For this post we are to write about our choice of an inequality issue in Chicago. My topic of choice deals with overall violence in the city. I was born and bred here in this big city and I have lived amongst the many neighborhoods the city has to offer that many Chicagoan's call home. And while yes, I have witnessed my fair share of violence and personally suffered maltreatment by the city's finest (CPD), it really irritates and gets under my skin that certain groups of people have to suffer and witness the most violence just because of where they live and their economic status.
It seems no matter what paper you pick up to read someone has to remind Chicago's resident's that their city is the capitol of U.S. violence. I don't think there ever has been a weekend without someone dying, particularly young children. To be honest, whenever I read an article like this, I usually can guess where the violence has occurred, usually most always in the West or South side neighborhoods of the city.
According to Daniel Hertz, a graduate student at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, "Everybody who lives in Chicago or knows anything about Chicago knows
that there's a big gap in many indicators of quality of life, broadly
speaking between richer neighborhoods on the North Side and poorer
neighborhoods on the South and West Side, and has been for a very long
time. But that gap in terms of violent crime has gotten much, much worse." He further goes on to say that violence depends on where you are and who you are, if you live in the darker blue areas of the city (from map above) and if you are a Black or Hispanic male you are most likely a target for being a victim of violence. Unfortunately this is true and I hate that it is this way. Not a day goes by that I remind my teenage son who is half black to please be safe, to pull up his pants, to not look anyone in the eyes, and to come straight home because of who will perceive him to be in a gang or just a troublemaker.
"When the gap between violent and nonviolent neighborhoods grows, the penalty for being poor gets bigger and bigger."
So how is there inequality of violence in the city? Most crimes are committed in certain neighborhoods in the west and south sides, almost all crimes affect young minorities and innocent children. The police know this, the aldermen know this, the Mayor knows this, and yet they will protect the richer neighborhoods more because they are richer and the residents of these neighborhoods will move their businesses or sell their homes if they don't get the protection that they demand. So where does this leave the poor? "There's all sorts of research that shows that people with resources leave
neighborhoods that are relatively more violent than other
neighborhoods. And businesses don't come to violent neighborhoods. So
when the gap between violent and nonviolent neighborhoods grows,
neighborhoods on the wrong side of that gap are just going to lose more
and more of their middle-class, more and more of their businesses, and
the penalty for being poor is going to get bigger and bigger."
The solution to this inequality? Invest in these neighborhoods, provide social organizations that help teens off the street, provide jobs for them so they are busy instead of being out in the street, let them know that they are a vital part of the city, that there life matters. Give tax incentives to businesses that locate to these areas, create parks, create better schools, demand the same police presence as in richer neighborhoods, offer better and affordable housing. There are many solutions, the citry just needs to make an effort.
Source: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/10/how-chicago-points-growing-inequality-urban-violence/7103/
No comments:
Post a Comment