Am I the target, for destruction?

The Codes of the Streets: Elijah Anderson's interpretation of violence

Beneath all the problems and chaos in poor inner city communities, there lies a code of rules. These rules govern violence and then controls it; The Codes of the Streets. The problems that are faced on a daily basis are put behind the true issue of interpersonal violence and aggression. It all adds up to alienation and a sense of hopelessness. The stigma of race, the jobs that barely make ends meet, the rampant use and trafficking of drugs, all spring and form violence. The environment is rough and places younger people in positions to be aggressive. The inner city residents say “decent” families are the one force that can stop negative aspects of the inner city. The “decent” family is strong, loving and committed to middle class values. The oppositional culture to that of the streets, is similar to mainstream society. Both cultures, street and decent, create an environment that the children must be able to handle themselves in. Most of the homes do reflect mainstream values, but the street-oriented environment counteracts it. The street culture has adapted to a set of informal rules called a code of the streets. It controls interpersonal public behavior such as violence. The code regulates violence and the people who use aggression to an extend that is oddly approved. The rules are enforced and established by the street-oriented. The decent and street both know the rules and understand the penalties when broken. Although the decent family is opposed to the codes, they still have their children become familiar with it. The heart of the code, is respect. The people who follow the codes want to be treated “right” or the respect they deserve. The inner city leaves people feeling like they can’t control certain forces, so the respect they deserve becomes uncertain. Respect is viewed by young people involved in the street culture “as an external entity that is hard-won but easily lost.” They must constantly be on guard to maintain the respect they fought for. The rules provide a base for negotiating respect. If a person has enough respect, one can be not “bother” in public. If he is bothered then it brings disrespect and he is then “dissed”. Maintaining eye contact for too long is an example of a diss and those actions are serious to people following the code. The traces can be connected to the alienation from mainstream society and the structures created by it. The codes are an adaptation to a lack of faith in systems. The police and the judicial system are the main organizations. The cliché that the police do not respond in the poorer parts in the city, is sadly true. It makes the residents feel as though they must defend themselves and their loved ones. They feel a distance from the rest of America. The decent families instill mainstream values in their children. They’re “working poor” and are generally better off financially then the street oriented. They also hold a value hard work and self-reliance. They’re willing to sacrifice for their children. They harbor hope for their children, they go to church, have interest in their kids schooling, and believe its all a test from God. Their church community provides support along with their faith. They’re well aware of the dangerous environment their children face and often are strict. Their children are encouraged to respect authority. The street parents on the other side, have a lack of consideration for other people. They give off a superficial sense of family. Its not that they do not love their children, rather they are unable to cope with the demands of parenthood, physically and emotionally. They believe in the code and judge not only other people but themselves according to its values. When street and decent kids come together, tensions build because the child understand they must choose an orientation. Children that develop a decency orientation after being from street orientated families usually learn those from another place. School, youth groups and churches can provide a caring adult role model.

Section 8 Housing

There are programs for people in need of housing all across the country. After looking at the website for "The Philadelphia Housing Authority", it was clear that a lot of people truly needed help. The other websites had waiting-lists that were years long, with thousands of families in need. The Philadelphia Housing Authority or PHA is not the only agency in Philadelphia that provides assistance for housing. It is the largest, but there are also community organizations, churches and civic groups that provide Housing Choice rental to low or moderate income people. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is federal assistance provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to sponsor subsidized housing for low-income families and people. Most people know it as Section 8. This comes from the portion of the U.S Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 under the original subsidy program. The United States Code, covers this type of program in Title 42, Chapter 8 Section 1437f. Federal housing assistance programs began during the Great Depressions to help the country’s housing crisis. The federal government created subsidy programs to increase the production of low income housing in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Housing authorities selected eligible families from their waiting list, and placed them in housing after determining the rent that the tenant would have to pay. The housing authority would then sign a leave with private landlords and pay the difference between the tenants rent and the market rate. This was under Section 23 Leased Housing Program amended the U.S Housing Act in 1961. The Section 8 program has tenants pay about 30 percent of their income for rent, and the rest is paid with feral money. The Section 8 program initially had three different subprograms. The New Construction, Substantial Rehabilitation, and Existing Housing Certificate programs. The Voucher Program was added in 1983 and the Project based Certificate program in 1991. The main Section 8 program involves the voucher program. A voucher, could be either project based, where its use is limited to a certain apartment complexes or tenant based, where the tenant is free to choose a unit. The private sector could be anywhere in the United States or Puerto Rick where a PHA operates a Section 8 program. The voucher program, has individual or families with a lease on a specified complex or a private sector pay only a portion of the rent, its usually based on income. Its no more than 30 percent of the persons income, with 40 percent being the maximum at time of lease up. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD will add income even if the tenant doesn’t receive interest income from something such as a bank account. They call this “imputed income from assets”, they calculated the imputed income from the asset, and in the case of a bank account they establish a stand “Passbook Savings Rate”. It makes the section 8 tenant contribute more since their gross income is made higher by HUD. The public housing agency pays the land landlord the remainder of the rent, based on the cap known as the “Fair Market Rent” or FMR. This is all determined by HUD. The FMR is determined by a couple factors. It could be the city or county, and where the unit is located. If the unit is in a metropolitan area it will have a higher FMR. The size of the unit, the number of bedrooms and if it’s a studio apartment it would generally have lower FMR. The last reason is if the tenant or owner pays for the utilities. The landlord is not allowed to charge the tenant more than FMR. Landlords are required to meet fair housing laws, but are not required to take part in Section 8 program. Some landlords do not want the government involved in their business, they might want to charge more than FMR, fear that their unit will not be maintained by the Section 8 tenants and even racial profiling. All of those factors are reasons landlords do not accept Section 8 tenants. Depending on the state laws, it could be illegal to deny a person rent because they have Section 8. Landlords can only use reasons such as credit, criminal history or any past evictions to not accept a tenant. The other side of landlords who do not want tenants using Section 8 housing, are the landlords who willingly accept. There is a large amount of applicants wanting to be potential renters. The payments are usually prompt coming from the tenant and PHA. Their unit will also be less likely to be damage because the tenant will be removed from the Section 8 Program if they damage the rental unit. While the programs help people, its obvious that they are just merely placing a band-aid on a gaping wound. It helps them for the time being but never addresses the issue that there are millions of people who can't afford to put a roof over their heads. The economic structure places people in a position where they are financially trapped. The years of reasons for poverty are difficult to fix, but need to be in order to truly help people. In terms of gentrification, many people are forced out by their lack of money and then require Section 8 Housing. Those areas were practically doomed but the people do not deserve to be removed from their homes and suddenly can't pay for necessities themselves. In my opinion, Section 8 is a symptom of Capitalism and appears to be beneficial for a short time span.

Mantua Philadelphia

Mantua is a neighborhood in West Philadelphia north of Spring Garden Street and east of 40th street. The neighborhood is simply described as working-class and African American. The southern border of Mantua called Powelton Village has experienced some gentrification from an increased amount of Drexel University students. Before the 1940’s, Mantua was mainly a white Lutheran neighborhood. But over time African Americans families moved into the area. The early to mid 1960’s, the residents began to see the start of gang warfare. Herman Wrice and Andrew Jenkins, community activists, got together and formed the Young Great Society and the Mantua Community Planners. The constant crime and violence didn’t stop them from trying to protect and change their community. These programs held functions on a daily basis like arts and crafts, bands, day trips and tutoring. The Police Commissioner, Frank Rizzo, gave community leaders access to local police stations. When the local kids would get arrested due to gang related charges, the community leaders could post bail and take the residents home. The community leaders would then in return help police by trying to stop these kids from taking part in street life. Mantua was the most crime ridden neighborhoods in Philadelphia, regardless of the efforts of the committees. Between 1960 and 1969, Mantua recorded about 10 percent of total city gang killings. The Philadelphia Police Department often assigned patrols in Mantua simply as punishments to officers. Over a decade, six major gangs called the 10.5 block their territory. In the 70’s, Andrew Jenkins began working with the Mantua Community Planners to build a recreation center in Mantua. Gang violence delayed their efforts. The first rec center was opened on 34th Street and Haverford Avenue. It had playgrounds, a free library, and ball courts. Wrice’s Young Great Society and Jenkins’s Mantua Community Planners collaborated to have urban renewal programs. They included planting tress and building housing units. During the 1980’s there was a ride of drug-related crimes. It’s seen in many industrialized cities during that time period. Many residents started to flee after crack-cocaine and the existing heroin hit the area. Wrice led community marches against drugs and went after drug dealers by putting up Wanted Posters. Andrew Jenkins was Deputy Mayor for eight years and Herman Wrice even started Mantua Against Drugs or MAD in 1988. Jenkins said that the lowest point of Mantua was in the 80’s when the leaders were jealous and created tension causing unsuccessful results. Rumors and stigmas placed on active leaders destroyed the neighborhoods efforts. The drug was not as strong in the 1990’s but community was still suffering from the effects of years of drugs and violence. The number of residents went from 19,000 in the 1960’s to around 6,000 by the 90’s. There were several hundred vacant lots all along the streets. The stores that were in Mantua during the 1950’s like galleries and movie theaters were replaced by grab-and-go beer stores and delis. In the late 90’s, buildings and abandoned lots were bought and renovated by college students from Drexel University. Its estimated that 500 to 1000 college-aged students are living in Mantua. The Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania students have brought a renewed interest to the community. In 2002, the Mantua Community Improvement Committee (MCIC) has goals with the residents, neighbors to Mantua and the City of Philadelphia. The MCIC has initiatives in place, like the Mantua Neighborhood Special Services District. It’s meant to attract commercial investors and new homebuyers.

Gentrification Part 2: Darien Street Philadelphia

In Gentrification Amid Urban Decline: Strategies for America's Older Cities, written by Michael  Lang, the process of gentrification is seen upon the "Darien Street" community in Philadelphia. Darien Street was a "back street", because its not connected to any of the city's main sections. It was even unpaved for most of the time. Darein Street was populated by only Italian families, but after WWII, the government talked about building a cross-town highway, all the families moved out. When the Italians moved out, the houses dating from 1885 and low-rent, went to poor African American families. In the 1970's, Darien Street was at its lowest point and had little property value. The houses were abandoned, the roofs were caving in, broken windows and heaters. Although deep in decay, the houses still had a European charm and people appreciated the architecture. There was no car traffic and children were safe due to being an Alley in the populous Bella Vista neighborhood. The houses were close together and created a very tight-knit community. It was inexpensive and a short distance from the city life of Philadelphia. The city government did not was to hesitate and rehabilitate it. The gentrification began in 1977, to a corner house a school teacher re-modelled and lived in. The next years mainly white middle class men moved into the old houses. The first displacement of the original Darien Street occupants happened in 1979. About two years later five of seven families were evicted because of the inflated house pricing. The only two families left, were renters and expected to leave. In five years, from 1977 to 1982, the original population went from seven African Americans families and one white family to two African American families and eleven white families. The rent increased 488 per cent, so around $500 a month compared to what it used to be, $85. The only positive that came out of the gentrification of Darien Street was an increase of property tax revenues and better quality homes.

Gentrification

The term gentrification could bring up different emotions for different people according to whom it is affecting. When wealthier people buy houses in a less affluent neighborhood, it causes certain socio-cultural changes to that community. These small changes send a shock wave of economic effects. The average income increases and the average family size will then decrease. The economic eviction of the lower income families will result because of the increased rents, property taxes and house prices. Once the higher income residents are there, new businesses that cater more towards them will also move in. The once blighted areas have a new appeal to affluent migrants. It becomes almost impossible for the lower income residents to stay. The neighborhood is less accessible for the people with less wealth. Although the community is technically urban, when gentrification occurs it has a more suburban character. If a depressed urban area has a transportation hub, accessibly for pedestrians, and social interactions it is desirable for people slightly opposed to the suburban community. Besides a change in the average income, there is a decline of ethnic minorities in the area. Gentrification can often be described as the “rehabilitation” of a decaying area in the city. But to a person that was living in the decaying area for their entire lives, they wouldn’t call it rehabilitation rather exile. The people of higher incomes are drawn to the areas because of its low cost. Typically in Philadelphia the people moving into the less prosperous communities and renovated them are college or grad students and post-baby boomer professionals.. But it causes displacement of poorer residents who can no longer afford the high rent and taxes. There are two sociological theories for reasons for gentrification. The first theory explains gentrification as an economic process called production-side theory. It has the relationships between flows of capital and the production of urban space, linked with economics. There’s an continues flow of capital going towards the suburbs causing a devolution of inner-city capital. Neil Smith a geographer put a his rent-gap theory as a major explanation for gentrification. The difference between “the actual capitalized ground rent (land value) of a plot of land given its present use and the potential ground rent that might be gleaned under a ‘higher and better’ use.” When the rent-gap was wide enough, landlords, developers and other people invested interest in the land and saw it as profitable. This redevelopment closes the rent-gap and then leads higher rent and mortgages. The consumption-side theory says that the gentrifiers themselves are important to understand gentrification. The concept of globalization could also be the cause. In terms of demographics, cities are seeing a growing percentage of 25-45 year olds’ in the urban, inner city core. Researchers for urban settings are seeing an increase of single women professionals living alone in gentrified areas. The urban middle class does not settle in new neighborhoods all at one. It’s often the “trend-setters” who are the first to move into gentrified areas. These groups do not have high incomes, but their educational status for example makes them bourgeois. These residents are usually young and have a higher tolerance for urban problems like crime, lack of shops and parks, poor schools than middle class parents would. When the number of “trend setters” grow, then they create services like new bars, art galleries, restaurants and attract other people. They’re adding property value and give more investors and future residents a path of a new community. The first “trend setters” or newcomers, are done with their fashionable community and move on to other areas. The entire process starts all over again. The neighborhoods trickle down the socioeconomic groups. The urban artist colony started in the 1960’s with the hippies in New York City’s East Village. Now the hippies are called hipsters. There artists and subcultural students looking for urban neighborhoods with low prices. Through the 60’s and 70’s the lofts in SoHo were housing for artists and hippies. Those areas became increased in price, so the artist moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn and Hoboken, New Jersey and now to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The people living in the gentrified neighborhoods have organized into grassroots groups to keep affordable housing in their communities. Many of which started in the 1960's. In Miami Florida, the Liberty section, the organization Take Back the Land took control over land and built housings for the homeless which is known as Umoja Village. In response to gentrification, some cities have passed rent control areas. Rent control allows existing tenants to remain but does does affect the increase of property prices. In New York City and the surrounding counties, rent regulation protects over 1 million units and tenants from the rising rents.There are two kinds of regulations on rent. Rent controlled housing and rent stabilized housing. The rent is set annually by the Rent Guidelines Board for rent stabilized housing.

Liquorlining.

It’s not a coincidence that there is more liquor stores in poorer neighborhoods. They’re there to make a profit. Liquorlining is the practice of encouraging very high density of liquor stores and other alcohol outlets in low income areas. Instead of the denial of services to low income neighborhoods, its a profitable option for service providers to sell in these communities. It could cause the neighborhood to go downhill and is defiantly taking advantage of a situation that causes people to feel somewhat helpless. It is not illegal like redlining though. This issue has led activist and local governments to control the liquor store development. In south central Los Angeles community members fought to prevent the rebuilding of the 200 liquor stores burned down in 1992 by the civil unrest. The concentration of liquor stores in lower income and minority communities works as an impediment to the social and economic liveliness. Various studies have shown a link between liquor density and crime in communities. A study done by the Oakland Police Department demonstrated that criminal behaviors such as assaults and drug trafficking occurs with a frequency in and near liquor stores. Community development plans are ruined because its difficult to interest developers or even city funds in areas plagued by “alcohol blight“. Liquor stores take up retail space and prevent other businesses to attract people. A false assumption is that alcohol is in higher demand by lower income residents. However, drinking patterns have shown that whites and people of higher income drink more frequently and are heavy drinkers than people of lower income. It is not a demand problem. In some suburban areas stores that sell alcohol are ban all together. In more affluent areas liquor is sold in grocery stores, multi-purpose stores while in lower income neighborhoods alcohol is sold in liquor stores that have been related to community problems. The liquor industry is known to support liquor stores through touch times by paying for expenses such as rent. When neighborhoods lose population supermarkets and other businesses leave. The area then loses its diverse economic base and becomes less desirable for residents and retail costumers. The cost of land is then reduced because the demand for residential and commercial land declined. It leaves an open game for marginal users.

Redlining

The practice of marking a red line on a map to delineate the areas where banks would not invest, sounds unreal. But it is real. Redlining is the practice of denying or increasing the cost of certain services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs and health care. Eventually this practice was applied to discriminate against groups of people, regardless of geography. Through the 1990’s banks would lend to lower whites but no to any black people who were even in the middle to upper class. Redlining began with the National Housing Act of 1934 which created the Federal Housing Administration. In the book, When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor written by William Julius Wilson he says that the federal government contributed to the decay of inner city neighborhood by withholding mortgage capital and making it hard for these neighborhoods to attract and keep families able to buy homes. This policy effectively made sure that African Americans could not secure mortgage loans. In 1935 the Federal Home Loan and Bank Board created “residential security maps” to show the level of security for real estate investments in each city that was surveyed by the Home Owners Loan Cooperation. The maps were made by assumptions about the community and not accurate information about an individuals ability to fit the lending criteria. These maps were also used years after by private and public companies to deny loans to black communities. The maps were conducted by mapping out 4 types. The newest areas, the ones most desirable for lending, were outlined in blue and were known as Type A. These areas were mostly the suburbs on the outskirts of the city. The neighborhoods that were “still desirable” were labeled Type B. The older, “declining” areas were labeled as Type C and were outlined in yellow. Type D were neighborhoods outlined in red and were most risky for mortgage support. These areas were older and it the center of cities also were mostly black neighborhoods. Redlining paralyzed the housing market, and lower property values. It encouraged landlord abandonment and the population density became much lower. The abandoned buildings would become only inhabited by drug dealers or addicts, eventually causing crime to increase.

Racial Steering

For years the real-estate industry has developed a system that “favors” certain people less. That is of course is a euphuism for an oppressing operation set up by the wealthier class. Real-estate brokers have guided home buyers away or to certain neighborhoods based on their race. Racial Steering was defined by the Yale Law Journal as two classes. The first part is advising customers to purchase homes in particular neighborhoods on the basis of race. The second part is failing, on the basis of race, to show, or to inform buyers of homes that meet their specifications. In Detroit Michigan when the automobile industry opened it created many new jobs in 1916 to 1917. Many African Americans migrated to Detroit to find jobs. This migration changed the social and racial structure of Detroit. It also changed the city economically and politically causing city officials to face the racial tensions. The city officials allowed laws for racial segregation in the housing and employment. The United States Congress passed a series of Acts to stop segregation. The first act was the Civil Rights Act of 1866, says in subsections that “all persons born in the United States are citizens regardless of their race, color, or previous condition and as citizens they could make and enforce contracts, sue and be sued, give evidence in court and inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real estate and personal property.” The Civil Rights Act of 1968 in subsection 3604 expanded the first Act. It prohibits the discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex. It could also be called The Fair Housing Act. This act is enforced on the nation, state and local level. There have been a number of lawsuits brought up by individuals and companies about racial discrimination. Century 21 Town and Country Vs. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights in 2006 is an example. This case involves the Michigan Department of Civil Rights suing the company Century 21 Town and Country of discrimination. There had been complaints to the Department of illegal racial steering. White homebuyers were steered to White neighborhoods and African American homebuyers to African American neighborhoods. This case is still pending.

Planned Shrinkage

The idea that urban decline was inevitable came about during the 1970’s by a group of wealthy men. In New York City, a public policy was made to take away city services that were necessary to keep the community stable. Services such as police patrols, street repairs, fire services, and garbage removal was withdrawn from areas suffering from urban decay. The plan was that the neighborhoods that were riddled with crime and poverty would eventually be claimed by outside interests. The new development would occur after the city would “shrink” because of population loss among mainly non-white inhabitants. The term was first used in New York City during the 70’s. Roger Starr, the Housing Commissioner of New York City in 1976 said that to react to urban decay a new policy called “Planned Shrinkage” should be proposed. Some of the areas included the South Bronx and Harlem that were “plagued” with decay. During a speech, Starr suggested closing firehouses and schools. He felt that these areas were devastated by finical problems and the best option to save money was get rid of certain programs in the inner city. But without police and fire services it left the cities with huge waves of crime and fire. By the mid 70’s the Bronx had 120,000 fires per day. Around 40 percent of the housing in the area was completely destroyed. The policy of planned shrinkage also caused problems with public health in the communities. The pattern of AIDS was affected by the program of planned shrinkage. It directly affected the African American and Hispanic communities. The constant denial of municipal services caused population density and instability for the communities. Even President Nixon's advisor on urban and social policy sent a memo stating "Benign Neglect". The Nixon Administration took this stance by shifting money from the inner city to the suburbs by using block grants. He also took apart Model Cities programs to assure "Benign Neglect". After many houses burned down, they were not rebuilt because Starr claimed that the land should lie vacant until a new use could rise. The new was industry. The fact that this hands off policy is just reacting to something that is inevitable it is seen that no one is responsible. This type of poverty is planned, and an extermination of the poor. People have the idea that lower-income individuals want their homes to look run-down and disgusting. But in reality, they do not have the money to fix up their houses. A few years ago, the walls in my room needed to be fixed. They were slanted and cracked, so my dad just put a new dry wall. It was that simple We're a middle class, suburban family. If something needs to be fixed, my dad can usually afford it. He even struggles, so to imagine a person who makes less than $30,000 a year, with more than 3 people in their home needing to fix the walls is almost unimaginable. The walls around them fall and there is not much they can do because of a system put in place by rich white men.

Urban Decay

There are areas in every city that have fallen by the wayside. These small pockets of poverty look like a bomb went off and only pieces of that city still remain. It’s unclear what happened, why the city no longer functions the way it used to be and before you know it, you’ve already driven past it. It’s a glimpse of urban decay. Its deindustrialization, depopulation, changing population, economic restructuring, abandoned buildings, high local unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement, crime, and an inhospitable landscape. All of those terms are complicated and yet are folded together to describe an issue that is destroying entire areas. Since the 1970’s and 1980’s urban decay has been connected with western and European cites. Since that time period, there have been major changes in global economics. The changes in government policy have led to urban decay because it changed the devolvement of the cities. Another aspect of urban decay is blight. The appearance and effects it has psychologically on people living near empty lots and run down buildings. The empty lots and abandon buildings often attract negative focus, such as gangs. There is no one cause of urban decay. It’s multiple causes that can cause a neighborhood to eventually decay. The socio-economic reasons are slightly too complicated for anyone to grasp but they are important. During the Industrial Revolution, around the late eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century, a boom of rural people moved into the city for jobs. But after economic changes, the cities were in a weak position. Some of these changes include transport. When the transportation went from public to private it got rid of the advantages of having buses and trains. The car after World War II time favored a more suburbanized lifestyle. Even politically, the decisions were more geared towards the development of the suburban life. City taxes were taken and used for building more remote racially separate suburban towns. Soon after World War II, western economics outsourced most of their manufacturing businesses overseas. Under President Dwight Eisenhower, urban areas were shattered even more through the building of the Interstate Highway System. Inner city property values decreased, so financially disadvantaged people began to move in. The new inner city people were usually African American especially during the 1920’s and 1930’s after migrating from the south. The people who were described as “ethnic” fled the inner city and moved into the suburbs.

The Media's Role

The media molds the opinion of the middle class people. It’s designed for profit and run by large corporations. The stories are meant to entertain not inform. In between a few news stories are commercials and advertisements. The number of media companies is shrinking and the remaining companies’ control has greatly expanded. The media plays a major role in shaping our culture and guiding us to our national identity. The media provides people with a way to think about each other and what role they play in society. The structure of class has become vital and operates our daily lives. It determines what kind of work a person will be able to attain, the type of school that will completed, and even the health of a person. Throughout time, the equalities that manifest in our country are hidden by the media. This mass illusion is created by the lack of media attention. When the media does pay attention it paints a false face on poor people. The reality of poverty is unseen and causes the poor to be blamed for their economic situation. The minimal coverage of the poor is distorted and furthers the idea of blaming the victim. William Ryan has called it simply "blaming the victim". Poverty is systemic and a direct result of economic and political policies. It deprives people from jobs, wages and support. When not falsely covered, the poor is ignored. People are rarely faced with the poor and when they are it’s either on television or walking by. It’s not common to walk up to a homeless person and ask them about their life history and make connections to their endless poverty. The rate of poverty is increasing more than the population growth in the United States. This crisis is not covered and is not even considered a crisis. The death of Michael Jackson received more coverage than the amount of people struggling with purchasing food. Their problems are hidden to Americans, but every single aspect of a celebrity’s life is clearly defined. The coverage about the reports on poverty from the Census Bureau has made people desensitized. Humans have been replaced with numbers. It is simply reducing poverty to a number and making people who suffer, faceless. However, when the news does mention the poor, it’s never accurate. They choose to talk about the poor in a negative sense, as if all people who lack wealth are drug addicted murders. The poor is identified as welfare cheats and bums. A few years ago, the peer in Ocean City New Jersey was burned down by a group of homeless people. The story is not on the Internet and was covered very briefly on the news. The homeless people were living under the peer and once summer came along, the peer was needed for tourist. The police came and removed all the homeless people. A few days later, they came back angry. They decided to burn down the peer. These people had nowhere to go, and were removed from the only safe place they knew because they did not look presentable for the incoming families. The poor have become an eyesore. It’s not an issue of morality, that they have no homes, but an irritation to the middle class. The media creates a strong feeling of "we-ness". The media has solidarity with the upper class. But if there is a "we" or an "us", there will always be an "other". The other, is inferior and undeserving. They're the other and they're also the underclass. The broadcast and print news media does an excellent job of establishing this. There is the underclass and then everyone else. It is very clear that the news is provided mainly for people of wealthier and more privileged class of people. Although not many people own stock, the news spends a large amount of broadcast time on the stock market quotations. The message of the media is that the concerns of the wealthy are the concerns of us all.It is estimated that two-thirds of the US Senate is composed of millionaires. These millionaires are supposedly serving "our" collective interest. When there is success for individuals, the media hypes it up and it's well known. The stories are about celebrities and their struggles to success. There are certain magazines that serve to keep people gawking at the success of the social elite. The rags to riches stories, tells us that there are a series of smart moves for corporate success.

Inroduction to Urban Studies

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a Communist."


I’ve lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia for eighteen years now. The word “suburbs” just reminds me of pure isolation with an occasional visit to the city. Although Philadelphia is less than ten minutes away from my house, it has always been foreign. Whenever I’m in the city the feeling of being an outsider was always apparent. I had no idea what it was like to live there but felt an obligation to understanding it. The most interesting aspect of the city is the wide range economic groups. The poor and the rich live side by side. The isolation I’ve felt for my entire life is the same isolation the “lower class” has felt. There is of course a difference between suburban solitude and urban but I believe the term “Us and Them” is destroying human relationships. The idea that money defines a person is appalling. The isolation is directly related to class. The class system is set up to trap certain people. This trap that is strategically set up to segregate a group of people has sparked my attention. My senior year in high school was spent trying to comprehend why people are racist. The simple question is actually complex and has years of oppressing layers. After taking two courses that have discussed the topic, I wanted to further my studies by researching the urban community. I'm directly asking why people are poor. I'm trying to understand why in our society it is hidden with excuses that its natural. People in the suburbs often are disconnected with people in the city. They know little about the history or the economics and ultimately the harsh truth about poverty.