Urban Problems

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Urban Problems
Geg309 Urban Geography
Instructor Jun Yan Geography Department SUNY at
Buffalo
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Last Class

• Urban Crime
• Urban structure and crime
• Spatial patterns Hot-spot
• Effects of urban crimes mental maps

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Outline

• Homelessness
• Introduction photos and quotes
• Old vs New
• Contemporary Causes

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Facts
www.american-pictures.com
Fact Every night in the United States about
750,000 people experience homelessness. Each year
between 2.5 and 3.5 million people experience
homelessness for some period of time.
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Facts
www.american-pictures.com
Ironic Homeless man searches for food under
Thought for food add on Market St. in San
Francisco
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Facts
www.american-pictures.com
Facts There are more than 40 million people in
US without health insurance coverage
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In Their Own Words
Quote "What is it like being homeless?Thats
like asking what its like living in a
housethere are many diverse experiences. Being
homeless is like being a suspect and a potential
victim. Its like being ignored. Its like really
appreciating the coming of springtime. Its like
paying special attention to the forecast to see
if and how much youll suffer at night. Its like
the sinking feeling you get when you have no
blankets and your call to the hypothermia hotline
goes unanswered"
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In Their Own Words
Quote "I need to tell you who I am. I need
somebody to listen to me. I did 30 years of my
life on the streets of Washington, DC. Its
getting so that people dont care anymore. When
you see a homeless person on the street, Smile,
say I love you, and pray for us. Homelessness is
not all right. People are not animals. We
deserve housing "
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In Their Own Words
Quote Instead of showing the real me, I hid
behind my "tough girl" image, and bullied younger
kids to make myself feel and look better. In the
classroom, I was a class clown, and though I was
an excellent learner, I was horrible with my
behavior. Most of those feelings were related to
being disappointed in myself. I was confused. I
didn't know what to do. I cried at night "
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Homelessness The Extreme Poverty

• Fine line between being precariously housed and
  being literally homeless
• Fine line between temporary homeless and
  long-term homeless
• Not only an issue of housing justice (poverty),
  but also an issue of economic justice, health
  care justice, and civil rights

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Homelessness The Extreme Poverty

• Therefore, homeless people are
• Someone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
  nighttime residence
• Or person living in
• a temporary place for people about to be
  institutionalized
• any place not meant for regular sleeping
  accommodation by humans, e.g. bus station
• or a supervised temporary shelter
• cut off the tie with family and friends

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Ole Homelessness

• Old homelessness
• Before 1980s
• Economic dislocation (i.e., economic cycles)
  temporary
• Concentrated in skid-row
• Mostly white men less than 30 non-white

Skid Row a city district frequented by vagrants
and alcoholics and addicts
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New Homelessness

• New homelessness
• Severe economic dislocation (i.e., structural)
• Less concentrated skid rows planned out of
  existence urban renewal
• Worst of in terms of shelter flophouses are gone
• They are much younger 30-40yrs
• Increasingly women children
• Increasingly composed of African-Americans
  50-75 in most cities
• Mental physical health issues systematic
  de-institutionalization

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New Homelessness
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Contemporary Causes of Homelessness

• Socio-spatial fragmentation
• Gentrification removal of low-cost housing
• Income polarization increased competition for
  low-cost housing
• Government policies New Conservatism
• shift tax burden to working poor
• decreased welfare spending

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Contemporary Causes of Homelessness

• Unemployment flexible labor strategies
• High unemployment rate in young males especially
  in African American
• More temporary jobs secondary labor market
• Increased competition of low-cost housing
• De-institutionalization of mentally disables
• Create a large number of vulnerable population
• More chance to be neglected
• Low wage, service dependent

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Contemporary Causes of Homelessness

• Urban renewal
• removal of low-cost housing e.g. Skid-Row hotels
  (SRH)
• Changing household structures
• more divorce and more teenage unwed mothers
  feminization of poverty

welfare mother
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Contemporary Causes of Homelessness

• Aging
• Increase single-person households
• Immigration
• Cultural barriers unaware of social welfare
  program discrimination

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Contemporary Causes of Homelessness
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Resources

• http//www.American-pictures.com
• National Coalition for the Homelessness
  http//www.nationalhomeless.org
• National Alliance to End Homelessness
  http//www.naeh.org/index.htm

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Next Class

• Environmental Downgrading
• Reading chp 11. pp 320326