After reading The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs, Five Points by Tyler Adbinder, and The City in History by Lewis Mumford, I’ve come to understand that the creation, growth, and potential destruction of a city is attributed to a complex network of factors. As Jacobs’ alludes to, cities do not breathe life into its people, but rather it is the people that breathe life into their city. The initial urban planning of a city may be carefully calculated and constructed, but what determines its success or demise is the cooperation of its people from all demographics.
However, as history has proved many times, there is no such thing as the ideal cooperation of all citizens. As humans, we are programmed for self interest and self preservation. Cynical as it may be, money is motivation, power is motivation. And what is one’s success without another’s failure? As Mumford says, “wealth has no limits.” As the United States moves closer to a pure capitalist economy, all interests lie with making profit. And drawing a conclusion from that, why should anyone be surprised when big business CEOs, politicians, and big name investors turn a blind eye to the slums of their cities such as Five Points? Isn’t it to be expected, at this point, that they only care about the big paycheck at the end of the day? As long as the impoverished of their cities are proving to be a big expense and hurting revenue and the subsequent flourish of the city, it is of no concern to them. Of course, it is naive to believe that money itself is the solution to all of a city’s woes. But, a solution to the widening gap between the rich and poor cannot be attained with money as a major resource. Blindly throwing money at a problem will do no good, but information and investment can lead to a solution for the slums. However, along with smart investment must be compassion and initiative to take responsibility, something that elitists seem to lack when all they care about is maximizing profits. If we lived in an ideal world where those with monetary power actually addressed their philanthropic responsibilities, slums like Five Points would not exist!
