Gentrification Essays (Examples)

South Park's SodoSopa
The animated series South Park on Comedy Central often features controversial and taboo subject matter on its show in its attempt to satirize contemporary social trends. In episode three of season 19, the show satirized the class issue of gentrification, by depicting South Park's poor neighborhood undergoing a re-vitalization process in order to become "Sodosopa" -- a typical gentrified neighborhood like so many across the U.S. which were previously impoverished neighborhoods. The inequality that results in the show is illustrated by Kenny's family being priced out of the neighborhood where they live so that wealthier clientele can come in to enjoy the fine dining experiences offered by the Sodosopa project. The poor families are displaced from where they have lived and the rest of the community shows no real care or concern for the plight of the poor, as they are happy to embrace the new lifestyle upgrades…

n comments about the store, consumers again note price as an inhibitive factor when it comes to shopping at Millennium Health, again signifying that consumers are aware of and able to pay a premium for certain desired products and services, which pretty much paves the way for ongoing gentrification in the neighborhood if those tastes start expanding.
There are also two prominent and always-busy independent eateries on this block of Bedford avenue: The Bagel Store and Lanonna Pizzeria. The clientele for these shops matches that of the surrounding stores identically, primarily because people eat and shop at these food establishments while they are shopping at the neighboring stores, or en route to or from some destination on Bedford Avenue. The establishments have a decidedly independent feel, yet also maintain very clean and professional looking exteriors, again adding to the mix of certain signs of gentrification existing alongside indicators that Williamsburg…

Just like pornography, everyone seems to know \"gentrification\" when they see it. See a Starbucks or Whole Foods move into a neighborhood? That's gentrification. Find out that a house sold for an exorbitant amount or that rents at some building doubled? That's gentrification. See bike lanes added to your street, or a rack of bike-share bikes pop up near a busy corner? That's gentrification. – Pete Saunders, 2017
Gentrification is one of the most controversial issues in American cities today. But as the epigraph above clearly indicates, it also remains one of the least understood. Few agree on how to define it or whether it is boon or curse for cities. Due in large part to this lack of definitional clarity, opinions about gentrification in the past have been largely shaped by the negative connotations and effects of gentrification that have been highlighted by the mainstream media. For instance, according to Duany,…

ECONOMIC DISPLACEMENT: IF MINNESOTA IS SO NICE, WHY IS IT SO BAD FOR SOMALI-AMERICAN FAMILIES?AbstractAn unfortunate but purportedly intentional concomitant of urban renewal has been the displacement of lower-income, usually minority members of urban communities in a process termed gentrification. While these same types of processes have been taking place through humankinds history, gentrification has become especially pronounced in recent years as investors have targeted depressed neighborhoods for revitalization to the point where the residents are no longer able to afford to live there. In response, there have been growing calls for greater local government involvement to prevent already marginalized citizens from becoming the unwilling victims of gentrification. This capstone project provides a review of the relevant literature concerning gentrification and how this process has adversely affected minority communities in general and the Somali-American residents Minneapolis Ward 6 district. A survey of these residents and the findings that emerged are…

Jamaica Queens When it comes to the facts, figures and details of New York City, there is a lot to see and fathom. This is especially true when it comes to social and economic issues like gentrification, transportation and urban development. When the realities, statistics and details of these items are the focus, the assessments and perceived outcomes are often negative. For example, there are many areas of New York City that are being rehabilitated and revitalized. However, this restoration is often accompanied by an influx of white people, an outflux of minorities and the latter of those two is often caused by widespread gentrification and other rises in the cost of living. While Jamaica Queens could be in such a situation in the coming the years, they are currently bucking that trend.
Analysis
As noted in the introduction, Jamaica Queens is currently getting the best of both worlds when it comes to…

.....gentrification" was first coined in 1964 by sociologist Ruth Glass, who commented on the changing "social character" of districts in London (Smith 1996, 33). Glass critiqued the process of gentrification, however inevitable it might seem to a realist, on the grounds that it threatened to undermine social welfare. Gentrification cannot be discussed without reference to the intersections between race, class, and power. However, gentrification may be an unreasonably maligned concept and term. Artists have consistently and historically stood at the forefront of gentrification, as the earliest pioneers of urban gentrification around the world. Ironically, though, artists have frequently been framed as the "victims" of gentrification (Makagon 2010, 26). The conceptualization of artists as victims and not as instigators of gentrification is a racialized critique of the process of gentrification because it ignores, discounts, or even denigrates the contributions made by non-white counterculture and bohemian pioneers of aesthetic urban revitalization. Although…

According to Jacobs, "It was being done unofficially when what had grown big and successful was used to eat up, or wipe away, or starve what was not."
Besides just abject failures, though, Jacobs also cites a number of success stories that indicate city planners in the United States had learned some valuable lessons from their failures in the late 20th century. According to Jacobs, "There are quite a few cities that are more vigorous and more attractive than they were 10 or 20 years ago. A lot of good things are being done, but it's not universal." As an example, Jacobs points to Portland, Oregon as a city that has taken steps to reinvent itself based on the lessons learned in the past. Emphasizing that the Portland planners did not use a "lot of gimmicks," Jacobs reports that the holistic approach used has resulted in a reinvigorated city:

"It's not…

Essentially, those in the lower tiers of the urban socioeconomic hierarchy, rather than having been drawn out of despair, have
been thrust to the periphery of America's 'revitalizing' cities.

Question 2:
One of the most important points raised by the course reading
material would be that underscoring a clear proclivity toward urban design
and planning in those who would first colonize the new lands. Though
massive and ripe with natural resources and incredible frontiers, the new
land was also flowing with inherently profitable waterways, brimming with
commercial trade prospects and inhabited by a native population which,
though Chudacoff reports it to have been significantly underestimated as an
city-dwelling peoples as well, would appear ripe for exploitation. More
importantly though to this discussion would be the text's consideration of
the inherency of the European urban culture to America's development.
Indeed, according to Chudacoff's (2005) account, "the Europeans who
colonized North America were from the beginning urban-minded people, linked
to commercial markets. Even the earliest explores in…

Globalization, fostered by free flow of information and rapid progress in technology, is a driving force that no country can turn back. It does impose market discipline on the participants which can be harsh, but is the mechanism that drives progress and prosperity. Globalization emerged as a buzzword in the 1990s but the phenomena it refers to are not entirely new. As a ubiquitous term, what does "globalization" mean? Some observers emphasize the rapid and free flow of capital as the essential element. Others emphasize labor-that capital flows to where labor is highly productive while relatively cheap, that different parts of the production process can be performed in various far flung places by multiple sources of labor, and that workers themselves move within and between nations often and more easily.
According to Micklethwait and Wooldridge there are "three engines" driving globalization today. The first of those three engines is technology. "Technology…

it's been fun, but I don't really know anyone here. I don't really do the bar scene, and that's pretty much what everyone else who lives in my building does. So I guess it's time to look for somewhere else."
equired: A Little Extra Green

Although those living in Manhattan would probably still think of the neighborhood as a bargain, by a more objective standard (and during a recession), the rents are certainly not conducive to anyone without a firm standing in the upper ranges of the middle class.

A 1000-foot apartment at Bedford and Third, for example, boasts "recent renovation" at $2,900 a month.

Whatever might be left over after rent might be spent at Antidote Chocolate. One particularly interesting aspect of the fact that this chain has moved into the neighborhood is that most of its stores reside in far-pricier and more established neighborhoods.

This suggests not only that people living in…

Contrary to what is often seen on the nightly news programs, there are still many people in this country and throughout the world who want to live in safe places and who would be interested in making their town better. Often, they do not know what they can do to improve the poorer parts of town, so they simply choose not to live or work there. This only leads to the decay of those areas and the rising crime rate. While unfortunate, it is not entirely unexpected. However, urban revitalization has begun in a lot of cities and towns, both big and small, in recent years. Although the economy has slowed some of that, there are still many areas where it is moving forward. This will, in time, lower the number of sexual assaults and other crimes in those revitalization areas. If more people would help to improve their neighborhoods,…

Embattled Paradise by Arlene Skolnick
Embattled Paradise

Title, Author, Publication Date

Arlene S. Skolnick, Embattled Paradise: The American Family in an Age of Uncertainty, 1993

Book Summary

The conflation of the evolution of the family and revolutions in society are chronicled in Skolnick's book in an optimistic and realistic treatment. With deep longitudinal research of families extending from childhood years in the 1920s, the book is objective and informed. Skolnick's interpretation is both eloquent and enlightening. With a strong research base and a social scientist's eye, Skolnick reasons that the American family has not been devastated. Countering the political right, Skolnick asserts that the changes in American family life reflect and resonate with sea change in society. In her words, "Changes in our hearts and minds are responses to large-scale social change, rather than a fall from moral grace." Skolnick firmly grounds the changes she discusses in history, economics, politics, feminism, technology, divorce, and sexual…

Larry Tee, for instance, an inhabitant who started the Berliniamsburg club in Williamsburg, which is credited with popularizing Electroclash, one of the neighborhood's best-known cultural exports explained that: "Six months ago, Williamsburg was terminally hip. Now it's become designated as a safe space for nice people who have boring 9 to 5 jobs." 11
Urban Golf can redo some of that mustiness whilst fusing Bohemianism with funkiness. Artists used to love the grittiness of Williamsburg. Youth used to revel in its charm and trendy flavor. Now deep-pocketed developers are starting to develop the city and Williamsburg, as it was then, is starting to close aside from the fact that the different communities are moving further apart rather than closer together. Urban Golf could be sustainable by attracting diverse people into the area and turning the residence into a useful place. The Urban Golf concept has helped diverse social groups meet…

NYC African Restaurants
African Restaurants

African Restaurants in NYC

The restaurant's soft industrial lighting makes the chrome gleam. A soft and expansive backdrop of blue gives the space a cool and slightly futuristic industrial like a hip loft in the future. Exposed brick walls are tinged in a blue sheen and the distressed wood chairs and tables have been stained steel gray and have marble table tops. In three weeks, Cisse Elhadji, the owner of Ponty Bistro in Midtown, will open his new restaurant La Terengea. Located at 144 West 139th St., the restaurant us nestled in between the Hudson and Harlem rivers a few blocks west of the City College of New York. The location of the restaurant is quite lucrative given its relative proximity to both Central Park as well as Yankee Stadium.

Though Elhadji has succeeded once with an African restaurant, La Teregenga is still a gamble. For the first time…

Houston's large supply of land means that demand growth primarily results in more construction, not higher prices" (McCullagh & Gilmer, 2008).
However, it is important to realize that land supply is only one part of the reason that new home construction formed such a large part of the Houston housing market. Yes, Houston has more available surrounding land than almost any other major metropolitan area in the United States, but it also applies different rules to its surrounding areas, making development more of a possibility than in other areas:

In Houston, developers can create a munici-pal utility district, or MUD, to provide these [water, sewage, and drainage] services on their properties and can finance these with tax-free bonds. Houston requires developers to build MUDs in such a way that they eventually could be connected to the city's corresponding infra-structure, but they begin as self-sufficient enterprises.

In other cities, develop-ments must be connected…

Detroit House Flipping
Detroit Housing evamp

Detroit is a city that is indeed behind the proverbial "eight ball" in a lot of ways. The nastier parts of Detroit are full of abandoned and burned houses, crimes go unreported or at least unanswered and local agencies are uniquely pathetic at completing and providing even basic services at a satisfactory level. However, not unlike work industries and neighborhoods of yesteryear, it is possible for the Detroit housing market to see a rebirth. This would need to be done carefully due to monetary, cultural and economic pressures but it is entirely possible. While the house flipping alone would not solve the problems that Detroit has, it is absolutely part of the overall solution and the free market is the best source to use as the government money well is currently tapped out.

Analysis

There are some that have stated that many large portions of Detroit and surrounding…

Davila, A. Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and the Neoliberal City. (p. 27-58).
In his chapter, "Dream of Place and Housing Struggles," Davila makes the point that growing numbers of Latinos are recognizing the need for collective action in the face of increasing threats to their communities from gentrification. Further exacerbating the process has been declining levels of federal and state housing assistance that has made it even more difficult for this population group to secure and maintain adequate low-cost housing, especially in communities where property values are being artificially inflated due to the influx of more affluent mainstream Americans. For instance Davila emphasizes that, "Rents are rapidly increasing, and buildings that a decade ago would have been abandoned or sold cheaply are being coveted by nonprofit investors and private speculators alike" (p. 28).

The implications of these trends on the Latino community in these urban communities have included growing numbers of residents seeking…

I think that one of the ways that break dancing helps to solidify resistance is through providing another avenue for a countercultural movement to grow. Due to the concerns about the economy that she mentioned, today is one of the few times in the history of the U.S. that there is not a dominant countercultural movement. Therefore, I believe that by having people breakdance in places where people also turf dance, both of these forms of dance can help to form a countercultural movement that expresses social concern.
There is a definite similarity between Nicole's choice of hip-hop dance as a form of resistance and mine highlighting turf dancing as a form of resistance. Both of these forms of dance largely began in urban environments in the streets. I believe that it would be useful to incorporate hip hop dancing with turf dancing, since in reality turf dancing is merely…

Venice Beach Introduction
Originally founded in 1905 by a tobacco businessman, Venice, California, was an independent city until 1925 when it merged with Los Angeles. Today, it is known for its beach boardwalk and its circus-like atmosphere, and in the past decade Venice has undergone a process of gentrification like many other cities across the U.S. (Abcarian). However, Venice Beach was for years a center of the arts. In the 1960s it was ground zero for the counter-culture movement, with musicians like Jim Morrison and the Doors getting their start at Venice Beach. It was home to late R&B musician Teena Marie, now forever memorialized in a Venice mural (Argonaut). It was the home of Muscle Beach, boardwalk roller skating, diversity and cultural foods. It was home to Oakwood African Americans, who helped dig the canals of Venice but who were not permitted to settle along them and instead were placed inland…

On the one hand, it recovers blighted property and so serves the needs of the city, providing housing where most would have though there was none, raising the tax base, and creating safer neighborhoods. On the other hand, many are excluded from the process and even driven out by it. Some of those people may indeed be undesirables and may constitute a criminal element, but the process often creates the perception that everyone excluded fits this category, which is not the case.
Being poor in itself is not a moral issue. Reviving a neighborhood that was once just like an adjacent neighborhood leaves the people in the latter feeling both excluded and vulnerable.

Anderson finds too many signs of unrest in some of the cultural elements of the time. He often seems obsessed with rap music as a sign of racial anger and incipient criminality, for instance, while at some point…

The Metro Atlanta Regional Transportation Association (MARTA) is the supervising authority of the mass public rail system that serves Atlanta and its surrounding areas. (Orr, April 1, 2011) MARTA is also responsible for the majority of the bus routes that serve Atlanta's urban areas. The outlying counties' bus routes fall under the jurisdiction of each individual county that they run to, from, and through, such as Cobb County's Cobb Community Transit (CCT), which has a total of 131 local, express and paratransit buses. (Camp, December 12, 2010) Within this multitude of service areas is a bus or train that will run practically anywhere and everywhere a commuter wants to go.
For the places that are currently unreachable by the mass transportation systems in existence are plans to bolster these systems with additional service routes and times. In the past, Atlanta has been a city that favors individual automobiles. ut this…

Puerto Rican Gangs in Chicago
The history of Puerto Rican gangs in Chicago is indelibly linked to politics. Many gang members of today might forget that fact, but the origins of those gangs and some of the more fundamental aspects of their formations were related to politics. Additionally, the racial situation in the United States contributed a lot to those early gangs. The reality was that as each new immigrant group came to the country, it found a land diversified by nationality and ethnicity. The two most prominent Puerto Rican gangs in Chicago -- the Young Lords and Latin Kings -- were based upon those lines of segregation and ultimately came to reflect it from a Puerto Rican perspective.

Although there are stories that Puerto Rican gangs existed as far back as the earliest part of the 20th century and the 1930's, they did not truly emerge to prominence until the late…

Shopping in small, Mom -- and Pop stores here is more an activity to pasture for you daily staff of life. These are spots to pasture psyches, for society, for support." (Ibid)
V. LONDERVILLE - a SYNTHESIS of the RESEARCH

The work of Jane Londerville entitled: "Retail Services in Rural Towns: Measuring the Impact of Changes in Retail Environment" relates the fact that retail structure is undergoing rapid change in "both urban and rural settings." (2000) the big box store format has a strategy of construction on land that is cheaper and orders larger quantities of products while employing fewer workers in order to "make greater margins on their sales." (Londerville, 2000) the work of Stone (1995) is related in the work of Londerville. Stone (1995) measured the impact of several categories of retail sales in communities in Iowa that have had a Wal-Mart constructed as compared to those who have…

102). The haves also create moral divisions to distance themselves from the have-nots.
Cognitive distancing also puts the poor at a disadvantage. It manifests as "negative beliefs about [the poor's] characteristics, negative expectations about their behavior, and the attribution that their poverty is caused by their own failings" (Lott, 2002, p. 102). Lott points out how pervasive stereotyping of the poor can be, specifically since middle-class people (and even politicians) will freely ascribe negative character traits to welfare recipients as a general group. Lott cites studies in which perceptions about poor people are measured, all of which find that the stereotypical depiction of the poor as lazy or lacking in initiative is pervasive in our culture.

Lott also covers institutional distancing, which is comprised of distancing in education, housing, and health care, and politics. She found research that suggested that dramatic differences existed in the way that government funding and effective…

According to Tamara Kreinin, president of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S., "Manipulating facts about condoms is using a scare tactic to try and get kids not to be sexually active" (Morse, 2002).
One of the consequences of a lack of full and complete information to youth actually causes self-imposed ignorance of their own safety. If adolescents do not get the proper education on protecting themselves from STDs, it is unlikely they will get much beyond playground rumor. In several reviews conducted by the U.S. Surgeon General and by the Committee of HIV Prevention, abstinence only programs have little to no effect on the sexual behavior of adolescents ("Abstinence"). Further, denying young people full and accurate information about sex, contraception, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases puts them at needless health risks. The reality is that teens will talk about sex, will experiment, and will likely have…

).
Waverley Park was designed for and reflected a demographic shift in Melbourne's population away from the inner suburbs to the south and east. Waverley Park was a symbol of, and a contributor to, the shift of the locus of power within the Victorian, later Australian, Football League from the clubs to the league, a change whose consequences are still being felt in 2000. The stadium reflected an Australian tradition of multi-sports facilities despite its genesis in Australian ules, both in its conception and subsequent development. Waverley Park played a significant role in the development of post-war Australian football, cricket and baseball. In April 2000 it was nominated for the Victorian Heritage egister by the City of Greater Dandenong (Hay et al.).

Waverley reflected also a major geographic shift, taking the game away from the traditional inner urban areas to outlying suburbs where a more affluent society with discretionary income and tastes…

Dr. Hayden believes the reason for this change at the school level is due to greater recruitment efforts, financial and academic support, and more women role models to provide encouragement. Dr. Hayden sees a similar situation happening in the engineering field.
Dr. Lin, a male electrical engineer, on the other hand, somewhat ironically, seems to feel that women face a tougher challenge in engineering than Dr. Hayden stated. According to Dr. Lin, women can succeed as an electrical engineer if "they are determined." This is clearly a male-oriented view of how to succeed. According to typical male beliefs, success is an individual achievement. If you work hard you will succeed. If you do not succeed, it is because you did not work hard enough. However, Dr. Hayden emphasized in her response to the same question the role of peer mentors, academic support and other outside resources. This is typically a…

Silver Lake ethnic neighborhood of Los Angeles. Silver lake is a hilly located in the east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. When walking along the broad way street of the region, it is like Mexico City. This is because everyone speaks Spanish, from the vendors hawking, little girls' partying, dressing code, mode of interaction and the way families conduct their weekly shopping. There are colorful murals, shop for fresh corn tortillas, shopping malls, architecture buildings, studios and handmade tamales. From a distance, there are sounds of mariachi bands the preferred music within the region.
Silver Lake had more women, children and old people because most men and young people are working and searching for jobs in large cities within Los Angeles. The region has a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups even though Mexicans dominate the largest part. The region has a high number of electric gatherings…

Under this system, "each joint venture partner would separately account for and pay tax on its income and claim the proportionate share of joint venture expenses" (Ernst & Young, no date).
Liability is also limited in the joint venture under Australian law. It is worth noting that in this case one part of the joint venture "cannot make the other joint venturer liable for debts that they incur in the name of the joint venture, unless authorized under the joint venture agreement" (Cordato Partners, 2012). Thus, John cannot undertake a cost and then ask Fred to foot part of the bill. This is something that differentiates a joint venture from a partnership, and is worth taking into consideration, depending on how the two men expect to handle the operations and financing of the venture. This also makes joint ventures a little bit more complicated to manage than a partnership, because…

Latinos participations are low in CAPS, and most of their members are unaware of the strategies of CAPS. Their levels of awareness have been on a declining state since the year 1990. Their involvement in these meetings was driving by the levels of crime, moral decay on the community and at the level of social disorder. The problem with the Latino population is that they do not turn up in numbers to these meetings. The community's representation is low in these meetings.
However, research further shows that the community lacks representation in the district advisory committees that meet on a regular basis with the police department. Compared to the African-Americans and the Whites Latinos have young families are they are more likely to be working and having families at home. Their involvement with the police department is variedly mixed. There is evidence that their community avoids police contacts, including not…

Large scale restructuring has taken place in major urban centers of the worldthat included London, Singapore, San Francisco, Vancouver, and may more. 'Inner city' assumes much importance in the regional economics as the impact of globalization and rapid transformation in land use occur at inner parts of these cosmopolitan cities. "The New Economy of the Inner City: Restructuring, Regeneration and Dislocation in the 21st Century Metropolis" by Thomas A. Hutton addresses the critical issues of place and process in the development of 'new economies' in postindustrial cities. Thesis agenda of the book asserts that restructuring initiatives in cosmopolitan cities, specifically London, have enabled the emergence of creative enterprises in the 'new inner city' and thus has dislocated traditional industrial and manufacturing oriented regional economy (Hutton, 2009). Urbanization, migration, policy shifts in land use, restructuring initiatives, clustering of industries, and change in production-consumption has transformed the 'inner city economy'. The…

Globalization and Technological Influences
On International Mergers: DaimlerChrysler as a Case Study

One of the most interesting international manufacturing mergers of the 20th century was the 1998 negotiation between the Daimler auto company headquartered in Germany and the struggling Chrysler corporation, headquartered in the U.S. Daimler's buyout of Chrysler resulted in a merger that ultimately failed to benefit either party, and may have seriously damaged both organizations' capacity for future growth. Below, I will discuss how the merger proceeded -- as it was covered in U.S. And international business media -- and how the negotiations for the merger and the 2007 spinoff of Chrysler were facilitated by technological developments and global business practices. I will also discuss motivations for international mergers in general and how they applied specifically in the case of the DaimlerChrysler merger.

As a horizontal merger, DaimlerChrysler followed a popular movement towards consolidation in the international auto industry (Qiu &…

New York City: An Examination of Urban Design and Space Function as it Relates to Civic Participation
The objective of this study is to examine urban design and space function as it relates to civic participation in New York City. Kevin Lynch conducted systematic and scientific-based research on urban design in his exploration of the elements of urban design. Lynch stated that every individual "has had a long association with some parts of his city and his image is soaked in memories and meaning." (1960, p.2) The goal of Lynch is reported to be the study of the city's mental images held by its citizens. Lynch focused his work on the city's visual quality or the "apparent clarity and 'legibility of the city-scape." hat Lynch meant was the level of ease with which the city's parts could be organized into a pattern that was of a coherent nature. The city, if…

African-Americans are second only to Native Americans, historically, in terms of poor treatment at the hands of mainstream American society. Although African-Americans living today enjoy nominal equality, the social context in which blacks interact with the rest of society is still one that tangibly differentiates them from the rest of America. This cultural bias towards blacks is in many notable ways more apparent than the treatment of other people of color, such as Asian immigrants, as is reflected in disparate wages and living conditions experienced by these respective groups. Common stereotypes hold the successful, college educated black man or woman as the exception rather than the rule, whereas Asians are commonly thought of as over-achievers. Although any bias undermines social interaction in that it shifts attention away from individual merit, the bias towards African-Americans can be said to be worse than most, and lies at the root of discrimination and…

old, my parents and I moved from the sprawling, suburban township of Hudson, Ohio to the village at its center, and I fell in love with small, walkable cities and towns that are built on grids. I believe that such environments promote socialization due to the activation energy involved in going out. If we accept that socialization is more comfortable for the majority in the traditional context of a high-density city, why do the majority of new home permits proclaim otherwise? Why don't people just don't pick up and move to places where people have traditionally conducted their daily affairs without the use of a car, like San Francisco and New York City?
The 1960's and 1970's in America saw an urban transition still unknown in most of the major cities of Europe. The Federal Housing Administration had precipitated the explosion in suburban development by offering 4% interest loans following…

Community Anal
Description

In preparation for this paper, I reviewed all class notes and lectures. I also referred to Schriver's (2011) Human Behavior and the Social Environment and also Payne's (2005) Modern Social Work Theory. I also reviewed several websites in preparation for a thorough community analysis, while also evaluating my own notes and photographs from assessing the community. My analysis of a specific community is based on several interrelated theories of social work and sociology including conflict theory, systems theory, and functionalism.

In light of what I have read, and based on my observations and interviews with locals, Downtown Indianapolis has undergone major restoration, gentrification, and revival since the 1990s. Issues like empowerment, advocacy, cultural diversity, and conflict theory all come to mind as I evaluate the community by applying theories of social work. I would like to focus in particular on the positive changes that have taken place, and illustrate some…

Paris is burning is a documentary released in 1990 by Jennie Livingston and comes forth as a poignant film that talks of patrons of the then still-burgeoning vogue ball scene. This was a safe space for disenfranchised and mostly poor, gay and transfigured Latinos and blacks in a time where it was very deadly to walk down the street as such. This film explores the ball competitions which were structured elaborately whereby contestants adhered to a particular category or theme the catwalk and subsequently be judged on the basis of realness of how they walk the beauty of their clothes and their ability to dance. Most part of the film changes between 6 the footage of the balls and interviews that were done on prominent members of the scenes which includes runway legends and gorgeous voguing such as Pepper LaBeija, Willi Ninja, Venus Xtravaganza, Avis Pendavis. Most of the contestants…

NYC Smart Growth
In 2007, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg initiated PlaNYC. Based on the principles of Smart Growth, the PlaNYC aims to prepare for and balance New York City's population growth, economy development, and environmental issues. By the year 2010, the city of New York received the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with an overall excellence. Taking the direction of a greener and more efficient development means that it is time for the city that never sleeps to rest.

One of the main concerns of American urban governments today is to limit urban sprawl, to expand revenue sharing, to increase affordable housing, and Smart Growth fits in with these objectives. Bloomberg's approach for New York's development is an example of American metropolitan governments have returned to regionalism, yet with a newer perspective and strategies. A city with a long history and great economy, such as the city…

Ethnography
Little Odessa, the predominantly ussian-speaking enclave of South Brooklyn, has been a thriving community for decades that achieved political power on its own. The area comprising Brighton Beach and Coney Island had once been a "summer getaway for wealthy New Yorkers," but morphed into a working class ethnic enclave after World War Two (obinson & D'Onfro, 2014). Subsequent waves of refugees from ussian-speaking areas of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and ussia -- about 50 countries in total -- have poured in, lending the community a multi-ethnic and vibrant character. Since the 1970s, about 400,000 more refugees and immigrants from former Soviet republics have streamed into New York City and most have congregated in Brighton Beach (Miyares, 1998). In the 1980s, Soviet emigration policies started to become even more lax, enabling the inflight of more refugees from the Soviet Union, most of whom were Jewish. For a while now, Brighton Beach…

Films and Filmmaking
As Spike Lee noted in the 25th Anniversary celebration of his film Do the Right Thing, "the only reason why my generation went to film school was we couldn't get our hands on the equipment" (Macfarlane). Do the Right Thing had an independent feel to it, largely because of Lee's hands-on oversight of production, direction, writing and editing -- but it was ultimately a Universal picture. Since its inception, the film industry had been by and for the dominant culture in society. As the technology developed (from silent shorts to silent epics to sound film and the first talkies on up to the world of independent cinema, where taboos and cultural cues were challenged and explored), so too did the face of cinema. This paper will discuss how the history of technological innovations in the filmmaking industry favored the dominant culture of the era, how social and economic…

American Cuisine
As Davis, McBride et al. (2008), cuisine is "a form of cultural expression in the same way that sculpture and dance are" (p. 2). Thus, if we think about American culture and the cuisine that best expresses the American experience -- we are, unfortunately, hit with one obvious example: fast food. This lamentable fact is not meant to redirect attention away from the regional cuisines found all over the nation -- it is merely the one single overwhelming piece of evidence that underscores everything that America is: giant, monolithic, corporatist, disconnected from nature, and global. Today, fast food is the same thing: it is the cultural expression of our country in the form of cuisine.

But, fortunately, it is not the only cuisine that America has. One should consider that fast food is a 20th century development, born out of the post-War halcyon days of easy credit, booming families, fast…

Conflict of social norms and its effect on school environment Social norms can be defined as the rules that determine what should be done or avoided by people in their social settings and circumstances. Norms make sure that people keep promises, ranging from the lane to drive on, to sticking by the golden rule. These are tools for explaining phenomena. They are used to analyze the state of the world even as great as international diplomacy or as subtle and ordinary as traffic rules. However, the body of knowledge regarding norms is spread across disciplines and traditions of research with unclear guidelines or consensus on the way the term should be put to use. Existing research on the subject has largely majored on the effects of the norms and the content of the same. By description, social norms cut across such disciplines as sociology, game theory, economics, and legal studies so…

Another surprising feature of our negotiations was the lack of back-and-forth collaboration and dialogue. In short, we did not engage in integrative bargaining or dynamic negotiation. I simply spat out my asking price based on what I had expected to receive based on the BATNA. Forgetting the condition of the engine and the other possible features my partner valued when he did spend time looking under the hood, I failed to probe my partner for his needs. I should have asked, for example, what he wanted to use the car for, if he has owned a similar automobile, and whether or not he was a collector. Had I gleaned some extra information about my partner, the two of us could have worked harder on "creating" value than on "claiming value." As the case progressed I realized that I had succeeded at neither.

The brevity and lackluster nature of the negotiations was…

They also focus more on institutional support, like the need for appropriate funding for such educational programs, rather than psychological issues attacked to assimilation. Changing demographics in recent years in Canada have forced adult education programs to meet the challenge of doing more with fewer resources, as they fight, for more funding for programs designed to orient immigrants in the language and culture of the area. "As new citizens to Canada, they need educational programs to help them navigate the complex paths that citizenship entails and to upgrade their language, knowledge and skills to fully participate in Canadian society."
Unlike Ferrigno's article on education that accepts community criticism and a critique of society as a whole, Guo and Sork's see "adult education as an agency of social progress" in moving students forward into better economic opportunities. Adult education is "an important forum for building inclusive citizenship" more so than changing…