarly efforts to replace the term (to describe the process) with less critical names like: ‘urban renaissance’,

The late Dr. Martin Luther King could have never fathomed the epic fail of the modern day African-American society that he worked so hard to establish. “The truth is that we are now a two-family nation, separate and unequal—one thriving and intact, and the other struggling, broken, and far too often African-American”(Hymowitz, 2005). While marriage tends to create a stable home for family and children to thrive, many blacks find themselves

In Chapter 2 of the text “Slavery, Emancipation, and Class formation in colonial and Early National New York” explores the centrality of slave labor and race to the development of class relations in colonial and early national New York City. In the 1600’s slave labor was noted as the central point to New York’s colonial economy and to the survival of European culture. The North colonial economy relied more heavily on slavery for free laborer than Manhattan. As a result of the slave era African American males and females became to central force and the foundation of New Yorkers ‘slave economy. Between 1600 and 1738 the slave population

The last time the Cleveland Indians won the World Series? 1948. The last time the Chicago Cubs won The World Series? 1908. This year one of those teams will be crowned the champions of baseball and its city will have a reason to celebrate. Earlier this summer, Cleveland captured the cities first championship in 52 years and since then the city of Cleveland has been reborn. Sport’s have the ability to inspire, teach, and provide hope. In fact this September Cleveland lost its title of “America’s Most Miserable City” and 76% of Clevelanders would recommend others to move to their city. Biggest reason for the change? The city's first major championship since 1964.

According to Census data, 35% of people who live in the Urban Suburbs have at least Rural undergraduate degree. Tailing close behind are the big cities, with about 32% having a bachelor degree. Rural America however lags far behind with less than 20% having earned a bachelor degree (Press 2014). In 2017, The New York Times reported, that 29% of rural college-age teens were enrolled in college in comparison to 47% of urban college -age teens (Denby, 2018). There is no denying that rural America is consistently underrepresented in participation of higher education compared to their urban counterparts. In this paper, I will argue that that there is a clear opportunity gap that influences rural students in

Post World War Two brought upon not only the Baby Boom but urbanization of the African American community and the Great Black Migration. As the birth rate rapidly increased so did construction growth. However developers began pulling people to the outskirts of cities by creating affordable track homes. Along with the GI Bill this allowed people to afford homes and brought upon a surge in consumption. The growth in consumption and development pulled African Americans to Northern and Western cities in search of a better life. They were tired of the oppression and sought out better opportunities economically. As African Americans and the population moved from the country life to the city, the United States became highly urbanized.

A diverse community is often only seen in terms of black or white and to an outsider, the Arab community might be viewed as a homogenous population. However, Arab Americans residing in Metro-Detroit trace their roots to over 22 countries, different religious beliefs, and various ethnic ties. Like the ‘melting pot’ or ‘salad bowl’ metaphors that are used to describe America, the Arab community in Metro Detroit has cultivated a mosaic of its own. With Metro Detroit being the largest group of Arabs outside of the Middle East, there is great potential in creating a movement to combat Islamophobia, Arab discrimination as well as have a voice in politics. However, likewise to America, multicultural societies can often derive power dynamics, different

Suburbia is a development that has flourished into a dominant feature of American life. Levitt and Sons built giant “Levittown” suburbs in the middle of the twentieth century. These residential communities on the outskirts of cities had many positive impacts on American lifestyles. The homes were cheap and sold fast to families looking for a safe place to live. People also moved to the suburbs because it was effortless to drive from the suburbs into town on the highways.

Carbone and Cahn set the mood by noting that marriage in America has been decreasing over the years: 51 percent of Americans are married, a 21 percent decrease since 1960. Upon closer analyzation, they found that this trend varied by economic status: the upper class reported unaffected rates of marriage, the middle-class saw a gradual decline in

I was shocked by the subject matter of this paper. Gentrification has been a focus of my studies as a geographer, and it has always been described as a negative element of human geography. It displaces historical residents by importing households of higher income brackets, which subsequently increases the price of housing to levels affordable to historical residents. Furthermore, it displaces historical residents, more abruptly, by introducing unfamiliar races and faces to the neighborhood, which may make historical residents feel uncomfortable or alienated from their own neighborhood of origin. To imply a global policy of "gentrification as regeneration" the same as saying it is all right to avoid helpful neighborhood redevelopment projects,

Overall, black LGBT individuals’ attitudes toward marriage are similar to their non-black and heterosexual peers: singles are more ambivalent about marriage than their partnered counterparts (Pew Report 2010), while the economically disadvantaged individuals—mainly women and less educated individuals—are more likely to benefit from stabilizing effects of marriage (Becker 1981; Thornton and Freedman 1982; Tucker and Taylor 1989; Bennett, Bloom, and Craig 1989) and therefore, show higher levels of marital expectations. However, black LGBTs also exhibit a few notable differences from their non-black counterparts. First, while parental status was not a significant predictor of the overall LGBT population’s perception of same-sex marriage, it was for black LGBTs. Previous research have found that black LGBTs are more likely to have children from their

Over the past decades, how Americans perceive the marital relationship greatly reformed, illuminating society’s values. In the past, marriage use to represent a legal contract to bear children and acquire finances, but today, “In all too many communities in the US, especially poor and minority ones, marriage is a retreat” (Wilcox et al., 2005, p. 5). Rather than observing marriage as an obligation, Americans now perceive a marriage to entail intimate commitments between affectionate partners. America transformed its values from the society and family to the individual level. Of the major values changes, which occurred over the past decades, this article exemplifies an increase in single-parent homes, cohabiting, and divorce. Due to America’s expansion of individualism and materialism, individuals no longer perceive their marriage as life long commitments. This transformation occurred because of a shift in societal values; society no longer places stigma on divorce and single parents, which aided in the increasing numbers of marital shifts. In fact, Americans tend to enter marriages with unrealistic expectations, expecting their partner to fulfill all of their needs without conflict. It stands as our unrealistic expectations and perceptions that caused a shift in marriages.

Glenn and Shelton’s Journal offer an insight on how divorces in different regions of the United States are. The journal has statistical data from the United States census bureau along with vital information on the backgrounds of the Southern communities in the South; Glenn and Shelton take a look at the risks of divorce, religious background, and socioeconomic background. The journal helps by providing the patterns of divorce in nine Census regions in the years of 1965, 1970, and 1979. The authors look at religions specifically Catholic and Judaism stating these religions had less divorce rates which helps me dig deeper into what religion has to do with divorce.

Research studies have shown that African Americans are currently the least likely ethnic group to be married in this country. This paper will examine some of the reasons why this trend exists when there was a time when marriage rates among blacks were about equal to those of whites. History, culture, economics and dominant culture influences have impacted the current trends in African American families. Many are choosing to postpone marriage, while others are finding alternative ways to cultivate family and raise children. Does the African American definition of family differ from that of the dominant culture? How has ecological systems influenced past and present trends in African American families? These questions and more are examined

Frank D. Bean & Charles H. Wood (1974) sought to determine if the relationships between levels of income and patterns of marital fertility varied within three major ethnic groups in the United States (p. 638). The article examined two major areas of sociological research, which included relationships between fertility, income, and minority group status. First, the researchers addressed research related to the impacts of income on fertility. Second, they explored the ways in which fertility could be influenced by minority group status. The overall purpose of their article was to demonstrate findings that would convey an improved, enhanced understanding of the effects that various income related factors have upon fertility patterns. Primarily, the authors wanted to further clarify the relations between minority group status and fertility patterns within ethnic groups in the United States.