City Demographics and Crime Profile

City Demographics and Crime Profile

Characterization of Detroit

At one time, Detroit was a thriving area with the status of being the automobile capital. Snyder, M. (2013) reported “Once upon a time, the city of Detroit was a teeming metropolis of 1.8 million people and it had the highest per capita income in the United States” (para. 1). When this status declined, the city was devastated by destitution, increased rates of unemployment, and massive deterioration of its communal and physical environment. With these drastic changes the population has decreased which has caused tax revenues to be reduced for the city government. This has caused the city to not have the funds needed for vital services the city needs; therefore, poverty appears to be a lasting state for a significant proportion of Detroit; and the education system is failing possibly half the youths it serves. The city’s decline can be contributed by many factors such as political, fiscal, economic, demographic; furthermore, the greater part of resident’s quality of life. Detroit is now characterized as a city of unemployment, deprivation, poverty-stricken housing, and excessive crime.

Identity of Social Factors

The characteristics that depict the city of Detroit have an influence on the crime rate. Jrank.org (2016) reported the following finding by the University of Chicago’s Department of Sociology:

The researchers claimed criminals were ordinary people of all racial backgrounds who were profoundly influenced by the poverty and the social instability of their neighborhoods. They claimed such a poor social and economic environment could produce all types of crime. (para.2)

These findings explain the crime rate in Detroit. With the rise of unemployment, failing educational system, and declining quality of life among the residents, the chance of crimes being committed is predictable. Many of the residents have lost hope of things getting back to where they were years ago and are now just trying to survive. For this to be manageable, individuals may feel the only thing they can do is something illegal. These are acts that may not have occurred if the social factors were better.

Consideration of Changes in Land Use, Property, Transportation, and Retail as One Moves Away from the City Center

Land Use and Property:

Industrial relocation, disinvestment in urban areas and resultant population decreases in post-industrial cities has resulted in the proliferation of urban vacant land. Vacant landscape plays a significant role in both the structure and function of cities. Vacant lots bring a negative condition in the city that is symptomatic of poor economics and dwindling populations. Vacant land can be a positive force and a resource in evolving urban environments