Foreclosures Are Leading To Spawning Of Tent Cities

Foreclosures Are Leading To Spawning Of Tent Cities

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Foreclosures are ultimately leading to the spawning of tent cities and for all appearances it does not seem that these will go away they have come to stay as a part of the scene.

Frankie Lynch is a self appointed mayor of one such tent city Taco Flat in Fresno.His ancestors had exited from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl era. They came to find another kind of penury in camps of the farm workers in the Central Valley. Now he too is floating around unable to find jobs. The residents of Lynchs tent city resemble the gypsies of yester years pinched faces, sunken cheeks, ceaseless coughs that all speak of malnourishment. Nearby is Pov a soup kitchen but pride and fear of muggings prevents them from crossing the rail tracks to avail of it.

The greatest problem here is crime. As per county records 41% of the residents have a jail history. Most had once been part of the mainstream but due to some reason or the other they are on the fringes of society. The reasons are many illness, mistakes and the caprices of global capitalism. In the past they made up the loss by getting back to work but those days are no more.

Carpenter Don Harmon lost his work when building construction came to a halt. Finally he landed up in Taco Flat with his infant son. Harmon had nothing to authenticate his stories except his work-weary hands.

Tent cities are similar to the squatter camps that came up during the time of the Great Depression. But it is more complex than before. These are developments taking place outside the rules of city planning. Today it is the predominant factor that is shaping the city.

Informal urbanization is marked by illegal occupation of land, setting up of makeshift shelters and lack of basic amenities. It is thriving in Fresno and other similar places where poverty is the ruling factor and the gap between the haves and have-nots is wide.

Professor Rahul Mehrotra of IIT (Urban Studies and Planning) said there is a close link between Taco Flat and the slums of Mumbai. He said, It's really a reflection of the government's inability to provide housing affordably across society. Informal urbanism also proliferates where people are cut off from the mainstream no matter what the reason racial, politics or economy.
Taco Flat typifies the trend. Its residents are a huge number of undocumented workers who are finding it more difficult to sign leases as immigration laws tighten and border patrolling tightens.

About the Author:
Jessica Alberton, has been working on ForeclosureRepos.com studying the foreclosures market, helping buyers on the finer points of Miami bank foreclosures.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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