City_buiding video game essay

323

school vouchers

Charter schools

Crime: perCeption and reality

public perception of Crime

explaining High-Crime areas

effects of Crime on everyday life

what is the solution?

summary

ConClusion

Key terms

internet aCtivities

CHapter 12

hoUsing, edUCation, Crime Confronting urban Problems

HousinG: a plaCe to live

adequate Housing: who Has it?

Housing problems: a brief History

public Housing

deterioration and abandonment in the inner City

the Great recession and Foreclosures

the inner City today: a revival?

the new urbanism

eduCation: tHe urban CHallenGe

meeting the “no Child left behind” Challenge

magnet schools

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better quality than that which exists in much of the developing world (see Chapter 13).

still, we can all agree that housing char- acterized by structural defects; inadequate plumbing, heating, or sanitation; or lead paint that can be easily ingested by children poses a threat to the health and safety of those who live there. millions of people do live in such substandard housing, and most of them live in our cities. because most north americans never have any direct experience with such housing, we might well be shaken if we were to confront the daily reality of the worst-housed members of our society.

not surprisingly, the worst housing is concentrated in areas occupied by the poor and minorities who are subject to discrimi- nation—in short, the people with the fewest social choices. Further limiting such people’s options are changes in the housing market itself: a steady decline in available, low-rent housing units and a corresponding increase in higher-rent housing units. reduced gov- ernment funding for low-income housing, urban renewal, and gentrification has lowered the number of available units even as demand has risen. one unintended consequence was a worsening of homelessness in cities.

housing problems: a brief history

Current housing problems have their roots in the past. many of the older cities’ tenements are nineteenth-century structures in which housing conditions were far worse than they are today despite their greater age. in an ex- amination of conditions in new york in 1870, James d. mcCabe, Jr., recorded the following impressions:

but what shall we say of those who pass their lives in the cellars of [these] wretched buildings . . .?

[most] have but one entrance and that furnishes the only means of ventila- tion . . . and . . . the filth of the streets comes washing down the walls into the room within. the air is always foul. the drains of the houses above pass within a few feet of the floor, and as they are generally in bad condition the filth frequently comes oozing up and poisons the air with its foul odors.

with four out of five north americans liv- ing in cities, we are unquestionably an urban people. most of us, however, recognize that urban living involves not just opportunities and excitement but also various problems. indeed, troubles such as poor housing, poor education, and crime seem to be more in- tense in cities than elsewhere and often serve to convey negative images of the city.

a close look at such problems reveals that they do not exist in isolation. on the contrary, many connections exist among the problems of poverty, poor housing and education, crime, and racial and ethnic tensions. Focusing on any one alone not only hinders understand- ing but also frustrates any efforts at solutions. urban problems are part of a “package,” partly a product of cities and partly a product of the structure and values of society itself.

because quality-of-life judgments often rest on the standards found in housing, educa- tion, and safety, we will examine them in an urban context. How well do our cities provide housing for everyone, including the poor? How well do they educate our children? How well do they offer safety for all citizens?

hoUsing: a pLaCe to LiVe

Chapter 10 explained that the lifestyles of the urban population are strikingly diverse, a fact that is clearly evident in people’s choice of housing. some urbanites prefer the life of a downtown apartment; others desire the liveli- ness of row houses in an ethnic neighborhood; still others are drawn to a spacious, single- family suburban home. of course, housing and neighborhood are not simply matters of personal choice. differences in income set the range of choices that are available. also impor- tant are past and present economic forces that created the city and the cultural factors that set many of our personal priorities.

adequate housing: Who has it?

to define housing as either “adequate” or “substandard” is, of course, somewhat arbi- trary. it is also culturally variable, because even the worst housing in the united states is of far

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shortage, along with the continued need to improve the overall quality of housing, led the government to devise several new strategies.

one was a broadening of federal mortgage guarantees through the FHa and the veterans administration (va). the latter agency, cre- ated under the servicemen’s readjustment act of 1944, popularly known as the Gi bill of rights, provided federally backed loans to military personnel and veterans. these pro- grams greatly enhanced the home-buying ability of moderate-income families. another major initiative, the Housing act of 1949, ini- tiated the suburban boom that followed. its encouragement of new housing and home ownership outside the city relieved the urban population pressure but did little to improve the cities’ housing stock.

another component of the Housing act of 1949 was urban renewal, which provided federal financing for slum clearance and the building of huge public housing projects. it rested on the principle of eminent domain that, in recent years, has become highly contro- versial in its wider application, as discussed in Chapter 7. City governments seized decaying areas, and then sold the properties to private developers who would demolish old buildings and build new ones. of course, developers sought profitable redevelopment, so little of the new construction was affordable to the low-income residents who had previously oc- cupied the neighborhood. most often, urban renewal projects created new housing for the middle class. a classic example is boston’s once-thriving italian west end. declaring it in need of renewal in 1953— despite the fact that the outwardly aging buildings were, on the in- side, extremely well kept by residents—the city bought up the area between 1958 and 1960, evicted its residents, and let the developers have a go at renewal.

the obliteration of a still-viable, working- class neighborhood was unlike previous slum clearance programs in that the intent was not to provide better housing for that income stratum. the newly constructed high-rise, lux- ury apartments in the “new” west end were beyond the reach of virtually all of the area’s earlier residents (vale 2007:273–6). with

. . . the poor wretches who seek shelter here are half stupefied by it, and pass the night in this condition instead of in a healthful sleep. mccabe, Jr., 2010. (2010:405, 406, 409; orig. 1872)

despite such horrors, government lead- ers for generations made little effort to regu- late housing. For their part, private builders, concerned mainly with profits, did little on their own. indeed, only the collapse of the u.s. economy in the 1930s forced the govern- ment to enact a housing program—part of president Franklin roosevelt’s “new deal.”

A New Deal. under the roosevelt admin- istration, the federal government became more involved in everyday life than ever be- fore. officials argued, first, that inadequate housing was so widespread it amounted to a serious social problem and, second, that only governmental intervention was likely to lead to a solution.

under the new deal, federal housing pro- grams had four specific goals. First, govern- ment directed federal funds to encourage the construction of new housing. second, because some 500,000 families had lost their homes because of an inability to pay their mortgage debts (not unlike the current hous- ing crisis), agencies offered assistance to homeowners faced with foreclosure. third, the Federal Housing administration (FHa) guaranteed construction loans to increase the housing supply. Fourth, the public works administration, begun in 1938, hired unem- ployed people to build low-rent public hous- ing in 30 u.s. cities.

taken together, these programs rapidly improved urban housing. the 1940 housing census, however, revealed that about 40 per- cent of urban housing in the united states still had at least some serious defect, such as a lack of running water or other inadequate plumbing.

Postwar Programs. all housing construc- tion, public and private, slowed for the du- ration of world war ii. soon afterward, however, a major housing shortage loomed as military personnel returned home, started families, and launched the “baby boom.” this

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stable social order (bellush 2000). therefore, people tend to judge those living in publicly supported rental housing as somehow defi- cient. Factor in the reality that public hous- ing is almost exclusively the preserve of poor minorities, and we understand the stigma that is attached to housing projects. instantly, they become ghettos, places to avoid, and out-of- the-way reservations designed to contain an “unwanted” segment of society.

originally conceived as incorporating ex- citing housing innovations, too many of these high-rise projects turned into unmitigated human disasters, plagued by crime, low in- come, overcrowding, and terrible sanitary conditions. even poor people soon looked on them as residences of last resort. people in almost every major city can tell of such a high-rise housing project nightmare. one of the most infamous is st. louis’s pruitt– igoe project, described in the Cityscape box below. some later housing projects—notably philadelphia’s society Hill—overcame the mistakes of these first programs. still, the fail- ures far outnumber the successes.

this pattern repeating itself in many cities throughout the 1960s, critics often charged that urban renewal meant “poor or negro removal.” many of the displaced poor had no choice but to crowd into other low-grade housing that they could afford, and the resul- tant overcrowding only hastened the decay of those buildings. thus, ironically, “slum clear- ance” actually created more slums.

urban renewal often made the housing cri- sis worse in another way: many redevelopers did not build as many housing units as had been destroyed. a classic example is the de- molition of 18 square blocks of slums (7,000 low-income apartments) in new york City to build lincoln Center for the performing arts along with 4,400 new apartments, 4,000 of them luxury apartments (Gratz 2010:204–8).

public housing

public housing has never been that successful in the united states. our cultural orientation has long viewed private home ownership as the foundation of a virtuous life and a

CitysCape

pruitt–igoe: symbol of a failed national solution

It sounded so promising in 1951—a public housing project designed to improve the lives of thousands in a badly run-down area of East St. Louis. Taking advantage of the Housing Act of 1949, local officials sought to break through the “collar of slums which [was] threaten- ing to strangle [the] downtown business section” (Architectural

Forum 1951:129, quoted in Fogelson 2003:344).

Three years later, residents fully occu- pied the 2,762 apartments in 33 innova- tive high-rise buildings. By 1959, however,

Pruitt–Igoe “had become a community scan- dal” (Rainwater 2006:8; orig. 1970). Crime, dirt, and accidents were rampant; the proj- ect became “a concrete shell where anarchy prevailed” (Green 1977:179). Essentially a concentration of poor, welfare-dependent African American families (57 percent were female-headed households with children), Pruitt–Igoe’s population declined as more and more residents could not bear to re- main. The history of Pruitt–Igoe came to a dramatic close in 1972, when the St. Louis Housing Authority dynamited the buildings into oblivion. Soon, high-rise housing proj- ects would meet the same fate in other U.S. cities as well.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 327

guarantees and direct subsidies. the basic plan was laudable: low-income families would pay only 20 percent of their income toward the home, and the government would pick up the rest. often, however, purchasers ended up with an overpriced house in need of ex- tensive repairs that they could not afford. the result was foreclosure, leaving the “owners” back on the street and the government sad- dled with 100,000 undesirable houses.

by the early 1970s, the handwriting was on the wall, and the program was cut back after gov- ernment expenditure of more than $4 billion. “with hindsight,” robert Green concluded, “it can safely be said that private concerns [inves- tors, developers, banks] were given too much rope, and with it, they hung the poor” robert Green, 1977 (1977:181).

an alternative approach, begun in 1974 and still active, is the section 8 program, which provides rent subsidies to low-income tenants in private housing. this assistance pro- gram enables tenants to choose where to live instead of forcing them into a public housing

exactly why life in public housing is often so bad is a matter of strong disagreement. urban critics such as edward banfield (1990) suggested that residents themselves are largely to blame, because many do not work, have children they cannot afford, and generally act in irresponsible ways. architectural critics (as we’ll discuss shortly) point to the design of such structures, condemning high-rise buildings as anonymous spaces vulnerable to crime and vandalism (newman 1996). others, such as lee rainwater (2006), point to the negative influences of concentrated poverty—not to the people themselves—as the fundamental cause of public housing’s rather dismal record.

Different Approaches. in the climate of criticism and social reform that character- ized the late 1960s, the federal government renewed efforts to ensure a “decent home for every american.” the Housing act of 1968 attempted to place home ownership within reach of more families through loan

Since the dynamiting of Pruitt–Igoe in 1972, a similar fate befell other high-rise public housing as city governments attempted to correct past mistakes (not considering social as well as physical factors) with low-rise replacements. This photo shows the implosion of one of three remaining 13-story buildings of the Scudder Homes complex in Newark, New Jersey, in 1996.

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the city, municipal leaders exercised their right of eminent domain to take over poletown, razed it (at a cost exceeding $200 million), and sold the land to Gm (for $8 million) as the location for its new plant. residents—joined by consumer advocate ralph nader and Gray panthers leader maggie Kuhn—tried to stop the forced uprooting and  destruction of their homes, churches, and businesses, but lost and had to move.

third, Gans and other critics, such as Jane Jacobs, argued that redevelopers didn’t even try to understand that many areas subject to redevelopment were actually healthy, safe neighborhoods. in effect, many development programs reflected the bias of middle-class planners against the lifestyle of low-rent areas. somehow, such areas just weren’t what the planners considered to be “normal.”

For example, one common misperception was to judge people congregating on front stoops, street corners, or in local establish- ments as a bad thing instead of realizing that, in the city, shared public space is actually an ideal locale for social interaction.

at present, we find some promise for pub- lic housing, even with budget cutbacks, and will discuss those bright spots in both public and private housing shortly. First, though, we will look at housing troubles in the private sector that also plague the cities.

deterioration and abandonment in the inner City

beginning in the 1950s, because of outward migration, the decline of manufacturing, and economic globalization, the older central cities fell on hard times. inner-city neighborhoods lost population and deteriorated sharply, in some cases falling victim to extensive vandal- ism and arson. many of the older, industrial inner cities of the midwest and northeast soon contained block after block of empty, dilapi- dated buildings, many burned, as if the area had collapsed under a full-scale bomb attack. these cities contained as many as 2 million abandoned buildings, making them look like urban “ghost towns,” with 150,000 additional abandonments yearly well into the 1980s.

project. the program offers subsidies to devel- opers to build or rehabilitate rental housing. developers then set aside a certain portion of the units for low-income families and—in a subsidy contract with the government— receive 30 percent of the rent from the tenant and the rest from the government. although section 8 and other rental assistance pro- grams have increased the stock of low-cost rental housing, the program is severely under- funded. waiting lists can run into the years, and many local housing authorities frequently close their waiting lists and stop accepting applications because their lists are too long.

Evaluation. even this brief history makes clear that federally supervised urban housing programs fell well short of their lofty goals. some specific problems are worth highlighting.

First, because of the deep involvement of private banking and construction industries in renewal programs, for many, profit over- shadowed any sense of social responsibility to help the poor. Furthermore, the design of some redevelopment projects was intended for more affluent buyers, at prices out of the reach of those who originally lived there. the original intention of urban housing programs of the 1930s—to improve the housing of the poor—changed into a large-scale program to redevelop the central city in order to restore its economic health. the result was a reduc- tion in the total amount of low-cost housing across urban north america.

a second problem is that given the tendency of investors and developers to pursue profit rather than assist the poor, local residents had little voice in the decision-making process. Herbert Gans studied the redevelopment of boston’s west end, claiming that local residents were unorganized and lacked understanding of the programs that seemed to “attack” them. thus, for many, renewal was a bitter experience.

a similar fate befell the residents of poletown, a mostly ethnic but racially inte- grated, 465-acre neighborhood in detroit that contained more than 1,300 homes and apart- ments, 143 businesses, 16 churches, 2 schools, and a hospital. in 1981, anxious to keep a new General motors (Gm) plant and 6,000 jobs in

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 329

and their property goes into foreclosure. as desperate ex-tenants scatter in search of other housing, vandals and looters seek whatever of value remains (including sinks, bathtubs, and plumbing). First the building, then the block, and eventually the whole neighborhood suc- cumbs to the process. in the end, just hollow buildings remain: giant headstones marking the grave of a now-dead urban neighborhood.

other developments in the private sector are more encouraging. during recent years, hous- ing in major cities has vastly improved. although much more needs to be done, notable progress is clearly evident, as we shall now explain.

the great recession and foreclosures

walking away from one’s property, unfor- tunately, is not just an urban landlord phe- nomenon. without question, the past several years of recession have had a disastrous effect on the housing market. two key factors led to the unraveling of the american dream.

during the 1990s, these numbers dropped considerably, thanks to the economic revital- ization in many cities and the gentrification process. still, a recent study revealed a total of 185,000 abandoned residential units in 19 cities with a population of more than 100,000, or an average of 10,000 per city. detroit had 45,000 abandoned buildings, philadelphia 27,000, and st. louis 13,000 (mallach 2010:4).

why would people simply walk away from otherwise usable buildings in cities where housing was in short supply? the answer is a complex, vicious circle of decline. Faced with the mounting expenses of taxes, insurance, heating fuel, and repairs because of vandal- ism, not to mention the loss to the suburbs of middle-income renters, and often constrained by rent control caps, some building owners reduce, or entirely eliminate, routine mainte- nance and repairs in an effort to retain some profit. if the building eventually represents more costs or trouble than rental income war- rants, and they are unable to sell it, some own- ers simply default on their mortgages or taxes

The South Bronx in the 1980s looked like a war zone, and its violent crime rate made it feel like one. Arson and abandonment led to the loss of 30,000 buildings in the 1970s, leading to a desolate environment for both children and adults. By the mid-1990s, however, urban homesteading and gentrification programs had transformed this area into a safe, pleasant place to live and raise children.

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groups to rebuild certain inner-city areas have achieved significant results in recent decades. in particular, two trends deserve attention: urban homesteading and gentrification.

Urban Homesteading. in 1973, burdened with some 1,200 abandoned homes, the city of wilmington, delaware, revived the mid- nineteenth-century Homestead act that gave away land and mules to pioneers if they built on vacant land in the west and lived on it for five years. the city offered buildings it acquired through default of tax payments for a token fee of a few hundred dollars to people who agreed to rehabilitate them and stay there for a minimum of three years. wilmington’s success in restoring tax ratable properties encouraged many other cities to initiate their own homesteading programs, often transferring houses to people at the top of long waiting lists for section 8 rental housing who were willing to become “urban homesteaders”— pioneers in rebuilding an urban area.

in new york’s ravaged south bronx, where more than 30,000 buildings were abandoned in the 1970s (an average of eight a day) and arsonists set many others ablaze, the neigh- borhood became known as the “worst slum in america” and the symbol of all that was wrong with cities. However, through a massive city government redevelopment program, a dra- matic change occurred in the 1980s. local citizens’ groups and dedicated individuals stood up against seemingly impossible odds to return deteriorating inner-city buildings to life. with little capital to invest, such groups could rely only on their own physical efforts. their collateral was not future earnings or other property but, rather, their own sweat, giving rise to the term sweat equity.

urban homesteading, however, had only limited success, because too many aban- doned homes were deteriorated and van- dalized beyond rehabilitation. others stood amid so much ruin and desolation that they were not worth salvaging. Furthermore, both the cost of repairing the building to meet occupancy code standards and the difficulty of getting rehabilitation loans eliminated

First, millions of people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their mortgages, becom- ing delinquent on their loan repayments and often facing bank foreclosure. second, as lack of buyers caused property values to fall about 10 percent, millions of other homeown- ers owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth. unable to sell to recoup their investment, many simply walked away. that double whammy resulted in more than 200,000 foreclosures monthly in 2008–2010 (Quinn 2010:8). although members of all racial and ethnic groups have been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, studies show that blacks and latinos were 70 percent more likely to lose their homes, primarily due to their higher unemployment rates and fewer financial resources to fall back on (merle 2010).

although homeowners throughout the country were affected by the housing market crisis, the economic fallout was especially bad in sunbelt metro regions. of the 20 metro regions with the highest foreclosure rates in 2010, 19 were located in just three states: nevada, California, and Florida. in las vegas, an astonishing 1 in 10 housing units went through foreclosure. in actual number of foreclosures (in contrast to rate), the three metro regions with the greatest totals were miami (171,704), phoenix (124,720), and riverside (101,210). nationwide, foreclosure rates were up in 72 percent of 206 u.s. metro areas in 2010 (Florida 2011).

the inner City today: a revival?

when a city begins to grow and spread outward from the edges, the center which was once its glory . . . goes into a period of desolation, inhabited at night by the vague ruins of men. . . . nearly every city i know has such a dying mother of violence and despair where at night the brightness of the street lamps is sucked away and policemen walk in pairs. and then one day perhaps the city returns and rips out the sore and builds a monument to its past.

(John steinbeck, Travels with Charley, 1962)

although the success of public programs has surely been limited, efforts by private

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 331

that utilizes volunteer labor and some do- nated materials from area churches and organizations to build new housing for low- income families. those screened to become homeowners pay interest-free, low-mortgage loans and must work along with the volun- teers to build their house. since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 30,000 houses across the united states and 2,000 in Canada, most in areas of massive urban blight, ultimately transforming many places into at- tractive, stable neighborhoods. the organiza- tion now has more than 1,500 local affiliates throughout Canada and the united states, plus another 550 active affiliates in more than 100 countries, where it has built some 400,000 homes (Habitat for Humanity 2011).

Gentrification. unlike urban homestead- ing, which is limited to the reclamation of just a few buildings or blocks at a time, gen- trification is a broader process. the word

most of the urban poor from participating in urban homesteading.

still, some successes occur. a few years ago in new york City, for example, the urban Homesteading assistance board turned over 167 apartments in the lower east side to squatters who had been living there. these squatters had invested time and money into making habitable these buildings abandoned by their owners. more than 800 abandoned buildings that the city acquired through foreclosure are now owned by ten- ants through low-income cooperatives. each apartment had to be brought up to housing code standards, serve as the tenants’ primary residence, and not be sold for a profit in an effort to bar speculators or absentee land- lords (steinhauer 2002).

another form of urban homesteading requiring hundreds of hours of sweat eq- uity of incoming homeowners is Habitat for Humanity. Habitat is a non-profit organization

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds new, low-income family housing. It has built more than 400,000 homes around the world to date through church fundraising, volunteer labor, and donated materials, including this effort for Katrina victims. How do urban homesteading projects, such as Habitat for Humanity and gentrification, offer a solution to problems of urban housing?

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still find bargains, particularly in districts where the average income is low. Fifth, and finally, remember that much central- city housing built from about 1880 to 1910 (except tenements) has a level of craftsman- ship and quality—with details like solid oak floors and stained-glass windows—rarely found in today’s suburbs.

political economy theorists see gentrifica- tion as a logical inflow of investment capital. beginning in the 1950s, investment capital moved out of the cities and into the suburbs, where profit rates were higher. later, with the emergence of a “rent gap” (profits above costs) in the inner city, capital returned in order to make greater profits there, as low- valued property rose in value in gentrifying neighborhoods (Huang 2010; sze 2010). this return to the inner city certainly contra- dicts the predictions about an ever-outward migration of the affluent made by ernest w. burgess in the 1920s (Chapter 6).

the new Urbanism

perhaps the best-known critique of public housing came from Jane Jacobs in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1993; orig. 1961), a still-influential book on urban form and function. Critical of conventional planners, Jacobs argued that the creation of housing projects as stand-alone entities was wrong in the first place, and as long as that conceptualization remains, nothing will over- come their stigma and unsafe environment. instead, planners should seek physical changes that would integrate such places into the surrounding neighborhood so that both the previously isolated projects and the nearby community would benefit.

one of the most encouraging develop- ments in restoring the vitality of older cities has been an approach in urban design called the New Urbanism, which includes sociologi- cal principles in physical planning. initially a response to the perceived lack of commu- nity in sprawling suburbs, the new urbanism caused a rethinking of the entire city. some of the principles of the new urbanism are walk- ability, connectivity, mixed use and diversity,

gentrification—coined by the wealthy “landed gentry” during the nineteenth century to de- scribe the renovation of run-down london homes—today refers to the movement of more affluent individuals and families back into older, often decaying areas in the city. virtually every major city in Canada and the united states is experiencing this spreading urban renaissance, following a path taken by paris and london years earlier.

today’s gentry, like those of the past, are a rather select group of people. they are usually the cosmopolites or unmarried and childless groups, or “yuppies” discussed in Chapters 3 and 5. more to the point, they are people with enough money to buy a brown- stone in manhattan; a society Hill townhouse in philadelphia; a brick cottage in the German village of Columbus, ohio; or a victorian house in san Francisco’s Haight-ashbury district or in toronto’s south parkdale. sometimes, however, working-class neighborhoods undergo gentri- fication while retaining their socioeconomic group identity, as in several of baltimore’s row- house districts.

why, though, would middle-class people choose central-city neighborhoods when the trend in the last century was to escape to the suburbs? the reasons vary, but certainly, many find that the central city still has the greatest amount of variety and stimulation. theaters, music, and chic stores—all flour- ish in the greatest concentrations downtown. second, as we noted in Chapter 7, economic restructuring increased the number of administrative and professional jobs avail- able in central cities. the well-paid “gentry” taking these jobs need a place to live and central-city living eases the time and costs of getting to work. third, as more women enter the work force (59 percent of women were in the labor force in 2010) and two-career couples become common (54 percent of all married couples in 2010), the time needed to maintain a single-family suburban house often makes it too burdensome (u.s. Census bureau 2012). Fourth, suburban housing is expensive, and while some central-city housing is extremely costly (brownstones in manhattan often top $3 million), one can

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some of boston’s active, thriving neighbor- hoods. also influencing their design was the new urbanism idea that cities are enriched by the creation of a “public realm” that high- lights amenities such as waterfront views. architects thus set down a new street pattern, with old-fashioned street lamps and benches, so that all residents would have a view of both the harbor and the boston skyline, and enjoy the open, shared space of a large, grassy mall placed in the middle of the complex.

reopened in 1990, what is now called Harbor point is a mixed-income complex that appeals to people from all ethnic backgrounds and social classes, which ensures the diversity and stability of this revitalized community (roessner 2000). Housing is now a mixture, with two-thirds market-rate apartments and one-third low-income housing, but with no physical distinctions between the two types of apartment buildings. moreover, architects designed a variety of building types: blue and gray townhouses with wood clapboard sid- ing as well as red and brown brick apartment houses. they remodeled 10 of old Columbia point’s flat-topped residential buildings with new peaked roofs, decoration, and a reddish stain to make them indistinguishable from the new buildings.

to free Harbor point completely from the stigma of public housing, they added other vi- sual subtleties, such as rounded and pointed rooftop gables. still other centrally located amenities were added, including a health club, two outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, ample parking, buses to and from the city center, and a waterfront trail for bik- ing, jogging, or walking to downtown boston. small front yards, front doors and windows directly facing the deliberately narrow streets, and sidewalk activity all combine to create “eyes on the street” and a safe neighborhood (Goody and Chandler 2010).

many consider Harbor point to be a success model of urban revitalization. Critics claim that Harbor point may have residents with mixed incomes but it has the “contrived variety of a planned community” and not the mixed uses that make city neighborhoods “hum” (Kamin 1995). still, it stands as a successful

mixed housing types, and a traditional neigh- borhood structure with public space at the center. today, in both central cities and sub- urbs, the goal is creating spaces that encour- age people to socialize and watch out for each other.

seaside, Florida, offers one example. built during the mid-1980s in Florida’s panhandle, this planned community has codes mandat- ing that houses have front porches close to the sidewalk so that residents sitting outside can converse easily with pedestrians. the town boasts corner stores that serve a func- tion more important than simply providing provisions. they are places where friends fre- quently come to chat with one another over a cup of coffee.

Far more impressive is what architects and planners influenced by the new urbanism are accomplishing in old, urban, problem- infested neighborhoods.

Columbia Point/Harbor Point. in boston, a government-funded housing project known as Columbia point—built in 1953 on a small, swampy peninsula near the first suburbs of dorchester and roxbury—long stood as evi- dence for the insensitivity of urban planners. there, a full mile from the closest subway stop, architects originally laid out 28 bland, in- stitutional-style buildings three and seven sto- ries high. Further, the surrounding water and lack of roads isolated residents even more. with few stores in the area, shopping became a major effort, both more expensive and more time-consuming than for other city residents nearer the mainstream of boston life.

eventually, the 1,502-unit development fell victim to the same problems that plagued pub- lic housing nationwide. by the 1970s, crime was so rampant in Columbia point that even ambulances refused to enter the project with- out a police escort. by 1984, only 350 families wanted to stay when, encouraged by the u.s. office of Housing and urban development, the boston Housing authority leased the land for 99 years at $1 a year to a partnership of the remaining tenants and a private devel- oper. architects for the project decided to redesign Columbia point, modeling it after

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restaurants, and night clubs. Here and at many other renovated water’s-edge locales, cities have successfully merged social and commercial activities into a vibrant urban atmosphere.

Replacing High-Rises. as Harbor point demonstrates, the new urbanism is trans- forming public housing, as the “superblocks” of giant high-rises come down, replaced by modest townhouses and low-rise buildings that don’t “look like projects.” City after city have leveled entire blocks or more of these decaying buildings in crime-ridden slums and replaced them not only with low-rise apart- ments laid out to promote social interaction, but also with playgrounds, pleasant landscap- ing, and paths for bicycles and pedestrians.

many cities have addressed the failure of high-rise public housing by blowing up the buildings. scudder Homes—seven high-rises built in 1963 in newark, new Jersey, to house 1,800 low-income families—are now gone,

alternative to an urban nightmare and offers vivid testimony to the extraordinary transfor- mations that the new urbanism can achieve.

Water as an Amenity. Just as Harbor point’s architects redesigned its grid to enable all res- idents to enjoy the view of surrounding water, so, too, has the new urbanism enabled many cities to rediscover the aesthetics and possi- bilities for social use of public space at water’s edge (whyte 2001; orig. 1980). baltimore’s inner Harbor and new york’s south street seaport are thriving, rebuilt areas enjoyed by tourists and natives alike. Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, louisville, and many other cities have converted decaying piers and waterfront properties into park areas and mixed-use sites. san antonio converted what was essen- tially a narrow and dirty drainage canal into the charming, 2.5-mile cobblestone river walk—with lush green lawns, flowering shrubs and trees, and a view of paddleboats— where one delights in many interesting shops,

The new urbanism design of Harbor Point, which replaced Columbia Point, was modeled after thriving Boston neighborhoods, such as Back Bay. Mixed building types are set close together along narrow streets canted at a 45-degree angle to the water’s edge, which opens views of the harbor and Boston skyline to all residents.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 335

in every case noted, there are now fewer low- income housing units than before. as with post–world war ii urban renewal, displace- ment of the poor has also occurred in these redevelopment projects. of course, one might argue that at least some poor people are better off living in safer and more vibrant communities, but what of the rest who have been displaced?

second, weaving a housing project into the surrounding area is enormously difficult in the midst of extensive, nightmarish ghettos. if little more than empty lots or bombed-out buildings are nearby, for example, reorganiz- ing a public housing project as an inward- facing enclave may be the only strategy, at least in the short run.

Finally, even at its best, the new urbanism cannot, by itself, address the extensive poverty that makes public housing such a problem in the first place. For instance, in san Francisco, the robert pitts plaza development project in 1991 replaced a notorious, dangerous high-rise called yerba buena plaza west. this 203-apartment, neo-victorian complex in no way looked like a public housing develop- ment. its architecture blended in with neigh- boring apartment buildings and included projecting cornices and pastel shades of blue—a far cry from the high-rise “boxes” so common in public housing. it also contained other amenities, such as an internal rectangu- lar courtyard with lush sod, bushes, and neat lines of trees and also a colorful play set for children in a sand playground.

three years later, though, broken glass lay everywhere. Gone were the sod and sprinkler heads; gone, too, were the bushes and plants, ripped out by vandals. profane graffiti cov- ered concrete seating ledges. bars shielded ground-floor windows following a rash of burglaries suspected to have been committed by residents. wire mesh covered many other windows, suggesting an escalating sense of fear. the problem was poverty, and all that went with it.

A Comparison. the situation at robert pitts plaza improved for a while once this building complex became part of a larger, 19-block

replaced by 150 single-family townhouses. replacing the 1,206 units in that city’s seven hulking, 13-story stella wright homes are townhouses for low- and moderate-income residents. in atlanta, a developer demolished more than 1,000 housing units in techwood Homes—the first u.s. public housing project, completed in 1935—to build a mixed- income “village,” with new stores, community facilities, schools, and apartments. today, this once predominantly black enclave has been transformed into Centennial place, a residential complex of 900 units that is host to a variety of races, ethnicities, and income levels.

in Chicago, the Housing authority de- molished the Cabrini–Green high-rise proj- ect buildings that once housed as many as 13,000 residents and was notorious for its crime, gangs, and poverty. its 65 acres now contain 2,000 units of new, low-rise housing units; a new town Center; a 145,000-square- foot shopping center; new schools; an east Chicago district police headquarters; and a library. Half the housing units are sold at mar- ket prices, with another 20 percent reserved as “affordable” units for less-affluent working families, thereby creating a mixed-income site similar to Harbor point and totally unlike the all-low-income site that Cabrini–Green once was (lydersen 2011; saulny 2007).

the designs of all three developments—in newark, atlanta, and Chicago—use grid pat- terns linking them to the surrounding neigh- borhoods rather than setting them apart, minding Jacobs’s recommendation that housing projects be rewoven into the urban fabric. these rebuilding programs seek to achieve two key goals of the new urbanism. First, don’t isolate the poor by themselves but instead, create a mixed-income housing com- plex to integrate all strata of society. second, create an environment that is physically attractive and facilitates walking and social interaction, fostering a sense of control and community among residents.

Limitations. as promising as the new urbanism may be, three major problems pre- vent it from having a broader impact. First,

336 Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime

meeting the “no Child Left behind” Challenge

the controversial no Child left behind act of 2001 dramatically increased the role of the federal government in guaranteeing the quality of public education for all children. its main provisions are increased funding for poor school districts, higher achievement standards for minority and poor students, and new measures to hold schools accountable for their students’ progress. significantly, it re- quires the annual administration of standard- ized tests in reading and math to all students in grades 3 through 8, with the results pub- licly reported according to income level, race, ethnicity, disability, and limited english profi- ciency. these results are then compared to an independent benchmark called the national assessment of educational progress (naep).

Learning Outcomes. before this legisla- tion, most urban schools had a policy of social promotions—that is, moving children through grades with their age peers regard- less of their actual learning achievement. whatever merit this practice had, it led to a watering-down of course content because of the gradual but steady lowering of general class ability. as a result, it produced gradu- ates deluded into thinking they had received an education when, in reality, many of them lacked even basic skills, requiring colleges to institute non-credit, basic skills courses for freshmen. no more. published test results will identify schools in which students are not doing well on the tests. those schools that fall behind may be subject to various “school im- provement,” “corrective action,” or “restruc- turing” measures imposed by the state.

of particular concern are the significant differences in scores on standardized achieve- ment tests between urban and suburban stu- dents. one of the most common arguments advanced for these different outcomes is the role of social class in providing an advan- tage (for middle-class suburban students) or a disadvantage (for low-income urban stu- dents). researchers such as anthropologist John ogbu (2003), however, argue that even

redevelopment area of yerba buena and a suc- cessful mixture of a wide variety of housing, cultural facilities, and open space. However, in 2011, the u.s. department of Housing and urban development (Hud) gave this devel- opment one of its lowest ratings for failing to meet minimum standards for health, safety, and sanitary conditions (bush 2011).

the lesson to be learned here is that new architecture and even new planning strate- gies, such as the new urbanism, don’t work if they have limited application. robert pitts plaza reveals that simply replacing high-rise buildings with low-rise buildings, even if those buildings are wonderfully designed, is not enough. a more comprehensive approach is necessary. Harbor point is a good example for at least the beginnings of connecting low- income housing to its surroundings— through a return to traditional urban forms that promote interaction and a mix of income groups to eliminate public housing’s isola- tion. in short, any successful approach to im- proving urban life must take account of not only local planning considerations but also broader, structural concerns that include so- cial stratification and the region’s economy.

edUCation: the Urban ChaLLenge

schools in urban settings face a variety of challenges, which are often more daunting than school districts elsewhere face. these difficulties include overcrowded schools, discipline and violence, high dropout rates, and issues of quality education and student learning outcomes. moreover, many of these schools since the 1990s have become re- segregated, heavily filled with african and Hispanic american students, reversing an earlier trend of desegregation (lane and white 2010). Cities also attract large num- bers of immigrant families and children with limited english proficiency and a greater concentration of low-income families that, together with a weaker tax revenue base than most suburbs enjoy, place a heavy burden on urban schools to educate, fully and effec- tively, the students they serve.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 337

about the importance of education; (2) the lack of positive, academically successful role models; and (3) the presence of gangs, street crime, drugs, and violence. in 2007, a total of 34 percent of city students, 19 percent of urban fringe students, and 17 percent of town students in public schools reported a street gang presence at school, a fairly constant finding for the past several years (robers, et al. 2010).

Funding. Further undermining academic achievement in many city schools is the lack of funding. unlike affluent communities, cit- ies lack the tax base to provide adequate per- student expenditures, even with additional state aid. as a result, students in urban schools are more likely to enter older, dilapidated buildings, where they face overcrowded class- rooms with limited supplies, poor discipline, in- sufficient libraries and labs, and often, a short- age of qualified teachers. so far, the additional funding through the no Child left behind act has not been sufficient to overcome the urban– suburban disparity in school funding.

to illustrate, in 2010 the detroit education system—faced with a huge financial deficit— closed one-fourth of its 172 schools. school officials in Kansas City, missouri, shut down even more to avoid bankruptcy by closing 26 of 61 schools. other cities also struggle with dwindling enrollments as parents move their children from urban to suburban pub- lic schools, or into private schools (wickham 2010). in ontario a sweeping research report of urban–rural disparities said that public schools in cities of more than 200,000 lack the funding and aid they need to face the chal- lenges of educating children, nearly half of them immigrants (brown 2008).

Political Clout. Cities actually have limited control over their affairs, whether in educa- tion or in other areas, such as mass transit and poverty. under the one-person, one-vote apportionment to balance legislative district representation, with the majority of the pop- ulation now living in the suburbs, cities have fewer representatives in state legislatures. added to the rural–suburban bias against cities is the frequent political split between

black students in affluent suburbs suffer from “academic disengagement,” engendered by inappropriate sports and entertainment role models, a lack of parental involvement in their schooling, and a defeatist attitude re- sulting from a profound distrust of the estab- lishment. only an approach that reinforces positive study habits, recognizes achievement, and strengthens neighborhood schools as well as the students’ resolve against attempts by peers to drag them down will overcome this problem (ravitch 2010; whittle 2005).

Language Proficiency. immigration remains a challenging urban phenomenon, although it affects suburban and rural schools and communities as well. large concentrations of immigrant children in metropolitan areas strain school resources because the students’ language proficiency plays an important role in academic achievement and thus meeting naep standards. about 62 percent of all im- migrants now choose to live in just 15 metro- politan areas: new york; los angeles; miami; washington, d.C.; Chicago; san Francisco; Houston; dallas; boston; atlanta; san diego; san Jose; philadelphia; seattle; and riverside–san Jose, California (u.s. office of immigration statistics 2011:17). urban schools in these and other cities, therefore, must accommodate a large influx of immi- grant pupils, and it is not unusual for a third or more of a school’s population to lack pro- ficiency in english (Zhou 2003). this cre- ates the need for hiring a greater number of bilingual or english-as-a-second-language (esl) teachers, in addition to teachers of regular subjects. the schools must also deal with other cultural adjustment issues, such as clothing, food, religious observances, role be- havior, and parents whose own language and educational deficiencies may limit support for at-home study.

Environment. whether immigrant or na- tive born, many students come from home environments where poverty, family instabil- ity, or poor health may limit educational suc- cess. other dangers or obstacles that can work against educators’ goals are (1) conflicting values in the student’s home or on the street

338 Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime

then, yet even now, fewer than half of its high school students graduate (vevea and yednak 2011). perhaps with continued improvement at the elementary level, as mandated by the no Child left behind act, Chicago and other cities will also see progress at the secondary level. it will take more than wishful thinking, however, to make this a reality.

a deepening dissatisfaction with tradi- tional public schools has engendered several innovations to give parents other options for educating their children, thus providing

democratic-controlled city governments and republican-controlled state legislatures, fur- ther hindering efforts to solve urban problems.

Cities across the country are struggling to meet the federal government’s demand to im- prove their schools. some modest gains have occurred, but enormous challenges remain. For example, Chicago has been making a con- certed effort to improve its educational system since passage of the Chicago school reform act in 1988 (see the Urban Trends box below). notable improvements have occurred since

Urban trends

the new Urban schools

Chicago’s experience from 1988 through 2005 demonstrates that large urban school district re- form is not only possible—it’s powerful. In Chicago, reform has been based on a model that combines strong neighborhood and teacher involvement with school-based, decentralized au- thority at the local level.

Success in reform efforts has come primarily from activity at

the local level and through the implementa- tion of practices developed in the past 50 years by high-performing organizations. The district’s central office, while it has provided positive support with union and financial issues, academic standards, training, coach- ing, and accountability, thus far has been un- able to find a way to truly support all schools.

Improvements have been dramatic, but have taken hold only in about half of the low-scoring elementary schools. Close ex- amination of the schools that have made steady and impressive progress on the one hand, and those that have not on the other, reveals clear lessons about what has worked and what has not worked in reform.

About half of the low-scoring public ele- mentary schools in Chicago—181 schools— have made extraordinary gains and have sustained the process of continuous improve- ment. Three hundred and sixty of Chicago’s elementary schools, 82 percent of the total number of elementary schools, had very low results on the 1990 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) in reading. Nearly all the schools were in low-income neighborhoods. . . . [H]alf of these starting scoring at 20 percent and they now have 49 percent of their students at or above the national average on the norm- referenced ITBS—scoring as well as a rep- resentative sample of urban, suburban, and rural schools. (Norm-referenced tests are de- signed so that 50 percent of the students must fall below the national average.) The gains in math in the high gain schools were even bet- ter than in reading.

These impressive results may be better than those of any other large urban district between 1990 and 2005.

Source: John Simmons, Breaking Through: Transforming Urban School Districts (New York: Teachers College Press, 2006), p. 11.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 339

child (usually about 90 percent of the aver- age private school’s tuition). parents can then use this voucher to place their child in a public or private school of their choice. the program is limited at present, because there are not enough private-school spaces to meet demand. in such cases, a lottery usually deter- mines who goes to choice schools. a federal voucher program operates in washington, d.C., and among the cities utilizing their own school voucher plan are Cleveland, indianapolis, milwaukee, and minneapolis. Critics (including teachers’ unions) charge that this approach siphons off much-needed public education funding, thus undermining the nation’s commitment to public education, and that it does little to improve central-city schools, where the need is greatest (Gorman 2003; schemo 2006).

because many of the private schools are church-affiliated, opponents of vouchers charge that this system violates the First amendment provision concerning the separa- tion of church and state. at the state level, re- cent court decisions have given mixed signals on this issue. the supreme courts of arizona, ohio, and wisconsin ruled that voucher programs did not violate the state or federal constitution by including religious schools. in contrast, the supreme courts of Florida, vermont, and maine ruled against such schools on constitutional grounds. after years of conflicting lower-court opinions about par- ents in Cleveland using vouchers at private schools, the u.s. supreme Court ruled in 2002 that they could do so. experts believe this rul- ing may be as significant as the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision on school deseg- regation, because it gives the green light na- tionwide to this program (brokaw 2002). as a possible portent in 2011, indiana enacted the largest voucher program in the nation, mak- ing 60 percent of the state’s students eligible within three years (wolfgang 2011).

Charter schools

Charter schools—now numbering more than 5,000—are a recent alternative to traditional public schools and, in cities where a voucher

competition in order to force all schools to do a better job. three of the most popular pro- grams to improve urban education are magnet schools, school vouchers, and charter schools.

magnet schools

Magnet schools—schools offering special pro- grams, originally to attract students from many districts to achieve integration—began as an alternative to mandatory busing, but their success in raising students’ scholastic achievement gained them even more popular- ity. they offer special facilities and programs to promote educational excellence in a par- ticular area, such as computer science, for- eign languages, science and mathematics, or the arts. parents can choose the school that is best suited to a particular student’s talents and interests, enabling these advanced programs to attract talented students from beyond tra- ditional neighborhood boundaries. this per- mits magnet schools to overcome residential segregation patterns to create a more diver- sified student population. For example, los angeles magnet schools are less segregated than non-magnet schools (straus 2010).

about 20 percent of u.s. students living in or around cities attend one of the nation’s more than 3,000 magnet schools (national Center for education statistics 2011). of these schools, however, about 21 percent are partial-site magnet schools (a mixture of tra- ditional and special programs), resulting in desegregated buildings that have racially seg- regated classrooms. Critics charge that magnet schools are “elitist” in luring the best students and teachers, thereby relegating the major- ity of students to the “mediocrity” of ordinary city schools, and that they might even worsen stratification among schools by family income. recent research, however, reveals no signifi- cant difference in school districts with or with- out magnet-school choice (archbald 2004).

school Vouchers

another option for choice in some school dis- tricts is to give parents a school voucher equal to the state’s share of the cost to educate a

340 Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime

with curriculum and the time to provide more individualized instruction. whether for the arts- or science-oriented or for the at-risk, these schools provide assistance to students who are otherwise underserved by the public school system (walberg 2007).

supporters of charter schools hope that local educators, ministers, parents, commu- nity members, school boards, and other spon- sors will provide new models of schooling and exert competitive pressures on public schools that will improve the current system of public education. others, however, fear that char- ter schools, at best, may be little more than escape valves that relieve pressure for genu- ine reform of the whole system and, at worst, may add to centrifugal forces that threaten to pull public education apart (buckley and schneider 2009).

in fact, some charter schools are no better than their public school counterparts. Critics say that many have weak curricula and teach- ing, substandard buildings, and a surprising

plan exists, they are a major beneficiary of such payments. Charters are private schools that operate with less state regulation so that teachers and administrators can try out new teaching strategies. unlike public schools, however, they are held accountable for achieving educational results. if a school fails to meet the terms of its charter with the local school board or the state, the charter can be revoked and the school closed. in essence, then, a charter school receives greater auton- omy to operate in return for greater account- ability for student performance. nationwide, charter schools enrolled 1.9 million students in 2011–2012 (Center for education reform 2011).

authorized in 39 states and the district of Columbia, spaces in charter schools are in high demand, and small class size appears to be a principal reason for this. the average en- rollment of charter schools is about half that of traditional public schools. smaller classes afford teachers the space to be more creative

Magnet schools—such as this one in Schenectady, New York—enable cities to overcome residential segregation patterns by offering special programs and facilities to raise students’ scholastic achievement. Despite their success, critics complain that they are expensive, that they have limited appeal, and that their elitism relegates most urban students to “mediocre” schooling.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 341

five percent from 2009, the first increase since 2005. non-violent crime rates—for theft, break-ins, motor vehicle theft, and dui— were all lower than in 2009, but drug offenses increased, continuing an upward trend that began in the early 1990s. among metropoli- tan areas with populations exceeding 500,000, toronto and Quebec had the lowest crime rates, while st. John’s, winnipeg, edmonton, and vancouver had the highest. a 2009 survey revealed that 93 percent of respondents said they felt safe from becoming a crime victim. also, 90 percent said that they felt safe walk- ing alone in their neighborhoods at night, in contrast to 63 percent of americans (Gallup 2010a; statistics Canada 2011a).

public perception of Crime

in a 2010 Gallup poll, 66 percent of respon- dents thought there was more crime in the united states than in the previous year; 60 per- cent thought the crime problem was “extremely serious” or “very serious,” up from 55 percent in 2009. yet 49 percent of these same respon- dents thought that the problem of crime where they lived was declining (Gallup 2010b).

in light of the facts, why do so many think that crime is such a serious problem? part of the answer lies in more extensive news reporting of violent crime. an abC news poll revealed that 82 percent of americans said their perception of crime is based on what they read or see in the news; only 17 percent said that they base their views on personal experience (abC news 2000). in addition, the frequent “promos” of upcoming violent crime stories, the popularity of “reality-based” crime dramas on broadcast and cable television, and tabloid sensational- ism spread the image of crime well beyond the news programs themselves. various studies have found positive correlations between tv viewing of crime news, crime fiction (e.g., Law and Order), and crime non-fiction (e.g., Cops) and concerns about crime (dixon 2008; Grabe 2007; Kort-butler and Hartshorn 2011).

another concern is becoming the ho- micide victim of a stranger, which accounts for 29 percent of all murders. also, drug- or gang-related shootings sometimes result in

prevalence of financial abuses. basic class- room supplies are often lacking, labs and libraries are rare, and staff turnover is high among the low-paid, inexperienced teachers. also, the segregation of many charter schools along ethnic, racial, and religious lines has created church–state conflicts in conjunction with the voucher controversy (Carnoy, et al. 2005).

originally designed to provide better school- ing for minority students, the single biggest group in charter schools is now non-Hispanic whites (54 percent), compared to 18 percent non-Hispanic blacks and 22 percent Hispanics (Center for education reform 2011).

Crime: perCeption and reaLity

the problems of poor housing and poor education affect only part of the urban popu- lation. surveys suggest, however, that almost everyone expresses concern about the extent of crime. often, people living in outlying areas point to fears about personal safety as the pri- mary reason they chose not to live in the city. and many city people conclude that a higher risk of crime is just part of the price one pays for the advantages of urban living. are such perceptions correct, however? is crime worse in the city than elsewhere? is there more crime in bigger cities than in smaller ones? are visi- tors to the city more likely than residents of the city to fall victim to crime?

urban crime gets extensive media atten- tion and influences public perception. yet the public’s fear about crime overlooks the im- portant fact that the u.s. crime rate is much lower than in previous years. the property crime rate (for burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft) has dropped 9 percent since 2006, and the violent crime rate (for murder, rape/sexual assault, robbery, and assault) fell 13 percent. in fact, these crime rates are far lower than they were in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s (Fbi 2011).

Crime in Canada has dropped steadily for 20 years and in 2010 was at its lowest level since 1973. its homicide rate was the lowest since 1966, although sexual assaults increased

342 Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime

are to blame. if this were true, however, we would expect the largest metropolitan areas to have the highest crime rates, which is not the case. as table 12–2 shows, the highest crime rates occur in second-tier cities (those with populations from 500,000 to 999,999) and in smaller, third-tier cities (those with populations under 500,000).

these data point to the conclusion that although cities have higher crime rates than other types of communities, city size, by it- self, does not explain crime rate. How else can we explain the fact that new york, the nation’s largest city, has less crime per capita than all other u.s. cities with a population of 1 million or more? on a per-capita basis, new york City has at least three times less crime than albuquerque, miami, memphis, new orleans, oklahoma City, phoenix, and tucson. put differently, in 2010, new york City ranked 132 out of 400 u.s. cities, and it had a slightly higher crime rate than lincoln, nebraska (CQ press 2011).

before going further, however, a warning is in order. Crime statistics are notoriously imperfect. For example, many crimes are not discovered, or reported to police, or recorded carefully. all the statistics in tables 12–1 and 12–2 reflect official police records. many criminologists argue that a more accurate portrait of crime comes from the national Crime victimization survey that utilizes a representative sample of about 38,000 house- holds. by questioning people (rather than police), the victimization survey uncovers many unreported crimes that are missed in

stray bullets killing innocent people, even in their homes or blocks away from the source. most vulnerable are urban black males aged 18–24, who are twice as likely to be victims as are older black males. although their victim- ization rates are much lower now than in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they are higher than those in earlier decades (u.s. bureau of Justice statistics 2010b).

attitudes about crime, then, are a mix of facts and fears. to gain a more accurate sense of crime in the city, we need to look at addi- tional statistics.

Crime and City Size. most violent crimes take place in cities, often growing out of street, school, or social club altercations. indeed, the negative attitudes of non-city dwellers and their reluctance to enter cities stem in large measure from their fear of becoming an urban crime statistic, but are cities really more dan- gerous? table 12–1 compares crime rates in various types of communities.

note the steady decline of crime rates in mostly all locales. also note that violent crime rates are higher in large metropolitan areas than in smaller cities outside metropolitan areas and, especially, in rural (non-metropol- itan) areas. such data would seem to support the conclusion that large cities are danger- ous places. property crime rates, however, are higher in those smaller cities than in the met- ropolitan regions.

louis wirth, whose theory of urbanism was central to Chapter 5, might claim that the size, density, and social heterogeneity of cities

tabLe 12–1 Crime rates per 1,000 residents by type of Community, 1980, 2000, and 2010

Property Crime Violent Crime

1980 2000 2010 1980 2000 2010

u.s. total 53 36 25.2 5.8 5.1 4.1 metropolitan areas 61 39 30.5 7.0 5.6 4.3 Cities outside metro areas 50 41 36.0 3.5 4.0 4.0 non-metropolitan Counties 21 17 16.1 1.8 2.1 2.0

Source: Federal bureau of investigation, Crime in the United States (2010), accessed online at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/ cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010 on april 16, 2012.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 343

percent of such crimes committed by whites involved white victims (u.s. bureau of Justice statistics 2010b).

moreover, the crime problem is worst in overwhelmingly black urban ghettos, where homicide is at a crisis level. blacks are six times more likely to be murdered than whites, and 90 percent of all black victims are killed by blacks. in 2010, blacks killed 2,458 blacks— only 318 fewer than the number of killings of whites by whites, who outnumber blacks by more than six to one (Federal bureau of investigation 2011). nationwide, the lead- ing cause of death for black males between the ages of 15 and 34 is, by far, homicide (national Center for Health statistics 2011). in new york City, blacks comprise 25 percent of the population but were 67 percent of all homicide victims, with four in five of them killed by other blacks (new york City 2011).

explaining high-Crime areas

why are some communities terrorized by crime? we know that the highest crime rates occur in the poorest sections of cit- ies. why? social scientists offer a variety of theories to explain concentrations of urban crime. Four of the main causative explana- tions, some of them highly controversial, involve (1) cultural patterns, (2) lower in- telligence, (3) persistent racial inequality and prolonged poverty, and (4) residential segregation. as we shall see, each position has both advocates and critics.

Cultural Patterns. edward banfield (1990) claimed that crime flourishes in urban areas that are steeped in a lower-class culture, where people share a “present-time orientation,” have low aspirations, and generally are morally irresponsible. under such conditions, he con- tended, people victimize anyone who seems to be an easy mark, including one another.

moreover, parents pass on these cultural patterns to their children, which explains the persistence of crime in some neighborhoods for decades. rather than learning values and skills that ease their way toward success, chil- dren too often learn apathy, resignation, and fatalism; indifference toward schooling; a

the crime index and crime rate calculations. while such studies confirm the decline in crime over time, they also suggest that the ac- tual number of crimes may well be twice that of the official statistics.

Furthermore, criminologists agree that as with other problems, the amount of crime var- ies throughout the urban area. the greatest concentration of offenses occurs in inner-city districts with poverty-stricken, minority popu- lations. in 2008, for example, members of the poorest u.s. households (those with incomes under $7,500) were far more likely to be as- saulted or robbed than were those in higher- income households (u.s. bureau of Justice statistics 2010b). urbanists at the university of Chicago first identified this pattern back in the 1940s, and it still holds true for both the inner city and the suburbs.

The Race Issue. in the united states, dis- cussions of crime almost always raise the issue of race, because many people link crime to non-white minorities. in truth, how- ever, 69  percent of the arrests that police make for serious crimes involve white people (Fbi 2011). even so, relative to population size, african americans are more likely to be arrested than whites.

Keep in mind, too, that crime is largely intraracial. to illustrate, 65 percent of single- offender violent crimes committed in 2008 by blacks were against black victims, and 67

tabLe 12–2 City size and Crime rates, 2010

Population Size Violent Crime Property Crime

1,000,000 or higher 7.2 31.4 500,000–999,999 8.1 45.9 250,000–499,999 7.6 42.2 100,000–249,999 5.2 38.5 50,000–99,999 3.9 32.3 25,000–49,999 3.3 30.2 10,000–24,999 2.9 28.8 under 10,000 3.1 32.0 suburban areas 2.7 24.2 non-metropolitan Counties

2.0 16.5

Source: Federal bureau of investigation, 2010.

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(Fajnzylber, et al. 2002; mechtenberg-berrigan and Kramer 2008; skrentny 2006).

insofar as a city concentrates people of highly unequal incomes, those with less than others may see themselves as being unjustly deprived. therefore, even in the absence of absolute poverty, a city with significant rela- tive poverty could still breed resentment and crime. in other words, the minority poor may engage in more crime as offenders—and suffer more as victims—because they are heav- ily represented among the economically de- prived (blau and blau 1982; like 2011; loury 2010; shihadeh and steffensmeier 1994).

many researchers favor general strain the- ory (Gst) as a way of understanding the con- nection between economic/racial inequality and crime. Gst focuses on an individual’s so- cial environment, one in which a discrepancy exists between aspirations and achievements, between fair and actual outcomes, and with negative stimuli replacing positively valued stimuli (agnew 1992). the resultant negative relationships and rejections feed alienation, frustration, and anger, all of which could possibly then motivate nonconforming or criminal behavior. since african americans disproportionately live in unique social condi- tions, experiencing qualitatively unique types of strain compared to whites, they may cope with strain and negative emotions through crime (Kaufman, et al. 2008). no universal pattern exists, however, because changing structural conditions (neighborhood demo- graphics, competition, and racial inequality) can lead to differing rates of violence (mcCall and parker 2005).

other social scientists favor the application of social disorganization theory to understand the connection between poverty and crime. the structure of socially integrated neigh- borhoods fosters an attachment among resi- dents, which in turn prompts their exercise of informal social controls, resulting in safer neighborhoods with less street crime and van- dalism (burchfield 2009). Conversely, a weak social network among neighbors lessens the sense of community, leading to a breakdown in civic engagement and social controls, and in an inability to influence public behavior.

desire for immediate gratification; and a dis- trust of authority. in such an environment, crime simply thrives. add to this the fact that high-crime neighborhoods tend to have high levels of single parenting, which means that children have less supervision, especially from fathers.

Critics of such a culture-of-poverty posi- tion responded that such cultural patterns should be viewed as the consequences, not the causes, of poverty. among people who have few opportunities to work; are forced to live in crowded, run-down housing; and must contend with the worst schools a city has to offer, we should not be surprised that crime rates are high. only structural changes that alleviate societal inequality are likely to bring about changes in the vicious circle of poverty and crime (stricker 2007).

Lower Intelligence. in perhaps the most con troversial effort to explain concentra- tions of crime and other social problems, richard Herrnstein and Charles murray asserted that criminality is concentrated in areas where average intelligence is low. in their book The Bell Curve, they suggested that crime—like poverty, welfare dependency, and illegitimacy—is strongly related to low iQ (1996:338–39). because the more talented people have long since left the inner cities, these researchers continued, the plight of those who are left is worse than ever. and given the cause, even a compassionate public can do little about this problem.

Critics attacked this book on many fronts, suggesting that intelligence tests are unfair to begin with and that it is far from clear what in- telligence really is (Fischer, et al. 1996; willie and taylor 1995). more specifically, numer- ous studies have shown that low-income people who test lower on iQ tests and scores typically find their scores improving as they achieve a higher socioeconomic status (Fraser 1995; sowell 1977:57).

Persistent Racial Inequality and Poverty. Far broader support exists for the idea that the primary problem with crime lies in social structure, that the explanation for high crime rates lies in racial and economic inequalities

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suggests that only a holistic public policy ap- proach that recognizes the complex web of structural and cultural factors that create and reinforce racial exclusion and inequality will overcome the problems in inner-city black neighborhoods.

For some, such crime is “an inevitable out- growth of social conditions created by the coincidence of racial segregation and high rates of black poverty” (anderson and massey 2001:334).

two recent studies examined this relation- ship between black segregation and violent crime, one examining 201 metropolitan sta- tistical areas (eitle 2009) and the other 7,622 neighborhoods in 79 cities (Krivo, et al. 2009). the researchers found that black–white seg- regation far exceeded other variables, such as income inequality and poverty, in explaining intercity variations in the black murder rate.

effects of Crime on everyday Life

the toll of crime extends far beyond its im- mediate victims. For one thing, nothing pulls down property values like a high crime rate (tita, et al. 2006). owners lose equity in their investment, face high homeowners’ insurance premiums, and lose neighbors or renters who otherwise would provide stability and commu- nity role models. if large numbers of people move out and cannot be replaced, owners may well abandon buildings they cannot sell, eroding the city’s tax base. the vicious circle grinds on and on.

the fear of crime also reduces our use of public space. as william H. whyte (2001:59) observed, “streets are the rivers of life of a city. we come to partake of them, not to es- cape them.” Certainly, in areas where people feel safe, extensive use of streets, parks, pla- zas, and other public places provides enjoy- ment for people at all hours of the day and night. such urban areas contain the social dynamics and all the variety and excitement the city can offer. However, crime (or merely the fear of crime) restricts the use of public spaces. another vicious circle is thus set in motion, because empty streets, plazas, and subway stations are unprotected and become

once that absence of an interrelated social structure occurs, the probability of increased crime in that area is very real (Hipp 2010).

Residential Segregation. a fourth fac- tor noted by social scientists to explain the high rate of african american crime is that residential segregation—from the time of slavery to the present—makes the black situ- ation unique, even though a slow decline in residential segregation of african americans has occurred since 1980 (see table 12–3). in some smaller and newer metropolitan areas, their segregation from whites has declined markedly, but in the larger places where most african americans live, segregation has re- mained high.

recall in Chapter 11 our discussion of hypersegregation—the extensive segrega- tion existing on many dimensions simulta- neously. although nine less hypersegregated metropolitan areas exist than in 1990, blacks remain especially disadvantaged and hyper- segregated in 29 other metropolitan areas. the six most segregated of these are Chicago, Cleveland, detroit, milwaukee, newark, and philadelphia (wilkes and iceland 2004).

many social scientists reject the notion that black urban crime is simply a product of in- dividual failings, but rather a combination of several factors. william J. wilson (2010)

tabLe 12–3 most segregated metropolitan areas, black and White, 2010

Metropolitan Area

Index of Dissimilarity

1. detroit–livonia–dearborn, mi 79.6 2. milwaukee–waukesha–west allis, wi 79.6 3. new york–white plains, wayne, ny-nJ 79.1 4. newark–union, nJ 78.0 5. Chicago–Joliet–naperville, il 75.9 6. philadelphia, pa 73.7 7. miami–miami beach–Kendall, Fl 73.0 8. Cleveland–elyria-mentor, oH 72.6 9. st. louis, mo-il 70.6 10. nassau–suffolk, new york 69.2

Source: John r. logan and brian J. stults, “the persistence of segregation in the metropolis: new Findings from the 2010 Census,” us2010.

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newman explained, serve to encourage crime, because they isolate inhabitants from each other, creating many unwatched places where crime can easily occur. instead, ar- chitects could design windows and entries in such a way that the paths of movement and the areas of activity provide inhabitants with continuous, natural surveillance of the street. such designs create what newman calls defensible space, allowing people to protect their own communities naturally, as they go about their daily lives, rather than relying on security guards and police for pro- tection (see Figure 12–1 below).

to support his argument, newman com- piled crime data from various low-income public housing projects, first in new york and subsequently in other cities. He found that the average crime rate is higher in taller buildings (over six stories) than in lower

ever more dangerous. in some communities, “take back the streets” campaigns have had some success, but the sad reality remains that urbanites’ enjoyment of public space is more limited than it once was, especially after sun- set, in too many areas.

What is the solution?

Can high crime rates in urban places be re- duced? is there a way to make our cities safe so that people can walk through a park in the daytime (let alone at night!) without fear? Here, again, a number of proposals are note- worthy, and new york City offers a positive model.

Physical Design. urban planner oscar newman (1996) maintained that building design plays an important part in control- ling crime. High-rise apartment blocks,

figUre 12–1 One example of defensible space is this courtyard with only one vehicular entrance route and footpaths and with many windows placed in buildings to overlook it. Such a design creates a sense of shared territorial ownership, creating an environment where the owners feel safe and the potential offender is aware of a substantial risk of scrutiny and apprehension. Source: From http://tessellarsociety.blogspot.com/2007/05protection-from-crime.html. Reprinted with permission of the author.

Chapter 12 Housing, Education, Crime 347

exists are where greater crime prevention and deterrence occur (lee and earnest 2003).

another crime-fighting strategy is the use of neighborhood Crime watch organiza- tions. through this association, neighbors look out for each other, for community mem- bers’ families and properties, and they alert the police about any suspicious behavior or crime in progress. studies have found that this is an effective means to reduce neighbor- hood crime (Gaspers 2006; pattavina, byrne, and Garcia 2006; sanders 2000).

Get Tough. the term zero tolerance became a popular catchphrase in the 1990s in its re- peated use by politicians, police leaders, policy makers, and the media (newburn and Jones 2007). the model for north america was the crackdown by new york City police on all minor offenses; they arrested tens of thousands of people for subway fare evasion and all forms of disorderly behavior, such as drunkenness, urination, graffiti, vandalism, begging, and vagrancy. under the belief that

ones. tall buildings with hundreds of living units are worst of all and appear to encour- age isolation, stigmatization, apathy, neglect, and withdrawal, first by the residents, then by housing management, and finally, by the municipal agencies that service the project: police, education, parks and recreation, re- fuse collection, and social services (newman 1996:28). Furthermore, in larger, taller build- ings, crime occurs mostly in public areas—for example, elevators, halls, and lobbies—places that residents cannot easily monitor. Crime in such spaces is far less frequent in low-rise buildings, where residents can more easily su- pervise their surroundings.

Community Involvement. improving the physical design of buildings appears to be a partial solution to the problem of urban crime. regardless of architectural design, however, residents of a building must be mo- tivated to notice and respond to potentially criminal situations. For example, neighbor- hoods in which a greater sense of community

A recent form of community policing in order to reduce crime in many North American cities has been the utilization of police officers on bike patrols, such as this multiethnic trio in Los Angeles. Using bicycles provides greater mobility and coverage of territory than covering a beat on foot, yet allows closer observation and interaction than in a car.

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incentives through government to encour- age businesses to locate in economically de- pressed areas. in addition, of course, com- munity efforts at policing the streets, greater involvement by churches and local community groups, and efforts at upgrading neighbor- hoods, such as that by Habitat for Humanity, all will help. Fortunately, many city leaders recognize these needs and are taking steps to improve living and employment conditions.

sUmmary

poor housing, substandard education, and crime are three significant problems that plague our cities. Certainly, there are oth- ers, including environmental pollution, in- adequate public transportation, and govern- mental corruption. this chapter highlighted housing, education, and crime, because the progress made so far in these areas offers the promise of more within our lifetimes.

all urban problems closely link to the state of a city’s economy and, especially, to the ex- tent of urban poverty. thus, we can see that urban problems are complex, interrelated is- sues, such as poverty, crime, and drug abuse, with roots that extend beyond a particular city to society as a whole.

in the 1930s, as part of Franklin roosevelt’s new deal, the federal government first en- acted public housing policies. Financial assis- tance to homeowners and builders, together with public works programs, quickly improved urban housing. even so, by 1940, some 40 percent of u.s. urban housing still lacked amenities such as adequate indoor plumb- ing. the Housing act of 1949 launched urban renewal programs and initiated the construc- tion of more public housing. private develop- ers, however, never provided anywhere near as many low-income housing units as were torn down, resulting in the displacement of the poor. moreover, high-rise public housing stigmatized and isolated the poor and created unsafe neighborhoods. rent subsidies were a better idea, giving families choices other than public housing.

reduction of minor offenses would reduce all crime and create safer neighborhoods, the mayor and police commissioner pointed to the drop in the violent and property crime rates each year thereafter. new york’s success was not lost on leaders in other cities and they adopted similar policies. in the mid-1990s, Canadian federal and provincial govern- ments also adopted zero-tolerance policies (deKeseredy 2009). Critics argue that crime rates were already dropping prior to this ac- tion and that statistics show zero tolerance was not an effective way to reduce crime, and that improvement in police–community rela- tions is more successful (silverman 2004).

New York City. officials also enacted stronger community and strategic policing measures as well as a “get tough” approach. Community policing is an approach that in- creases interaction and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the people and neighborhoods they serve. the focus is not just on responding to crime, but forg- ing a partnership with citizens to identify and resolve problems, assign officers to a specific geographical area on a permanent basis, empower them to speak to neighbor- hood groups, participate in business and civic events, and otherwise participate positively in community life.

Strategic policing is an aggressive tactic of deploying increased patrols, decoys, and sting operations in locales identified through fre- quent computer analyses as high-crime areas. new york’s success (violent crime dropped al- most in half) made it a model for other cities. Homicides, for example, were 536 in 2010, compared to 2,245 in 1990, which is a truly remarkable achievement. as some critics see it, however, “get tough” approaches do little to solve the root causes of crime; rather, they deal only with the consequences.

ultimately, achieving long-term reductions in crime probably depends on increasing economic opportunity in poor communities. doing so may involve providing greater mo- bility for inner-city residents so that they are able to reach jobs on the metropolitan periph- ery, or providing job training and economic

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Crime victimizes everyone by eroding prop- erty values, increasing insurance premiums, and generating a climate of fear. Crime also reduces the use of parks, streets, and mass transit, denying urbanites free use of their city.

trying to build “defensible spaces” is a par- tial solution to the crime problem, as are “get tough” policies that target vulnerable areas for extra police protection. yet neither ap- proach can ultimately solve the problem of crime. strengthening families in order to pro- vide good adult role models for young peo- ple, generating jobs for adults, and building a sense of community through churches and other local organizations are also needed.

ConCLUsion

while there is some reason for pessimism and concern, recent decades have witnessed posi- tive signs of improvement in urban life. For example, new york City dramatically curtailed violent crime. many other cities have also re- duced crime, but whether this trend will per- sist remains to be seen. similarly, time will tell whether the recent innovations in housing and education improve the quality of life and the life chances for all segments of the cities’ pop- ulation. as cities convert the failed high-rise projects to more livable, mixed-income hous- ing complexes that no longer isolate and stig- matize the poor, they are guided by important lessons learned from the past. what is happen- ing to cities in developing countries, however? are they learning from western mistakes, or is their situation even worse? in the next chapter, we will discuss latin american, african, middle eastern, and asian cities to learn the answers.

rising taxes and increased maintenance costs, coupled with rent levels limited by local policy and the inability of tenants to pay, eventually resulted in hundreds of thousands of landlords abandoning buildings. more re- cently, urban homesteading, gentrification, and the new urbanism improved the urban scene. each approach has limitations, how- ever, and none can solve all the cities’ housing problems.

beset by problems of old buildings in need of repair, limited funding, a growing minority student population with limited english proficiency, a shortage of quali- fied teachers, and inadequate teaching re- sources, the nation’s urban schools face seri- ous challenges in their efforts to provide a quality education. a deepening dissatisfac- tion with the failure of urban schools to do their job has led to alternative approaches. magnet schools, vouchers, and charter schools become more popular each year, but they also have their critics. Charges of elitism, violation of church–state separa- tion, and the siphoning off of much-needed funds for urban public schools are contro- versies that surround these innovations.

rates of serious crime are going down (al- though remaining high among juveniles). media coverage and the fear of stranger- on-stranger violence, however, have raised public worries about crime. the greatest concentration of crime is in poor inner-city neighborhoods. various explanations for the existence of high-crime areas highlight cul- tural patterns, alleged intellectual deficien- cies, persistent racial inequality and poverty, and residential segregation.

Key terms

absolute poverty (344) charter schools (339) community policing (348) defensible space (346) eminent domain (325) general strain theory (344) gentrification (332) hypersegregation (345)

magnet schools (339) new urbanism (332) relative poverty (344) school voucher (339) social disorganization theory (344) social promotions (336) strategic policing (348) urban renewal (325)