Explore Sentinel City: Population and Income Analysis of Four Neighborhoods - Free Paper

Introduction

Sentinel City is a virtual community made up of four neighborhoods with a total population of 663,862 persons and a median household income of 135,104. The information shared in this paper was acquired through an online trip into the city (Sentinel City, 2020). The four neighborhoods include the Acer Tech Center, Casper Park District, Nightingale Square, and Industrial Heights. In comparison in terms of population, Casper Park District is the leading with approximately 352,643 persons, followed by Acer Tech with 168,390 persons, Nightingale Square follows with 103,974 persons, and then Industrial Heights with 28,855 persons, which is the lowest of the four. In terms of age breakdown per population, it is evident that 7.4% of the population are those less than five years of age, with 27% of the population being under the age of eighteen, and 10.5% are those aged 65 years and above. Based on ethnicity, several ethnc groups exist within the city, which can be grouped in terms of percentages as follows, 80.6% of the population are Caucasians, 31% being Hispanics, 10.4% African Americans, 3.74% Asians, 2.0% Native Americans, and that 0.2% being Pacific Islanders (Sentinel City, 2020). 3.1% of the population include those with more than one race. In terms of Hispanics population, Industrial Heights emerges as the leading with 46.8% and with 13.1% of African Americans. Casper Park District has 63% of its population as Caucasians and 24% being Hispanics. Acer Tech Center has 70.2% of its population as Caucasians and 13.7% being Hispanics. Finally, Nightingale Square has 81.3% of its population as Caucasians and 3.7% being Hispanics (Sentinel City, 2020).

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In terms of income, the city has $49,091 of median income. Out of the overall median income, Nightingale Square is the leading with $269,550 followed by the Acer Tech Center with $166,300, the Casper Park District comes next with $80,134, then the Industrial Heights is the least of the four neighborhoods with $24,672 (Sentinel City, 2020). Based on the federal poverty line, it is evident that 18.9% of the population includes those living below the poverty line with 37.5% of the Industrial Heights residents, 22.7% of Casper Park District residents, 1.5% of the Acer Tech Center residents, and 0.7% of the Nightingale Square residents being non-insured (Sentinel City, 2020).

Neighborhood or Safety Assessment

On my trip to Sentinel City (virtually through online means), there was evidence of significant health and safety hazards throughout the neighborhoods. In this case, the Industrial Heights emerged as the leading in terms of health hazard risks. This was evident as I did notice a smoke of burning cars with fire all over the garbage collected near the soup kitchen. Smoke is a harmful air pollutant that can result in multiple complicated health issues such as respiratory disorders. Looking keenly at the buildings within the city, especially at the Industrial Heights neighborhood, graffiti could be seen in a majority of the structures surrounded by garbage alongside most of the buildings. In terms of drug or substance abuse, it was evident that a significant number of persons was using illegal substances over the past year. Of the substances abused, alcohol was the most used at 26%, tobacco came in at 24%, followed by marijuana at 12%, heroin at 7%, and CNS depressants and cocaine were at 5% with the club drugs and methamphetamine being the least used of the drugs with 2% and 0.5% respectively; all out of the total population of the city (Sentinel City, 2020).

A number of response teams exist within the city specialized at emergency response purposes. The teams include the Fire Response Team, the Advanced Life Support Team and the EMS. In terms of response times, the Fire Response Team is at 6.5 minutes, the Advanced Life Support Team at 7.5 minutes, and the EMS also being at 7.5 minutes, similar to the Advanced Life Support Team.

The majority of arrests carried out within the city were those involving warrants at 23% of the total arrests over the past year. This information was acquired from the police department. Of the total arrests, battery contributed 17%, controlled substance contributed 16%, while reckless conducts contributing up to 9%. On the other hand, the least arrest contributors included public intoxication and criminal trespass, that is they contributed only 6% of the total arrests (Sentinel City, 2020). Crime rates suggested that gang-related violence was the leading cause of aggravated assaults, simple assaults, and robbery with the least crime being homicide (Sentinel City, 2020).

Windshield Survey

The survey consisted of an online tour into Sentinel City, which is a virtual community, with walks being conducted through its streets, and also collecting data based on the observations made. On the trip, it was clear that Sentinel City is an urban community with majority of the buildings built with mortar and bricks together. The Industrial Heights and Casper Park District areas had the highest number of abandoned buildings as well as run-down structures. Many of these buildings had graffiti on them with windows being boarded-up, trash piled alongside the premises as well as alleys, upon which rats ran through them. The two areas (Industrial Heights and Casper park District) seemed to have had more police presence as compared to the other two areas (Acer Tech Center & Nightingale Square) since I could notice some prison work crew working around the two (initial) areas. The city had a few apartment complexes with no houses at all. Going deeper into the city, the buildings were becoming more and more taken care of as well as modern and that the environment was now becoming cleaner and conducive despite the significant amounts of graffiti still on the structures across all of the four neighborhoods.

Based on the fact that the city is more of an urban center, there were a few trees even in the park areas. Some people were seen waiting for buses, so a means of transport within the city. However, some people were seen using personal vehicles since a number of cars were parked in different areas within the city’s streets (Sentinel City, 2020).

Going through the streets at around 4 p.m., most of the people on the streets were women and children. Most of the children in the streets at that time were students coming back from school as they wore uniforms and carried backpacks. Many of the women were wearing long skirts, jackets, and hats. The majority of men that I met had varying dress codes with some dressed in suits & long coats, while others wearing plain clothes while those around health facilities mostly wore scrubs.

In the city’s environment, some factories within the city did emit industrial fumes into the atmosphere. The city had multiple open spaces, grass, and trees in the park areas. The city had less noise pollution with the only prevailing being that of buses and cars that used the roads within the city. The space use at Sentinel City is mainly for commercial purposes as well as residential uses. For private residences, there was less free space. Moreover, I noticed a number of parks in Sentinel City. Housing was done such that the architectural styles varied with the specific neighborhood. Some of the common areas include the public parks where many people in the city did hang out.

Data Analysis

From the data collected, it was clear that as the median income increased, the areas became nicer, well maintained, and more appealing for the eye as well as an increase in the insured residents with an increase in the median income. For instance, of the four areas, Nightingale was the leading in terms of income, that is, $269,550 and also had the lowest number of residents that were uninsured at only 0.7%. In the case of Industrial Heights, the median income ranged at $24,672 and also had uninsured residents at 37.5% (Sentinel City, 2020). However, this area had the largest number of people living below the federal poverty line.

Top Health Problems at Sentinel City

Sentinel City has multiple problems that require maximum attention towards its development; however, for the sake of this paper, three issues which I thought are the major ones are outlined. The three are described as with paying or the rating outlined in Healthy People 2020. The problems are environment health, unavailability of outdoor recreation facilities, and sexually transmitted diseases in youths (STDs).

Going through various locations in Sentinel City, such as at the Better Health Clinic, it shocked to realize that 70% of persons diagnosed with gonorrhea involved individuals aged between 15 and 24. Moreover, this was followed by Chlamydia within a similar age range, with 63% while HPV was at 40%. As stated by Healthy People 2020, the newly reported cases for gonorrhea in 2015 for female individuals were reportedly at 270,000 between the ages of 15 and 44 (healthypeople.gov, 2020). The worrying numbers might be as a result of inadequate sex education programs for youths and can also be a monetary concern within their communities, although this is yet to be determined.

On the other hand, environmental health is critical. In the Industrial Heights, for example, rats could be seen infesting the garbage alongside the buildings with cars and barrels burning; also, animals could be seen roaming the streets as well as the trash and that the quality of air & wastewater is some of the major concerns and alarms in the area. AS stated by Healthy People 2020, poor air quality can cause premature deaths, cancer as well as a result of long-term damages to respiratory & cardiovascular systems (healthypeople.gov, 2020).

Primary Prevention

From the data analyzed above, and as a professional and registered nurse, I would suggest that the best and effective preventive measure to be put in place for Sentinel City’s health problems should be to engage in physical activities, this is also my role in giving guidance to complex issues within the community. A healthy diet is another measure that is of essence for this community to combat obesity. Multiple health professionals have recommended the need for obesity prevention as well as promoting healthy lifestyles. For this reason, the strategies that can be used to tackle obesity in Sentinel City are promotion of physical exercise as well as promoting a healthy nutrition.

Community campaigns are some of the specific strategies that can be adopted. This will require a collaborative effort of the local governments, public health agencies, schools as well as community organizations to establish programs that encourage regular healthy eating behaviors as well as physical activities. Another strategy would be to make the park more conducive and safer for Sentinel City’s people. The situation at the park should also be adjusted to fit the city’s standards around the city. It can be done by reduction of homeless people as well as posting police officers in the areas to reduce crime rates. Other strategies can be to change diet in grocery stores as well as restaurants, provision of spaces of play for children in the residential neighborhoods, and encourage walks and rides through the city to school.

References

Davison, K. K., Jurkowski, J. M., Li, K., Kranz, S., & Lawson, H. A. (2013). A childhood obesity intervention developed by families for families: results from a pilot study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10(1), 3.

DuFour, R., & DuFour, R. (2013). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work TM. Solution Tree Press.