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New York City - 2.Version - Referat



New York City - challenges of a 21st- century megapolis

General information:
Founded in 1624
Five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island
New York City with 789 km2 and 8,406 million inhabitants 6th largest citiy in the world
The largest conurbation in the United States
Current mayor: Bill de Blasio
America's safest large city

Michael Bloomberg:
New York City's mayor for 12 years (2001-2013; three-term mayoralty)
Situation before his election:
New York was a "damaged city" after the 9/11 attacks
Tourists were afraid to come to the city
Out of fear residents moved away
Massive debts about $3 billion to §5 billion
His achievements:
Taxi caps available in all five boroughs, some are even wheelchair accessible
Clean bus stations without any graffiti
A huge drop in crime rate (2.000 murders in 1990 -> 419 murders in 2012, record low)
Life expectancy three years greater in New York City than 12 years ago, and 2.5 years greater than the average across America
Public health initiatives (smoking ban, large sugary drink ban, expanded bike lanes etc.)
Education reform (high school graduation rate increased)
Economic and environmental improvements (more jobs, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced, new parks, hurricane- resistant buildings, etc.)
Industrial desert turned into sites for skyscraper or residential housing (e.g. Hunter's Point South)
His failures:
Uneven distribution of opportunity and prosperity (growing homeless population, favored banking and real estate interests; humiliation of Blacks and Hispanics by having stop-and-frisk)
Unscripted comments, especially about the poor, thoughtless/ heartless
Indiscriminate use of stop-and-frisk policy and racial profiling unconstitutional (-> target innocent African-Americans and Latinos)

Problems of the city:
The aging immigrant population is slipping into poverty ( 2 of 3 elderly people living in poverty are immigrants)
Public housing cuts (more people are on the list for public housing than there are even available)

Aging buildings and electricity pylons (vulnerable to natural disasters); NYC lacks the brains of newer, smarter construction that uses resources more efficiently
Antique culverts from the Victorian era
Public transit demand (changing demographics, gas prices-> overcrowded subways, growing stress)
Potholes in roads
no garbage bins-> plastic bags on the sides of the streets, stinks in the sommer
High air pollution (third highest cancer risk in the USA)
direct destruction due to land-use change
urban and highway runoff
high particle pollution
affects mental and physical health of citizens
heat waves-> high demand for electricity to power air conditioning; heat- related deaths
Immigrants have to life in hutments without water or electricity-> diseases and increasing criminality
Rival groups and drug cartels (especially in Brooklyn)
Conflicts between neighborhoods with different cultural backgrounds
Segregation: gated communities <-> slums
High income differentials-> social unrest

Unknown words:
conurbation: Ballungsraum
mayoralty: Bürgermeisteramt
stop and frisk: Polizeiliche Kontrollmaßnahme, bei der ein Verdächtigter angehalten und durchsucht wird)
runoff: Abfluss
culverts: unterirdische Wasserleitungen
potholes: Schlaglöcher
electricity pylon: Strommast
hutment: Barackenlager



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