The number of people living in high-poverty neighbourhoods has almost doubled from 7.2 million on 2000 to 13.8 million in 2013. Most families in such neighbourhoods earn income that is below the recommended federal poverty threshold. Urban poverty is a costly proposition for the people living in these areas since life becomes difficult with the lack or shortage of necessary facilities. The residential area matters a lot since it determines the access to decent housing, good schools, safe neighbourhoods, and good contacts among other vital things that come with living in a given community. Urban poverty is synonymous with residential areas that have inadequate facilities and services. These locations attract the individuals with the lowest income, but the rent charges are always a huge amount of the tenant’s income. Such exploitation is only experienced in low-income neighbourhoods as Desmond ascertains in his time in the slums of Milwaukee. Urban poverty is taking a toll on many social aspects of the victims and destroying livelihoods in many ways. Apart from the threat of eviction, there is the problem of a vulnerable part of society exposed to a deplorable state of living. This paper will address the specific problem of protecting the vulnerable members in our urban environments. Urban poverty has exposed vulnerable people to poor lifestyles and it is important to create welfare programs to aid the situation.
In the book, Arlene moved into a two bedroomed house with a broken window, a broken door and a carpet that was ground in yet it was the cheapest she could find. According to her, no more affordable houses were fit for human habitation. She earned a welfare check of $628 each month, but the rent for her apartment was $550 per month (Desmond 22). It paints a grim picture of people who spend the biggest part of their income on rent leaving little to survive and have a good quality life. The cost of poverty spills over to many facets of life in the poor suburbs and inner city areas. The access to educational facilities is inadequate since most of the schools in such neighbourhoods are neglected. These locations are familiar with drug dealers and other forms of criminals who make the quality of life quite cumbersome and insecure for the people. The poor housing takes away most of the income leaving little for other uses. Desmond moved to the North of Milwaukee and studied their lives noting that people spent 70-80% of their earnings to pay rent for houses that were, essentially, unfit for human habitation (Desmond 42).
Housing is one of the essential human needs, and people go to great lengths to make sure that they can live within their means in a comfortable manner. Poor people are now moving from inner cities to suburban regions that offer cheap housing according to census data. In 2014, 15% of the population lived below the poverty line representing an increase of 11% from the 2000 statistics. They tend to live in areas with an abundance of low-skilled labour and widespread unemployment. The combination of a poor lifestyle and a lack of resources means that the situation is deteriorating as the population in the suburbs continues to increase. Reports by the Brooking Institution show that low-income residential areas in the suburbs surrounding major metropolitan areas grew by 66% between 2000 and 2013 while the core urban areas in the city only rose by 30%. The reason for this growth is the government action that enabled low-income Americans to gain access to the suburbs by offering subprime mortgages and housing vouchers (Squires and Kubrin).
The cost of urban poverty on the lives of the residence is substantial, and it leads to a culture of people who are disillusioned and live one day at a time with no real plans for tomorrow. People spend much on rent, and most prefer to spend the rest on things that make them happy. Some might take drugs while other decide to eat well and enjoy life despite everything. In the book, 54-year-old Larraine spends an entire month’s worth of food stamps to buy a single meal of shrimp, crab, lobster tails, and lemon meringue pie that she washes down with Pepsi (Desmond 204). According to Desmond, poverty has made her disillusioned, and she sees no point in achieving financial stability. People like her opt to survive in colour and derive as much pleasure as possible. It’s hard to bring up children in some of the environments due to the drugs and crime that are synonymous with low-income neighbourhoods. It becomes inevitable that a huge percentage of such children will end up gravitating towards some of the activities they witness. It shows that the cost to the children is substantial and it is occurring in many parts all over America. The constant movement of people into the suburbs indicates that it is a continuous and present problem. In Milwaukee, 5% of the Latino population lived in areas of concentrated poverty in 2000 and the figure rose to 43% in 2013.
Numerous forums have discussed the issue of urban poverty and the social costs it exerts on people, especially women and children. In the case of a home eviction, women and children will suffer more due to their vulnerable nature. Urban poverty means that evictions are common as some people will opt to skip the rent and cater to other needs while others lack it altogether. USC Price Centre for Social Innovation combined with the USC Bedrosian Centre urban policy scholars to find solutions to urban poverty and hence the social costs. According to Raphael Bostic, director of Bedrosian Centre, poverty is one of the biggest problems in the country, and it requires creative thinkers to contribute possible solutions (Kredell).
Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona is UN expert on extreme poverty and human rights. She addressed a commission and said, that economic growth did not automatically ensure the poor people living in the area would benefit. Magdalena said that developed and developing countries ought to incorporate strategies to provide social protection services like pension programs for the old, housing subsidies, and cash transfers to help low-income families with kids to access food and medicine (UN.org). Such services, she says, will bridge the poverty gap and prevent vulnerable members in society. Magdalena understands that the social costs brought by poverty are far reaching and not limited to housing alone (Squires and Kubrin). She is categorical about protecting the vulnerable members in society, and most of them are found in these low-income neighbourhoods. On one occasion in the book, Desmond talks of witnessing a Hispanic woman and her three kids being evicted. It adds emotional distress to the parents and to the children too. They have to move and most probably change their school and friends which can be a traumatic experience to children (Pollitt). Some disabled people live in squalor in these neighbourhoods, and some are even homeless. The authorities must come up with policies to ensure vulnerable people are always protected.
The Urban Institute is a major think tank based in Washington DC. They conduct social and economic policy research to develop viable solutions. According to Margery Turner, senior vice president for program planning, the poverty map today is a reflection of the history of legally sanctioned segregation, discrimination and racial inequality in America (Ross). She is talking about the inequality that has seen minorities deprived of opportunities throughout history leading to the current situation where they form the bulk of the communities that dwell in poverty ridden areas. She argues that blacks still populate the urban areas and may face barriers while pursuing local job opportunities. In the book, Desmond explains that 16,000 people were evicted from houses between 2003-2007. Half of the evictions occurred in Afro-American inner-city neighbourhoods showing the large representation of the black community in the slum areas.
Initially, housing projects were built using high-quality materials and designs but that changed over time as the white people left the projects and they became associated with poverty and low income. When the Woodside project opened in 1949, its occupancy was 92% white because it was unsubsidized (Rothstein 2). A separate project was built in South Jamaica, and its occupancy had more blacks than whites, and it was subsidised for the low-income earners. Middle-class whites started to move out of the projects to the suburbs as mortgages, and other incentives became accessible. Blacks were especially excluded from accessing the Veteran’s Administration mortgages. The lease terms offered to the whites were much better than the rent they used to pay for the projects. Lower-income African-Americans filled the houses vacated by the whites, and public housing became synonymous with poverty. As more people moved into cities, there were increased growth and employment opportunities. Low-income families lived in the projects in a bid to save more of their meagre earnings. The plans offered a subsidised residence, and hence many workers were attracted. Today, like the case in Milwaukee, people still prefer to settle in urban areas due to the ease of access to resources as well as employment opportunities. The concentration of people means that there is stiff competition for available residences and hence the low-income earners must gravitate to the slums and projects where they can pay rent and live within their means. Competition and inequality have led to the development of these neighbourhoods where poverty is rife, and other social ills like crime and drugs are commonplace. Reducing urban poverty will improve the lifestyles of people and contribute to reducing the enormous social costs of the problem.
WORKS CITED
Desmond, Matthew. Evicted. 1st ed., New York, N.Y, Crown Publishers, 2016,
Kredell, Mathew. “National Experts Debate Solutions For Ending Urban Poverty”. Priceschool.Usc.Edu, 2014, https://priceschool.usc.edu/national-experts-debate-solutions-for-ending-urban-poverty/.
Pollitt, Katha. “Evicted By Matthew Desmond Review – What If The Problem Of Poverty Is That It’s Profitable To Other People?”. Guardian, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/07/evicted-poverty-and-profit-in-the-american-city-matthew-desmond-review.
Ross, Tracey. “Addressing Urban Poverty In America Must Remain A Priority – Center For American Progress”. Center For American Progress, 2013, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2013/06/05/65268/addressing-urban-poverty-in-america-must-remain-a-priority/.
Rothstein, Richard. “Race And Public Housing: Revisiting The Federal Role”. POVERTY & RACE RESEARCH ACTION COUNCIL, vol 21, no. 6, 2012. http://prrac.org/newsletters/novdec2012.pdf.
Squires, Gregory, and Charis Kubrin. “Race, Opportunity And Uneven Development In Urban America”. Nhi.Org, 2006, http://nhi.org/online/issues/147/privilegedplaces.html.
UN.org. “Economic Growth Could Carry Social Costs If Not Buffeted By Social Protection Schemes During Economic Boom And Busts, Social Development Commission Told | Meetings Coverage And Press Releases”. Un.Org, 2011, https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/soc4773.doc.htm.
