Urban Studies Coursework Example

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Urban Studies
Introduction
The growth of urban centers have been a source of benefits but have contributed to numerous challenges as well. In this paper, the concept of gentrification will be examined regarding its effect on development in cities. The paper also covers the structural macroeconomic trends in the American neighborhoods, the Latinos, and the other more deprived communities. Finally, the paper examines policy options for urban plan agenda.
Gentrification
Gentrification has been argued as a necessary evil in many cities across the world. Gentrification refers to a process in which middle-class resident move into an area, probably a town or an upcoming urban center (Aka 1). As the wealthier residents move into a region populated with more impoverished inhabitants, the neighborhood begins to change, often sparking an urban renewal as the more affluent individuals start to effect change. The changes may range from exponential growth in the area, and economic growth as taxes, rents, and demand for primary commodities begin to rise. Safety also improves with gentrification as the need for security heightens. In fact, studies by Aka shows that more impoverished inhabitants are least likely to migrate from gentrifying neighborhoods compared to the non-gentrifying surroundings (Aka 2). Thus gentrification is essential for transformation of a weak region by increasing the availability of social amenities and infrastructure. From this context, it is likely that we view gentrification as a useful aspect of social and economic growth.

However, gentrification is considered to be a significant problem for the communities and neighborhoods where it occurs. In this regard, I disagree that gentrification is a positive development in cities across the nation. Gentrification creates a win-lose situation in cities and cannot be trusted to bring positive development in cities.
One of the reasons why gentrification is not a positive development in the cities where it occurs is that it leads to displacement of the poor residents. Zuk, Miriam, et al. argues that gentrification contributes to economic segregation in cities (Zuk et al. 6). The authors note that since the 1970s, the rate of economic exclusion has steadily increased across the world. Most of the increases occur in the affluent neighborhoods or in cities that have witnessed the highest rise in the number of middle-class populations. According to the authors, the low-class communities are increasingly getting pushed to high poverty areas of the cities while the wealthier people occupy, the more developed places. The reason for this situation is that as the middle-class populations invade the city, property values and taxes begin to rise which makes it difficult for the low-income earners to afford. Residential and commercial landlords start to charge exorbitant rents as the demand for housing increases, which forces the low-income earners from the neighborhoods. Landlords also increase the costs of rent since they understand that any renovations to their property will increase the property’s attractiveness to the tenants. The expenses of improvements are passed to the tenants through the rise in the property rent. The increase in the slum and low-affluent dwelling places in principal cities of the world such as Sao Paulo in Brazil and Detroit are typical examples of the effects of gentrification. Displaced city residents find it challenging to acquire affordable housing at the same price they use to pay before gentrification. As a result, they turn to cheap shelters that are often dilapidated with many health and safety hazards. Arguably, if gentrification brings positive development to cities, we would expect all the city dwellers irrespective of their social and economic backgrounds to experience the same benefits.
Another significant challenge brought by gentrification is that it becomes a source of conflict. In the paper, “Resurgent Gentrification……” Larry Keating, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, argues that racial transition is a common characteristic of cities of the United States. While referring to the current scenario of gentrification in Atlanta, Keating claims that majority of the people moving into in-town neighborhoods of Atlanta are predominantly whites thus displacing the black majority (Keating 7). He notes that since gentrification started in the city, the number of black inhabitants in the town had declined to 61.1 percent in 2000 from 67 percent in the 1990s. Most of those displaced find residence in poorer neighborhoods. As a result, the economic and social differences between the whites and blacks in the city have often become a source of conflict.
Gentrification has raised several issues regarding government focus on development issues. According to the public choice theory, the selection of government policies is made in a manner that reflects the preferences of the constituents (Sheppard 4). Consequently, the mobility of middle-class populations in cities previously inhabited by low-income earners is likely to shape the focus of government development agenda. For the middle and high-income earners, they desire to attain a favorable service that matches the taxes they pay to the local authorities. These services may include better road networks and social amenities, which often comes at a cost through higher taxation. On the other hand, the low-income constituents focus is on acquiring essential amenities which are provided through redistributive policies of the government through subsidies and government grants. Given the public choice problem, the conflicting demands create an economic challenge to the policymakers. For a rational economic policymaker, the adoption of development instead of redistributive policy becomes a priority to retain the middle-class residents who have a higher contribution to the city. The shift in government policy from a redistributive to a development one weakens the already economically deprived populations thus creating a social problem. Consequently, this contributes to income gaps through the empowerment of the already well-off individuals at the expense of the poor.
Gentrification contributes to reduced growth in the cities where it occurs as is evidenced by the failure of community improvement programs in the areas settled by the displaced persons. Stephen Sheppard, a professor of economics at Williams College argues that displaced residents living in a poor neighborhood tend to assign community improvement programs less importance than its actual social value (Sheppard 5). The reason for this phenomenon is that the residents live in fear of further displacement and would not welcome any effort that aims to enhance their welfare whereas they understand that they can move from the area anytime. As a result, a majority of the inhabitants experience a “free rider” problem where they live at the mercy of the city authorities and the efforts of others. Ebenezer O. Aka observes that the vulnerable populations lack the unity and knowledge to fight the effects of gentrification (Aka 7). In most cases, the poor neighborhoods have insufficient knowledge to elect political leaders who can adequately represent them and pass policies that cater to their needs. The election of incompetent leaders in such areas contributes to the problem and leads to even more economic gaps. Development policies are made without concern for the residents, and this adds to the worsening of the welfare of the people. The result of the situation includes social evils such as city crime, burglary, drug abuse and others in the neighborhoods with high poverty that derails development even further
Structural Macroeconomic Trends
The Mexican American has experienced economic changes due to the structural macroeconomic trend in their environs and their residence area. These economic changes have affected the poor people and their lives. The demographic behavior change has affected the basic structure of the society translating economic suffering in the community. Numerous changes in the family structures such as the marital disruption have changed the demographic behaviors and the economy of Mexican Americans. Studies have shown that the marriage age has risen and the number of the cohabitation has risen (Kreider and Renee 45). Cohabitation has led to the divorce of families raising the number of families under female headship and lack of the fatherly resources in most families. Children cannot access the resources from their fathers raising the alarm due to increased dependency rate. These family changes have resulted in the rapid growth of immigrants from Latin America. For example, the population of the Hispania has increased 5% to 13% between 1970 and 2000 (Landale, Oropesa and Bradatan 43). This increase in population has increased the competition of the available economic resources. Consequently, the problem has caused numerous challenges regarding the access to resources in the neighborhoods.
These structural economic trends have resulted in increased poverty among the Latino people. For instance, in 2002, the poverty level among the Mexican Americans, the Latinos and other poorer neighborhoods comprising of the African Americans have raised by 22% (Landale, Oropesa and Bradatan 45). The level of the human capital has significantly reduced translating to poor living standards of the people living in Latino and the surrounding communities. The weak members of the community end up struggling more since they cannot access health facilities and other necessities used by the citizens. Job instability has also increased among the poor people. The security of their jobs is based on their availability and the need of the employer (“Mexican Law – Duties, Benefits.”). The employer can dismiss them anytime. The sustenance of the lives of the people, therefore, becomes unreliable and unpredictable.
Despite the negative consequences of the increase in the population of the Mexican-American, the Latino and other poorer communities in the last four decades, there are positive expectations as well. For example, the population of the Latino’s is relatively younger than the rest of the US citizens. Statistics show that macroeconomic trends regarding population have been in favor of the weaker communities, with almost one-third of the Latinos being below the age of 18 years compared to approximately one-quarter of the rest of the US population (“The Economic State of the Latino…”). These trends in the growth of the young people are positive for the communities in the future since they will be a catalyst for growth. With a large group of young individuals, the communities are likely to experience higher innovation and availability of labor that will fuel economic growth compared to the regions inhabited by the more affluent Native Americans.
Human capital accumulation has also been a significant challenge in among the Mexican-American populations in the last four decades. Majority of the people in these areas are of lower economic background, and this means that the skills and knowledge of the individuals are dependent on the government provision of education. The fact that the number of the poor people in Latino is continuously increasing, the skills required in the industries are also declining (Landale, Oropesa and Bradatan 56). Decreasing labor in the industry has caused a retarded growth of the economy. Moreover, the poverty level increases with the rise in the dependency rate. Few employed people are providing for the many unemployed and therefore straining the available labor. There is also low economic satisfaction from the few skilled laborers as they are required to satisfy the high demand in the market. Further, the jobs available in the market are offered at a stiff competition because of the high number of the immigrants to Latino.
Other consequences such as increasing the retirement age resulting from inadequate human capital may be due to the low number of the young labor. The number of laborers in ten years to come will even be less, and this increases the number of the old people in the workforce. These older adults are not economically productive, and this has led to the massive economic deprivation of the people (Landale, Oropesa and Bradatan 57). Additionally, developing and nurturing talents among the youth is not possible as many people lack resources. Many talents that could be utilized among these people are lost and not given a chance to contribute positively to economic growth.
Labor market regulations and other regulatory laws have been set to ensure that there is no discrimination in the job market targeting the low neighborhoods comprising of the Mexican-Americans and other poor communities (“Mexican Law – Duties, Benefits.”). Valencia, Reynaldo in his book argues that when there are employment opportunities, for instance, there are regulatory bodies that work to ensure that there is no discrimination against the people in a given area. Once the discriminatory effect is felt the law orders the practice to stop unless the necessity to do so is identified (Valencia, 79). He adds that the employer cannot set an exam that is discriminatory on the Mexican American unless the need of so doing is shown. Such laws have helped the Mexican-Americans to access jobs that were exclusively for Americans. The number of the employed has increased as a result of the removal of the discriminative policies that were previously adopted by employers. The Mexican Americans who had skills can access employment opportunities with an ease that have led to an increase in the number of middle-class populations in the neighborhoods. Statistics show that the number of Mexican-American populations and other more impoverished communities acquiring higher education has increased in the last four decades (Ryan and Bauman 2). This is an indication of the changing social landscape due to the restructurings.
The African Americans have also worked together with the Mexican-Americans to ensure that their civil rights are respected. Political movements are also organized to provide that there is equality in the distributing of the national resources. Equality in sharing of the national resources is meant to ensure a better living standard of the Mexican Americans and other poor communities.
Urban Policy Agenda
Los Angeles is a metropolitan area which has experienced rapid growth of the population and has some of the fastest developing cities. Even with the concentration of the suburbs and the expansion of the economy, poor quality of education inequality persist in the county. The main factors which perpetuate inequality in the society include poverty and unemployment. Further, the inequality in income level has been reflected by the wide disparity in the standards of living (Kingsley and Karina 4). Given this, if I were elected the mayor of Los Angeles, my first responsibility will be to formulate an urban policy agenda. I would focus first on education and inequality problem.
Inequality
As the mayor of Los Angeles, I would first formulate an integrated approach to end inequality. The first approach to reducing inequality in the county is by strengthening access to social amenities by poor individuals. I would ensure that there is the adequate financing of the health sector, education, and infrastructure.
Secondly, I would implement a progressive income tax structure. Under the structure, those who earn more are to be taxed higher and vice versa (André et al. 4). I would also enforce a living wage policy. All the workers should be paid a reasonable amount which is adequate to support themselves and their families. All the employers under the policy must commit themselves to promoting the dignity of the employees. I would also formulate and enforce a policy in the workers right to organize themselves in unions to fight for their rights. The unions would empower the workers to fight for better salaries and conducive working conditions. This will ensure there is equality regarding wages, treatment of employees’ and working conditions. The labor market institution and policies are to be designed to reduce inequality. In the institutions, the jobs should be protected by formulating policies on permanent employment rather than on temporary contract to alleviate the current unemployment and underemployment crisis. The wages should also not be very high as to cause unemployment (Kingsley and Karina 8)
Additionally, I would embrace an open and democratic trade policy. Under this policy, all the trade agreements would be negotiated democratically. The interest of the companies should come after the interest of the workers, environment, and health. The trade policy would be transparent accountable to the residents of the county (André et al. 5). This policy aims at making Los Angeles a commercial hub and makes it compete with other cities such as New York which have a better financial infrastructure.
I would also come up with the policy to remove the current regulations in the market that hinders competition. This will reduce inequality caused by the lack of income as many players in the market will boost employment. I would initiate policies that promote the integration of the immigrants living in the state and fight all forms of discrimination to reduce inequality. These include initiating policies to promote the labor market outcome of the women. I would formulate and implement a policy which provides for alternative care to the elderly and the children so that women can be available to work in the labor market for long hours and earn more. Further, I would initiate policies aimed at reducing the gender inequalities at the workplace to the extent that the wages and hours of work are not affected.
Finally, in a bid to reduce inequality I would implement policy reforms aimed at enhancing economic growth. I would ensure that there are no long-lasting unemployment benefits. This will encourage people to search for jobs and ensure the level of wages does not rise to unmanageable levels for the corporates. This policy will ensure that there is no inequality in the provision of support to the disadvantaged groups in the society. I would also implement policies aimed at liberalizing product market to create more employment.
Education
The purpose of the education plan is to lay out agenda to satisfy the educational needs of Los Angeles state. The first focus of the education policy agenda would be to improve the quality of education in the county of Los Angeles. I would formulate policy on what is learned in the schools as well as how people are taught (Resmovits 1). The policy would have a special focus on the curriculum and the learning process, the operations and facilities in schools, capacity building and promotion of good governance in schools. This will overcome the current gaps in the education which is viewed as being too theoretical. The policy would also focus on the creation of child-friendly schools which promotes free thinking, focus on environmental conservation and encourages transformative thinking. The policy would address the learning needs of all the children irrespective of their vulnerability. Information and communication technology will be integrated into the learning and teaching as a way of attaining the standard quality education. Through the integration of information and communication in learning literacy skills such as critical thinking, creativity and innovation will be promoted in schools.
I would implement a policy aimed at reorienting the education towards sustainable development. The policy would focus on reorienting education approach curriculum content and the learning process to address the goals of sustainable development. In this regard, the education sector would focus on addressing values, skills, and perspectives that guide and motivate learners to seek sustainable livelihoods and live in a stainable way (André et al. 9). Under the policy, the key focus of the education is to impart skills and knowledge as well as to motivate learners to focus on the transformation of industries, conservation of the environment, social responsibility and values.
I would also formulate a plan for building the capacities of the educators and the trainers as the key agents in education. Under the policy, there would be increased funding to strengthen the institutions in charge of curriculum in Los Angeles and to build the capacities of trainers and educators. The quality assurance and effective management of the education system would also be a focus. The policy on education would enhance public understanding and awareness (André et al. 19). The education stakeholders would involve the private sector and the civil societies working in Los Angeles to raise the understanding of the public on sustainable development. The education would also enable the leaners to have a firsthand experience of the important matters in the society.
In the Los Angeles urban policy agenda, education programs would focus on exploiting resources and non-formal initiatives which target the youth in the effort to achieve sustainable development. There would also be the focus on green economy and education that allows the learners to focus on critical thinking and develop attitude aimed at promoting sustainable development (Resmovits 56). The policy agenda for education would strengthen the partnership between the education stakeholders and the community of Los Angeles. It will also provide an opportunity for the stakeholders to rethink the purpose of the education, review the values that underline the education system and the extent to which the current education system is achieving the goals of education. In this respective, the policy would encompass more expansive and efficient system of monitoring and evaluate quality and standards of education.
Conclusion
To summarize, although gentrification enhances the development of cities, it creates a large group of impoverished persons. Thus, it creates a win-lose situation that undermines development in cities. The structural macroeconomic trends in the Mexican American neighborhoods have contributed to the rising economic deprivation as well as the growth of middle-class populations. On public policy agenda, plans targeting reduction of inequality and improvement of education are needed in Los Angeles to address the current gaps. These include eradication of discrimination and introduction of a practical curriculum in schools.
Works Cited
“Mexican Law – Duties, Benefits.” Referenceforbusiness.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 7 Mar. 2018.
“The Economic State of the Latino Community in America.” Joint Economic Committee: United States Congress. October 2015.
Aka, Ebenezer O. “Gentrification and socioeconomic impacts of neighborhood integration and diversification in Atlanta, Georgia.” National Social Science Journal 35.1 (2010): 1-13.
André, Isabel, et al. “Learning for and from the city: the role of education in urban social cohesion.” Belgeo. Revue Belge de géographie 4 (2012).
Keating, Larry. “Resurgent Gentrification: Politics and Policy in Atlanta.” A paper (2003).
Kingsley, G. Thomas, and Karina Fortuny. “Urban policy in the Carter administration.” (2010).
Kreider, Rose Marie, and Renee Ellis. “Number, timing, and duration of marriages and divorces, 2009.” US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau, 2011.
Landale, Nancy, R. Oropesa, and Christina Bradatan. “Hispanic Families in the United States: Family Structure and Process in an era of Family Change.” Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. N.p., 2018. Web. 7 Mar. 2018.
Resmovits, Joy. “When it comes to education policy, it’s ‘the California way’ vs. Betsy DeVos.” (2018)
Ryan, Camille L., and Bauman, Kurt. “Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015.” Population Characteristics. 2016
Sheppard, Stephen. “Why is Gentrification a Problem?” Centre for Creative Community Development C 3 (2012).
Valencia, Reynaldo Anaya, ed. “Mexican Americans & the Law: El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido!” University of Arizona Press, 2004.
Zuk, Miriam, et al. “Gentrification, displacement and the role of public investment: a literature review.” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. 2015.