The South Side

One interesting pattern in large American cities is that the south sides of cities that are located below a city's central core are almost always blue collar, working class areas.

South Boston. South Philly. South Baltimore. Southeast DC. The South Side of Chicago. Southwest Atlanta. South side of Houston. Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. South Central Los Angeles.

Not that is not to say there are no nice southern sections of cities are that sections of cities north of their downtowns may not be as working class as southern sections. But in many cases the south sides of cities are not only infamous in their own right but they can also define the working class character of the entire city. South Boston and Southies have been prominently shown in recent big budget films like The Town and The Departed. Philadelphia is inextricably linked to South Philly because of cheesesteaks and Rocky. The South Side of Chicago, Lower Ninth and South Central dominate the working class images of their respective cities on a national scale.

For  port cities, it's easier to connect the dots on why the southern sections of cities became large working class communities. These cities were often located on rivers and waterways that forced cheap working class labor to live on the cheapest land (as well as unwanted ethnic groups as well. You might have heard America was a little racisty back then), which was often swamps and marshy land that were located just below major ports and factories. South Boston, South Philadelphia, Southeast DC and the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans were literally built on swamp land. The cramped conditions of these cities original working class helped foster the image of their city's working class to this day. Chicago's famous south side which is bordered by lake Michigan was also built on swamp land but did not develop around port factories. Chicago's South Side was developed around the Union Stockyards, the city's meat-packing district and the Pullman railroad company.

But for the other major cities in the South and West the connection to why the south side of their major cities are working class are not as clear. Did cities in the South and West which developed into major cities only within the 20th century just repeat the development of older cities because of precedent? I don't know but I find it very peculiar.

No matter the case, here's my shout out to the American city South Side:

Common ft Kanye West - Southside

Baltimore - Nina Simone

Urban Revival is for the Chil'ren!

John Legend & The Roots - Shine


Talib Kweli - Eat to live


Nas - I know I can


R.I.P Old DIrty Bastard

Seattle's Central District

This is a video made for a research project about the Central District of Seattle based on the music video and lyrics for "Home" by Jake One featuri...

This video was made solely for educational purposes with all sources properly cited and given credit.

The streets of Seattle

Jake One - Home feat. Vitamin D, Note, Maneak B and Ish

2PAC - To Live and Die in L.A

'Wavin' Flag' by K'naan (Official World Cup Theme Song)

Please text 'Yéle' to 501501 to donate $5 to Yéle Haiti. Your money will help with relief efforts. They need our help.

(Tweeted by) Wyclef Jean, the text message went out to nearly 1.4 million followers and kicked off what has quickly become the largest text-based fundraising campaign for disaster relief in history.

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For the Haiti crisis, Yéle's technology partners Mobile Giving and Give on the Go have waived their typical waiting period of two weeks to deposit the donations. Firms like Mobile Accord — which manages the Red Cross system, among others — pay out donations on a quarterly basis, after customers have paid their cell-phone carriers (they) forwarded the money, 100% of which goes toward relief efforts.

Paris

Baltimore - Nina Simone

Ill Song, Im surprised a local rapper hasnt used this beat and hook before.

LAZERBITCH "Coquette" - Red One

Shot in the great city of Baltimore.

Ayo - Life is real

Check out these city shots of the world's next Mega-City, Lagos, Nigeria

Scarface "My Block"

One man's tale of life on his block. Great Video.

Travellin' man

Those familiar with this blog know that I am a big proponent of travelling and experiencing different cultures. So I am pleased to post this gem from one of favorite rappers, Mos Def called "Travellin' Man"

The Breathing City

A great video showing the functions of one city block. This video shows the different processes of city buildings and how they interact together to almost form a living entity once shown together in a time lapse series.

This video shows why a I love cities for their variety and their randomness. This video shows that when in a city we all work may live together but we all move at different speeds. As opposed to the suburbs which can force us to live on the same speed.

The Frozen City

Im posting this classic song from Blackstar and Common not just because it personifies the city as being alive but because it filmed in the freezing cold...just like the weather here today in Sunny Baltimore.

Flashing Lights

Colin Munroe-I Want Those Flashing Lights (Kanye West Remix)

We Almost Lost Detroit

The Associated Press reports:

DETROIT (AP) — Some statistics conveying the breadth of challenges facing the city of Detroit:

916,952: Detroit's latest official population, down from peak of about 1.8 million in 1950s. In a city of 139 square miles, that gives Detroit a population density about half of Chicago's.

201,000: Residential taxpayers in Wayne County, which is dominated by Detroit, who were tax delinquent in October, out of a total of 857,000.

19,708: Violent crimes recorded by FBI for Detroit in 2007, giving it highest violent crime rate of any major U.S. city. San Diego and San Antonio, each with 50 percent more people than Detroit, had less than half as many violent crimes.

$18,513: Average sale price of a Detroit home so far in 2008, down from $40,011 in 2007, according to Detroit Board of Realtors. Average sale price in neighboring Oakland County is $153,695.

47.8: Percent of Detroit children in 2007 who lived below poverty line of $21,000 for a family of four. For children nationally, the rate was 18 percent. Detroit's overall poverty rate of 33.8 percent was highest of any major city.

21.6: Detroit's unemployment rate, according to latest Census Bureau figures for 2005-07. Of all U.S. cities with more than 20,000 residents, only Muskegon, Mich., had a higher rate, at 22.1 percent.

15: Candidates competing in a special mayoral election called after Kwame Kilpatrick was jailed for trying to cover up a text-messaging sex scandal.

14: Losses so far for Detroit Lions en route to what could be National Football League's first 0-16 season.

3: Days each week that Detroit's two newspapers will offer home delivery, as part of new cost-cutting plan.

Justin Bua'a Art Personified

Slum Village's tainted video

Scenes of the City - The People

From Common's album, Finding Forever

I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

This is a great video showing travel sites fromm all across the globe.