Introduction
In the current era, urban poverty rises to be a major concern a bigger challenge to the whole world. Previously, rural poverty had claimed a greater attention from many development agencies. Many factors have contributed to the urban poverty problem. One of the greatest contributing factors to poverty in the urban areas is the rapid population growth of urban centers. In the new century, most people are running away from the countryside to the urban areas. Overpopulation in the urban areas comes with the lack of employment and the scarcity of jobs. The few available jobs pay very little. The majority of individual who live in towns and city are the middle and the lower class individuals. Some people live in quite unconducive places with little or sometimes, no food to eat. Poverty, especially in urban areas should be fought by all means necessary. This research paper will describe the poverty in urban areas and also discuss various strategies that can be put in place in order to fight poverty in the urban areas.
Population records and calculations show that number of people living in the urban areas has drastically and rapidly increased over time. Around the year 1950, the global urban human population was approximately 300 million while as at now, almost 2.95 billion people, live in the urban areas. With the ever growing population, steps and strategies must be put in place in order to find new ways of generating wealth or redistributing wealth within and among countries. Poor living conditions and poverty in most urban areas are often associated with unemployment, mental or physical disabilities or even lack of education. In the developing countries, such people become beggars in the streets, living in unconducive places as asserted Lloyd-Jones and Rakodi (2014). Most of the people who work are also impoverished. For instance, in the informal sector, people scavenge garbage dumps for any salvageable materials or labor on the small construction projects. Such jobs may provide for the families of these workers, though, the income will not always be enough to support the families (Satterthwaite and Mitlin, 2013).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Efforts to fight poverty in the urban areas have been seen even in the developing world. Organizations, self-help programs, unions, groups and political movements have, in one way or another, fought against poverty in the urban centers. Some people have taken significant steps towards the eradication of poverty in cities or towns. Prateep, a woman from Bangkok, is known for her efforts against urban poverty. She organized schools for the children living in slums and also helped improve sanitation, health care and housing. An organization in Manila, Tondo Organization, also helped fight urban poverty by coming with development projects.
The situation and the conditions of living, for the middle and the lower class people, may not seem that bad from an overview. To check on the situation of such people below is a formulated example. Caroline lives in Philadelphia together with her husband and their three children. Caroline and her husband both bring home a total of 220 dollars a week. This amount may seem okay for the family, but according to Caroline, the amount is not enough to cover all their expenses. The children have medical problems which require more money. This kind of lifestyle is challenging and subjects such to hardship kind of lifestyle.
Urban poverty is a threat to the whole world. The developed countries such as the United States are also not left out of the threat. It is a threat that prompts global awareness. All nations in the world need to come together and come up will strategies and solutions to the challenge of urban poverty. Many strategies to kick out urban poverty have been put in place in the recent years. Most of these strategies failed terribly, making no efforts to fight urban poverty. In the past few years, the issue of urban poverty has been making headlines. In the US for example, the causes for the rise of urban poverty especially in the recent years include racism, the high incarceration rate of black men, unemployment, poor schools, and urban blight among others.
Many organizations and individuals have tried to fight poverty in the urban areas. Even then, the situation persists and grows like a disease. More strategies and programs can be put to work, in the fight against urban poverty. Housing subsidies may lift many people above the poverty line. Social security is important in keeping people safe in order for them to conduct their businesses freely. Programs such as tax credits and food stamps have been seen to lift the lives of many Americans above the poverty level as asserted by Arimah (2010).
Different methods could be used to fight urban poverty indirectly and at list protect the future from the strife. With the high populations in the cities and towns, cases of ignorance are likely to come up. The majority of the population in the urban areas consists of the youth. Most of them drop out of schools. Young girls get pregnant at early ages. Most of those who finish their education to look for jobs do not get employed. Drug abuse among the youth is another contributing factor to urban poverty. Such trends only facilitate the problem of poverty in these areas. Identifying the root of the problem is an important part of strategizing on the problem. The government and other organizations should then look for safety programs that would prevent such trends from taking place.
Proper and enough schools should be constructed, especially for young children. Parents should ensure their kids go to school. Awareness programs should be conducted to educate the youth and the public at large on the issue of urban poverty. Young girls should get thorough education and teachings on the issue of pregnancies and the importance of avoiding pregnancy at early ages. Youths who abuse drugs should be taken to rehabilitation centers for treatment services. The society should remain clean of distracters such as illegal drugs. With the youths straightened through education and eradication of ignorance, the new generation comes out victorious against the poverty challenge.
Other strategies for the society as a whole such as housing subsidies and urban sanitation programs may also come to play. Think of an initiative to develop poor urban settlement areas. Bartlett, et al . (2016) believes to coming up with appropriate sanitation programs that would improve the living conditions of the residents, would undoubtedly prove to be a big step towards the eradication of urban poverty. The government should ensure public safety to the urban residents as crime is one of the contributing factors of poverty. If people can live in affordable houses or get their rents lowered through the housing subsidies, their living status would automatically rise. Finally, more jobs have to be created in order for more people to get employed and live more comfortable lives. Workers should also get better pay, amounts that would cover their necessary expenses.
Conclusion
Poverty itself is a huge global threat. In the past, rural poverty made headlines and got the attention of the world. In the new century, urban poverty has taken over, rising like fire, consuming many cities and towns. People tend to desert the rural areas, running to the urban areas for various social, political and economic reasons. The growing populations in urban areas, globally, have increasingly caused poor living conditions characterized by poverty. Fortunately, with the roots of urban poverty identified, specific countries or the whole world as a unit can fight urban poverty. Various strategies such as urban development and sanitation programs can be put to work in order to eradicate the problem.
References
Satterthwaite, D., & Mitlin, D. (2013). Empowering Squatter Citizen:" Local Government, Civil Society and Urban Poverty Reduction" . Routledge.
Arimah, B. C. (2010). The face of urban poverty: Explaining the prevalence of slums in developing countries (No. 2010, 30). Working paper//World Institute for Development Economics Research.
Bartlett, S., Hart, R., Satterthwaite, D., de la Barra, X., & Missair, A. (2016). Cities for children: children's rights, poverty and urban management . Routledge.
Lloyd-Jones, T., & Rakodi, C. (2014). Urban livelihoods: A people-centred approach to reducing poverty . Routledge.
