Queers, Bums, and Kids in the City of Roses
Throughout the history of our country it has happened over and over. Development and urbanization come to a small area, city or even an entire region and a new commercial market brings new wealth to a section of people, businesses open up, population increases and everyone is supposedly better off. However, this development and gentrification always seems to alienate a group of society even more than it is already. Portland is a place where that is occurring today, specifically among the queer and homeless communities. However, this does not have to happen; with some changes not only in policy, but in thinking, no one needs to be left behind.
The City of Roses is home to half of Oregon’s citizens as well as one of the economic and cultural centers of the west coast. In the past twenty years the area has grown rapidly due to the shift from lumber and manufacturing to technology. The city has a great reputation, so great that Money magazine named it the most livable city in the country, “Three decades of keen planning have reined in urban sprawl and given rise to a mini-metropolis with short, easy-to-stroll blocks renowned for java joints, brewpubs and bookstores. A superb light rail network and a new streetcar system are helping to make it a cinch to get around. There's loads of culture, from the Portland Art Museum to local rock clubs.” In States of Desire Edmund White gives an amazingly accurate description of the area immediately outside downtown.
Up and up we wound on curving lanes past large, comfortable houses set back from the road, the neighborhood I had dreamed of while I pored over my first-grade reader: safe, suburban, sheltered. At any moment I expected Dick and Jane to race by with Spot, as Father stepped out of his Hudson, a smile on his young face and the evening paper under his arm. (71)
Yes, it is a great place to live, if you are not a part of certain groups. I grew up in all areas of the greater metro area and loved it. I always felt safe, and even though the weather is notoriously horrible it is easily conceded in exchange for the beauty of the region. Amid all this newfound greatness lies a stark contrast. Portland has one of the highest populations of runaway youth in the country.
Even though Fitzgerald had many failures, he still never gave up and became more famous after he died. Fitzgerald is very dedicated and has written countless drafts for everything that he has written (“F. Scott Fitzgerald” St. James).
There have been many changes that have been made in response to what has happened in reference to American Cities. First, there was the Fair housing act. This act helped to stop discrimination against African Americans and other minorities. The purpose of the law is to defend every American’s essential right to fair housing—the choices of where to live and whether to own a home, for instance, it did not take account based on race, disability, and the numerous other threatened
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most influential writers of modern day society. He holds this title because he wrote about things that drive people's everyday life. He wrote in two different periods that were very significant in the social development of America. These two periods of time symbolized not only the generation that he was writing about, but it also speaks to the present day generation.
Others feel that if a person is able to earn that kind of money, why shouldn't they? Increases in athlete salaries will bring up the question on whether athletes are worth the money by researching the NBA?s new collective bargaining agreement (before and after the approval), by observing the current salaries of top athletes in their respective sports, and by concocting possible solutions. Shaquille O?Neal, formerly of the Orlando Magic, signed almost two years ago with the Los Angeles Lakers for an enormous $120 million over seven seasons.... Alonzo Mourning signed with the Miami Heat for a seven year deal worth about $112 million.... These fat contracts have brought out the question: Are pro athletes worth the millions they are paid? Basketball Hall of Famer David Thompson states, "Players have such a short time to make their money. If you look at others in the entertainment business, you?d think so. Look at Mike Tyson. He made $30 million for the six minutes and 50 seconds it took for him to knockout Frank Bruno" (Rhodes and Reibstein 44). Zachary M. Jones, an attorney at Howard University in Washington D.C., utters, "Superstar athletes are few in number, so the demand is high, which raises the price for their services significantly" (Saporito 61).
F. Scott Fitzgerald lived a short life of only forty-four years. He underwent many struggles during his lifetime, including alcoholism and the marital psychological issues with his ill wife. Although he experienced many rough patches throughout his lifetime, Fitzgerald was able to become one of the most well known American Authors of the 20th century. Fitzgerald was also able to be known as one of the most prominent novelists and short story writers of the 20th century. During his life time, Fitzgerald would have never dreamt of the importance his posthumous life has on the world today. He truly is the Spokesperson of the Jazz Age.
So with all of Fitzgerald ups and down, tragedies, successes, and hard work he created a goal achieving lifestyle making his work notable and entertaining to the audiences ,but was never given any major awards therefore considering himself as the “underdog” compared to Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and Walt Whitman. This essay states how and where Scott Fitzgerald lived, with an opinion that shows why Fitzgerald and his work are notable in the Jazz Age
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
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.
Furthermore, he attempts to dispel the negative aspects of gentrification by pointing out how some of them are nonexistent. To accomplish this, Turman exemplifies how gentrification could positively impact neighborhoods like Third Ward (a ‘dangerous’ neighborhood in Houston, Texas). Throughout the article, Turman provides copious examples of how gentrification can positively change urban communities, expressing that “gentrification can produce desirable effects upon a community such as a reduced crime rate, investment in the infrastructure of an area and increased economic activity in neighborhoods which gentrify”. Furthermore, he opportunistically uses the Third Ward as an example, which he describes as “the 15th most dangerous neighborhood in the country” and “synonymous with crime”, as an example of an area that could “need the change that gentrification provides”.
The controversy of athletes being overpaid dates back to 1922, when well-known baseball player George “Babe” Ruth received $50,000 within the first year of his career. Ruth’s extensive wealth was bolstered by dozens of endorsements (Saperecom). As it is shown in figure 1, in the Fortunate 50 Tiger Woods takes the number one spot for highest paid athlete. Tiger’s salary for 2011 is $2,294,116 and like Babe Ruth, his endorsements exceed his salary earning $60,000,000 making his total $62,294,116 (Freedman). It’s crazy to think that 89 years ago professional athletes scarcely made more than the average person today. This is of course not counting the inflation that has occurred since the years which Babe Ruth played baseball.
Now Mr. Roberto Hinojosa contends that professional athletes are overpaid. Citing U.S. Household Income stats for 2012 he explains that teachers,
Gentrification is a highly important topic that has not only been occurring all over the United States, but especially closer than we may have thought. San Francisco is home to hundreds of thousands of people who have been a part of how amazing this city has become. San Francisco is one of the most visited places in the world with many of its famous landmarks, endless opportunities not only for daytime fun but also has an amazing nightlife that people cannot get enough of. People come for a great time and could not be done without the help of the people who have grown up to experience and love this city for what it truly is. The cost of living in such an important city has definitely had its affect of lower income San Francisco residents. For decades we have seen changes occurring in parts of San Francisco where minorities live. We have seen this in Chinatown, SOMA, Fillmore district, and especially the Mission district.
Sports are not worth it. It's just a game. It's good to get out there and have something to support, but don't make it a larger than life situation. Athletes should be working-class Americans with working-class lives. They have their comparative advantages, and they have found their niche in life. But I am not disputing the fact that every man needs to make a living. I am disputing the fact that these athletes are making more than what they are worth, based on a true value-to-society scale.
As entertainers, athletes are paid for fan satisfaction. The more fans that want to see an athlete perform, the more the athlete is paid. In fact, most athletes, even those who make millions of dollars for each flubbed fly ball, dropped pass, and missed free throw, feel they probably deserve even higher salaries; the reason being that they’re still in demand. While certain athletes may never bring a championship ring to their team, or even bring home a winning season, those athletes will always pack the stands. Fans in the stands translate into ticket sales. Ticket sales can potentially lead to national television broadcasts. Inevitably, the formula of ticket sales plus national television broadcasts leads to massive revenue, and this is how owners and organizations can afford to pay players like Michael Jordan $25 Million for his retiring season alone. However, how does society (as a whole) benefit from these over-inflated salaries? In short, it doesn’t.
In spite of the importance of assessment in education, few teachers receive proper training on how to design or analyze assessments. Due to this, when teachers are not provided with suitable assessments from their textbooks or instructional resources, teachers construct their own in an unsystematic manner. They create questions and essay prompts comparable to the ones that their teachers used, and they treat them as evaluations to administer when instructional activities are completed predominantly for allocating students' grades. In order to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments by making sure that they create sound assessments. To ensure that their assessments are sound they need include five basic indicators that can be used as steps to follow when creating assessments. The first of these indicators and the first step a teacher must take when creating a sound assessme...