When thinking about the dynamics of neighborhoods and how they are socially constructed based on several factors and relations all the way down to the color of skin. Historically, as shown there has been a shift of the color that makes up the area of certain neighborhoods. They have changed to some degree but in a discrete manner. If you look at the construction of urban areas in the past they were built to concentrate blacks in large spacial areas.
When looking at the designs of many of the largely built projects in the Chicago area they were all built in long ago and not created with future outcomes in mind. What seem to be a fabolous creation back then tended to become a nightmare of the future. The concentration of blacks in certain areas over time created cycles of crime, lower social economic status, welfare, and a downward spiral of a cry for help. With slum lords in the Chicago Housing Authority the conditions of the complex in which blacks were concentrated to live in were the worst. most were over populated by undocumented residents others were intruded by rats, mice, and roaches. The conditions of the buildings were on the verge of being condemn, sadly so most people were ok with the conditions and willing to pay there 16 dollar rent and deal with the unlivable conditions. This was home for most and what they had become accustom to.
Long after, up to the present day, a lot of these buildings no longer exist. They have all been torn down and those occupying them have been scattered to other parts of the city with there aid vochers. In place of those buildings in those vacant lots are now high rise condos in which only well off or upper middle class families can afford to live in. With the disperse of the concentrated crime into different areas of the city created this bigger downward spiral for the Chicago area, because what was once concentrated is now spread throughout the city creating these neighborhoods of different color.
As a result the crime in these areas that only was affecting those in that particular area is now an issue throughout the city. Not only are the new residents of these areas uncomfortable but those that were there prior too uncomfortable. We see this today in the closing of schools that force kids to other surrounding schools in order to get an education. Moreover we see blacks come in and take former white dominated areas but never vise versa where whites come in and take over black dominated communities completely.
https://placesjournal.org/article/housing-chicago-cabrini-green-to-parkside-of-old-town/?gclid=CjwKEAjwuPi3BRClk8TyyMLloxgSJAAC0Xsjs0TgBiPx_Vi3-SyOPIQBAvfCEhXCkcVeFZ0utpCjoRoCN5Hw_wcB
http://www.thecha.org/residents/public-housing/
http://www.thecha.org/residents/public-housing/
This blog was really interesting because you tied the how the dynamics of the neighborhood and how it relates to the color of one’s skin. This blog reminds of the video Dislocations. The video was really heartfelt and it also made you think about how people really lived in these projects. I also agree with you about when they have built these projects they did not think about the future when building these buildings. They probably didn’t think about the crime rate that would come about. They also might not have thought that the area would become a bad area. I believe that they should have thought about that before building these high rises.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they have put them into different areas does make the crime disperse into different areas. Which makes it more difficult to control because now it’s all over the Chicago area. It also makes you wonder, since they have put those high rise condos will those soon become projects and will the crime rate be focused on one area or will it still scattered throughout Chicago. All in all this was a great blog well put.