I was quite surprised to see the domino effect from neglecting the municipal fire service, to overcrowding, to drug abuse, to HIV/AIDS, and finally to urban decay. Yet when looking at the context of the year that this article was written, I wonder how the lowered stigma of an HIV/AIDS infected individual would still affect the rate of housing decay today. Since discrimination would be less as likely, an HIV/AIDS infected individual would have a lowered chance of getting fired or removed from their job. Therefore, they would still be able to pay their rent and prevent themselves from being homeless. Also, I wonder about the decisions that went into the solutions the paper recommended the city put in place in order to stop urban decay. It makes sense to not cut municipal services, encourage support, and provide low-income housing. Yet it seems quite strange that the paper never mentioned anything about treating the sick or diseased. It seems logical to prevent individuals from becoming homeless and to keep cities from neglecting on their foundational services, but if a city neglects its sick and drug-addicted population, wouldn’t that just cause more decay?
Wallace reading
While reading Wallace’s article I was both shocked and amazed by the statistics he presented and how he correlated them. However, what I found most interesting was not actually in the article, but rather the words on the first page under the author’s name:
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Epidemiology of Mental Disorders Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute
Am I the only one who thinks it odd that AIDS is being studied by someone in a department on the epidemiology of mental disorders?(If there is a sensible and factual answer to this question please provide it because I am not asking this question rhetorically.)
Reading- Synergism of Plagues
While reading the article, the most prevalent thought I had was that this cycle is a vicious one. The fact that it can be stopped but isn’t, simply for politics is one that disgusts me. I myself hate politics because morals always seem to take a back seat to policy.
But one thing lingered within me. My question is what are the other interrelated concepts that haven’t been looked into? Where do they play into the scheme of living, and how do they impact, speed up or slow down this vicious cycle?
AIDS and Politics
The reading by Wallace presented the spread of AIDS in a very different angle when compared to the more traditional approach of discussing AIDS. The author discussed the direct correlation between the wide spread drug abuse and the concentration of AIDS specifically in the South Bronx. This in turns fuels the rates of urban decay and forced displacement in people which in turn accelerates the further spread of AIDS.
A key point that the article makes is that the destruction of neighborhood social networks and such programs, serve to bolster the percentage of AIDS among people. The destruction of many neighborhoods served as an impetus for the wide spread of AIDS. Certain areas were deemed blighted. Many components that make up a neighborhood were slowly taken away from the neighborhoods chosen for “planned shrinkage.” This in turn resulted in the wide spread of AIDS. The disease moved in a diffuse pattern and spread rapidly.
There are proposed solutions to the restoration of the affected communities such as the re-development of municipal service, and community organizing. This can only serve as a preventative measure for any future unrealistic outbreaks of AIDS. What about the people who were already infected by the disease as a result of “planned shrinkage”? How does it feel to know that your life endangered because of a political drive?
David Zilberman
Deliberate Decay
The most striking and also most upsetting thing about the South Bronx burnout is that the initial gears for decay were turned deliberately. Wallace speaks about “planned shrinkage” – a development strategy akin to amputation without providing proper hospital care.
The Seminar 4 Final Event
All your questions will be answered at http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/seminar4/.
And if they’re not, email me!
Strengthening the village within the city
Displacement, or “diss-placement” has adverse effects on entire communities and ultimately the individual. Although public planners usually act on the aesthetics of communities, the well-being of families and individuals are often overlooked. While overcoming this barrier may seem impossible on a municipal level, Fullilove mentions a model project that was able to demonstrate the importance of housing rehabilitation, housing cooperatives, and social services for families that have been recently uprooted and strengthened the “village-within-the-city.” In modern day Newark, the main hospital and medical school’s efforts to conduct community outreach has essentially integrated the institution into the surrounding community.Root shock can be sympathetic and humane if the means to facilitate a new neighborhood with a sense of unity are provided. Still, is this end justified by the means by which it was achieved?
Closing the Wounds
What struck me the most was that they compared losing their house to losing their own skin. “Without replacement, of a house should be considered a “third – degree burn.” The number of blocks with third -degree burns, divided by the total number of blocks, gives the Community Burn Index.” When I read this, it was like ouch. I think the term Community Burn Index really shows how deeply affected they were and how this damaged their social life. It wasn’t only one person that was affected but rather it felt like their whole neighborhood had been set on fire and taken away from them. They were no longer able to be together and it’s sad how many of them said that they were no longer family anymore because they were now from another part of town. They now consider those that used to be close to them ‘strangers’. Through all this though, it was nice that there were people who were willing to try and help them move on. They tried to reach out to those who were affected and get them to talk about their current life, to make sure they were adjusting properly. I however also found it sad that we’re expected to try and reach this state of normalcy is fast as possible in order to move on with our lives. Even if things may seem “normal” again, the situation is something that has changed their lives forever and something they will never forget. For example when they bring up 9/11, I personally wasn’t affected but it’s an event that has changed our city and even our country forever. The memory of it still lies deep within us and it’s sad that so many people have to live with the memory of their homes being taken away from them
Root Shock
As I read about her perspective on the 9/11 tragedy, I felt a close connection, and I found myself trying to remember what happened that day. I remember being in 3rd grade, and I remember a little of the shock that the teachers showed when they heard the announcements. I remember the announcements made on the PA system by the principal, and how he sounded so serious, while he usually is a very relaxed person. I remember being dismissed from school early, and waiting for my mom to show up. I remember the fear on her face as she ushered my sisters and I into the car and took us home. I remember trying to watch it on TV, but the TV was full of static. I remember a lot of the small details. I just can’t seem to remember feeling any fear. As a child, I was observant of many things, but I couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of this event.
I speak of what I remember because I wish to ask, throughout this book, we see countless stories of people who have definitely encountered root shock. I only wonder if there is a similar syndrome faced by the younger children of these families, a situation where the children couldn’t comprehend what was happening but were still affected in some way. Throughout the book, the stories are about people who understood, even to an extent, what was happening. What about the children who couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening? What happened to them?
Moving with Hope
The first six chapters we read focused on what rootshock was and all of its negatives. We mentioned in class how rootshock can severely traumatize people, as they are being asked to move away from something they were raised with. However, chapter 7 attempts to shed a ray of hope into the idea of urban renewal. While it is extremely unjust that urban renewal happens mainly in Black communities, it is important to always cling onto hope. Some of these people needed a new beginning. Urban renewal presented them with the opportunity to start fresh and build an entirely different life.
However, the effects of being forcefully moved from the place where one grew up, will never truly fade. This, in conjunction with the escalating racism and outright discriminatory behavior by the whites toward the blacks, fueled the inevitable rise of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. These people served as beacons of hope to all the blacks who were forced out of their communities. These two prominent figures, particularly MLK, fought for what he knew was right. As soon as one person steps up and takes the mantle, then everybody else will quickly follow. This is exactly what happened, as blacks from everywhere, realizing the unjust situation they are in and clinging onto the hope that things will get better some day, rallied behind these leaders and fought for themselves.
Rootshock can also be caused by factors other than urban renewal. For example, the tragic event of 9/11 completely traumatized all New Yorkers. The Twin Towers were part of our heritage; it was a part of the city. When this building was gone in the blink of an eye, all of New York, regardless of whether you lived in Manhattan or not, was brought to a traumatic standstill. However, once again, hope presided and now we are nearly finished with the project of building a new skyscraper, which honors the memory of the fallen towers.
