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.