In a neighborhood of concentrated poverty
The key forces that have contributed to that condition include federal polices, individual prejudice, poverty, low-income, lack of affordable housing as well as low levels of education (Jacobs).
Q.2.
An individual plays a crucial role in shaping racial segregation an individual's personal choices or behaviours such as racial prejudice by landlords and bankers. The city on the hand reinforces racial segregation through their passing of unconstitutional racial zoning laws creating barriers to economic mobility. The federal government has in part contributed to racial discrimination through segregation of public housing projects and the 1949 Housing Act that supporting the white movement to the suburbs (Rothstein).
Q.3.
Concentrated poverty is measured through census tracts of 40 percent or more of the population that falling below the official national poverty line.
Q.4.
Concentrated poverty has risen and declined over the years but has particularly been profoundly felt in suburban areas. In those poor suburban's majority live in a high poverty neighbourhood. It is observed that people living in suburbs of concentrated poverty are more likely to come from black and minority groups such as immigrants. The nature of white concentrated poverty differs significantly from black concentrated poverty (The Resurrection of America's Slums).
Q.5.
Suburbanization of poverty grew as a result of several factors including the growing number of population in suburb area at a faster rate than cities (An Atlas of Upward Mobility Shows Paths Out of Poverty). In 2000s Employment continued to suburbanize as a result of population influx which also affected regional housing markets (Badger). The recession played a huge role as it led to many people being laid off from work. At the same time, the Suburban infrastructure and institutions were not built to deal with rising levels of poverty. The safety nets are inadequate, and the public transit networks are unable to connect impoverished neighbourhoods to employment in other areas (Schafran). Addressing poverty in suburban areas could be difficult because of the fragmented system and the lack of proper infrastructure to steer change.
Q.6.
Several theories have sought to explain why people or places are poor. The place-based poverty is explained By Katz who argues that there is a blind spot in the current structures. Katz proposes that solutions would come from supporting what has worked before and taking advantage of flourishing programs. Katz reinforces the need to pay attention to issues that conventional poverty policy undermines including resources, political economy, and power (Katz). Another theory is by Marxist scholars who pose that poverty is a product of capitalism. The capitalist approach maintains that the competitive economy resulting from capitalism creates uneven development patterns. Michael Katz position tends to influence poverty interventions as it points towards public/private collaboration, and harness private resources.
Q.7.
The government has privileged homeownership over rental housing as homeowners receive more subsidies from the funding of for housing policy of up to 84% while renters receive a fraction of housing subsidies. U.S tax code supports ownership more than the renters; the federal housing policy reduces income tax deduction for mortgage interest payments. However, by promoting homeownership over renters, the government has only deepened the divide between the rich and the poor (Rothstein). The federal funding to homeowners sustains social inequalities as low-income families cannot afford to gamble with such an uncertain investment like homeownership. The high-income population stands to benefit from homeownership as they can sustain the risk of such a venture.
Works cited
“An Atlas of Upward Mobility Shows Paths Out of Poverty,” available online at
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/upshot/an-atlas-of-upward-mobility-shows-paths-out-of-poverty.html?referrer (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.=
Badger, Emily. “The Suburbanization of Poverty.” CityLab. Available online at http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/05/suburbanization-poverty/5633/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Jane Jacobs (1961). “The Uses of City Neighborhoods,” in The Death and Life of GreatAmerican Cities, pp. 112-140.
Michael Katz (2015) “What Kind of a Problem is Poverty? The Archeology of an Idea,” in Territories of Poverty: Rethinking North and South, Ananya Roy and Emma Shaw Crane eds. Pp. 39-78
PPT: 3.An Uneven Landscape of Poverty and Opportunity.pdf
PPT:4. Understanding Poverty.pdf
ppt: 5.The Role of Public Policy.pdf
PPT: 6.The Suburbanization of Poverty.pdf
Richard Rothstein (2014). “The Making of Ferguson: Public Policies at the Root of its Troubles,” Economic Policy Institute Report, October 15, 2014. Available online at http://www.epi.org/files/2014/making-of-ferguson-final.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Schafran, Alex. “Mapping the Suburbanization of Poverty.” Available online at http://www.thepolisblog.org/2012/09/mapping-suburbanization-of-poverty.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
“The Resurrection of America’s Slums,” available online at https://www.citylab.com/equity/2015/08/the-resurrection-of-americas-slums/400871/
