Geographies of social difference workshop report Essay

Words: 1118
Pages: 5

Geographies of Social Difference
Spring 2014
ASSIGNMENT 1. WORKSHOP REPORT
Question 1.
-712470229235Figure (1)Unemployed people as percentage of the labour force, Sydney, 2006.
Source: ABS 2006, p.44-45
-808355666750Figure (2)People not fluent in English as a percentage of the total population aged 5 years and over, Sydney, 2006.
Source: ABS 2006, p.30-31
-876300494665Figure (3)Low income Households with a gross weekly income less than $500, as a percentage of all households. Sydney, 2006.
Source: ABS 2006, pp.66-67
Question 2, Map 1.
Map 1: [Figure 2, People not fluent in English as a percentage of the total population aged 5 years and over, Sydney, 2006]
(a) Compare the spatial pattern of the map to the map of
…show more content…
Discrepancies between the 'rich and 'poor' have been known to humanity for countless years. These discrepancies are evident in all societies where there are a variety of individuals who belong to different classes on the social class ladder. These discrepancies are evident in figure (1) and (3) where unemployment and low income are most common in Western parts of Sydney. Individuals often chose to reside in Sydney's Western suburbs where living and life style costs are considerably cheaper in comparison to Eastern/Northern areas of Sydney.
Economic changes within regions results in social polarization. Socio-spatial polarisation) refers to divergence over time in the life chances and socio-economic circumstances of low income and middle to high income populations CITATION Wai00 \l 3081 (Waitt, et al., 2000). Income is a critical factor underlying polarisation. In Australia, the top 25 per cent of families now receive about 5 times as much disposable income as the lowest 25 per cent CITATION Wai00 \l 3081 (Waitt, et al., 2000). These statistics are evident in figure (1) where unemployment are most common in the Western parts of Sydney due to the living costs being lower in comparison to North and East suburbs of Sydney. As social-polarisation is associated with socioeconomic factors such as income and education, it can be said that individuals who are not fluent in English are less likely to find employment due to their lack of essential work skills.
Another