Urban poverty

URBAN POVERTY Sociology 300 April 27, 2013 URBAN POVERTY This paper will describe strategies for dealing with massive urban poverty, joblessness and poor housing. I will also address how to make cities productivity increase and in particular how to do so in a way that creates more jobs, increase incomes and business opportunities. Low-income families and communities will benefit the most from these changes and hopefully improve their quality of life. The reduction of Urban Poverty requires the teamwork of many different groups in the city: the private sector, the town and non- governmental organizations. The good thing about the urban poor is that they can and will build their own housing, with some outside assistance. The private sector is responsible for providing goods and services needed by the urban poor that are affordable. This would come in the form of supermarkets and laundry facilities within walking distance of their homes. The town plays the role of creating conditions that make it easier on all the other groups to contribute to the community. The non-governmental organizations such as churches and non- profit organizations also play a major role in the process. They can provide spiritual and emotional counseling to those who need their support. The town has the responsibility of creating new job opportunities and long term solutions to spark the economy. It should also create ways to attract companies and factories to the urban areas. That can be in the form of tax incentives or even paying for a portion of the companies relocation cost. All of these things can be accomplished through constant monitoring of social, physical economic trends. The town also has a responsibility to have qualified staff that has the knowledge to take on these types of tasks. The urban poor can and do influence politics in their country by being informed and participating in their elections. Low-income citizens tend to pay close attention to the government and what they have to offer. They lean towards the government official that has insight about their situation. They also lean towards that political official or political party that offers or promises solution to their problems whether it is homelessness, joblessness or more housing for the poor. Believe it or not the lower income class has discussed politics for many years and they are very passionate about politics. They will and have forced their views about politics on others and become very defensive when you don’t agree with their views on the situation. In the world today, political expression among the urban poor shows that social networks have become one of the number one ways to voice political views. Fascinatingly enough, when talking about politics on social networks, it doesn’t matter if their young or old, rich or poor. Studies have shown that when it comes to politics, race sometimes plays a major role in how politics are viewed. If you step back and look at the whole picture, social media is just a tool used to express your opinion about political conversations that you have already had at work, home or school. In conclusion, the urban poor do exist and the town has to come up with ways to tackle this problem. That has to come in the form of jobs, housing and affordable goods and services inside the community. Lastly, religious and community involvement is a given, without their involvement the town doesn’t have a chance of getting a handle on the issues that the urban poor face. References Griffiths, R. J. (2011). Developing World 11/12 (21st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Handelman, H. (2011). The challenge of Third World development (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Longman-Pearson Custom Publishing