Class Stratification and Spatial Location

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What is the difference between the terms underclass and ghettoized poor and why is this important to understand?

Underclass refers to the "urban poor" as noted by sociologist William Julius Wilson. Wilson explains that the underclass is categorized by their experience of social isolationism. Their situation is not characterized by poverty. The defining characteristics are the absence of job opportunities and the absence of societal supports.

On the other hand, the ghettoized poor have internalized the culture of poverty and this influences their behaviour. The basic values and attitudes that have been accepted in this culture of poverty, over time, has influenced the behaviours of the people who live in this community.

Reference:
Wilson, William Julius. (1993). "The Underclass." The Ghetto Underclass: Social Science Perspectives. London: Sage Publications.

In essence, the underclass can become the ghettoized poor if conditions remain the same for a significant period of time. Those who are able to break out or move from the underclass community will more than likely be able to enter the working class and become financially competent, however, those who are considered the ghettoized poor have accepted their conditions and do not seek to change their situation.

The importance in the difference is that not everyone in the underclass community wants to be in that situation. The ghettoized poor, on the other hand, are more culturally conditioned to be in the situation that they are in.

What is the significance of class stratification and spatial location with respect to different social classes residing in cities?

Class stratification is a characteristic of society and not due to just subtle or obvious individual differences thus as a characteristic of society, it has existed over generations. When someone is reared in a certain area and is exposed to certain schools and certain extra-curricular activities and then has access to certain universities, s/he has fulfilled a stratification level that was actualized by the generation before him/her. Class is also stratified by individual achievement. For example, achieving a certain level of literacy, achieving entrance into good schools, achieving the high paid job, and such.

Class stratification will be observably different in rural, suburban, and urban settings. In rural settings, the economic activities are usually similar and these activities and estates are usually inherited, therefore there wouldn't be drastic differences in class. In suburban settings, the situation differs because there are suburban settings for people of differing income levels and in most cases, these differences are separated only by a street. In suburban settings, the houses or types of residences being built are made to attract a certain income level which spatially classifies people. In other words, it is an example of patterned social inequality.

In urban settings, social stratification is dominant because it may not be as easy ...