1/Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

In reading 4.1, the concept of social class in American society is explored, highlighting how people categorize themselves and what factors influence these classifications. Social class is often seen as a hierarchy based on various aspects like income, education, occupation, and even behaviors and heritage.The reading of 4.2 employs household income as a metric, utilizing the subway system as a geographical region, to illustrate variations and disparities in socioeconomic status among different areas along the subway route. They both shows that people relies on income mostly to identify their social classes.

2/Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

I pick the Pelham Parkway Station on the 5 line since that is where I live. The social class that tends to live in my neighborhood is diverse but predominantly middle class. This observation aligns with my expectations, as the area is known for its mix of residential properties, including single-family homes, apartment buildings, and some commercial establishments. While there may be variations in socioeconomic status within the neighborhood, the overall character reflects a middle-class demographic. As for the accuracy of this representation, I believe it generally reflects the composition of the people living in my neighborhood, although there may be pockets of higher or lower socioeconomic status scattered throughout the area.

3/Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

Based on Reading 4.2, a general pattern regarding social classes in New York City can be discerned. The reading suggests that there is a correlation between subway stations and the socioeconomic status of the neighborhoods they serve. Typically, areas closer to the city center and major business districts tend to have higher household incomes and are associated with upper-middle or upper-class residents. Conversely, neighborhoods further away from the city center, especially those in the outer boroughs, tend to have lower household incomes and are more associated with working-class or lower-middle-class residents. This pattern reflects the broader socioeconomic landscape of New York City, where wealth and income disparities are pronounced and often spatially concentrated.

Hi Sady!! Totally agree with your responses. Just as you mentioned, income and education are some of the very important factors that contribute to determining one’s income. About the subway station response, I do believe that of course, in NYC social class people tend to have a pattern when it comes to their decision of where to live. Lower Manhattan, we all can agree, is one of their favorite places lol.

1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in reading 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes? 

I noticed that in 4.1 and 4.2, social classes are discussed by the relation between people’s level of income and where they live. The way these two readings differentiated between social class is that reading 4.1 included an impact of education level, age, race, and income, while reading 4.2 focuses on where the individual lives and household income.  

2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?  

The station closest to me is the 3-train station. I live in West Harlem. There is quite a mix of classes that live in my area, but what I see mostly are working class and lower-class people. Although there are some middle- and upper-class people in my neighborhood because of gentrification, I am not surprised by the results because Manhattan does house many middle and upper social classes. I do think it is an accurate representation of my neighborhood because the 3 trains in Manhattan show a variation of income in my area; there are both higher and lower household incomes in this area. 

3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC? 

In reading 4.2, the general pattern about social classes in NYC is that richer families live in Manhattan, while lower-income families live in the other boroughs. The Bronx and Brooklyn had the lowest income, while Manhattan showed the highest household incomes, which were $150,000 and up. 

1 There are some similarities in social class that are discussed in Readings 4.1 and 4.2. For example, the income for Lower to Upper class in 4.1 is seen in reading 4.2 New York income. The only difference i have seen in both readings on social classes is that “Reading 4.1” is talking about America as a whole while “Reading 4.2 ” talks about New York’s social class based off of location of residence.

2. i live by the 2 and 5 line “Flatbush ave Brooklyn college” and the social class that live in my neighborhood is “Working class.” Im not Surprised by the answer because i feel like its an accurate representation of the people living in the neighborhood.

3 In the reading 4.2 i realized that the Middle- upper class people reside in either downtown Brooklyn or Manhattan.

1. Some similarities I noticed in the readings of 4.1 and 4.2 are how race and region affect income. I mention this because if you’re from NYC or have lived in NYC for a couple of years now, you’d notice that the subways stop with the highest income are usually predominately white Americans and urban areas, while the places with the lowest or average income are usually POC’s and rural neighborhoods.
2. I live in Canarsie, Brooklyn, and using the map in 4.2, I am a little shocked. The reason I’m shocked is because I know that my family’s salary is below what is reported, and how we live and how our home functions made me think that other people in the neighborhood experience the same, but realizing looking from a different perspective I can see how this is true. As I been into plenty of my friends home and realize they live pretty well and seeing nice cars on the block.
3. I do notice a general pattern in 4.2 as plenty of trains that are coming from Brooklyn or The Bronx, are usually lower-working class and once it goes into the city (Manhattan) it rises to upper-middle class to upper class.

2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

Based on the article, “What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class?” by Robert Bird and Frank Newport, they report that social class can be seen through two perspectives, objective and subjective. The article states, “A focus on objective social class entails a direct determination of a person’s social class based on socioeconomic variables — mainly income, wealth, education and occupation. A second approach to social class, the one that occupies us here, deals with how people put themselves into categories. This is subjective social class — an approach that has its difficulties but helps explain class from the perspective of the people. This is important since the way people define a situation has real consequences on its outcome.” With that being said, when looking into my neighborhood’s most common social classes (Rockaway Park, by the A line), we are placed in lower and median household incomes. This is due to the Neighborhoods demographics, future opportunities in my area, and the difference in living situations. Therefore, this observation does not surprise me and it is accurate.

1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

Both reading 4.1 and 4.2 place a focus on income level as a way of defining social class.  Reading 4.2 specifically only considers income for its data set and specifically uses median, not average, income levels to determine the data, thus showing the income that a majority of the population living there makes.  Reading 4.2, however, also places importance on other factors for social class, such as education level, age, race, employment, and whether an area is more urban or suburban.  Reading 4.2 places emphasis on self-determined social class, as well, instead of insisting on a firm definition, meaning that both articles do not completely define what social class is or could be.  Instead, they present it in a way that fits with the data they are sharing regarding social class.

2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

The closest station to my location based on when this data was compiled would be the 34th St.-Penn Station stop on the A, C, and E lines, which gives a median income of $51,827.  Using the concepts from the 4.1 reading and that income amount, I would label the neighborhood as low-income, which I do feel would be accurate for the neighborhood when the data was taken over a decade ago.  There are several NYCHA buildings in the area and it generally was a less developed neighborhood that could be afforded on a smaller income.  At that point, most people in my neighborhood appeared to be working class and the prices of shops and restaurants in the area reflected that.  Overall, I am not shocked by the median income being $51,827 in the context of when the data was taken. 

All that being said, I would love to see an updated data set as the closest subway to my home now would be the Hudson Yards stop on the 7 train that was opened after that data set was gathered.  That half of the neighborhood appears to be upper-middle class due to the development of the Hudson Yards, the luxury buildings and mall that were built, and the increase in more expensive brands moving into the area.  I wonder what the median income would look like with the two competing income levels, as the people living in the eastern part of my neighborhood seem largely unchanged while the western part of the neighborhood seems like it would be in a different social class based on income, age, and education level.

3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

Lower and Middle Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn that are close to Manhattan seem, based on income level, to be at middle-to-upper-middle social class, while in most cases, further parts of Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens seem to be lower or working class.  There are a few outliers, like Forest Hills and Mets-Willets Point in Queens and Grand Army Plaza and 7th Ave in Brooklyn that are closer to middle class, and stops such as 116th Street and upward or Delancy St.-Essex Street in Manhattan that are notably lower or working class.

1. The similarities between reading 4.1 and 4.2 are that they both show us how income plays a big factor on which social class you fall under. The differences between the two reading were that in reading 4.1 they talk about and show us how there are a lot of other factors that determine what social class you fall under for example it talks about how social class is determined through income, wealth, education and occupation. While reading 4.2 just showed us your social class based on how much you make and where you live.
2. I usually take the 7 train to 90th street Elmhurst av. The social class that resides at this location are considered lower working class. I am not surprised by this because a lot of people that I know personally that live where I do struggle finically, they barely speak English and usually don’t have education or if they do, they didn’t graduate high school. I do believe it is an accurate representation of where I live.
3. Yes, I do notice a pattern. I noticed that most of the people that tend to fall higher on the social class status tend to live in Manhattan while people who fall under the lower classes tend to live in the other boroughs like Queens, Bronx and Brooklyn.

1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

After going over readings 4.1 and 4.2, I noticed some differences in how social class is discussed on each one. In the first reading it explains how people often perceive themself as a higher class than what is actually their class position. In that reading I noticed that even though some people had a low income that ranged in a lower class, they still perceive themself as middle class. When I was seeing the graph of the NYC subway I was so surprised at how the scales of income vary according to every station that I clicked on. That made me confirm that the place where you live has a lot to do with your class. I also linked the two readings by the fact that many of the people who identified himself as middle class actually live near those stations where the income is according to a lower class household. 

2. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

The station closest to where I live is Castle Hill Ave. The social class that tend to live in my neighborhood are people who rank in a lower class. I’m actually not surprised by this fact, or maybe a little. I thought that maybe it was going to be in the middle class. That is exactly what the first reading explained about how people often perceived their class in an unrealistic way. I really thought that it was going to be middle class. However, when I looked up at my subway station, I noticed that there is actually a lower class population that lives in my neighborhood. On the other hand, I believe that it may be an accurate representation of the population that lives in my neighborhood. 

3. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

I think that the general pattern about social classes in NYC is that the people with a higher income are concentrated in the Lower Manhattan area. Other classes with lower incomes are most likely to live in the upper side, Bronx, Queens, and so on.

1. Do you notice any similarities in the way social class is discussed in readings 4.1 and 4.2? Do you notice any differences in the way these two readings DIFFERENTIATE between social classes?

In readings 4.1 and 4.2, the way social class was being discussed was different, but also had some similarities. Both readings mentioned the relation between people’s level of income and where they reside to see where they belong as of social classes. The reading differed between social classes because reading 4.2 had considered other factors into your social class, like the individual’s race and age. As for reading 4.2, it was directly talking about an individual’s income and residence.

1. Pick the station closest to where you live. Using the concepts from Reading 4.1, what social class tends to live in your neighborhood? Are you surprised (or not) by the answer? Do you feel it is an accurate representation of the people living in your neighborhood?

The closest station to me is the Q train. Based not he concepts from reason 4.1, the social class that tends to live in my neighborhood is typically lower class. I am not too surprised by this answer. Brooklyn, or anywhere borough other than Manhattan tend to be much cheaper to live in compared to the city. However, it is still really expensive to maintain a life in NYC regardless of where you reside. Just below 50k average income in South Brooklyn can seem a bit shocking to someone who is not from here as there are lots of wealthy neighborhoods close by. I think it is a pretty accurate representation of the people living in my neighborhood.

1. Based on Reading 4.2, do you notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC?

Based on the reading, there is a general pattern about social classes in NYC. It is a huge city with many neighborhoods to it. For example, if there is a mall with nicer stores, or a nicer grocery store like trader joes, it is a high chance you are in a high income area like downtown Brooklyn, or somewhere in Manhattan. Though, there are various ways to see social class is designated to each part of the city.