Physical problems
Process of Deterioration
Many urban areas have locations that are old and have a changing landscape around them. Filtering is the process of subdivision of houses and occupancy by succesive waves of lower-income. Landlords stop maintaining houses when the rent they collect becomes less than the maintenance costs. The building soon deteriorates and grows unfit for occupancy. At this point in the filtering process the owner may abandon the property, because the rents that can be collected are less than the cost of taxes and upkeep. Many houses within the inner cities become vacant.
Banks will often engage in redlining-drawing lines on a map to identify areas in which they will refuse to loan money. If a family tries to fix up their house in this area, they will have a hard time getting a loan from the bank.
Urban Renewal
Urban renewal is where cities remove residents from low income areas and rebuild the area to attaract higher income residents. Many low income residents live in public housing. Public housing is reserved for low income households who must pay 30% of their inome for rent. A housing authority (government) maintains the upkeep of the residential area. Many neighborhoods are being renovated to attract more middle and high income residents. The process by which middle class people move into deteriorated inner-city neighborhoods and renovate the housing is known as gentrification.
economic problems
There are many economic problems in the inner city due to low income residents that require and depend on public services but can not afford them. A city has two choices to close the gap between the cost of services and the funding available from taxes. One alternative is to reduce services by closing public institutions like libraries, parks, schools, transportation services, etc. These cutbacks encourage middle class residents to move out of the city to the surburban areas where these services are more available. The other alternative is to raise taxes.
Annexation is the process of legally adding land area to a city. American cities annexed land in the peripheral areas. In the 19th century, many peripheral resients preferred the annexation to cities because cities would offer amenities to the peripheral areas along with the cities. However, in modern urban areas, many peripheral residents prefer to make their own decisions in local governments about the organizations and ammenities offered in the residential areas.
social problems
Open the Greening The Ghetto
Inner city neighborhoods contain many social problems that correlate with low income residents and less accomodations. Inner city residents are often termed as underclass. Underclass refers to people that are trapped in an unending cycle of economic and social problems. The underclass suffer from high levels of unemployment, alcoholism, drug addiction, illiteracy, juvenile delinquency, and crime. Schools are closing and affordable housing is hard to find. The neighborhoods lack adequate police and fire protection, shops, hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities.
Characteristics of social problems in the inner city are homeless populations, high crime rate, and ethnic and racial segregation.
Watch the news clip on closing schools in HISD:
