Urban Change and Developments in Urban America

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Question 1: Urban Change and Developments in Urban America
Change is inevitable and so was the situation in America where it took center stage. Cities are a composition of neighborhoods, social groups, contestations inequalities and claims (Wilson 25). The cities have witnessed the rise of many professionals of international repute who are rich. The advent of the global market and alignments have seen countries like China and Brazil rising. This in the event has seen the uprising of urban warfare and global insecurity (Saasen 4). Numerous factors contributed to development of the changes in the urban America. One of the most pressing factors that did contribute to this was the vanishing of jobs as regards many neighborhoods in the interior city (Wilson 25). There was no likelihood of promotions, and very unpromising jobs that could not offer enough in terms of future success on the said jobs which was attributed to low skills required for the labor. The reasons for the low paying jobs were as a result of a rise in the levels of inflation. The period between 1970 and 1989 experience an influx in the number of low income earners who witnessed a decrease in the real wages (Wilson 25). Something that is so surprising is that, employment between 1994 and 1995 was on a low since people were engaged with more than one job plus overtime. Most of those do the odd jobs that are low paying have minimum education. The traditional full time employment has changed steadily since the scenario in the 1980s was quite different from that one of the 1970s.
These changes were attributed to the system of mass production in the US (Wilson 26). The benefit experienced with mass production was attributed to economies of scale, natural resources that were affordable and the average shift in the forces of the market. With the advent of the introduction of contemporary technology, most laborers who depended on the meager earnings had been disadvantaged in a great way since the machines could do their work even faster and cost effectively. This greatly disadvantaged the black population who are a minority in the US. De-industrialization has since shifted its focus thus with no manufacturing as the mainstream business, blacks are the lot that suffered in a huge way since that was their livelihood. In fact, this scenario led to the brand, ‘truly disadvantaged’ (Wilson 29). In relation to the development in urban America, so much is at stake since for any city to be called urban it needs people, and people of a certain class. With special reference to the restructuring of jobs in the 1980s, blue collar jobs were modified generally based on the quality and was evaluated in terms of earnings, protection from the union, benefits, and the part time that was on an involuntary basis. With the absence of manufacturing jobs, there was too much pressure on the remaining odd jobs which forced the quality to subside and this was commensurate with the reduced pay (Wilson 31). Politics and the media have over emphasized the idea of the global economy (Saasen 3). The two have played a fundamental role of ensuring rapid growth of cities. Globalization comes with the necessary infrastructure on which it will thrive hence the developments (Saasen 4). This has seen the capital mobility both nationally and transnationally. Major cities received a new lease of life since they were considered avenues of production of services that were specialized. The cities have seen tremendous growth in the specialized services and the necessary finances for profit maximization which are a proper recipe for the nourishment of the economy. This has not been made any better by the international property market that has witnessed rapid growth (Saasen 10).
Ghetto poverty was as a result of the decline in the wages and unemployment (Wilson 34). This growth of ghetto poverty was so evident in between 1970 and 1980 as a result of industrial restructuring on a massive scale which had a devastating impact on the growth of the inner city neighborhoods (Wilson 34). The ripple effect of the exit of many manufacturing plants triggered a mass exodus of the investors in the region. Banks, small stores and other businesses had to shift their base of operation since the wages that they relied on from the laborers in those plants that shifted base was no more. The economic forces and the insurance companies forced the small stores out of business in the West side, after Martin Luther king Jr. was assassinated while campaigning for the rights of the oppressed (Wilson 35). From the testimonies given by the residents of Chicago, most of the black and Hispanic people have the interest in working, but the job opportunities diminished with the exit of the industries. There has been a mismatch in existence between the urban blacks in the inner - city and the suburban blacks with regard to employment prospects. Based on the views of labor economists, there has been decentralization in the employment sector in the manufacturing positions since it has long been suburbanized. This has had a direct bearing on the central cities. They are relocating to the suburbs to enjoy the advantages of cheap labor, cheap land, reduced crime rates, nearness to the highways and also to avoid hefty bills of demolition of the old buildings to start up their new enterprises. The only option in this case that is viable, is venturing in the suburbs. They also foresaw the advantage gained by being able to acquire sufficient space to construct parking lots for their clientele and employees unlike in the inner city. With this vision, the locations where the investment was taken had to grow because of the economic activities that were enjoyed by the locals.
The growth of the ghettos in the urban areas was indeed an eye opener for the residents of the city. Ghettos came with their own challenges. There was an upsurge of criminal activities and competition for any available jobs as a result of the increase in the po...