so let's talk about cincinnati.
did you know: according to U.S. census data (2007), cincinnati is the 10th poorest city in the country? the poverty rate is 23.5% compared to a national rate of 12.5%. so, one in four cincinnatians falls below the poverty line.
did you know: cincinnati is one of the most segregated cities in the country?
take a look at this map. if you scroll over the image, it will highlight certain areas of the city (over-the-rhine, clifton, avondale, hyde park, etc.) red represents caucasian, blue: african american, green: asian, orange: hispanic, gray: other.
as a college student, how much of this did you really know? how many of us really knew about the high numbers of poor people in cincinnati beyond the few that walk around clifton looking for our beer cans?
how about volunteering? how many of us actually get out to help? how many of us actually find the time to help?
i'm not trying to preach, but they are things to think about. and the first step is to become aware.
to learn more, check this out:
by addressing these issues, citylink center is a city-wide initiative that has been created to integrate help with accessibility. the center has not been built yet, but plans are in place and its mission is incredibly promising.
Honestly, it'd be tough to gauge the knowledge of people who knew about this kind of thing with UC students. I mean, I know a lot of us are Ohioans, and a lot are Cincinnatians, but those who grew up in the suburbs or even in another state might not know about it all.
ReplyDeleteOur campus and the surrounding areas have everything a student at a college could want (minus the late-night options). And any place that's open late is catering to the crowd who wants to be there late. What I mean is, a lot of UC students are somewhat sheltered. Driving through some of the "worst" parts of our city takes less than 10 minutes.
And in those 10 minutes, as we drive by apartments, dozens of people live in poverty. In 10 minutes we pass by a microcosm of squalor and, I'm not by any means saying we need to stop our cars and just take it all in or what have you, but it's difficult to really be cognizant of everything happening if you're on your way to a bar downtown, knowwhadaimean?
But those links you've provided are really interesting. I hope people — including myself! — begin to really develop our knowledge of the city as a whole as opposed to the little, uh, somewhat, bubble that surrounds us here.
I knew Cincinnati was pretty diverse but had no idea how segregated it is. Since I mainly stay in Clifton, I guess I never really think about the segregation because I live in my own bubble. You raise a valid point in being more aware of the culture in which we live in and ask why it is that way. The links are very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Cincinnati my entire life so this doesn't surprise me one bit. I volunteer at a Cincinnati Public School, so I've seen these kids that live below poverty, coming to school in the same pair of socks for two straight months.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, if you want to get a great argument going, talk to eastsiders about westsiders and vice versa.
Damn stuck up eastsiders...(hope everyone sees the joking in this)
All it takes to be aware of this as a college student is to pay attention to local news, not just our on campus newspaper, but the real newspaper in the city and the TV stations. You can learn a lot about the city by following media coverage, and that's not just because I've lived here my whole life.
That map was really interesting! I had no idea the city was literally that segregated.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post, I think sometimes the reason that it can be so segregated is due to culture differences. I work at PF Chang's and we have a few servers there who are Turkish. You can tell from talking to them that the whole Turkish community tends to come together. If you meet another Turk and ask them if they know them the answer almost always is "Yes." We all want to be around people who understand us and are like us, especially when language is a barrier.
ReplyDeleteObviously, poverty is also a huge issue but it's just another thought (:
I agree.. maybe people are just wanting to be around the people most like themselves.
ReplyDelete