SOCIOLOGY OF CITIES - Coursework Example

Sociology of Cities An outstanding feature of the modern society is the growth and expansion of great cities. These cities have witnessed enormous changes in their population, economy, social structure and housing over the last 30 years. The transition form rural to urban civilization has taken place rapidly in both Europe and United States from the beginning of the 20th century. This can be seen from the fact that populations and communities that formally settled in rural areas like the African Americans started migrating then to urban areas. With time, skyscrapers, departmental stores and the subways have become a common feature in a bid to maximize the use of space in providing the growing population with residential and business areas. The tendency of these cities to expand has been termed as the metropolitan area of the city both in United States and Europe. These metropolitan areas go beyond political and state lines (Bridge and Watson p.339). Changes in the Population Since the 1970s the United States cities population has experienced changes. This is due to out-migration of business, middle income residents and industries during that period. These factors led to a general decline in the population of all central cities, a sharp decrease in the average family size from 3.47 to 3.30 persons as more people tend to live by themselves and a decrease in the white population and increase in the black population in the central cities (Frey and Speare, 1988). Population decline in the inner cities was due to a number of factors such as; (a) the post-war economic boom lead to a demand for larger houses, (b) interstate highway systems made it easier for the commuters to reach the suburb areas quickly – construction of these systems occupied large tracts of land that used for residential and other inner cities purposes and this sparked the development of peripheral suburbs, and (c) private automobiles became popular than public transport and this made it easy for people to move to the suburbs – the use of public transport declined. A bigger portion of Los Angeles is on suburban development and the population has been growing rapidly. The growth is due to a number of reasons like the growth of industries, film making, defence, clothing, electronics and manufacturing. Los Angeles city is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. Mexicans, Filipinos, Afro-Caribbeans, Cambodians and Koreans are major population groups in Los Angeles. Ethnic segregation is evident in this city; the residential houses plan is according to ethnic background. Los Angeles is associated with rising crimes, poor housing conditions, lack of public service and low wages (Nagle 1998, p.72). The picture below depicts the deplorable state of housing and living conditions in Los Angeles. Figure 1: Picture of low income housing in Los Angeles Courtesy Gliving.com Changes in Economy In the United States, unemployment rate increased between the years 1970 and 1980 and the increase was around 2.2 percent. There was an increase in the number of labour force in 1970 and 1980 in most of the metropolitans. The increase in population also accounted for the increase in the number of women in the labour force. Unemployment is a key indicator of economic conditions in a certain area. Economic factors largely affect the changes in employment which in turn affect competition between areas and the most favoured areas are those with stable economies at a particular period. In the mid-1970s, an energy crisis led to a sharp increase in the energy cost in large single family’s suburban homes. Family budgets were strained by the commuting costs in the large cars like buses. Mortgages cost also increased in the late 1970s and 1980s and ownership of new homes was beyond the capabilities of most people, around 80 percent of the population could not afford a new home. In the city of Los Angeles, there are high rates of unemployment. In 1992, the rates of unemployment were over 12 percent among the Hispanic community. Approximately 75 percent of the population lived below the poverty line (Nagle 1998, p.72). While many residents of New York in the past believed that people could only get great wealth, political influence and recognition by coming from well of families such as the Ford Vanderbilt, Mellon and Rockefeller families. This has changed over the past 30 years with the population assuming the notion that class does not really exist and therefore any person can become rich through hard work. There are quite a lot of changes that have taken place with respect to the social structure of New York City. In terms of economic productivity, more and more residents of the city have opted to engage in private business as opposed to being in employment. While private ownership of businesses and property has been practiced in the city for long, it is noted that there has been such tremendous growth in private capital investment over the last three decades that may not be comparable to the preceding years. The economy of the city has also been dominated by large corporations most of which have international presence such as McDonald’s. Working for such organizations has been the norm although there is a significant shift toward the creation of innovative businesses and products. Changes in the Social and Housing Structure For a long time the social structure of the United States of America has been characterised by average social mobility. The US has remained an open society – one that has very few barriers to changes that occur in social status and behaviour. One of the factors that affect the changes that occur in status includes the institutions and policies that are in place in any particular place. For example, gay or same sex marriages have become acceptable in many jurisdictions within the country. The US is one country that has the extremes in terms of social status. New York City is one city that has the very extremes of people belonging to different social classes. While the Likes of Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg, David Koch and John Paulson are multi-billionaires controlling much of the city’s economy, most residents are in the middle and low class category, in some cases earning less than $500 per month. While men widely enjoyed the reserve of many kinds of jobs in the city, this has currently change with women now taking leading roles in the making of policies, business ownership and organizational management. As has been the case over the past 30 years, the American society is influenced by three main factors. These are the factors that are used to determine which class one belongs to; power, prestige and wealth. While the nuclear family which is the social unit of society was known to be composed of the father, mother and children in the past, marriage being between a man and a woman, a new trend has set in (Danny, 2006). The city today enjoys the presence of gay couples who keep growing in number. This indicates that perceptions of what morality is have shifted in time. New York City has a huge number of its population being college students. This is as a result of the fact that teenagers and young adults desiring to be independent of their parents and guardians come from various places to settle in the lively and cosmopolitan city while at the same time seeking opportunities for jobs and business. They therefore opt to leave home as soon as they can, sometimes opting to study in cities such as far from where their families reside. The map below shows the general planning of New York City. The city is well planned taking into consideration spaces for recreation, and entertainment such as the Central Park. Figure 2: New York City map (Lonely Planet 2010) From the year 1970, housing in New York it was viewed by public leaders that rent control caused many people to abandon their houses. The leaders therefore thought that prize liberalization was a better option. Public policy henceforth shifted from emphasizing on construction programs and instead rested on the preservation of houses that had already been constructed. (Belsky and Retsinas 2008, p.154). The following figure shows one of the neighbourhoods in New York called Brooklyn. Figure 3: Brooklyn neighbourhoods in the New York City (Brooklyn 101 2010) Changes in the Socio-Spatial Divisions When a city is developing, there is a high tendency that the poorer areas diminish and suburbs expand in the area. Between the years 1990 and 2000, poor people in the United States rose from 31.7 million to around 33.9 million. The number of high-poverty neighbourhoods decreased during the same period and the number only rises when there is inflation. Change in the spatial concentration of the poor has some effect. Detroit city poor resident’s income increased and raised majority of them over the poverty line in the 1990s (Dorling and Pritchard 2010, p.91). Conclusion There are several changes that have occurred over the last century with respect to housing and social norms both in the United States and the United Kingdom. The growth in population has made it difficult for come cities to accommodate better housing for their residents. Los Angeles for example is known as a place that is highly populated, most of its residents living in deplorable conditions. While the economies of many cities have continued to grow, the challenge of providing better housing has not ceased to be considering the changes that have and continued to occur as a result of changes in social-economic and political variations over time. References Allen, J. P. & Turner, E. (1997) The ethnic quilt. Population density in Southern California. Northridge: California State University. Belsky, E. S. & Retsinas, N. P. (2008) Revisiting rental housing: Policies, programs and priorities. Brookings Institution Press. Bridge, G. & Watson, S. (2010) The Blackwell city reader. Malden, MA: John Wiley and Sons. Brooklyn 101. (2010) A crash Course in Brooklyn neighbourhoods for visitors. [Online]. Available at: http://www.brooklyn101.com (Accessed: 6 November 2010). Danny H. (2006). "Spitzer Vows to Push for Gay Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved 30th November, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/07/nyregion/07gays.html?ex=1317873600&en=39318db372a95934&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Dorling, D. & Pritchard, J. (2010) The geography of poverty, inequality and wealth in the UK and abroad: Because enough is never enough, Appl. Spatial Analysis, 3, pp. 81-106 Frey, W. H. & Speare, A. (1988) Regional and metropolitan growth and decline in the United States. Russell Sage Foundation. Lonely Planet (2010) Map of New York City. [Online]. Available at: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/north-america/usa/new-york-city/ (Accessed: 6 November 2010). Nagle, G. (1998) Changing Settlements. Nelson Thornes. Read More