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Alameda Social Issues

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The city of Oakland, located in the northern part of California, is part of Alameda County; It is the eighth largest city in California and has 50 distinct neighborhoods (Szkup-Valdez). Although classified as a very diverse city in the United States (Szkup-Valdez), Oakland’s residents do not live equally because the city is categorized by its disadvantaged inner city and privileged suburbs(Szkup-Valdez). The different groups of people suffer different types of social issues, similarly to how African-Americans and Whites dealt with different social issues during the segregation period. The ongoing difference between suburbs and inner city have caused for Oakland to be racially segregated and has caused for the political attention and funding …show more content…

Despite being considered a highly dense city by the state and nation, the density is not evenly distributed across the city. The inner density has a strong correlation with race and ethnicity. African Americans and Latinos constitute 83.9% of the total population in East Oakland and 66.7% of the total population in West Oakland (Alameda County Public Health Department). Both regions are part of the inner city and, therefore, one can conclude that those of minority races tend to live in the higher density areas where poverty and social issues tend to be major problems (Alameda County Public Health Department). Furthermore, this data of density further proves that Oakland suffers from racial segregation due to the fact that African Americans constitute only 28% of the total Oakland population (Data Access and Dissemination Systems), yet a majority of them live in low-income communities that have high population densities, few resources, and great health …show more content…

From early on in 1860 to early 1960s, Oakland, California was considered a very conservative city but from the late 1960s onwards, Oakland shifted towards more liberal policies (Reese, Sacbee). As a result, oakland is now viewed as a highly liberal city and its policies further prove that point. Oakland’s City Council Priorities now focus on problems related to public safety, healthcare, the environment, and social equity rather than some of the more conservative policies such as economics. These liberal policies have the goals of providing public safety and reducing crime rates in every neighborhood, offering different programs to ensure the health/well-being of all residents, ensuring a clean environment in which residents can live without health risk factors, and offering social equality to every resident (City Council, City of Oakland Priorities). Although Oakland’s city council has these goals, they are not being met equally. Some areas in Oakland are suffering from social issues that the city council promised to fix but never did. Interestingly enough, these areas tend to be centralized in the inner city where minorities and low-income people

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