Q1. Why do you believe cities are thriving today?
Thesis of the Statement
We will be studying about the developments of the urban cities of present days. The reasons why they are thriving today and what are the benefits of these developments on the economy.
Introduction
The reason was that people went to settle or find job in those cities where there was modern facilities, entertainment, prospect to rise. If we see the data we will find that mostly cities that are besides any water body like sea or ocean mostly those cities thrived fast due to trade. Trading with different countries was an important source of income for the country and increased development("Triumph of the City",224).
These days too we find that some cities are thriving whereas others are not advancing in comparison to those cities. The main reason is that the modern cities are the place for businesses. Where businesses thrive there is bound to be more money. When money is more the people will spend more so there will be more options of entertainment .So there will be more job openings in those entertainment industries. This will lead to the development of the city. The various Universities and colleges in Urban cities are encouraging the people and other foreign countries to come and study. The increase in trade with other countries allows the availability of the goods and services to reach to the people residing in modern cities. The frequent visit of the people from foreign countries effect the outlook and style of the modern cities. They try to imbibe those lifestyle of a developed modern city("Triumph of the City",230).
The development in a thriving city takes place by building high rise buildings along with different shopping malls, restaurants, big airports, harbors etc. The standard of living also increases in comparison to other cities. The government of a country mainly aims to implement all the facilities demanded by the residents of the thriving cities to satisfy them. These cities are the example of the developments of a country to the whole world.
The thriving cities act as engines to the economy with more employment, modern houses, better infrastructure, more electricity, modern equipments. These cities form the essential part of any country and its developments("Triumph of the City",235).
Conclusion
Thus the main reason of the cities thriving today are due to trade and businesses that are thriving, the job opportunities that is giving a lot of money for the residents to spend and the new ways of entrainment where the people are spending money and enjoying life("The New Geography of Jobs", 124).
Q2.Is the presence of high poverty in cities evidence that cities make people poor?
Thesis of the Statement
The rise in poverty in the urban cities at an alarming rate is causing problems among the residents of the people of these modernized cities. We discuss the reasons of the poverty, the inequality that exist in the urban cities.
Introduction
The modern cities are growing rapidly and so is the income of the people residing in these cities. The high income is increasing the competition among each other in terms of new cars, new house, new and improved gadgets. All these are ways to spend the income .So in thriving cities people invest and spend more rather than saving. The poor people who come to big cities to earn and do some job face lot of difficulties. They find a job or a good opportunity which is a source of income for them. But the inequality that arises creates a problem to sustain life in these big cities("Triumph of the City",69).
The cities gives different ways to spend the income earned but the salary or income are pretty less of these poor people. To have a small house the rent is high in a thriving city .So mostly people earning there have to spend half of their income on rent or stay in faraway places like suburbs. Staying in suburbs means the cost of commuting becomes high. The medical cost is also very high in thriving cities. The high prices of different food items makes it difficult for the poor people to meet the basic requirements of life(("Triumph of the City",70).
The thriving cities are developed economically, socially but in these cities the problem of unemployment, segregation and poverty arises. The inequality between the rich and the poor is so high that the gap cannot be reduced and is becoming a major issue in many countries. The dream of improving better life attracts poor people from their natives to come to big cities but mostly the dreams are shattered leaving them in the midst of struggle just to earn basic living("Triumph of the City",71)
The frequent laying off labor from their jobs and the shutting down of many firms makes it really difficult for the poor workers which come to cities to earn a better living than the rural villages where there are no jobs. But accommodating oneself in a small room and sometimes in the slum area makes things more worse("The New Geography of Jobs",180).
Conclusion
Thus it shows that inequality among the rich and the poor people arise fast in these thriving cities. The reason is that one is earning more and one is earning less. The high standard of living in a thriving city makes it difficult for the poor people to compete with them. The cost of living is so high that they are unable to meet the daily expanses. In most cases both the male and female members of a family earn together to make daily requirements even though the problem exist. Many cities are facing the problem of increasing poverty and the conditions of the poor people are becoming worse day by day.
Q3. Is sprawl inherently bad?
Thesis of statement
We discuss the effects of urban sprawl. The advantages and the disadvantages that occur in the urban cities due to the sprawl.
Introduction
The migration of a population form populated towns to low density residential area is known as urban sprawl. From the beginning of the civilization this had been a way of modernization. The modern cities which are thriving are becoming highly populated and overcrowded . The residential areas are filled and there is no more space left to built more houses or residential complex. In such a situation the population starts to migrate to the suburbs. The land that was once used for agriculture are now becoming residential areas. The population of the suburbs are becoming densely populated areas("Triumph of the City",166).
The main reason of this migration is the low land price in the suburbs. The costs of land are always more in the cities than the suburbs. Though people are travelling long distances from suburbs to reach the city but the nominal land rate encourage them to build a residence for their own where they are having spongy lawns, better schools , restaurant in accessible range, nearby stores etc. The infrastructure of these suburbs with better transportation facilities in the developed countries like USA with the cheap basic amenities makes it attracting for the people to migrate. Another reason of the migration to suburbs is the low crime rate. It is found through statistics that in the developed countries the crime rates are pretty low in the suburbs than in the city. The tax rate which is one of the major expense in cities are less in the suburbs ("Triumph of the City",167).
The urban sprawl also helps in the economic development of the suburbs. When the people starts residing in these suburbs the standard of living increases. Better schools and colleges thrive. Industries starts developing along with more shopping malls. Infrastructure and transportation also develops so that the residents can commute to other places easily.
But the main problem of the urban sprawl is the increase in population. As population increases development takes place but rural lands and trees deceases. The rise in pollution also increases due to rise in vehicles and the industries that grow up in the vicinity of these suburbs. It affects the environment a lot. The development of residential areas and the industries affect the wildlife habitats. They also faces the problem of drinking water supply due to sudden increase in population. The people living in the suburbs faces a major problem of transportation. The lack of frequent public transport urges them to buy automobiles. So car becomes mandatory for the people living outside cities.
The rural people who used to stay in these areas face tough competition in terms of income, jobs. In most cases their land are taken but sufficient amount of value are not given to them. So they suffer huge losses and look out for jobs in other sectors.("Triumph of the City",192).
Conclusion
But the availability of cheap houses is a major reason of urban sprawl and the rise in population. Though this sprawl is beneficial as it allows the people to stay a bit away from the crowed environment of the cities. The low cost of living enables more saving and enjoying life without staying in the heart of the city. The infrastructure if developed properly then there is no problem of transportation. But the problem like polluting the environment, over crowdedness makes the suburbs difficult for the local people. But as population will increase and urban sprawl will take place so proper planning of any city is important and even if suburbs are to be developed then proper methods should be applied to protect the environment.
Q4. Are cities "Greener"?
Thesis of the Statement
We discuss about the effects of the urban cities of the environment and how to overcome those problem so that we can make our city green.
Introduction
More than two third of the population of different countries live in the urban cities. As thriving cities are more developed than other cities population move to those cities. It the city with numerous problems along with different solutions. The cities are the places where there are development in every aspects like science and technology, new innovations. These cities have different people of various culture. But the migration of people is creating an impact on the climate("Triumph of the City",200).
The cities are not Greener any more. The rise in population makes the cities crowed and also creating more industries to make them more develop. This development is affecting our environment. Our nature is suffering from the harshness of industrial pollution, the vehicle pollution are rising as population is increasing("Triumph of the City",210).
The pure and fresh air is becoming less due to frequent due to cutting of trees. The expansion of residential area, retail outlets and the industries are developed by the cutting of trees. Rapid urbanization is creating a severe climatic change. The air pollution is increasing at alarming rate where the urban people are facing breathing problem. There in increase in the number diseases related to breathing problems("Triumph of the City",223).
Diseases such as skin cancer due to increase in the temperature of the cities. Rather comparing with other cities that are not so developed and are not thriving , the level of pollution and environmental effects are less. The suffering are more I thriving cities than the other cities
Conclusion
But this is true that these urban cities are the major reasons of the environment getting polluted and due to more development coming in the future theses cities there will more problems. Our green environment is changing high buildings and industries along with the noise of vehicles and over crowdedness.
Q5. How can we make Boston more affordable?
Thesis of the statement
The topic of the discussion is how to make Boston which one of the costliest city and affordable for all people to live. We also discuss about how to reduce the expense of purchasing land and the maintenance of home.
Introduction
Boston , is one of the costliest city of USA. Buying a house or taking rent in this city is very costly. It is really difficult to live in this city. However there are some way to make quite affordable. In this city there are few unoccupied ad underutilized lands .Some of these land can be used in the development of affordable housing or sold that the residents can purchase to build house at low cost. The developer who develops the building can reduce the price per square foot by giving incentives through density bonuses("Triumph of the City",156).
The maintenance cost of the houses are pretty high. So if this cost is reduced with modern homes with new windows and energy efficient insulation. The house owners can also reduce the maintenance cost by hiring licensed suppliers who will provide the materials at low cost("Triumph of the City",157).
The different savings program by the government can help the low income group people to buy an affordable house and repay the loans.
Conclusion
For example the city Atlanta, in the state of Georgia is one of the most affordable city to live in. The reason is that Atlanta created Beltline Housing Initiative Program(HIP) to make living affordable to the residents of the city. If such programs are also implemented in the city of Boston then the city can be affordable to live.
Works Cited
Glaeser, Edward. Triumph of the City- How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, greener, Healthier, And Happier. The Penguin Press. 352 Pages.2011.
Enrico, Moretti, The New Geography of Jobs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. New York.279 Pages.(2012)
