Living in New York City in the 21st Century

Living in New York City in the 21st Century
The city of New York is one Largest and most majestic cities in the U.S and the entire world. The city has undergone a long developmental transformation to be what it is currently. The city was once inhabited by the Algonquin and Lenape natives who farmed and fished between the Hudson and Delaware before Italian explorers looking for a route to Asia settled there around the 17th Century. That is also the period that some Dutch families settled on a modern day Governor’s Island in New York where they worked and lived. Later on in that Century, the Governor of the new Dutch settlement, Peter Minuit, for 60 guilders worth of farming tools, clothes, wampum, and other trade goods bought a vast part of the Manhattan Island from the natives. After some of the Dutch families had relocated to Manhattan, the growth of the new city was rapid, and by the year 1760, it was bigger than Boston and also the second largest city in the colonies of America. Ever since the city has continued growing and undergoing a lot of changes to become what is currently a city with five boroughs and a population of above 8 million residents. Over time, the city has shown its resilience while it was undergoing various challenges such as the terrorist attacks of 911, floods, just to mention a few. However, one of the key questions is what experience does the New Yorker undergo during his day-to-day routine in the city. The paragraphs that follow will explore the various aspects of the life of a New Yorker in the 21st Century such as; security, transport and communication, Housing, Recreation, and the general quality of life.

The role of the Transport network to a big city like New York can never be emphasized enough. This is because most of the daily activities of the people in the city rely on its transportation network and thus the whole of its economy. The transportation system of the city also played a key role during its various stages of development. The shipping industry, for instance, contributed to the growth and development of the city in a significant way. Also, the growth of the Lower Manhattan, New Jersey, and Downtown Brooklyn can be attributed to the city’s ferry service. The residential development in the farmlands of Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens can also be attributed to the construction of the subway system7. Despite the great significance of the transportation system to the city, underinvestment in this area has limited its improvement and maintenance and thus, as a result, it barely caters for the needs of its large population. With 1964 being the last year when a major bridge was built in the city (Verrazano Narrows Bridge). Under this type of negligence, the subway system had deteriorated to a great extent, and it is only within the last decade that renovations by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) have repaired and improved this system up to a good standard. As a result of the poor condition of the transportation system, there are many challenges that are faced by the people while executing their day-to-day activities. They include; the transit and traffic congestion challenge, the subway congestion, the flooding of transport systems like roads during rainy weather, difficulty to access information systems, conditions that hinder the significant improvement of infrastructure in the city, among many others.
When it comes to security, the city of New York has experienced its fair share of terrorist attacks, criminal cases, natural calamities, among other security related challenges. However, the most significant insecurity problem that New York has ever faced was the 9/11 terrorist attacks when four airplanes were hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorist and crashed into the New York twin towers that were then the World Trade Center. The Pentagon was also crashed into by another airplane while another attack that failed had been intended for the U.S. Capitol8. These events that were masterminded by Osama Bin Laden led to the declaration of the international war on terror. Also, the 9/11 attacks led to a change in the perspective of the government security agencies towards their fight against terrorism and insecurity in New York and the entire country. Some of this changes included inter-agency cooperation among the various security agencies in the U.S. The Leadership of the New York City also played a key role in enhancing security in the city through its policies. The 1990-1993 Mayor of the city, Mayor Dinkins was one of the key participants in the enhancement of security in the city. His legislation of the “Safe Streets/Safe Cities” Bill led to the increase of police officers by more than 8000 on the streets of New York. This, in turn, led to a tremendous reduction in the crimes rate in the city. To facilitate this expensive change, Mayor Dinkins had to two different income tax surcharges that funded the purpose of employing the additional police officers.
After Mayor Dinkins term was over in 1993, Mayor Rudy Giuliani took over the governance of New York City. During his term, his zero tolerance approach towards crime was efficient in countering criminal activities in the city thus leading to a 52% reduction in crimes rate. After Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s term, all the other mayors that followed after him went on with a similarly strict approach towards insecurity in the city hence making New York City one of the safest cities currently in U.S and the entire world. The security situation in New York is far much better than that seen in the other main cities in the world such as London3. The continuous improvement of New York’s security system led to a significant reduction in violent crimes where the reduction of violent crimes over the course of the past 12 years is estimated to be about 75% while the lowest rates of murder in New York since 1963 were recorded in the year 2007.
The levels of exercising, use of social parks, sports, and other forms of recreation are all key factors in the experience of living in New York and also for the health of the New Yorkers. Frequenting social parks and engaging in various outdoor activity contributes in a major way to the health and wellness of the vast New York population. Engaging in an outdoor activity as simple as taking brisk walks for a cumulative period of 3 hours a week can lead to up a 40% reduction in the heart disease peril. Other benefits associated with outdoor physical activity includes; weight management, reducing the risk of stroke, avoiding lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cancers, reducing stress and high blood pressure, relieving body aches and arthritis, strengthening one’s joints, muscles, and bones among many others4. The location and access to the various social parks and exercise facilities are also a key factor for one to consider while one is reviewing how well they serve the city. In a study conducted by Juliana A Maantay et al. the access of various New York parks and their effect on the level of physical activities on New Yorkers from different ethnic communities and races was tested. The two main parks under study in the survey were the Highland Park and the Marine Park. The study found out that the city’s ethnic and racial minorities had more access to physical activity sites and parks5. However, since the sample size of parks in the study was small, there is a need for further studies on the subject.
The city also has Senior Centers that cater for recreational and educational activities of the elderly population. The city has fourteen thousand senior centers that cater to the needs of over 10 million elderly New Yorkers. The critical services that these senior centers provide to the elderly in the city are vital for their health and wellness thus the continuous development of these facilities is paramount to the New York demography1. Sports and exercising are not the only recreation activities in New York City. On the contrary, the New York City has for a long time like many other cities been promoting its nightlife scene. This promotion has a purpose of attracting wealthy investors to relocate to the city and engages in business thus leading to the economic development of the city. Some of the entities involved in the New York nightlife scene include; dance troupes, opera companies, symphony orchestras, night clubs, cultural institutions, just to mention a few2. A big portion of the New York Population, most of them being young audiences frequent the outlined venues and many others at night for entertainment. However, the nightlife industry of the New York City and that of the entire U.S is being faced by a stiff competition by the T.V industry since most of the U.S citizens prefer to spend their evening at home with their families rather than going out to night clubs and other nightlife entities.
Like most major cities in the world, New York City experiences a housing problem due to its large population and population growth rate. This housing problem is despite the huge supply of accommodation units in the city that is approximated to be around 3.4 million homes. During the year 2014, more than a half of the New York households spent more than a third of their salary to pay for their housing expenses (being rent burdened). Also, around a third of all households in the city used more than half their salary to pay for their housing expenses (severely rent burdened)6. The preceding outlined problem may be attributed to the higher increase in the cost of housing expenses while the salaries paid to the labor force in the city remain relatively the same over time. These conditions call for the construction of more housing facilities for all levels of the New York society so as to solve the housing problem. The housing problem is not only within the city of New York but also in the metropolitan areas surrounding it. This because the entities involved in the production of housing facilities have been unable to keep with the high demand of houses in the areas thus negatively affecting the competitiveness of the region as a strategic region to locate their firms. This can be attributed to the fact that employers from various industries prefer to locate their companies in areas that can provide ample housing for their labor force. However, there are plans in place to coordinate with regional housing producers for the stimulation of an increase in housing as the population also increases and hence having sufficient housing the year 2040 for the various income levels.
Cultural diversity is one of the key traits of New York City. This can be attributed to the high immigration rate into the city by immigrants from many places in the world during its development process. In the modern day New York, Culture plays an instrumental role in the tourism sector of the city. The success of the vast tourism sector of the city, a lot of jobs are created for the residents of the city which in turn lead to the general wellbeing of the residents of the city. Some of the cultural attractions in New York include; cultural dance and music performances, world-class cultural museums, and theater performances. The gross income brought in by the cultural heritage of New York is estimated to be around thirty-eight billion dollars7. Also, the city also has world-class cultural institutions that keep attracting new talent into the city where it is developed and made more productive. When the new talent attracted into the city, it is integrated with the original New York talent and the resulting products are unique and thus may attract new audiences which may further lead the development of new income streams.
Besides the tourists attracted by the rich cultural diversity of New York City, also immigrants from different regions who are impressed by various cultural backgrounds and are interested in being part of them. The access to various cultural backgrounds by the New York City residents enhances social interaction among the residents that further lead to the creation of connection among the inhabitants. This, in turn, leads to the improvement of efficiency in schools and also raises civic engagement and societal awareness among the inhabitants.
Analyzing the various attributes of New York City that have been discussed in the above paragraphs, one can clearly see that the city is rich in a lot of areas and thus the cumulative product of the abundance it harbors is the reason behind its greatness. The cultural diversity among the city residents plays a key role in promoting peacefulness and unity among the city residents. This is because exposure to different cultures as is the case in New York City leads to the appreciation of various cultures among the city inhabitants. This is unlike a place that is composed of people with minimum racial variation since people in such regions tend to favors those they perceive themselves as a part of. This, in turn, leads to division and favoritism among the resident. It is also paramount to remember the role that good security plays in the city of New York. A safe environment is a key component in the creation of a stable economy and a productive population that is free from fear. Also, the availability of social platforms is significant to the inhabitants of a particular region. This is because the masses need to be entertained so as to ease the pressure and stress developed during their day-to-day activities. Social platforms also create a favorable environment for socializing and engaging in physical fitness activities that are essential for a healthy population. However, the city of New York is also faced by particular challenges such as the housing problem and the transport and communication network that does not efficiently support the daily processes of the city. Despite the few flaws that it has, New York City remains a majestic city that still has a high potential of becoming even greater.
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