An increase in the price of housing has made housing unaffordable for poor people. As such, most of the poor people, can only afford to live in places with dilapidated housing. When the price of housing increases poor people will become more exposed to theft and burglary because the houses that match their incomes are those that are poorly structured with poor security systems. According to Logan and Molotch (2007), the limit that discriminates people on where they can live is not ethical. This is mainly because everyone should be able to live in a decent place. In any case, this is the reason why a number of regulations have been established to ensure that the low-income groups can afford decent houses. Urban renewal provides municipalities with the opportunity to revitalize houses that are substandard or decadent so that they can be used for commercial, industrial, or residential use.
Urban renewal causes an increase in the number of houses available for renting. Furthermore, there are some cases where the poor get access to decent houses at an affordable cost. The poor are able to secure employment because of the new businesses and entertainment venues that are created because of urban renewal (Hydra, 2008). Unfortunately, urban renewal also has a negative impact on poor people as it leads to their displacement in cases where their neighborhoods are being torn down. Another negative impact is that urban sprawl will cause congestion of people in the urban areas, and this will lead to an increase in the cost of living, which will eventually affect the poor. This is especially so in cases where urban renewal is done near the areas where poor people reside.
References
Hyra, D. S. (2008). The new urban renewal: The economic transformation of Harlem and Bronzeville. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Logan, J. R., & Molotch, H. L. (2007). Urban fortunes: The political economy of place. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
