Columbia Heights is located in the northwest quadrant of Washington DC and borders other neighborhoods such as Shaw, Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Pleasant Plains. Demographically, fifty-eight percent of the population is African Americans while thirty-four is Hispanic. Five percent of the population is of the white race whereas three percent constitute other races. In the 2010 census report, the demography of the neighborhood shocked many people, with experts noting that it is the fastest gentrifying neighborhood in the country. The population of African American decreased to forty-three percent while that of Hispanic reduced to twenty-four. The population of whites went up by over fifteen percent while the Asian population living in the region constituted three percent. The culture of the neighborhood is predominantly African and it affects the ways of life in many ways. In the family set up for instance, traditional gender roles are still valued where the father is the head of the family while the mother takes care of the family and performs house related activities, such as cooking and upbringing of children. Unfortunately, many families are single in the neighborhood and factors such as insufficient education, the gender roles, and poverty are attributable to the situation. Because of the weaker nuclear family structure, mutual-aid systems established by the extended family are depended upon in providing emotional and financial support to communal members. Unlike other neighborhoods where the youths determine their own destinies, the old in the African culture pass the values and traditions to them. The religious practices in the neighborhood, as well as manners are passed from one generation to the other through the process of socialization.
Other neighborhoods dominated by the white races surround Columbia Heights. This has always affected people’s culture. As noted above, the percentage of whites, Asians, and Hispanic races are ever increasing, which is a threat to the cultural, economic, and social practices of the African Americans. For instance, the African Americans are always urged to drop their culture in favor of the more preferred one because their practices are often considered backward. It is unfortunate that the majority of African Americans living in the neighborhood do not control substantial resources meaning they depend on the white race for jobs and economic prosperity. The leadership of the region is also unfavorable to the majority because whites dominate it.
The United States laws do not prevent members of one neighborhood from migrating to the other, as long as the reasons given are genuine. Therefore, anybody can access the neighborhood, especially given the fact those surrounding it are whites who are always perceived to be superior in everything they do. It should be noted that racial discrimination in the United States is a reality and it is not expected to end any time soon, as communal members are yet to appreciate the reality that skin color does not result in any difference. Based on this, it is observed that the borders of the neighborhood are porous.
The three institutions that border the Columbia Heights neighborhood include the GALA Hispanic Theatre, Cardozo High School, and Banneker Recreation Centre. As noted in the first section, the communities living in Columbia neighborhoods are mainly blacks and Hispanics. The majority in the neighborhood are employees of various companies and public organizations meaning they are middle class earners. While some families are stable, with various members playing their roles as expected, a few are single families headed by mothers. The neighborhood was a dangerous place to live because the rates of crimes were high given the fact many buildings had been abandoned, but things are different with the increasing number of other races. The youths are the majority in the locality and their major source of income is employment. Recently, Columbia Heights has been receiving a big number of whites and Hispanics who are interested in carrying out trading activities given the purchasing power of the community. Currently, the major ethnic communities living in the neighborhood consist of Africans, whites, Indians, Japanese, Chinese, and Hispanics. The religious practices include those of Christianity, Islam, Hindu, and Buddhism.
The GALA Hispanic Theatre was put up in the neighborhood in 2005 after realization that the Hispanic race was highly represented. It moved to a new building in the same year replacing an old movie theatre that had existed since 1924. The institution specializes in performing plays in the Spanish language. Unlike other social institutions, GALA theatre does not permit access to its premises mainly because of the security reasons implying the institution is impermeable. Cardozo high school is a public institution that is accessible to any person, irrespective of whether an individual is a student or not. It was put up to offer educational services to students within the neighborhood after other private institutions increased their fees. The poor could not access education forcing the state authorities to set up a cheaper public school. Banneker Recreation Centre is open to members of the public even though security agents patrol it frequently to ensure threats are pre-emptied. Because of the history of the neighborhood, few people visit the recreation centre for fear of attack. The neighborhood has various gangs that operate under unclear circumstances in the sense that they strike when the security agencies least expect. As a result, security measures were put in place following constant attacks on innocent people and currently, people are forced to adapt to the new security measures whereby they have to walk with their identification documents (Zastrow, & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). The recreation centre offers services that are very important to children and youths. Many residents of the neighborhood perceive the security policies as an impediment to their rights and freedoms because they must be searched thoroughly before using any of the facilities belonging to the institution.
Banneker Recreation Centre affects the social functioning of the neighborhood since residents are used to visiting it whenever they want to relax. The park has various social joints and food shops that offer food at fair prices as compared to other places
The inputs of Columbia Heights include the social workers employed by the government and are charged with the responsibility of ensuring the community achieves its desired goals and expectations. For instance, the community workers patrol the neighborhood with an aim of identifying any unfavorable conditions that affect the quality of life. Whenever a disaster is experienced in the community, the social workers are quick to coordinate activities to ensure the situation is brought under control. The security agents are the outputs since they patrol the neighborhood every minute to prevent the occurrence of crime. Some of the officers are volunteers whose services are highly needed in the community.
Maintenance of homeostasis is through upholding high standards as far as economic practices are concerned, such as payment of debts and services. The neighborhood was a no go zone for citizens, but the case is different currently because many investors are attracted owing to the changing value system. The neighborhood has a stable communication channel controlled by the postal corporation.
Columbia Heights neighborhood has various communities, each with unique culture and traditions. This means residents are likely to align themselves with their close relatives in forming social organizations. Safety is a major concern for residents forcing members to form social groups that recognize their ways of lives. However, the communities enjoy close relationships in terms of maintaining security and participating in communal work, such as cleaning up of the neighborhood. Whenever an emergency is reported, many people are willing to offer their services to ensure continuity of life in the neighborhood. For African families, they are likely to help each other whenever one of the members is in trouble.
In this article, various types of systems that exist in a neighborhood are identified, including the ways in which they function. Theories play a critical role of shedding light on the functionality of human societies. Through the systems theory, understanding the various interactions and interrelations in the neighborhood is possible. The environment, both internal and external, affects the productivity of an individual irrespective of the race, gender, and the social status. Columbia Heights is one of the neighborhoods that interacts with various systems and subsystems.
Reference
Zastrow, C. H. & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2010). Understanding human behavior in the social environment. Belmont: Brooks/Cole