According to Edward Glaeser, there are many benefits of living in the city as opposed to living in the suburbs or other places, such as enabling creativity and productivity, are more friendly to the environment. One of these benefits he wrote about is that “cities magnify human strengths” (Document 2). He explains how they attract talent and improve it based on competition which allows for social and economic mobility. He also explains how cities “use less motor vehicles” (Document 1). The reason he says this is present in cities, people walk on foot a lot more, which reduces the need for motor vehicle such as cars or motorcycles, which release a lot of Co2 and other greenhouse gases that are harmful to the environment. Glaeser also writes …show more content…
One thing that can lead to the uprise of a city is the ability to “attract people and enable them to collaborate” (Document 3). The reason this would help a city thrive is because when people are making inventions to make the city more efficient, life in the city becomes more enjoyable and then it improves the economy of the city. Another thing that helps cities thrive is a good education system (Document 3). The reason this helps is because when people in the city are well educated, then they are able to come up with better ideas to help the city become a better place and improve living conditions there, which would make for a more successful city. One thing that could cause the decline of a city would be “leaving empty houses for sale” (Document 4). This is because it lowers the economy of the city and other prices of homes which will impact the city in a negative way. This also may cause people to move out of the city. Another thing that could cause the decline of a city would be something called the “edifice complex”, where the city thinks that “new office buildings and sports arenas and transport systems will help the city thrive” (3). The reason this does not help the city is because when there are just buildings sitting around not being occupied, they lose value and …show more content…
One of these things was that they had so many “wells containing sweet water” (Evidence A). Since Timbuktu had so much fresh drinking water, they were not only able to support themselves, but also the animals and crops they had. Another advantage Timbuktu had over other cities was that it was in such a central location in Africa (Evidence B). This helped Timbuktu tremendously as they had tons of items that went through them during their trade routes. These products included gold, ivory, copper, cloth, horses, swords, glass, brass, ceramics and many models. The reason this would help them is that they have many ways of spending their money that they make from trading to help their lives easier on a day to day basis, making survival much easier and the ability for the city to grow. Another edge Timbuktu had on other cities around the world was its diversity. People from all over, such as “black African farmers and river people, as well as white Arab and Berber merchants” (Evidence C) populated the city, which made it a place for people to go and live, no matter what their background is. This encouraged many scholars to go study in Timbuktu, which made Timbuktu a major center for learning, especially in the studies of Islam, due to its high Muslim population. A byproduct of Timbuktu being a learning hub of the world, their hand written books became a lucrative product for them to sell, due to
He decided to improve the status of his land on his arrival from a pilgrimage from Mecca in 1324. Furthermore, he transformed his trading city of Timbuktu to a center of learning and religion and built a mass, which set a new style of architecture in West Africa. “Caravans of Gold” underlines the importance of Timbuktu because it concentrated on African scholarship, politics, teaching theology, and Islamic law. Timbuktu was a significant place in Africa during this time because it became a market right after and made a profit for the region. Likewise, it was a religious, cultural, and profitable center whose people traveled north across the Sahara through Morocco and Algeria to other parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia. According to The History of Africa, “Because of his devotion to Islam, Mansa Musa strengthened Islam and promoted education, trade, and commerce in Mali” (Asante, 2014, pg. 135). It was a successful center for the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade and grew as the center of Islam. This statement launches the truth that Timbuktu supported Islamic values and knowledge because it was a city most well-known for the education of important scholars whose backgrounds were of Islam. Asante supports the fact that Mansa Musa was effective in reforming the city of Timbuktu and the trade in that area. Asante also states that “Musa did not forget the control of the gold and salt; it was fundamental for the
In modern suburbs things like cul-de-sacs and tangle towns are more common to be designed with. This makes it virtually impossible to include a mass transit system into the suburb. Thus, more driving, more gas use, and more emissions created in the atmosphere. A common response to this from a suburban residential is that the city is jam packed with congestion and pollution from stop and go traffic. Yet with cities, they are more dense, highly populated and many of the stop and go traffic is created by workers who live in the suburbs coming into the city at rush hour. One thing that works well in a typical city is mass transit. Things like buses, subways and train systems work well with block by square block areas, but not so with winding curving neighborhoods such as in suburbs. Another reason why mass transit does not play a major roll in the life of one who lives in a suburb is that suburban commuting consists of many different directions and destinations. Where as in the city typical people are commuting into the downtown. A central destination such as a downtown keeps things more conveniently close, and since so many people are making the trip to one single common place then gas can be saved by major carpooling, or in other words mass transit.
CitySquare is a non-profit organization based out of Dallas that aims at fighting poverty by means of assistance in “hunger, health, housing and hope.” The dedicated volunteers with CitySquare work to provide food, housing, education, mental-health assistance, and even job training to people in need. They go beyond providing the necessities by equipping people with real-world skills and experience that will allow them to break out of poverty and work towards success. CitySquare’s impact ranges from young adults transitioning out of the foster care system to people without homes who need a helping hand to get on their feet.
There are many examples of cities reforming itself over time, one significant example is Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. More than a hundred years after the discovery of gold that drew thousands of migrants to Vancouver, the city has changed a lot, and so does one of its oldest community: Downtown Eastside. Began as a small town for workers that migrants frequently, after these workers moved away with all the money they have made, Downtown Eastside faced many hardships and changes. As a city, Vancouver gave much support to improve the area’s living quality and economics, known as a process called gentrification. But is this process really benefiting everyone living in Downtown Eastside? The answer is no. Gentrification towards DTES(Downtown Eastside) did not benefit the all the inhabitants of the area. Reasons are the new rent price of the area is much higher than before the gentrification, new businesses are not community-minded, and the old culture and lifestyle of the DTES is getting erased by the new residents.
Before the arrival of European traders, Africa had successful in maintaining complex civilizations. The cities of Timbuktu and Mali demonstrate this with their qualities. A Moroccan traveler journeyed to Timbuktu and described it as a land of “many doctors, judges, priests and other learned men, that are well maintained at the king’s cost. Various manuscripts and written
city is like a cycle everyone has a part and does something that helps the city function. However
John Buntin notes that the arrival of high-income persons will definitely attract services such as schools, better jobs for residents, better roads and electricity among other services (Gentrification Is a Myth). Therefore, gentrification appeals to individuals who are able to put pressure on local authorities by power of their economic status. As a result, the standards of living of developing cities rise alongside the cost of living in those same cities.
nowadays, some people think that live in a large cities it is better than live in small towns, but live in small towns have some advantages over the large cities. For example in small towns you have less pollution and less insecurity
Timbuktu fell due the modernization of European trade and the invasion by Morocco during the 1500s. To support, document I summarized the monopolization of Portugal through the creation of caravels, which allowed explorers to export spices and goods along the coast of Africa instead of traveling through the desert. Furthermore, the decline of Timbuktu began with the inflow of portuguese traders, who used the mouth of the Niger river as a trading location which undercut the importance of Timbuktu on the Niger River. Furthermore, documents J illustrate the European voyages of discovery and routes of goods exchanged between European countries and India. Thus, proving that Timbuktu's decline was due to the lack of trade between Africa and the European countries, because India became the main source of goods and spices due to its accessible trade routes across the
Think twice before moving to a city. Cities have been creating more environmental problems as we continue to build and expand. As we spread towards vast areas and build on top of them, we act as a barrier in between the Earth and the sky not letting anything through. If we continue with what we are doing, then we will dig our own graves along with the environments. When we build a city we leave nowhere for the water to go when it rains.
Avoid actions that may foster gentrification processes. The research by Barberis & Angelucci is well elaborated, it will be very interesting to see the differences, similarities from our research in Milan too (in chapter
Timbuktu has many traditional open air markets, mosques and festivals. They have many interesting festivals and interaction and many interesting famous people. Timbuktu is important because it’s the ancient and today's capital of Mali ; it went from a fabled city to one with many controversies.
Generally speaking, life in the city is more hectic and clamorous. While a vast majority of Americans pack themselves into our major cities, there are still millions who live outside of the cities. Certainly, there are a lot more activities in the city: shopping malls and restaurants galore, thrift stores, libraries, and concert...
As previously implied, cities are currently the antithesis of even the barest sense of sustainability. To succinctly define the term “sustainability” would be to say that it represents living within one’s needs. When it comes to the city, with almost zero local sources of food or goods, one’s means is pushed and twisted to include resources originating far beyond the boundaries of the urban landscape. Those within cities paradoxically have both minimal and vast options when it comes to continuing their existence, yet this blurred reality is entirely reliant on the resources that a city can pull in with its constantly active economy.
Living in the City vs. Living in the Country The age-old question has plagued many, “Should I live in a city or should I live in the country?”. There are many advantages and disadvantages to choosing a lifestyle in either setting, and careful examination of all aspects is needed to make the perfect decision for you. One major issue affecting many people trying to make the decision on where to live is their quality of life in either extreme. Health, education, and transportation are three major concerns that many consider.