The Roles of Place, Race, and Privilage in Unequal Opportunities

713 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: City life vs rural life

In this article, Squires and Kubrin argue that place, race, and privilege interact and combine to play a large role in the unequal opportunities that different citizens have in metropolitan areas across the United States. They first explain the existence of “bad” neighborhoods in these metropolitan areas and attempt to describe their development over time. They discuss how place has played a role in this. For example, they discuss sprawl, which they define as “a pattern of development associated with outward expansion, low-density housing and commercial development, fragmentation of planning…, auto-dependent transport, and segregated land use patterns” (48). They explain how sprawl has negatively affected inner-city neighborhoods. Additionally, the authors discuss the impact of race on the formation of unequal life opportunities. Racial minorities do not have access to the same opportunities as white people in America today. Although improving in recent years, the United States remains a highly segregation nation. This segregation, which is both a cause for and result of sprawl, is an example of how place and race interact in the formation of bad neighborhoods and unequal opportunities. Finally, the authors define how privilege affects inequality. Living in an area of large concentrated poverty as well as family social status, being born into either extreme wealth or poverty, have a large effect on the opportunities that one will have in life. 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. ... ... middle of paper ... ...olicies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Hope VI program. Overall, I found that the article was very compelling. Because I lived my entire life before coming to college in an extremely small Midwestern town, Memphis has been quite a change for me. I have learned a lot about poverty and its geographic and racial dimensions merely by being in Memphis. Overall, the arguments that the article made did not surprise me. However, some of the large differences in statistics between, for example, black and white people as well as urban and suburban residents did surprise me. I had no idea how large the problem of opportunity inequality is in metropolitan areas. The article made me want to learn more about the problem of unequal opportunities based on place, race, and privilege and what I can do to help fix and bring attention to the issue.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of There Goes The Hood By Lance Freeman

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Gentrification and White Preference in the Rhode Island Housing Market

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture.” (Grant) In layman’s terms, gentrification is when white people move to a black neighborhood for the sake of cheaper living, and in turn, raise up property values and force black neighbors to leave because of a higher price of living. Commonly, the government supports gentrification with the demolition of public housing in areas that are developing with more white neighbors. This is causing a decreasing amount of African Americans to be able to afford to live in the neighborhood as their homes are taken away from them, forcing them to relocate. Whilst gentrification normally has negative connotations, there are several people who believe gentrification brings about “an upward trend in property values in previously neglected neighborhoods.” (Jerzyk) On the other hand, this new trend in property value and business causes those...

    Read More

  • Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    The small river that divides the Washington Heights and Harlem from the South Bronx area, makes up "one of the largest racially segregated concentrations of poor people in our nation" (Kozol 3). This segregation increases the inequality problems by overpopulating the inner-cities that do not offer as many employment opportunities. As a result of the inequalities in this district, the children are not allowed as many opportunities as other fortunate individuals may receive growing up in a separate society. Kozol seems to think that the odds of these South Bronx children obtaining wealth and moving out of the area are ...

    Read More

  • Globalization And Anti-Gentfication Of City Of Toronto

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... motivation for wealthy individuals to return to the inner-city core but it also provides impetus for commercial and retail mixed-use to follow, increasing local revenue for cities (Duany, 2001). Proponents of gentrification profess that this increase in municipal revenue from sales and property taxes allows for the funding of city improvements, in the form of job opportunities, improved schools and parks, retail markets and increased sense of security and safety ((Davidson (2009), Ellen & O’Reagan (2007), Formoso et. al (2010)). Due to the increase in housing and private rental prices and the general decrease of the affordable housing stock in gentrifying areas, financially-precarious communities such as the elderly, female-headed households, and blue-collar workers can no longer afford to live in newly developed spaces ((Schill & Nathan (1983), Atkinson, (2000)).

    Read More

  • Critical Race Theory: Race As A Factor In Inequity

    4780 Words  | 10 Pages

    Race as a factor in inequity. Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) posit that race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States. Race matters in society. If we look at high school drop out, suspension, and incarceration rates of men of color in America we see a disproportionate amount of men of color marginalized and profiled by society. This is further compounded by the perception that male faculty of color cannot be educators or at least are not often conceptually visualized in that capacity (Bryan and Browder, 2013).

    Read More

  • Groveland Case Study

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    In addition to continuing need for affirmative action, attention must be given to lessening racial segregation, and to improving the lot of the black poor. Without residential segregation—and the social segregation that it engenders—African American communities would not, as they do now, bear nearly the full burden of disproportionate black poverty… [The black poor] would have access to suburbanized jobs, better schools, and safer streets]. (Pattillo, 217,

    Read More

  • The Tuskegee Syphilis Case Study

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racial segregation has been a tactic used to isolate certain populations from success, while concentrating wealth amongst specific communities. San Francisco is a quintessential example of how an exceptionally affluent city is able to segregate poverty-stricken individuals from one of the worlds most prosperous economic regions Since the inception of the tech boom two facts have become evident, the wealth of Silicon Valley has risen exponentially, and the black population has plummeted. In a city where the top five percent of workers earn over $400,000 annually, 20 percent of the population still earns less than $30,000. From a monetary standpoint the numbers alone are staggering, but when taking into account racial components, health disparities

    Read More

  • Gentrification Essay

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    This investigation is based on the assumption that gentrification with all its troubles can’t be prevented and is an inherent part of every city. What are the negative impacts of gentrification? What are the underlying mechanisms that feed these impacts? What drives these mechanisms? What would be an alternative scenario?

    Read More

  • Racial Inequality in America

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.

    Read More

  • The Inequalities Of Race In Housing And Education

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotypes are like scalp dandruff, unnecessary, ugly, and hard to get rid of, unless you have the right shampoo. That shampoo could symbolize proper education or enlightenment for getting rid of that particular stereotype. Some stereotypes are so absurd we sometimes wonder where the heck did they even originate from. For example, Asians are bad drivers, or white people cannot dance. However there is a type of stereotype that has some little truth to it, but you find it is not the people who we are stereotyping’s fault. To be more specific, there is a stereotypical view that poor minorities are sometimes considered uneducated. This lack of minorities’ education is not their fault, but the fault of unlikely outside forces. Therefore there is some truth to this particular stereotype, but the minorities are not to blame for their lack of education. Few opportunities are given to them, starting with housing then leading to schools which would then affect their individual education.

    Read More

  • Gentrification In The Hood Analysis

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    Older gentrification is issued onto poor black communities to increase white supremacy in the area and improve living conditions in the so called “hood.” After Older proposed his thoughts on Gentrification being an issue in colored low-income neighborhoods, he then turns to criticizing another writer with a different point of view on the issue. The author of “Is Gentrification All Bad?” in an article in the New York Times explains his views on gentrification. Older places emphasis on one of Davidson’s claim on “sweet spots” in the community saying “Davidson talks of a “sweet spot”: some mythical moment of racial, economic harmony where the neighborhood stays perfectly diverse and balanced.” (Older 358) The author does not support this claim as to being logical in his sense. Older’s views represents an opposite approach on the same issue of gentrification. In another quote “The gears are all already in place, the mechanisms of white supremacy and capitalism poised to make their moves.” (Older 358) the author speaks on how white people are over taking the poor colored communities to improve their lives, but not thinking about the consequences of the affected

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Gentrification: A Positive Good For Communities

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    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”.

    Read More

  • Negative Implications Of Gentrification

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    In discussions of Gentrification, one controversial issue has been with displacement. Gentrification is the process of renovating and repairing a house or district so that it complies to wealthier residents (Biro, 2007, p. 42). Displacement is a result of gentrification, and is a major issue for lower income families. Gentrification is causing lower-income residents to move out of their apartments because they’re being displaced by upper class residents who can afford high rent prices and more successful businesses. Throughout out the essay, I will discuss how gentrification affects lower income residents and how it results in displacement. Then I will follow on by discussing some positive and negative effects that take place because of Gentrification.

    Read More

  • Essay On Gentrification

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...r of inequality in America, with so much poverty located within such a close proximity to the White House. That being said, gentrification efforts in DC appear to be focused on removing poor people, or at the very least, the visual image of crime, poverty, and corruption as it relates to the most powerful city in the country. Community activist groups have tried time and time again to stop gentrification from affecting their community, but often times, to no avail. What is truly sad is that while this cycle is continually perpetuated as a matter of “haves versus have nots” the way in which this system seems to always disproportionately marginalize one race of people in favor of another, does raise the question as to whether or not gentrification was orchestrated to operate in such a manner; and if so, what are the affected groups going to do about it.

    Read More

  • Racial And Racial Inequality

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    A social inequality that I would say I’m concerned with would be, racial and ethnic inequality. Racial or ethnic inequality is often established based on characteristics such as skin color and other physical characteristics, or a person’s place of origin or culture. Another meaning of racial inequality would be the advantages and disadvantages that affect different races within the Unites States. Race has become a socially constructed category capable of restricting or enabling social status. Racial inequality can lead to diminished opportunities, which can also lead to cycles of poverty and political problems. With this minority members in a society can result in discriminating actions such as; exclusion, oppression, expulsion, and extermination.

    Read More

More about The Roles of Place, Race, and Privilage in Unequal Opportunities

Open Document