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Diversity of Los Angeles
Diversity of Los Angeles
Diversity of Los Angeles
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In the center of San Fernando Valley region lays the neighborhood of Van Nuys, home to more than one hundred thousand people, including myself and my family. Making it one of the most populous districts of Los Angeles in the valley. Moderately diverse, the majority of the population is made up of Hispanics and Whites. The community is predominantly comprised of middle class families. The ugly commercial streets, the traffic congestion, graffitied walls, and the lack of community involvement give many people a negative opinion of the neighborhood. Many saying that it's “ghetto” and not the best neighborhood to live in. Van Nuys being a relatively large and crowded area is always filled with vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians. Furthermore, drugs, prostitution, gangs, and poverty …show more content…
My next door neighbors are friendly and considerate people that my family trusts and shares a close relationship with. As a child I can still remember the countless times I knocked on my neighbors door to ask to borrow money or a bit of milk. Likewise, they’ve never hesitated to borrow some of our own belongings. As I grew older I got to explore the neighborhood more and meet new people. Now at age 16, I’ve seen the positives and negatives of my neighborhood city. The outdoors can be safe at times, but no matter where you go, whether it’s another state or country, there’s always going to be danger. The few times I’ve been out in the streets on my own I’ve never had trouble with anyone or been afraid of something bad happening to me. In more impoverished areas there is always more homeless roaming the streets, pushing their carts in the hot summer or cold winter. Scattered trash in sidewalks being blown towards the streets. Pedestrians walking on cracked sidewalks, passing through druggies, sots, or beggars. It is those parts of the neighborhood that make Van Nuys seem unpleasant
When people think of Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, they think of crime and violence within the neighborhood. I myself have thought this about Bedford Stuyvesant before I did research and actually visited the neighborhood for myself. Bedford Stuyvesant in my opinion, has two different sides. The side the media portrays to us, the people, and the side people who actually visit/live in the neighborhood see for themselves. My visual representation above shows the two different sides of Bedford Stuyvesant. The first image shows the typical view of what people think of when they think of Bedford Stuyvesant, the projects. When people think of this neighborhood, they think of project buildings housing low income black families. The media portrays Bedford Stuyvesant as a
In the neighborhood I live is in the Koreatown / Wilshire Center and haven’t experience a lot of crime which is also part of the low crime rate in the neighborhood. Also the police presence here in my neighborhood is very light and the relations with the police is normal. The only time the police will be serious if the crime is too dangerous and concern for the neighborhood is first. It is also different from his description from the gang violence and presence in the area I live in is very light not like other neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The difference is also the race in the area is different and comprised of mostly Asian and White which we are at a friendly relation with little to no disturbance of crime and gang violence. This also included poverty in the neighborhood I live in is very light and there is not a lot of poor people in the area. It also different the community which is very friendly and everyone is not that all cautious or worry. If there were a crime we will be notified ahead to be prepared of the concern of safety. From the description how Victor Rios described the neighborhood is almost similar to a few neighborhood of Los Angeles such as the East Los Angeles and the Compton area of Los Angeles. I had visited these area when I was riding the public transportation through these area to reach to the destination. I noticed that the area
In contrast to the negatives of gentrification, some people view gentrification as a the only effective way to “revitalize” low-income urban communities. In the article, “Gentrification: A Positive Good For Communities” Turman situates the piece around the opinion that gentrification is not as awful as the negative connotation surrounding it. Furthermore, he attempts to dispel the negative aspects of gentrification by pointing out how some of them are nonexistent. To accomplish this, Turman exemplifies how gentrification could positively impact neighborhoods like Third Ward (a ‘dangerous’ neighborhood in Houston, Texas).Throughout the article, Turman provides copious examples of how gentrification can positively change urban communities, expressing that “gentrification can produce desirable effects upon a community such as a reduced crime rate, investment in the infrastructure of an area and increased economic activity in neighborhoods which gentrify”. Furthermore, he opportunistically uses the Third Ward as an example, which he describes as “the 15th most dangerous neighborhood in the country” and “synonymous with crime”, as an example of an area that could “need the change that gentrification provides”. Consequently, he argues with
"Building Partnerships to Revitalize America's Neighborhoods." HBCU Central (Winter 2002): 1-6. Winter 2002. Web. 2 May 2012.
This housing affordability crisis is stripping away it’s diversity at increasing rates and I feel that not enough is being done to restore it. Liz Pfeffer article “Is the Bay Area in a Housing Bubble or a Crisis?” describes the situation as, “San Francisco’s chronic problem is a lack of housing for middle and lower-income people. It’s not that they can’t afford it, it’s that it doesn’t exist”. Officials should collaborate on creating solutions to the root causes and offer alternatives that would release some of the pressure. I would suggest promoting micro-homes or smaller scaled homes, limiting foreign investors’s purchases of single-family homes, or expanding campuses of employers to areas that are not heavily populated. It is not too late to restore the balance but it will take collaboration and team work. I am urging these officials and activists to try and save the beloved culture of this area and help retain it as a place where social justice is recognized and
This paper will discuss the many unique aspects of Oakland, California. Divided into five major parts, Oakland is a very diverse city. The five major parts include: Downtown Oakland which is located in the heart of the city, East Oakland which consists of the majority of the city, West Oakland, North Oakland, and the Oakland hills where the terrain is quite different from other parts of the city. While many may perceive the population to mainly consist of African Americans and Whites, there is a significant growing population of Latinos, and Asians. The topics covered in this paper will shed light on the city of Oakland itself, and discuss the unique city that it is. I will also give my personal experience and perception on the city, after living there for 16 years of my life.
If one looks deeper into each side, they can see that these stereotypes are not always true. One big stereotype people have about “the hills” and “the flats” is that the “flats” are more prone to violence than the “hills” because of the exposure to a more difficult lifestyle. However, there are numerous counts of violence and hate that has not been accounted for or heard of in a multitude of neighborhoods. According to FBI.gov, there are 365 violent offenses per 100,000 persons in the United States. In addition, these violent crimes have an impact on those who have seen or experienced it. This number includes robberies, domestic violence, and assault and gang activities. According to a scholarly journal published by Sciencedirect, around thirty
In addition to describing the factors that go into the development of unequal opportunities in urban areas, the authors list some of the costs of living in a bad neighborhood. These “concentration effects,” as they call them, include access to healthcare and financial services. ...
Of the many problems affecting urban communities, both locally and abroad, there is one issue in particular, that has been victimizing the impoverished within urban communities for nearly a century; that would be the problem of gentrification. Gentrification is a word used to describe the process by which urban communities are coerced into adopting improvements respective to housing, businesses, and general presentation. Usually hidden behind less abrasive, or less stigmatized terms such as; “urban renewal” or “community revitalization” what the process of gentrification attempts to do, is remove all undesirable elements from a particular community or neighborhood, in favor of commercial and residential enhancements designed to improve both the function and aesthetic appeal of that particular community. The purpose of this paper is to make the reader aware about the significance of process of gentrification and its underlying impact over the community and the community participation.
Lance Freeman tackles the issue of gentrification from the perspectives of residents in the gentrified neighborhood. He criticizes the literature for overlooking the experiences of the victims of gentrification. The author argues that people’s conceptions on the issue are somewhat misinformed in that most people consider it as completely deplorable, whereas in reality, it benefits the community by promoting businesses, different types of stores, and cleaner streets. These benefits are even acknowledged by many residents in the gentrified neighborhood. However, the author admits that gentrification indeed does harm. Although gentrification does not equate to displacement per se, it serves to benefit primarily homeowners and harm the poor. Additionally,
Alejandrino, Simon V. Gentrification in San Francisco's Mission District: Indicators and Policy Recommendations. University of California at Berkeley, 2000.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time
“For thugs from the ghetto, violence is a way of life - it's what helps you survive.” That quote was said by Suge Knight a hip-hop mogul who grew up in the streets of Compton, California. Compton is another known area for its high violence and high number of gangs on its streets. Social inequality has worsen over the years, the gap between the rich and poor only has increased. Living conditions have deteriorated over the years. The window of success has shrunk in areas of inner city communities. If you can walk into an inner city hospital and go up to the window in the maternity ward and predict the future of the babies lying there, you know we have a major issue.
Growing up in the inner city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I’ve experienced my fair share of homeless people on the streets. It is of no surprise to me that this is a common trend in most major cities across the country. Moving to San Diego I didn’t expect that the streets would be completely free from homelessness but the magnitude of this glaringly evident issue was more than I could ever imagine. I was faced with an overwhelming reality of a city filled with shopping carts full of few belongings, pillows and blankets on the sidewalks, and more signs, held by the hands of utterly helpless people asking for just a little help, than I had ever seen before. Walking by fifteen people all in a row, sleeping like it was no big deal that their comfy bed to go home to every night was a concrete slab on 5th Avenue, made me wonder how these people got to this point and why there was no one there to help. Finding the source of glue keeping the homeless population stuck in their situation not only comes from a desensitized community, over-exposed to people living on the street, but also a lack of resources and willingness to help decrease homelessness and work toward preventing it all together.
Where I live is one of the greatest neighborhoods in the city to live in; however, it does have its drawbacks. Importantly, it has nearly everything a resident might want, beautiful picturesque scenery, proximity to shopping, and many of the cultural centers. Nevertheless, the roads can be some of the most congested in town, and the streets are not safe to walk late at night. Fortunately, I wake every morning to the most beautiful sun-lit house. I sit on my porch sipping coffee, while I drink in an atmosphere that steals my breath away.