Even though NYC is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, it’s interesting that the patterns of community that have taken shape over the years diverge from this notion of a melting pot. Rather than actually appear like a blend of different ethnicities, communities have segregated based largely on race and class. Being born and raised in NYC, I have grown accustomed to the different racial communities and have attributed it to a sense of nationalism; thinking that people simply feel more comfortable with their own race. However, this is not entirely the case. The article, “Privileged Places” by Squires, on the other hand, takes a deeper look into these patterns, and explains them through analysis of new urban sociology.

More specifically, Squires focuses on the relationship between structural constraints, location, race, and privilege and how these aspects create an influence on the community. According to the article, race has a really big role in public policy and the creation of communities and is essentially what determines the types of privileges that residents of a community can enjoy. By census, poor blacks and hispanics have been more likely to live in poor neighborhoods than poor whites. This has resulted overtime from wealth, fiscal, and social disparities among the races. For instance, non-whites earn a lot less than what whites earn, even with the same educational backgrounds, capabilities, jobs, and incomes. When it comes to home equity, blacks also receive 18% value for their investments, which is not as much as whites receive. These various inequalities have caused an uneven development and distribution of privilege, which spills over to effect the quality of life for underprivileged neighborhoods. This has been associated with issues such as teen pregnancy and high school dropouts.

It is because of all these disparities and low employment rates that certain people move to certain communities. Their choices are largely based on their financial capabilities, which are negatively impacted by discrimination. Therefore, sometimes some may not have a choice but to move into a neighborhood because of affordability. When it comes to solutions, it is a beneficial suggestion to have different groups become allies, that otherwise wouldn’t have a reason to work together. It makes sense that specializing in different purposes but having the same underlying motive might make the alliance a powerful one by offering differing perspectives on the issue and solutions that are strengthened by different facets.