Social Problems, 13eD. Stanley EitzenMaxine Baca ZinnKelly Eitzen Smith

Chapter 6Problems of Place: Urban, Suburban, and Rural

Problems of Place: Urban, Suburban, and Rural

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Learning Objectives

6.1 Identify social problems that are tied to inner cities in the United States.

6.2 Identify social problems that are tied to suburban areas in the United States.

6.3 Discuss the social problems that are tied to rural areas in the United States.

6.1 - Urban Problems

• Urban Job Loss• Disinvestment• Federal Abandonment• Urban Poverty• Urban Housing Crisis• Decaying Infrastructure • Transportation, Pollution, and the Environment • Health and Healthcare • Urban Schools • Crime, Drugs, and Gangs

LO 6.1 - Urban Job Loss

• Company relocation outside central cities

• Deindustrialization

• Corporate flight outside the country

LO 6.1 - Disinvestment

• Redlining of inner cities

• Race– Mortgage loans denied based on race– Subprime loans based on race

– Automobile insurance redlining

• Place– Suburbs receive a greater share of loans

LO 6.1 - Federal Abandonment

• Federal cutbacks

• Shrinking tax base

• Cities cut services and raise taxes

LO 6.1 - Urban Poverty

• Increase in urban poverty– Central city poverty areas– High-poverty areas

• High rates of residential segregation

LO 6.1 - Urban Housing Crisis

• Lack of affordable housing– Gentrification– Slumlording– Warehousing

• Government housing programs

• Job/housing mismatch– Spatial apartheid

• The bursting of the housing bubble

More than 70 percent of low-income renter households spend more than one-half of their income on rent.

LO 6.1

LO 6.1 - Decaying Infrastructure

• Cities are affected physically by the fiscal crisis– Crumbling bridges and roads– Water main breaks– Stressed sewage systems

• Public dollars to rebuild cities?

LO 6.1- Transportation, Pollution, and The Environment

• Transportation Problems

• Environmental Threats

• Environmental racism/classism

LO 6.1 - Health and Healthcare

• Concentration of poverty = concentration of related diseases

• High infant mortality rates

• Problems with urban hospitals

LO 6.1 - Urban Schools

• Public schools in the United States are separate and unequal

• Urban schools are class segregated

LO 6.1 - Crime, Drugs, and Gangs

• In the United States, crime has become a euphemism for cities – Increased media attention

– Crime as code for race

• Creation of an informal economy

• Fear of crime

LO 6.1 - Explorer Activity: Urban Profile: Philadelphia

• http://www.socialexplorer.com/pearson/plink.aspx?dest=http%3a%2f%2fwww.socialexplorer.com%2fSpiceMap%2f%3fv%3dfeacbcfd21414174

• Please log into MySocLab with your username and password before accessing this link.

LO 6.1 - Video: Urbanization: The Growth of Cities

http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/sociology/videos/MSocL_Intelecom/INT_WWL_20K_005.html

LO 6.1

The belief that cities are crime ridden and dangerous causes people to leave. The loss of residents and jobs leads to greater poverty and crime. This is an example of the __________.

A. alternative economy of citiesB. self-fulfilling prophecy of urban

declineC. creation of environmental racismD. disinvestment of urban plight

LO 6.1

The belief that cities are crime ridden and dangerous causes people to leave. The loss of residents and jobs leads to greater poverty and crime. This is an example of the __________.

A. alternative economy of cities

B. self-fulfilling prophecy of urban decline

C. creation of environmental racism

D. disinvestment of urban plight

LO 6.1

No other industrial nation has allowed the kind of decline and deterioration facing U.S. urban centers.

A. True

B. False

LO 6.1

No other industrial nation has allowed the kind of decline and deterioration facing U.S. urban centers.

A. True

B. False

6.2 - Suburban Problems

• Suburban Sprawl

• Automobile Dependency

• Social Isolation in Suburbs

• Transforming the Suburbs: The End of Sprawl?

LO 6.2 - Suburban Sprawl

• Encouraged by the federal government

• Boomburgs, urban villages, edge cities

– Environmental effects

– Effects on inner cities

– Economic costs

– Health concerns

LO 6.2 - Automobile Dependency

• Sprawl and decentralization of cities leads to more cars and highways

• Destruction of landscape

LO 6.2 - Social Isolation in the Suburbs

• Lack of diversity

• Increased homogenization

• Physical and social isolation

LO 6.2 - Transforming The Suburbs: The End of Sprawl?

• Collapse of the housing market

• High gasoline prices

• New developments promote a different lifestyle

LO 6.2

According to the textbook, suburban sprawl is declining because of __________.

A. a draw to rural areas

B. the appeal of city culture

C. the economic recession

D. poor housing structures

LO 6.2

According to the text, suburban sprawl is declining because of __________.

A. a draw to rural areas

B. the appeal of city culture

C. the economic recession

D. poor housing structures

LO 6.2

The suburbs in the United States have a heterogeneous population.

A. True

B. False

LO 6.2

The suburbs in the United States have a heterogeneous population.

A. True

B. False

6.3 Rural Problems

• Poverty

• Jobs in Rural Areas

• Environment

• Healthcare and Delivery

• Small-Town Decline

• Crime and Illicit Drugs

The economic boom has been both a blessing and a curse to the towns in the Bakken shale region of North Dakota.

LO 6.3

LO 6.3 - Poverty

• Rural poverty rates are higher for racial and ethnic groups than for Whites

• Highest concentration of U.S. poverty– Appalachian mountain region– Old Southern cotton belt– Rio Grande Valley/Texas Gulf Coast– Southwest and upper Plains states

LO 6.3

LO 6.3 - Jobs in Rural Areas

• Farming

• Manufacturing

• Extraction of Natural Resources

• Recreation/Leisure

LO 6.3 - Environment

• Reduction in land

• Water issues

• Pesticides and other chemicals

• Air and water pollution

LO 6.3 - Healthcare and Delivery

• Disparities in health status

• Inadequate medical infrastructure

LO 6.3 – Small-Town Decline

• Small-town America centered on three institutions:– Town– Schools– Church

LO 6.3 - Crime and Illicit Drugs

• Lower crime rates

• Drug problems

LO 6.3

According to the textbook, the remaining institution active in small towns is __________.

A. the school

B. the town

C. the church

D. healthcare

LO 6.3

According to the textbook, the remaining institution active in small towns is __________.

A. the school

B. the town

C. the church

D. healthcare

LO 6.3

Today, there are greater job opportunities in rural areas than in urban centers because of careers in agriculture.

A. True

B. False

LO 6.3

Today, there are greater job opportunities in rural areas than in urban centers because of careers in agriculture.

A. True

B. False

LO 6.3 Question for Discussion

Explain the importance of place in social problems.