Other Socioeconomic Issues – INTA 312 VIRT1

8/26/2021 Other Socioeconomic Issues – INTA 312 VIRT1 | Global Design | 2021-07-12
https://myclasses.artinstitutes.edu/d2l/le/content/176777/viewContent/4559065/View 1/2
The primary socioeconomic issue that we have been discussing
thus far is poverty, but there are many others that are intertwined
and related to poverty. A list of those issues can be seen in the
graphic on the right.
Let’s look at an example to understand how all of these
socioeconomic factors are tied to poverty and what role we might
have, as designers, to address these global issues. Let’s imagine
the most dangerous city in the United States in 2016—Detroit,
Michigan. Imagine a young, single mother, Kelly, living in inner-city
Detroit with her two children. To understand the issues we are
exploring, let’s look into Kelly’s background.
Let’s assume that she is from a family who has lived in this area, in
poverty, for multiple generations. Let’s also assume that Kelly’s
current life situation is all that she has ever known. Now, let’s
assume that since her neighborhood is so crime-ridden and unsafe,
she constantly fears for her and her children’s safety. (She lacks
personal safety or protection from physical harm, so you can place
an imaginary checkmark next to that item on the list on the right.)
Next, let’s assume that Kelly was raised by a single parent who was
uneducated, unemployed, and in poor health. So, we can now
imagine that as a child, Kelly likely lived in poverty, in unsafe
conditions, and had little access to food and healthcare. While she
might have gone to a local school, it’s likely that the quality of the
school could have been poor or that she had prioritized so many
other things—food, shelter, safety—that she likely did not excel in
her education. She may even be illiterate. Can you place more
imaginary checkmarks on the list on the right?
Because Kelly lived in poverty as a child and likely had a less-thanadequate education, we might also assume that she is now
unemployed. The stress she bears, contemplating the safety of her
children, feeding her children, accessing medical care for her
children, and attempting to find work and affordable childcare,
begins to impact her own life expectancy. In addition, the lack of
nutrition and access to her own healthcare also affects her life
expectancy. By now, you should have an imaginary checkmark next
to every socioeconomic item on the list on the right, so can you see
how these items are related to poverty?
Poverty is a complex cycle, which is passed on from generation to
generation. It is quite rare for the cycle of poverty to be broken, but
when organizations are established to help counteract one or more
of the items on the list on the right, the odds of breaking the poverty
cycle can increase. Designers and thinkers can address issues,
such as access to affordable healthcare, illiteracy, access to
education and workforce training, shelter and security, and
unemployment.
Communities can work together to develop programs and spaces
for empowering people to improve their lives and break their own
cycles.
8/26/2021 Other Socioeconomic Issues – INTA 312 VIRT1 | Global Design | 2021-07-12
https://myclasses.artinstitutes.edu/d2l/le/content/176777/viewContent/4559065/View 2/2