Blogging Social Difference in L.A: Week 4

This is my comment about Marina Magana about her week 3 blog post on Silver Strand and near downtown area, near La Colonia Street.

I think your descriptions of the homes you saw really relates to the "growth of the city" circle because one feature of it is that different neighborhoods can be right next to each other and share nothing in common. In fact, they are pretty much the opposite. According to the Blackwell Reader “in the expansion of the city a process of distribution takes place which… relocates individuals and groups by residence and occupation” (Blackwell Reader pp. 341). This can definitely be applied to your observations. Silver Strand is where all the wealthy people are located, and they probably want a place here because it’s near the beach, a very attractive location that Americans usually enjoy.  Just a couple of blocks later, there lives a completely different group: the low income group. The people in the low income group probably work low ended jobs and thus live together because those “one-story [and] small two bedroom” (Blog) homes are all they can afford. Whereas, compared to the group that lives in Silver Strand probably earn similar high income, and income is correlated with which type of occupation one has, thus, this supports the statement from the Blackwell Reader that residence and occupation go together.

The Blackwell Reader also goes on to state that “encircling the central business…are… the so called “slums” and “bad lands,” with their submerged regions of poverty degradation, and disease, and their underworlds of crime ad vice” (Blackwell Reader pp.342). This statement is saying that slums are found right outside the central area, however, in your blog, you noticed that there is no central area in Silver Strand so this really makes me wonder if this statement from Blackwell Reader applies to your blog. Everything Blackwell describes about slums next to where wealthier people are is true. I wonder, does this statement mean that the wealthy are the “central”? Could this statement also apply to residence and not only the business central district because it seems to apply here?

Additionally, this observation of separate types of people living in separate neighborhoods due most likely to social differences such as occupations, education and race. I used these as examples because I hypothesize that occupations are a common factor to the groups due to the expensive and inexpensive homes. I also believe there is a strong correlation between occupation and education level. The higher your education, the more income you will earn through your occupation. From your blog, you state that usually whites live in Silver Strand and Latinos live near downtown. Thus, these social differences cause separation in residency, which is the difference that difference makes in this case.