“There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.”

-Jane Jacobs-

Urban renewal projects have only recently started to address the human needs of residents beyond providing basic shelter, and much of this progress has only been made in response to the violence and persistent poverty surrounding many public housing communities constructed in the 1950s and 60s. However, it is especially difficult to make the argument for increased funding for public housing considering the arguments many economists make against public housing. Critics argue that public housing projects often perpetuate the cycle of poverty by concentrating poor communities in high-density spaces. The suburbanization of poverty has also complicated the problem of ending cycles of poverty in communities, since many residents are being forced out or urban centers and away from the resources and opportunities cities contain.

Cabrini-Green Housing Project
Source: Time Magazine

Death and Life

Jane Jacobs, in her influential book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), argued that urban planners should consider the benefits of building mixed-use developments and attempt to construct spaces that promote natural social exchanges within a community. In one example, Jacobs compared the high amounts of crime occurring in isolated malls to lower rates among highly visible neighborhood stores, thus rejecting the stereotype of isolated suburban communities as inherently safer than cities.

Redefining the American Dream in Suburbia

Suburbs were initially developed to reward homeowners with privacy and self-contained households. Instead of encouraging interdependency (as inherently occurs in interactions in an American urban environment), suburbs encourage self-sufficiency and conformity simultaneously. The suburban conceptualization of the American Dream involves valuing privacy and private property more than human relationships and sharing resources.

However, urban centers continue to be at the center of American economic life. Young professionals are becoming ever more attracted to the rich community life and conveniences of residing in metropolitan areas. Along with the influx of wealthier and younger populations came two newer and interlinked phenomena: gentrification and the suburbanization of poverty.

As reported in The Atlantic,

“between 2000 and 2011, the population living in American subrubs below the poverty line increased by 29 percent.”

Therefore, many impoverished people are finding themselves pushed out of American cities and consequently cut off from many job opportunities and public services. The poor now inhabit the cookie cutter, private homes formerly occupied by middle-class families, but find isolation to be a curse rather than a blessing. For example, suburban areas are often cut off from major transportation resources, leading suburbanites to rely on cars to take them to jobs, community centers, and essential businesses. However, many poor residents cannot afford cars, and so find themselves in the impossible situation of not being able to find accessible jobs but unable to afford rent in business centers without well-paid employment.