Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes Chapter 17: Topic 6.10 Flashcards
Housing for inner-city poor residents is characterized by poor quality, insufficient availability, and significant unaffordability. Physical conditions of the buildings need to be updated to be safe. Proper maintenance is unaffordable to inner city residents. Landlords delay making expensive repairs so the quality of the housing suffers. European cities = edge of city, mass transit ends and rent is less expensive. Poorer residential areas are concentrated near industrial regions built on the eastern side of cities. Prices are low because wind blows east and sends air pollution and industrial smells through these neighborhoods. Women concentrate in poorer areas and this leads to many problems that both women and their children face.
Urban housing challenges in core (MDC) countries
The process by which banks refuse loans to those who want to purchase and improve properties in certain urban areas. Minorities and the poor were located in places where they were denied loans. Banks considered investments in these areas too risky.
Redlining
Occurs when people live in separate neighborhoods based on their ethnicity or race. In US history, many communities had neighborhoods where African Americans could live and neighborhoods were they could not.
Racial Segregation
People of an ethnic group sold their homes upon learning that members of another ethnic group were moving into the neighborhood. In US history, white middle-class families left when African American or Hispanic families moved into the neighborhood. Investors would buy houses at low prices and resell them or rent them to minorities for a large profit.
Blockbusting
Areas of poverty occupied by a minority group as a result of discrimination. Residents often feel trapped because of social and political factors or a lack of economic opportunities. These neighborhoods have a higher percentage of residents that rent, have poorly maintained buildings, fewer businesses, and an underfunded education and other government services.
Ghettos
Practices that offer incentives for developers to set aside a percentage of housing for low-income renters or buyers. Critics point of that these policies reduce incentives for investments in new housing.
Inclusionary Zoning
The city or government provide rental assistance for individuals to disperse public housing throughout the area. This allows children to access a better local school and older residents can access the amenities in wealthier neighborhoods. This faced opposition called the “not-in-my-backyard” response, people feared that adding public housing near them will reduce property values and create problems for local communities and schools.
Scattered Site
US residents moved to suburbs after WW2, this caused inner cities to suffer from urban decay, high crime rates, and increased poverty, During the 60s-70s, many city governments in the US adopted a policy. This policy allowed governments to clear out the blighted inner-city slums, which displaced the residents to low-income government housing complexes, and built new development projects.
Urban Renewal
Allows the government to claim private property from individuals, pay them for the property, and then use the land for the public good. This happens in all countries but it most disproportionately affect minorities and the poor in periphery and semiperiphery countries.
Eminent Domain
The process of converting an urban inner-city neighborhood from a mostly low-income, renter-occupied area to a predominately wealthier, owner-occupied area of a city. Gentrifying these areas include the addition of mixed-use development such as art districts, coffee shops, trendy bars, etc. These are located near the central business district and its many amenities are available by public transportation. Newcomers of these areas include: young urban professionals with high-paying jobs, LGBTQ looking for neighborhoods that are inclusive and older couples whose children have moved out. These neighborhoods experience changes in racial and cultural diversity and displaces residents creating a space that excludes minorities.
Gentrification
Periphery of cities in periphery countries; densely populated areas built without coordinated planning and without sufficient public services for electricity, water, and sewage.
Informal Settlements
Legal protection of contracts to show ownership of land or structures.
Land Tenure
Areas of a city that have been deserted by their owners for their economic or environmental reasons.
Zones of Abandonment
The disproportionate exposure of minorities and the poor to pollution and its impacts, plus the unequal protection of their rights under the law.
Environmental Injustice (Environmental Racism)
A response of informal settlements and poorer communities to live in proximity to the wealthy. One response is the building of walled or fenced neighborhoods with limited access and entry points. They attempt to recapture features more commonly found outside of urban areas-safety, quiet and homogeneity. This can reinforce separation in economics, social status, ethnicity, and even political views.
Gated Communities
