This article talks about homelessness hitting not only big cities like Detroit and Newark but the Sarasota-Bradenton area. This area has seen the portion of people living below the poverty line from 2007 to 2009 rise from 9.2% to 13.7%, the largest of any American city, reports the Census Bureau. The article discusses other metropolitan cities seeing an increase in poverty as well. The declining housing situation ended the rapid growth of many of these sunbelt cities were seeing. Although inner cities have higher overall poverty rates, poverty has grown fastest in suburbs. The Urban Institute says that suburban areas are facing “double-trouble” seeing a fall in poverty values and employment , which are connected to poverty.
Sarasota’s population grew by about 5% for decades, where in 2006 construction, property finance were about 1/3 of the local economy. When property prices dropped the effects were felt and unemployment raised from 3.1% in 2006 to 13.4%% in January of 2010. These combined show the trend found by the Urban Institute.
The article goes on to give accounts of people living in the area and how their lives have been affected over the past years.
Because Sarasota is a tourist destination, there has been issues with where the homeless sleep, because the city saved little money for social programs.
I think this article take an interesting look at how poverty isn’t just in inner cities, it is affecting suburbs, and these cities who were prosperous before but decided not to invest in social programs, are now they are struggling to handle the issues.
2 comments:
The economy of Sarastoa, FL, was extremely susceptible to a recession for a couple different reasons. They, like other places in the south and west (Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc.) grew too quickly and took advantage of the housing bubble. Amateurs tried to make a quick buck (like the hairdresser mentioned in the article) and the population grew at a record pace-faster than the rate stable jobs could be created. Hence, when the recession hit and the bubble collapsed as many had predicted, Sarasota was left with a huge population and poverty. This pattern repeats itself across the world and in many areas: the faster the growth, the quicker the collapse when the time comes.
I find this very interesting, the fact that faster an area grows the quicker the collapse. You would think that where there is high growth there would be more jobs. Although it makes since that with more and more people moving into these fast growing cities, where if a recession, will end up having a large number of unemployed, which inevitably leads to more poverty.
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