Cities 07

Sean McPherson
OBE 5

William Julius Wilson’s work serves as a great juxtaposition to Dubois’ work from a century earlier. Both works address the woes of an underprivileged black neighborhood that has suffered under municipal policies and discrimination from white people in power.
Something that held Dubois’ Philadelphia neighborhood together was the unavailability of “black flight” as an option for upwardly mobile blacks. Due to the era, living far from the urban center was not an option for any working people because of the great amount of time and expense associated with coming into the city from far out each day. Other neighborhoods in the Philadelphia area were hostile towards blacks moving in. The insular nature of the area creates a bit of a “biosphere” effect. Dubois’ black Philadelphia suffered from lots of discrimination but they did have class distinctions within the neighborhood and a combination of homeowners, business owners and slightly more transient characters that helped the neighborhood self-police due to a care and concern for the neighborhood.
Wilson’s depiction of Chicago starts with memories of a more prosperous Southside during the 50s and 60s. At this point, although the neighborhood was segregated through the process of redlining and other real estate and municipal techniques the area had businesses and employment that helped the area prosper. One of Wilson’s quotes really captures some concepts of city planning: “’It’s not safe anymore because the streets aren’t.’” This summarizes that the modern South and Westside of Chicago are lacking the panoptic potential that Jane Jacobs sees in the Village and that Janet Abu-Lughod sees in Islamic cities. Without street activity and intermingling the streets become a danger-zone with only questionable characters congregating on them.
The middle-class abandonment of the Southside of Chicago has enabled the area to become ruled by gangs. In one of Wilson’s interviews, the effect of the gangs had become so pervasive that a mother chose to send her child away because the pressure of the gangs was so hard and violent that her son’s safety was in question.
Wilson aimed the potential towards a true economic upheaval that would empower the working class of all colors and eschewed the more focused attention at particular moments that affirmative action offers. The pervasive crime record in the Southside of Chicago is blamed on the lack of jobs for young people. Middle class people are apt to move to areas where there are jobs. The decline in jobs will precipitate a move by the employed to areas where they don’t have to fear for their safety. They are more apt to enjoy such an environment if they are in an area where the majority of residents are gainfully employed.
Wilson’s discourse also points out that “ghetto poverty” is contagious. In an area where 40% of the residents are poor it is hard for the area to attract business ventures that will bring in the capital to develop it financially and socially. This means that poor blacks become increasingly isolated and become increasingly poor. Dubois points out opportunities for upward mobility in turn of the century Philadelphia are limited but they are available. Because the black community of Philadelphia is insular as opposed to isolated, the community members are able to ascend to higher positions and these positions are available within the community.
Wilson’s analysis of how economic conditions and geographic realities intersect is very illuminating. Wilson’s advices are much less racially motivated than Dubois. Wilson feels that if the economic handicaps of the black community are addressed it will be possible for these neighborhoods to prosper.
Towards the end of the paper Wilson does analyze more of the social woes of the neighborhood, particularly the crack epidemic that was at its height during the writing of Wilson’s chapter. Again, Wilson addresses the contagious effects of people using and valuing handguns as a necessary precaution in the neighborhood.
Segregation, which functions as the constant between the two articles, is further provoked by social changes that effected employment and financial stability of neighborhoods. Wilson’s article illuminates most effectively how policies that effect the entire working class population have particularly exacerbated circumstances for African-American communities.