Ghettos in Minnesota (Minneapolis, Mora, Houston: fit in, crime, home)

[audadvnc]

Originally Posted by moving123456

Just this past spring ... the "concentration of ethnic diversity" that was standing around a porch at 28th and Stevens started shooting at each other hitting a school bus in the process.

Bummer. Around here we call 'em bad boys - yep, there's a few bad eggs everywhere - they come in all stripes, as I described above.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Case in point: one of my relatives (who stopped short of using the word "ghetto") who described the neighborhood around the Southdale Library (border of Edina and Richfield) as "sketchy." For those who don't know that area, I think almost everyone would have a very, very difficult time describing it as "sketchy," unless your definition of sketchy exclusively revolves around perceived income level (those houses are mostly on the smaller side), because, as we all know, people who choose to live in a smaller, older homes or drive an older car are probably out there selling drugs to make the mortgage payment, when they're not mugging their neighbors or taking the bus to more expensive neighborhoods to commit burglaries.

Haha- that's how we get by

I had a funny encounter with some rural relatives a few weeks back- we talked about their son recently getting released from JDC for drug possession/intent to distribute, how they don't want the mother of his baby coming around as she's involved in all sorts of no good (drugs, friends that commit armed robbery, etc.), and some strange small-town crazy lady who they are worried wants to steal the same aforementioned baby due to a crazy attachment she seems to have. They then want on to say that they don't know how we deal with being around all the crime of living in the big city- in their town, they don't even lock their doors (kind of wanted to tell them that they might want to start thinking about doing just that!).

[saykinriseo]

I live in Duluth and the area most likely to be called a "ghetto" here is Central Hillside. Also, Lincoln Park just to the west of downtown. Funny how the "ghetto" places are the most ethnically diverse in a city, huh? Perhaps the people of this country need to reexamine their veiled racist tendencies.

Or not so veiled.

[Conroy25]

Originally Posted by audadvnc

Having lived in Mpls for many years, and currently living smack dab in the middle of Near North Minneapolis, my impression is that "ghettos" exist mostly in the minds of frightened suburbanites. Perhaps the crime/safety situation was worse twenty years ago during the crack epidemic, when a whole generation of young black men was exposed to a new health threat. And today, the lack of decent jobs is a plague on our society - but unemployment is everywhere. The ghetto is spread into society.

WORD!

[fromupthere]

Originally Posted by saykinriseo

I live in Duluth and the area most likely to be called a "ghetto" here is Central Hillside. Also, Lincoln Park just to the west of downtown. Funny how the "ghetto" places are the most ethnically diverse in a city, huh? Perhaps the people of this country need to reexamine their veiled racist tendencies.

Or not so veiled.

People probably refer to those areas as ghettos because of one of the definitions of ghetto (from Merriam-Webster).

"a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure"

[knke0204]

Ghetto is actually a pretty historic word and holds significance. Fortunately there are no ghettos in MPLS. or Minnesota for that matter.

Red Lake Indian Reservation is the most 'ghetto' area by all means of the word.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I'll first say that in general I hate the use of the word "ghetto," but I'll try to roll with it here. Second, why the "high density" definition? And what does that mean? I wouldn't call many of the more crime-ridden neighborhoods to be all that high in density; more so than a rural town, obviously, but many of the higher crime spots in Minneapolis are not in its highest density areas. I know this isn't what you're directly asking or saying, but there does seem to a perception out there that density = high crime, and that's simply not the case.

I know there are parts of Duluth that probably fit all of those categories. Doesn't Central Hillside have that reputation?

And of course there are plenty of smaller towns or suburbs/exurbs with gangs, drug dealing, and high poverty, although I don't know which ones would fit the vague density requirements. Parts of Chaska, maybe?

Duluth participates in a crime mapping website . If you look at the map (at any time), you will notice the most criminal activity in the Central Hillside and Lincoln Park (the area immediately west of downtown). Central Hillside (which includes East Hillside) does indeed have a reputation as the "ghetto" area of Duluth. The West End (formally known as "Lincoln Park", but the "West End" to any Duluthian), immediately to the (south) west of Downtown (and Central Hillside) also is a pocket of crime. The West End is perceived, at least locally, as a kind of ghetto / shady area - indeed, Lincoln Park (the park) was once reputed to be a hive for drug dealers, but I haven't noticed anything shady the many times I've biked or walked through there. West Duluth - located west of 34th Ave W and NOT to be confused with the "West End" - has a few pockets of crime, but not nearly as much as the West End or Central / East Hillsde.

Otherwise, there are no real foci of delinquency in Duluth. The crime-ridden neighborhoods in Duluth are also the most dense (although they are losing population), but as far as I know, the relative crime density far exceeds the difference in population densities between Central Hillside or the West End and other neighborhoods.

I've heard Worthington has some bad areas, but haven't been there or seen statistics to confirm it.

[nick is rulz]

Duluth definetly has nothing even close to a ghetto and anyone who suggests otherwise needs to leave the city and check out other areas of the country.

The only area in Minneapolis that I would be very hesitant to reside in would be anything between Broadway and Lowry Aves on the Northside...along with several other smaller pockets between Highway 55 and 53rd Ave North. That being said, residing in any of those areas would probably only result in nuisance crimes, litter in yards, etc....nothing like Detroit, Gary, or Baltimore.

[audadvnc]

Some kid knocked down my snowman! And you know what, he looked like one of those ethnically diverse kids, too. I'm moving to Mora!!

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

Duluth definetly has nothing even close to a ghetto and anyone who suggests otherwise needs to leave the city and check out other areas of the country.

The only area in Minneapolis that I would be very hesitant to reside in would be anything between Broadway and Lowry Aves on the Northside...along with several other smaller pockets between Highway 55 and 53rd Ave North. That being said, residing in any of those areas would probably only result in nuisance crimes, litter in yards, etc....nothing like Detroit, Gary, or Baltimore.

I think the point was to try to define a "ghetto" based purely on the OP's question and definition, rather than necessarily real crime rates or comparisons to other parts of the country. I think that many people in MN do have the perception that there are "ghettos" in MN, Duluth included.