How Three Sociological Concepts Apply To Dallas, TX - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages For example, most of the ethnic enclaves in the US cities appeared due to the German and Irish immigrants who inhabited the country in the 19th century. One of the major aspects of a ghetto is that the residents are forced to live there due to social, political and economic pressure. Urban Enclaves, on the other hand, refer to a territory that lies entirely within the boundaries of another territory. A key similarity between the ghetto and the urban enclave is that both are overcrowded. Additionally, the economic condition of the population residing in ghettos and enclaves is poor. However, Tajfel et al (1979) argue that while the community in the ghetto is forced to live there, inhabitants of Urban Enclaves are mostly from the same culture, social and economic status who resides there voluntarily. Ghettos life is known to be undesirable and threatening due to the high crime rate. However, some Urban Enclaves are peaceful places, thus, attracting tourists. Examples of such enclaves are Little Italy and China Town. One of the notable Urban Enclaves in Dallas is West Dallas. Being a neighbor to West Fork, Interstate 30 and Trinity River, the area has a population of more than 32,000 people. The population is made up of various races that includes White people, Native Americans, Asians, Latino, as well African America. Having originated from Dallas, West Dallas residents were sometimes back faced by lack of adequate basic necessities due to the fact that it was located outside the railway lines. The major concern in Dallas is the large number of ghettos that have become security threat, especially for visitors, as well as the city residents. With more that one million Dallas residents residing in the ghettos, the low income earners have continued to face problems in terms of assessing basic commodities. One of the incidences that depict the insecurity within the Dallas ghettos occurred in 2008. The incidence that occurred on 30th July 2008 at Pleasant Village Apartments was instigated by a gun man who fired at the residents forcing them to free their homes. After one of the residents called the police, the gun men went into hiding but later emerged after the police left. The gun men immediately started to shoot again injuring 10 years old boy and two girls aged 4 years and 12 years (John, 2008). Having been built in 1968, Pleasant Village Apartments have been noted to be one of the dangerous places by the residents as well as the police. According to the reports by the Dallas Morning News, Dallas policemen were unconcerned about the security of the residents of Pleasant Village Apartments; a situation that caused the shooting of the children. Due to high population in Pleasant Village Apartments and other ghettos within the city of Dallas, the chance of occurrence of violence among the residents and with the police is always high. This is mostly due to depression and stress caused by low income and poor living conditions. Even though the laxity of police to provide the security is a major cause of increased crimes at Pleasant Village, statistical discrimination has enhanced increased number of black criminals. This is discrimination that occurs when landlords hesitate to rent their houses to black people on the basis that they will use the rooms to sell drugs. This results it high number of idlers, thus, resulting to increased rate of crimes. The major weakness of the concept of Urban Enclaves and ghettos is that it ...Download file to see next pagesRead More