American Apartheid, by Denton and Massey as well as The New Urban Sociology, by Gottdiener, Hutchison, and Ryan examine the immense influence residential segregation has on urban poverty. The intersection of race and class issues is essential to understand because blacks are represented more in the underclass and are more likely to be in the underclass. Race struggles effect certain economic struggles and vice versa. For example, class often effects the resources and individual has access to, therefore a minority group that is already excluded faces intense consequences from also being lower class. Urban poverty is therefore intensified in many different ways, or as The New Urban Sociology says, residential segregation is “multidimensional”.
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Chapter six of American Apartheid, “Perpetuation of the Underclass”, specifically explains the detrimental role isolation plays in residential segregation. Through the racialized housing market, spatial mobility is limited for people of color. Social isolation is notably connected to economic isolation because most jobs are found through mutual friends and social networks, not advertisements. There is a clear disadvantage for lose constrained to a certain area since there will be limited employment opportunities. The concentration and clustering of communities contributes to political isolation as well. Racist disenfranchisement was common because the majority of political leaders were white and only focused on attaining white votes, therefore only concentrating on the needs of white communities. Lack of political power allowed for communities to be deprived of basic resources and services along with being the first ones to face cut backs. Funding in education, social services, and medical care was dismal. The New Urban Sociology notes that “ghetto areas” have the worst medical care compared to the rest of the city. American Apartheid provides an example of how 27 out of 35 fire departments reduced in New York City in the 1970’s, were in poor minority communities, causing housing and public health dilemmas. Through isolation, communities of color are politically deprived of basic social services. Unequal distribution of resources greatly diminishes opportunities leading to success, like education and employment making challenging to escape
Chapter six of American Apartheid, “Perpetuation of the Underclass”, specifically explains the detrimental role isolation plays in residential segregation. Through the racialized housing market, spatial mobility is limited for people of color. Social isolation is notably connected to economic isolation because most jobs are found through mutual friends and social networks, not advertisements. There is a clear disadvantage for lose constrained to a certain area since there will be limited employment opportunities. The concentration and clustering of communities contributes to political isolation as well. Racist disenfranchisement was common because the majority of political leaders were white and only focused on attaining white votes, therefore only concentrating on the needs of white communities. Lack of political power allowed for communities to be deprived of basic resources and services along with being the first ones to face cut backs. Funding in education, social services, and medical care was dismal. The New Urban Sociology notes that “ghetto areas” have the worst medical care compared to the rest of the city. American Apartheid provides an example of how 27 out of 35 fire departments reduced in New York City in the 1970’s, were in poor minority communities, causing housing and public health dilemmas. Through isolation, communities of color are politically deprived of basic social services. Unequal distribution of resources greatly diminishes opportunities leading to success, like education and employment making challenging to escape