Evelyn Giwa
URB 600: Classical approaches to Urban Studies
Professor Kafui Attoh
February 19, 2021
I’m a bit familiar with the city living in the mid -1970s, I was born in 1975. As a child, my mother and grandmother would take me for walks in the neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and all we would see is abandoned properties, factories, and tons of garbage on the streets. The trash seemed like it wasn’t a priority in the mid-’70s. People lived modestly with the minimum, but they were happy. Children played in the streets and neighbors played cards and socialized with each other. Children played games outside, games like skelly, jacks, handball, jump rope, roller skating, bike riding, and during hot days we would cool off by opening a street fire hydrant and cool off. Children nowadays will never experience outdoor activities like children from the mid-’70s.
Crime in the mid -70’s was relevant but on a lower scale and less brutal in my opinion. I would hear about stabbings and robberies, but gun violence wasn’t as relevant as it is today. Williamsburg Brooklyn has always been a mixed neighborhood mainly Hispanics, African Americans, and Hasidic Jewish people. We are divided by race but have learned to live amongst each other. Separation of class has always been more of a division of different cultures. The Hasidic population started buying properties from the Hispanics and blacks in the mid 70’s way below market value. The neighborhood soon started to change we were seeing fewer people that looked Hispanic or black. The Hasidic were opening storefronts and the neighborhood soon had a new look. If you take a walk in Williamsburg, Brooklyn today you will see so many beautiful modern properties, businesses and the upkeep of the neighborhood is much better. You also notice gentrification and fewer blacks and Hispanics.
Moreover, the changes we have seen throughout the years in our urban neighborhoods have affected housing for all and added racial tensions within the community. The book “Marxism and the Metropolis” written by William Tabb and Sawers highlight the crisis that urban cities are facing like unemployment, low wages, and unsafe working conditions. Karl Marx was a 19th century philosopher focused on capitalism, he focused his attention on low wages, arbitrary management, and unsafe working conditions (Tabb & Sawers,1978, p.5). In fact, Marx believed it’s a problem that one group of people, the workers, has to sell their ability to work he termed it “their labor power” (Tabb & Sawers,1978, p.7). For instance, Marx describes companies relocating from cities to other locations for cheaper labor. This reminds me of major banks today that use customer service representatives from other countries like India, that will work for cheaper labor. Leaving Americans unemployed when those jobs can be filled with workers in the US.
Manufacturing companies that have clothes made in other countries, paying the workers way below the cost of labor. Then in turn the companies sell the clothes here in the US overpriced. The workers in other countries will work for cheaper labor to feed and provide for their families. In the US, workers will demand better wages and benefits. According to Tabb & Sawers (1978), “a solution is addressing the root cause of the crisis first and then transforming our economic and political institutions so that a planned urban policy evolves, one which makes social costs and benefits its primary concern” (p.12). That is to say, pharmaceutical & medical insurance companies are making a killing in revenue with kickbacks they receive from the cost of overpriced medications. Medications are needed for survival for some that suffer from diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Some people can’t live without these lifesaving medications. It’s just plain illegal the prices pharmaceutical companies can charge for these life-saving medications. Many go without insurance and medication since they are not able to afford the copays and deductibles.
While some cities prosper from gains, other cities’ economies suffer. The crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy in many cities across the states, many have lost their jobs and many lives have been lost. The way we worked has changed in this pandemic, many can work remotely from home. As a result, people have moved away from NYC to rural areas where the cost of living is less, while still working from home. The number of people commuting has dropped in NYC affecting the MTA. The pandemic has changed how the city conducts business. The city is trying to get back to a new normal, restaurants have opened indoor dining up to 25%, children are starting to go back to school in person. Vaccines are being given in two doses and have a 95% percent immunity against COVID.
The loss of jobs due to COVID has caused an enormous amount of homelessness, people are unable to keep up with their rents. In comparison to the book “Revolutionary and counter-revolutionary theory” by Harvey David, he mentions the bid rent curve how poor people are forced to live in the Centre of the city, and the rich people live outside of the city. In other words, according to Harvey (1973), poor people will end up paying more for rent and have less space. Our state legislators and elected officials have to demand help for many suffering from homelessness.
References:
Tabb, William and Sawers (1978) Marxism and the Metropolis. New York Oxford University Press. Introduction
Harvey, David (1973) “Revolutionary and Counter-revolutionary theory” Social Justice and the City. Baltimore MA: Johns Hopkins Press. 120-152
