Week 4

     The UN's report on the state of the world's cities was the topic of discussion for this week. We talked about being in an age of urbanization. In this age, much of a country's population (and even the world's) live in cities. Locations of plants and factories, as well as low cost of living, leads to this boom. The people who are moving into cities rapidly seem to be coming from rural areas. We outlined some advantages of companies locating in cities and it seems that the economic opportunities are the drawing factor.


     A fact I found pretty surprising was that only 3-4% of US land is taken up by cities. Here is a map displaying the locations of our major cities. The cities are spread out and, for the most part, strategically located.


     The Urban Divide was another hot topic. It was determined that the average income is less for those living in inner cities compared to those living outside the inner city. Cities contain many high school dropouts who are beginning to fall even more behind due to the economic shifts. The economic shifts involve the rise in service and high tech jobs, which typically require higher education and degrees. Along with the urban divide discussion came gender and race discrimination in the workplace. There seems to be an inequality in wages when men are compared to women, and maybe even race to race. I do not believe in racial discrimination regarding pay. Each race is capable of doing the same work as the other. Men being paid more than women is a separate topic that should be viewed from a different angle. While women may be as smart as men, the possibility of having children is a big issue to companies. Maternal leave could hurt a company if that woman holds a significant position. The possibility of pregnancy is the only reason I see for women having lower wages.
Western Advocate wrote an article discussing the salary gap. The article says that women's salaries are starting to catch up to men's pay but it is still less. Male graduate start with a salary, on average, $2000 higher than women. So is the pay difference strictly due to the possibility of pregnancy or is this a much bigger issue?


     The UN has two videos on YouTube which discuss bridging the urban divide. These videos are based off the 2010-2011 report. Part 1  Part 2






Mark Harner