Cities as place of life and culture or fear and death (or) Reflections on journey through China, part V

Cities.

Several times this website has addressed the significant divide between city and country. I am convinced it is right now the single most important dividing line in both American society and Chinese society. Although perhaps for different reasons. In American society the urban-rural divide manifests itself largely as social-cultural-political differences. In Chinese society that is still true – but the differences are more in terms of economic and technological development. In America one generally encounters a high – sometimes higher – standard of living away from the cities. My mother lives on a 150 acre farm in upstate New York. She lives in a nice energy efficient house. She has electricity and running water and so on. She drives on paved roads in generally good condition. About the only thing she does not have is fast internet access.

In China as one moves away from the cities the level of development drops significantly. It is like being in a Third World nation. Dirt roads. Much lower levels of income. Simple homes made of brick. No running water. And so on. I once proofread a doctoral dissertation that studied different middle schools in China. I was surprised by her description of the rural schools. No heat – except maybe a coal/wood burning stove. No running water. Lack of playground equipment. Lack of educational materials. And so on.

One of the things that impressed me about cities in China is the extent to which they are centers of life culture and activity. They are generally very safe. You can walk the streets at night. City parks are full of people – from babies to retirees. People doing things together. Folk dancing. Music and singing. Sports. Games. In Beijing on the way back to my hotel from the Forestry Institute we stopped at a city park so my friend X_ M_ could show me where she goes one to two times every week to dance. Ballroom dancing. In a city park. At night. It was delightful.

I thought of American cities. And how in many ways they can be centers of violence and despair. Not just poverty. China has poor people too. But in too many American cities we have “ghettos” and generational poverty. Gangs and “street pirates”. People who are poor and less educated – which is one thing – but moreover seem completely unable to extricate themselves from their situation.

How and why did this happen?

This is not about “race” although in America clearly there is a racial dimension to this issue. It is much more about social and economic policy. About what we have attempted to do in the name of helping the urban poor. And about what appear to be the disastrous results of such policies.

I do not have all the answers – concerning how and why this came about nor concerning what we can do to repair the generational damage that has been done. What I very much do not understand is how “urban” became a euphemism for “African-American”. And by extension how “ghetto/gangster” became what some regard as the authentic “African-American identity/experience”.

One exceptional place to begin exploring the questions is “Politics, Policy, Pathology and Hope Within The Black Community”. The point is not simply that this is a “conservative blogger who happens to be black”. But rather this is someone who asks the hard questions – and has even come up with some answers – about the African-American community especially in urban settings. Three themes in particular: (1) failure to develop organic competency (2) failure to manage resources (3) failure to hold leaders accountable when they fail to do these things. Everyone who visits “Live the Trinity” needs to visit and bookmark “Within the Black Community”.

Other websites that address this issue are “Conservative Black Woman” and (had trouble locating the other one). Remember – this is not about “race”. This is about the suffering and struggle of the urban poor – who so often are African-American.

That is what my journey through China prompted. Why are Chinese cities – for the most part – places where people want to live and work? centers of life and culture? And why are some American cities – at least large portions thereof – places that we avoid if possible? centers of violence and despair?