Walking has become an important research method that presents sociologists an opportunity to experience the urban landscape. Walking allows one to broaden the mind, and while experiencing the uniqueness of one’s environment. Unlike other methods, walking allows the researcher to interact with the people in the specific urban area and establish connections with them (Shortell, 2016). Before entering this exercise of walking as a research method for urban practice, the contemplation of my ability to endure the amount of walking needed for this research is disconcerting. Even though I’ve lived in Queens (which is considered the city) for the entirety of my scholastic years, the convenience of driving since my sophomore year in high school has …show more content…
Compared to whites, Hispanics earn much less, explaining why they were living in a deprived neighborhood. From my view, there were efforts of regenerating the landscape and introducing better plans. For example, I came across the park that represented environmental sustainability in the region. Along the Bronx River, I observed several green sites that depicted the benefit to the urban landscape. Next to the park were subway and train tracks, highways, as well as overhead bridges that depicted the major transportation systems in the area. Due to the green sites I came across, the air smelled fresh, which was a remarkable aspect of value added to the urban landscape. I noted that the region needed a rigorous regeneration plan that would increase the value of the urban landscape by introducing social amenities and green …show more content…
From my experience, I realized that it is possible to understand different aspects concerning a neighborhood or urban space if one takes the time to walk along the streets. Even though walking may be intrusive in our daily lives, the interruption of driving constricts one from experiencing and interacting with society and its many activities. Walking allows the researcher to interact with different people and gather important knowledge concerning the urban space (p. 3). I was able to observe different sociological aspects as I walked along different streets in the area. I was able to understand various aspects of everyday life of the people living in the region. For this reason, I recognize that walking is a viable research method that could help researchers to establish evidence that supports the relationship between two variables. I realized that walking allows a researcher to have a multisensory experience of the specific urban space. The multisensory experience plays a significant role in promoting the understanding of the nature of life in the selected urban space (p. 7). I became aware that walking presents a first-hand witnessing of the interactions between people in the
Years ago, there was once a small town called Chaves Ravine within Los Angeles, California and this town was a poor rural community that was always full of life. Two hundred families, mostly Chicano families, were living here quite peacefully until the Housing Act of 1949 was passed. The Federal Housing Act of 1949 granted money to cities from the federal government to build public housing projects for the low income. Los Angeles was one of the first cities to receive the funds for project. Unfortunately, Chavez Ravine was one of the sites chosen for the housing project, so, to prepare for the construction work of the low-income apartments, the Housing Authority of Los Angeles had to convince the people of the ravine to leave, or forcibly oust them from their property. Since Chavez Ravine was to be used for public use, the Housing Authority of Los Angeles was able seize and buy Chavez Ravine from the property owners and evict whoever stayed behind with the help of Eminent Domain. The LA Housing Authority had told the inhabitants that low-income housing was to be built on the land, but, because of a sequence of events, the public housing project was never built there and instead Dodgers Stadium was built on Chavez Ravine. Although Chavez Ravine public housing project was the result of the goodwill and intent of the government, rather than helping the people Chavez Ravine with their promise of low-income housing, the project ended up destroying many of their lives because of those in opposition of the public housing project and government mismanagement.
Walking in modern society is seen as a tool to get from one place to another. However, philosophers explore the idea that walking can be much more than just a means of transportation. Walking is a catalyst for the brain it helps increase brain function subsequently forming more articulate thoughts. I’ve noticed that the surroundings in which you choose to saunter play a big role in your thought process as well. Walking home on the streets of Berkeley compared to hiking through the mountains of Tahoe, I noticed a difference in my thought process. While in the mountains I felt much more relaxed and mentally clear, compared to when I was walking to my house I felt stressed and in a rush to get home. This idea is supported by the works of Rebecca
Prior to taking it, I was unaware that the greatest difference in life expectancy observed between counties in the U.S. was 15 years. I was amazed that simply being born in a different zip code could affect life expectancy so greatly. This profoundly supports the conclusion environment affects health. Health expert Michael Marmot realized that a subway ride from an impoverished African American neighborhood to an affluent white suburb in Washington D.C. saw an average increased life expectancy of a year and a half for every mile traveled, totaling up to twenty years. We cannot control the neighborhood we are born into, and to see that such an uncontrollable factor can affect longevity so greatly in an industrialized nation, like the U.S., is astonishing (“Health equity quiz”, 2008). I was particularly amazed that in west Los Angeles, white neighborhoods have nearly 19 times as much green space as Black and Latino neighborhoods. The white neighborhoods have nearly 31.8 acres of park space for every 1,000 people, while the minority neighborhoods only have 1.7 acres of park space (“Health equity quiz”, 2008). Traveling in Las Vegas, parks can be found in nearly every area. Although there are probably more parks in wealthier areas, we do not see such a great discrepancy in our numbers-- or so it appears. To see that such a heavily populated city, like Los Angeles, treats residents so disproportionately was
In this article, the author writes about the Urban Renewal Plan and what it did to a community in Oakland, California. The West Oakland community was found in 1852 and had a diverse population living there. That article says that upper-class people would be living next door to working class people. After the World Wars that changed because lower income families started moving to the area looking for jobs. The jobs they had were created because of the war. When the war ended these people lost their jobs. At the same time, the Urban Renewal Plan was put into place. This plan set out to remove slums in urban places. This plan would relocated families, demolish houses and create low-income housing. When a family was relocated they received little
We can all envision what the United States has to offer too many immigrants that come and seek opportunities. The city of Los Angeles can be portrayed in many ways; however, one can agree that the city has one of the most diverse populations. Its cultural and historic events have directed many to have an impact on their surroundings. For instances, historically speaking, there are many injustices and unfairness such as Ruben Salazar that have contributed to the tapestry of Los Angeles. Salazar was a journalist who had the advantage of speaking his mind and voicing his opinion that lead to the Chicano Movement. To many his name brings notions of the struggle for many Latinos civil rights and the radical Chicano movement in Los Angeles. His legacy as a former Los Angeles Times reporter and columnist Salazar has reached and become a traditional story to tell since he was the pioneer in the Chicano Movement. Salazar was one of the few Latino journalists during the 60s who had access to reach many individuals. Although fighting in what he believed led to his death, there is no doubt that his legacy adds to the rich tapestry of Los Angeles because he still has an influential impact to the community by empowering many Chicanos and the strive to change the current situation that many minority groups came to faced.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time
Over the next 160 years Central Park has seen many transformations. An early decline in the 1900’’s followed by a revitalization by Robert Moses
The South Bronx, New York City: another northern portrait of racial divide that naturally occurred in the span of less than a century, or a gradual, but systematic reformation based on the mistaken ideology of white supremacy? A quick glance through contemporary articles on The Bronx borough convey a continuation of less-than-ideal conditions, though recently politicians and city planners have begun to take a renewed interest in revitalizing the Bronx. (HU, NYT) Some common conceptions of the Bronx remain less than satisfactory—indeed, some will still express fear or disgust, while some others have expressed the fundamentally incorrect racial ideas studied here—but others recall the Bronx with fondness, calling it a once “boring” and “secure” neighborhood.(BRONX HIST JOURNAL, p. 1) What are we to do with such radically different accounts between The Bronx of yesterday, and the impoverished borough of today? If we speak in known, contemporary cultural stereotypes, then segregation is strictly a Southern design, but natural otherwise—but to record this as a natural occurrence, no different than a seasonal change or day turning to night, would be to ignore the underlying problem. The changing role of white Americans from majority to population minority in the Bronx, coupled with the borough’s title of “poorest urban county in America” (as of 2012), is the result of careful orchestration and a repeating story of economic and political gain superseding civil rights. (GONZALES, BRONX) (BRONX HIST JOURN, HARD KNOCKS IN BRONX @ poorest note ) It is not coincidence.
Very few people would want to live in a place where they don’t have security. Whether it be in cities or subdivisions, Jacobs, if alive, would ascertain that there needs to be a sense of connectedness to maintain communal safety. Public living “bring[s] together people who do not know each other in an intimate, private social fashion and in most cases do not care to know each other in that fashion” (Jacobs 55). Now that families typically center themselves around suburban lifestyles, residents should understand that the same connections that Jacobs says were to be made in cities need to now be made in subdivisions. Jacobs was scared that with houses being spread out in the suburbs, little interaction between neighbors would take place. In order to avoid this, neighborhoods need to promote a sidewalk lifestyle that they currently do not (Jacobs 70). With Kotkin stressing how urban areas are no longer preferable places to raise a family, saying only seven percent of their populations are children, he lacks compassion for the transients that now inhabit cities. Undoubtedly, those who now inhabit the city should also feel safe in their environments. Nowadays, members of a city isolate themselves from interactions with other citizens making it difficult to establish a social
Walking is a task that humans perform in their everyday life, and we use it unconsciously to get from point A to point B. Although walking is thought of as a mundane task, it is important to the micro level of society. Walking is usually only used for getting around to and from certain destinations, but not all people use it like this. Homeless people often walk aimlessly around not knowing where they are going or what they are doing, and this shows in one of the studies I have looked at called “From means to occasion: walking in the life of homeless people” by Alan Radley, Kerry Chamberlain, Darrin Hodgets, Ottilie Stolte and Shiloh Groot (2010). Although the main use of walking is transportation, it can also be used for both homeless and
Fear in general drives human beings to be alert of the dangers surrounding us. A woman’s fear could easily be driven by a man just because he is simply a man. In our society we have painted the picture that as women we should be careful when we walk by ourselves at night and we should always be on alert with a weapon ready in hand. A recent study conducted in Canada proved that women were “three times more likely than men to be afraid when walking alone after dark.” (Women against Violence against Women, 2015). Though on one hand our mass media and culture have had an influence to stereotype men to play the “antagonist” when it comes to women walking home alone at night.
Jennifer Madrigal Sociology 330 April 6, 2016 Paper #1: What is Urban Sociology? Simmel was a man who thought that living in a city made people more reserved and not opened to speak to others and create relationships. In Simmel’s reading, “The Metropolis and Mental Life”, is about how he believes that living in the city changes the way people are towards others. Living in the city makes people more reserved and never really open up to relationships and getting to know others.
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...
There is nothing quite like traveling, going someplace new and finding out more about the world and yourself. Anyone can become a traveler it just takes a little bit of faith and courage. Traveling across the world or even across the country is a learning experience. When you are a traveler you see how people live and how different cultures work. It is the best educational experience you could give yourself. You see how the world works in a way no one can teach you. Seeing different cultures and people help build the person you want to be. If you are a traveler the world influences you, because when traveling, you see the good and the bad, and you learn from the right and the wrong. I am very lucky that I am able to be a traveler and see this
I am about to describe to you a walk in the park. That being said a few details are required for you to fully picture the likes of what I am about to describe. The time of day is a little past noon and the wind is howling. The sky is a pastel blue, almost as if a wash of blue light was covering a white canvas. The sun is vibrant and concentrated. You can sense the gentle warmth of the sun on your skin and see the lively colors of the world all around you. Alert to the dancing light that surrounds you, your journey begins. Searching for your starting point you choose to begin walking down a gravel pathway that has a clearing of trees a few hundred feet away. The day has a familiar, inviting glow and all around the gentle colors of green, yellow and red surround the pathway. The sun a luminous