As we read in the excerpt from Macionis and Parrillo’s Cities and Urban Life, New York is a constantly evolving city that has had a long history of problems and issues. Nowadays, media and community organizations have turned a lot of attention towards gentrification, housing problems, homelessness, rezoning issues, financial, economic, and cultural inequality, and a variety of other issues rampant throughout the city. Numerous critics of city government policies and programs have highlighted how, despite all the grandeur and allure NYC might seem to effuse on the outside, that gold coating doesn’t show the many problems still affecting New Yorkers every day.
It is, however, important to note that we’re actually a lot better off than we’ve been in the past. Optimistically speaking, our city conditions are better than before; we have access to clean, fresh water and a sanitation system that keeps public spaces and the streets fairly clean. Technological developments throughout the past century or so have granted us access to public transportation, high-speed telecommunications and information networks, and countless innovations that have made our lives far easier and more comfortable. The postindustrial economy has also supplied more white-collar jobs for the working class, and has helped neighborhoods like the South Bronx revitalize and improve for the better, as Macionis and Parrillo describe.
Of course, NYC is still far – very far – from perfect, and it probably never will be. But I believe there’s something to say about the fact that this city was able to survive through multiple economic recessions, poor city conditions, and numerous other issues to become the thriving megalopolis it is today. Indeed, the city is still lacking in many ways and suburbanization and decentralization continue to negatively affect its circumstances, but the mass “exodus” of people trying to forge better lives elsewhere has slowed down. Now, more people, especially minorities and the poor who are unable to move elsewhere, are staying within NYC and improving their lives and communities step by step. Near the end of the excerpt, Macionis and Parrillo briefly discuss individuals who have worked to revitalize and improve their neighborhoods, and these small, but important, developments ultimately lead the way towards progress and growth in the future.
Call me an optimist, and maybe even somewhat ignorant. I’ll admit I’m not all too familiar with the issues that rack the city today, but I do think it’s sometimes good to just take a step back and look at how far we’ve already come. There’s still much work and a lot of improvement to do, but at least we got somewhere a little bit better, right?
