Elijah Anderson is the William K. Lanman professor of Sociology at Yale University with special interests in urban inequality, ethnography, special deviance, cultural sociology, race relations, and theory. He has held many leadership roles such as being one of the top leading urban ethnographers and social theorists in the United States. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. His other leadership roles include being the vice president of the American Sociological Association; editor for professional journals and publications such as Qualitative Sociology, Ethnography, American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, City and Community, Annals of the Society of Political and Social Science, and the International Journal of Urban and regional Research; and consultant to the White House, U.S. Congress, National Academy of Science, and the National Science
In the study “Racial and Class Divergence in Public Attitudes and Perception About Poverty in USA: An Empirical Study,” professor Francis O. Adeola analyzes existing data to determine if people themselves or a structural influence causes poverty (Adeola 56). Building upon the idea of structural poverty, Adeola contends “poverty rates tend to persist in the same neighborhood over many years” (61). For the other Wes Moore, this neighborhood was the Murphy Project Homes: one of the most dangerous places in Baltimore (Moore 18). Furthermore, he examines how “[t]he poor form a unique subculture,” reinforcing aspects of poverty (Adeola 61). The subculture that surrounded the other Wes Moore included the normalization of the presence of drugs and
In David S. Landes book, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, he decides to take a historical approach on the reasons behind why some people remain poor and how others are so rich by trying to comprehend the reasons that lead to advances in economies and modernization in certain regions around the world over the past few decades. In other words by asking how we have come to where we are today in the sense of making, getting and spending. Throughout the book, Landes talks about how we live in a world filled with inequality and diversity therefore leading to classifying those who are poor and unable to afford medical health care living in the North and the wealthy in the South. David S. Landes aim was to basically make people aware of how it is actually geography that is responsible for this division between countries that have caused a lot of hardship for the unprivileged people by making it impossible for them to improve economically as a result of their geographical location on the map.
Poverty is not the result of individuals, but rather it is the result of structural factors. The affluent classes are attempting to keep minorities locked into an impoverished political and economic position by using strategies such as gentrification, discrimination, and segregation. Those in position of authority use social profiling and “zero tolerance policies” as a primary tool for enforcing traditional discrimination. In theory, public space welcomes everyone. However, the power structures existed in the society demonstrate a social trend where wealthy people and caucasian move
Imagine living in a place where everyone is equal. Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy narrates a story about a man, Julian West, who lives in Boston during the 19th century where there is hardship, labor unrest, and a large gap between the rich and the poor. During the 19th century “many of the wealthiest Americans consciously pursued an aristocratic lifestyle, building palatial homes, attending exclusive social clubs, schools, and colleges, and focused on spending money not on the needed or even desired goods, but simply to demonstrate the possession of wealth” (Foner, 602). Julian West who is engaged to Edith Bartlett, an aristocrat, they were waiting to get married when their new house was finished, however; Julian West had serious insomnia
Wealth is one of the factors why residential segregation is an increasing problem. Golash- Boza explains, “Residential segregation happened when different groups of people are sorted into discount neighborhoods” (271). It is because of housing segregation
Anderson begins the section by explaining that there are two separate cultures in inner-city neighborhoods. The first are the “decent” this group is defined by commitment to “middle-class values,” (101). However, they are not mainstream in that they
Nickel and Dimed Analysis: Minorities vs Majority vs Socioeconomics In Ehrenreich’s classic “Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America,” the protagonist opens up the dialogue with admitting that she picked out her job out of laziness (Ehrenreich, 1). With the setting in Key West, Florida, the main character being Ehrenreich herself, decides to experiment with the possibilities of existing as a person on the lower terminal of the socioeconomic ladder. For her experiment, she lives in the lower rung of the ladder, becoming a waitress (Ehrenreich, 10). Based in 1996, the novel is investigating the benefits and effects of the 1996 welfare reform bill, which was considered a jugular stab to the spirit of social reform and government assistance to the hapless.
Lance Freeman, an associate professor of urban planning in Columbia, wanted to investigate if there was any displacement going on in two predominantly black neighborhoods that was briskly gentrifying. Much to his dismay, he couldn’t find any correlation between gentrification and displacement. What was surprising to Freeman was his discovery, “poor residents and those without a college education were actually less likely to move if they resided in gentrifying neighborhoods”. (Sternbergh, 19) Freeman adds, “The discourse on gentrification, has tended to overlook the possibility that some of the neighborhood changes associated with gentrification might be appreciated by the prior residents.” (Sternbergh, 19)
The American Dream is almost purely run by structural forces, in her perspective, that are constantly attempting to impede the middle class’ ability for upward mobility. Those who are impoverished are there because of their surroundings, the institutions that shape their lives and therefore, they simply cannot find any way out of the poverty trap in which they have found themselves. While Ehrenreich was conducting her case study, she attempted to determine if the American Dream was by attempting to immerse herself in the culture of the poor. She only did so partially due to several stipulations that she set for the experiment as she stated that she would not live in a shelter (Shepard did), that she would not get rid of her vehicle and rely on public transportation (Shepard also did this); however, she did note that even for her, being partially immersed as she was, still found there to be not much difference between herself and those that worked around. She believed, from her experiences, that the social structure of the employment opportunities, was a systematic way to dehumanize the workers.
Mantsios’ compares the profiles of different Americans lifestyles in his text and develops the idea that an individual’s class standing can affect their livelihood in detrimental ways, “The lower one’s class standing, the more difficult it is to secure appropriate housing, the more time is spent on routine tasks of everyday life, the greater is the percentage of income that goes to pay for food and other basic necessities, and the greater is the likelihood of crime victimization” (293). Mantsios explains that one’s class standing can affect the chances of survival and success. Ehrenreich describes her own housing experiences as a low income worker. To reduce her overall costs and to obtain a second job, Ehrenreich moves closer to Key West. Ehrenreich has just enough money to pay the rent and deposit on a tiny trailer at the Overseas Trailer Park.
-- and that’s the problem” by Steve Lopez, where he writes about the city of L.A and lives who struggle through making ends meet. Secondly, in “Prosperity, Not Upward Mobility, Is What Matters” by Neil Gilbert, he explains whether hard work is enough to lift people in the economy and overcome their parents physically and financially .“Serving in Florida” by Barbara Ehrenreich tells her experience working minimum wage and “Class in America - 2012” by Gregory Mantsios, where it shows problems that many minorities face because of high status. In all of these texts, these authors demonstrate the challenges and obstacles facing people within the social
As a reader reads Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed on (Not) Getting by in America, they get an insight on what it is like to live a low income life. Ehrenreich proposes the argument in the introduction that poverty is a serious matter and just because one has a job does not mean they are not considered poor. She wants to persuade us to realize that American is not the land of opportunity as promised and portrayed and there are regular people who are struggling to live a comfortable life. Throughout her book she mentions her experiences with living on minimum wage, the hiring process, and how she felt being put in that position. After reading Ehrenreich’s book I am thoroughly persuaded.
From a theoretical point of view, the rationale of rent gap theory is suggesting that gentrification activities will probably occur for neighborhoods and homes in case where speculations of land or properties exist. This theory was first argued by a renowned geographer, Neil Smith, and further unevenly developed by several theorists, pointing out that if there is a potential disinvestment in property occurs, which means the estimated value generated from the piece of land or the property is higher than the current use, the rent that can be extracted will become gradually less. The extent of the gap will always tend to be developed between the rental value of the property and that which could be derived a higher reinvested use. All in all, these
Robert Chambers the author of Poverty in Focus was talking about the one of the disadvantages of poverty and the effects that it causes for example lack of education and social relations One of the statements he was talking about that I found interesting was when he stated “Poverty can happen when incomes are deprived and resources needed to keep society intact and without those resources then society will breakdown from a good neighborhood to a dangerous one.”
