Urban Life
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Urban Life
Introduction
This is an urban research paper for New York city in the united states of America. New York is located in the northeastern part of America, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The city is one of the most influential and largest cities in the U.S, with a population of about 19 million people. New York City is made of several neighborhoods, distributed among the city’s five boroughs, including Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. The people living in the five-borough have a unique lifestyle. Urban inequality is widespread in many parts of the city. Inequality in urban areas reflects the unequal distribution of social skills and the unequal returns from those skills. Urban inequality has been related to unhappiness, slow growth, and criminal activities. Many leaders have tried to address urban development, but the policies are still insufficient to bring change. There are three significant types of inequality in urban areas: income inequality, wealth inequality, and pay disparities.
New York City
New York is an attractive and diverse place with many breathtaking features like Yankees stadium, billboards in times square, and the most beautiful statue of liberty. Any visitor to the city will see a wonderful place, but there is a lot more hidden. The authorities take care of the neighborhoods in the city. Some places have better living conditions, while others have people living in awful conditions. There are neighborhoods that one can desire to live in, while others depict suffering and poverty.
Part 1
Part one of the research will look at urban inequality using two neighborhoods of New York City. The areas will be compared using the ethnography qualitative method of analysis. Ethnography involves studying people from their backgrounds and environments to understand their way of life using face-to-face interviews and participant observations. Ethnography attempts to get first hand and detailed information about the community. This part of the project will look at two neighborhoods of New York city that include Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and Astoria, Queens.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is located in the northern part of New York City, in New York, United States of America. It is bordered by several neighborhoods that include Williamsburg to the southwest, McCarren park on the southeast, Newtown Creek on the north, and long island city in the west. Most of the residents are Polish-American community and Polish immigrants. However, the northern part of Green point avenue is dominated by Latino people. Also, there is a good number of North African and South Asian people. Greenpoint has an estimated population of 36,491 people; eighteen thousand are male residents, while female residents are 18,492. There are 17,256 households with an average of 2 people per household. The current population has a median age of about 35. About 20 827 residents are single while 12, 592 are said to be married. Greenpoint has the highest number of white employees, which is approximately 90.52%. Blue-collar employees are represented by a small fraction of about 9.48% (Glaeser, 2009).
The neighborhood has been known as a place for the working-class community, both immigrant and native Americans. People were attracted here by heavy industries, factories, dock work, and manufacturing. The real estate boom in 2000 converted the neighborhood to a center of gentrification and nightlife. On the East River Waterfront, there are high-density residential houses that have been constructed. There are many industries because the maritime industrial neighborhood started as early as the 1800s with Irish and Polish immigrants. Before world war II, the biggest businesses in Greenpoint included pencil manufacturing, glasswork, and shipbuilding. However, in recent years Greenpoint has converted to be an industrial; neighborhood brings a new face to artistic models.
The people who live in Greenpoint enjoy the unique charm of the place. The residential street s are entirely combined with an industrial backdrop, which distinguishes Greenpoint from other neighbors. Most of the industries and businesses in Greenpoint have existed for many years, creating intimacy among the community members within the rapidly changing borough. The resident of Greenpoint like revisiting their best places for coffee and egg sandwich in the morning due to their excellent relationship with local bodega owners.
The streets of Greenpoint are very peaceful, and the people are friendly. The environment is spotless, attractive with a few people on the streets. The urban neighborhood does not have traffic jams or dense populations, creating fresh air and a beautiful business and travelers’ environment. The residents like the quiet waterfronts on the neighborhood western. In the evening, residents can be found going for a casual stroll, while in the evening, they participate in fishing from the boardwalk.
The lifestyle of Greenpoint residents ranges from music, restaurants, and bars, most of them being developed along the waterfront. The quiet atmosphere starts from the residential places and extends to Greenpoint neighborhood streets, where there are many entertainment joints. The Brooklyn branded eateries on the well-loved Greenpoint neighborhoods serves people with polish foods at night, with several bars around like the Matchless. The area has a variety of shopping centers like Old Hollywood that have a boutique of fashionable clothes. The clothes are cheap, especially in the shops located along Manhattan avenue.
Tourist is visiting Queens area due to the high number of restaurants, clean environment. The neighborhood is a headquarter to NYPD and has several state and federal courts. Police are always available to provide security and solve any disputes in the area. Like pets and dogs, most of the residents spend time with them on weekends and leisure time. Lastly, most residents depend on commuter trains to get in and out of the neighborhoods to a different town in the city.
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is found in the western part of New York City on the borough of Queens. It is located adjacent to three neighborhoods that include woodside on the eastern side, sunnyside on the southeastern and long island city on the southwestern part. It is also bound on one side by the east river. Astoria is a culturally rich neighborhood.
The neighborhood is occupied by the wealthiest and most affluent people in New York City, and its regarded as the resort and recreational place for Manhattan’s wealthy. Astoria has experienced a continuous increase of immigrants from Germany, Greek, Dutch, Irish, Italy, Bangladesh, and many other countries. Astoria has the highest number of ethnic groups in Queens, which is about 100 groups. The people are rich in culture and are home to the best food destinations, arts institutions, and shopping malls. Most of the people who live here are Italians, Brazilians, Baltic, and many others.
The most important thing to Astoria’s people is the affordable and flexible transport system to and from Manhattan, affordable housing, and cheap amenities. However, the cost of living in the Astoria neighborhood is moderately high compared to other parts of the United States. The rented houses in Astoria are about 84% compared to 21% in the shole of United Staes. However, only 13% of the people own homes than 64% ownership of houses in the whole of the United States (Glaeser, 2009). Astoria’s population has increased significantly in recent years, causing the cost of real estate to rise.
The environment is peaceful and quiet, with most people being businessmen and women, and there is a high number of shops, restaurants, bars, and food outlets. Arts are slowly picking in Astoria with an increased number of museums. An example is the most innovative and creative Museum of the moving image, the most-finest Museum in New York. The Museum offers services for adults and kids, mostly movies. Astoria has very few characteristics of what makes a city. These features include good infrasture like roads and railway networks, water availability, electricity availability, and proper healthcare facilities. Also, the people living in the neighborhood interact very well with the environment by doing business and having a peaceful and friendly atmosphere.
Information like the sources of food for the people living in the neighborhood could be of much importance. Also, some questions like, what is the level of education for the majority of the people? What is the most preferred mode of transport? What is the average income for the residents? What is the average pay for the residents? One could also seek to know why leaders have not addressed inequality in the area.
Part II
Which is the most used means of transport to and from Work in Greenpoint?
| Railroad | 108 |
| Bicycle | 971 |
| Motorcycle | 47 |
| Walk | 2,111 |
| Car | 3,313 |
| Trolley Bus or Bus | 624 |
| Ferryboat | 365 |
| TaxiCab | 223 |
| Elevated or Subway | 14, 056 |
The most used mode of transport in the Greenpoint neighborhood is the subway or elevated with about 14 056 people daily. Followed by cars with 3,313 people daily and walking with 2,111 people. The high number of people using the subway shows that most people work within the neighborhood, hence traveling little distance. Using subways also reduces the distance from home to work, therefore saving more time. More people are even walking to work, which shows that they are employed a few meters from their houses or are not getting enough salary to pay for vehicle transport. Those are using cars and buses are relatively high, which shows that they might be getting a higher salary.
However, motorcycles recorded the lowest number of people, which is about 47—followed by Railroad with 108 people and taxicabs with 223 people. Motorcycles keep passengers at high risk in accidents because of careless driving, so it had the lowest number of passengers. Also, a person traveling with a motorcycle can get pneumonia and cold-related diseases.
The data is a clear indication of inequality in urban areas. Most of the subways are found on the street where poor people live. Therefore, a high number of people using the subways could indicate low-income earners. The data helps to answer why some parts of the city experience traffic jam while others do not. This is because an area with traffic jams has many people with personal cars, and those going for work using the public transport system. Whereas, it’s rare to see a traffic jam in areas with low-income earners because most of them use subways or walk on foot to work. However, the data does not show the number of people uses airplanes like helicopters in the neighborhood. The information could be important in analyzing the number of extremely wealthy people.
Conclusion
Urban Inequality is spread in many cities in the world. The inequality is based on the level of skills and how useful the skills are. Those with better skills make more money compared to those with low skills. In New York City, some neighborhoods are known for wealthy people who have bought land and built expensive houses. Where there is a high number of poor people, most of the residents have rented houses. In Astoria, most people have rented houses, which is about 85%, while 13% have their own homes. This means that most people in the neighborhood are poor and cannot afford to buy a house. Cities with more people who are poor have a high number of crimes, unhappiness, and experiences a slow growth rate. Most of the businesses established here are small, with a meager annual income. However, a neighborhood with wealthy people has big restaurants, clubs, recreational facilities, and good infrastructure. The concentration of poor people in one area and wealthy people in another location has been the primary cause of health inequality. Places with wealthy people have good health facilities, doctors, and equipment, compared to low places that people travel long distances to get treatment or see a doctor. The issue of inequality in urban areas is not taken seriously by leasers because there is an assumption that everyone in the city is rich. Therefore, there is a need for both the local and state government to develop policies that will address the problem of inequality in urban places. Efficient systems are essential because they will help reduce the crime rate and improve people’s lives in low areas.
References
Glaeser et al. (2009). Inequality in cities. Journal of regional science, vol. 49, Willey periodicals, inc. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/resseger/files/glaeserressegertobiojrs.pdf