Ch. 10 - Stratification and Social Class: Urban and Suburban Lifestyles

Introduction

• sociology research often shows us that what people think is not necessarily true

• no large city/suburb is accurately described with any single stereotype

• some urbanites experience ‘the good life’ while others contend with problems

Social Stratification I

• NA countries are stratified societies

• Marx and Weber offered ideas about social stratification

• Weber agreed w/ Marx that social stratification caused conflict, but viewed his 2-class view as too simplistic.

• Weber’s dimensions include:

  • class, status, power, income is an DV rather than IV

  • social difference → social inequality

Social Stratification II

= the hierarchical ranking within a society of various social class groups according to wealth, power, and prestige.

• socioeconomic status= a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality

  • ‘yankee city’

• reputational method= subjective input in which people compare others to themselves in terms of status

Upper Class

• ‘distinction of upper-upper and lower-upper classes is old money’ and ‘new money’

  • 2-3% of the total population, cohesive group

  • both men and women

• exclusive neighborhoods, political clout, not really 9-5

Middle Class

• 45% to 50%, diverse

• most often depicted

• Upper-middle-class women may or may not work

• larger portion works either in less prestigious white-collar occupations or highly skilled blue-collar jobs

Working Class

• 1/3 of society, family income below the national average

• vulnerable to financial crisis

• 1/3 of children will go to college

• both men and women are likely to restrict their outside activities to religious-related or neighborhood association activities

Lower Class

• about 18%, working-poor, inner cities or rural areas

• no medical insurance

• $ segregated neighborhoods w/ extreme levels of poverty and unemployment

Income Distribution Nationwide

• disparity between rich and poor is not just a matter of difference in incomes

• Canadian households, unequal distribution is pronounced and worsening

• income= the money you obtain through work

• wealth= anything you or your previous have accumulated in the form of marketable assets

  • as with income, wealth disparity exists as well

• net worth= all of one’s assets minus all liabilities

  • tends to stay negative in an individual’s lifetime

  • born into a family that is struggling economically

  • more accurate indicator of economic well-being

• poverty is subjective in terms of numbers

Incomes within and outside cities

• differences between urban and suburban dwellers gives us an understanding of the greater financial resources available to many of those living beyond city limit

Poverty Nationwide

• the poverty threshold for a US family of 4 (2021)= $27949

  • official poverty rate was 11.6%

• In Canada, 8.1% was classified as being below income after taes in 2020

  • immigrants= huge portion

Urban Social Class Diversity

• the essence of urban life is tremendous human variety

• upper-class urban neighborhoods vs. upper east side

  • 10065 is the most prestigious zip code in NYC

Middle-Class Urban Neighborhoods

• mostly in suburbia

• some city blocks evolve as middle-class neighborhoods through gentrification

• growth of the service sector generated has brought certain people to the city:

  • yuppies and dinks

• not all middle-class urban neighborhoods are recently evolved entities

Chicago

• some low-income neighborhoods in 1990 are now among the most desirable residential areas

• the arrival of yuppies further spurred redevelopment

• population demographics give strong evidence of a higher social class taking over the neighborhoods

Milwaukee

• sherman park

• dates back to 1890s

• racially and culturally diverse

• 3 of its streets= historic districts

• long-term residents, religious tolerance and integration

• competition with suburban store

Working-Class Urban Neighborhoods

• disappearing, distinctive by the ethnic and racial minority

• many visual cues give distinctive sense of place and form a part of the community’s social life

  • gemeinschaft, urban villages

Newark’s Ironbound

• multiethnic working-class area in the East War of Newark

• once the industrial center of the city

• mix of homes, stores, and industrial buildings, with vibrant commerical center

• local economy is sound

Mixed-Income Urban Neighborhoods

• may have been a result from intervention, such as public housing or planned gentrification

• can remain stable in their income diversity

• deteriorating as middle class moves out

• the keys to QOL as household income levels and desire and ability of residents to remain there

  • Toronto

Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods

• found in oldest districts

• near the central business district= inner-city neighborhoods, ghettos, slums

• trapped poor left behind in the inner city

Homelessness

• 2021, 582 500 ppl experience homelessness nightly

• no stereotype gives a complete picture of people experiencing homelessness

  • families with children

Suruban Social Class Diversity

• the suburbs no longer fit the white stereotype

  • minorities, working class, poverty, older adults

• vary wide in terms of age, income, racial composition, length of residence

Income Suburbs

• upper

  • before, resembled the well-todo

  • now, the old aristocratic families

  • older, white, highly educated

• middle

  • life centers on the family and child-centered activities

  • fewer people are poor

  • racially mixed

• working

  • some developed as a home for both factories and workers

  • some are more urbanized than others

  • some of the older suburbs are suffering from a loss of jobs

Suburban Cosmopolitan Centers

• Princeton

• academics, professionals, writers, etc

• resemble the university areas, bohemian enclaves, ‘high-culture’

Diverse Suburbs

• racially diverse, but some remain racially segregated

• attracts black middle-class families

  • invasion-succession