In Jane Jacobs’s acclaimed The Life and Death of Great American Cities, she intricately articulates urban blight and the ills of metropolitan society by addressing several binaries throughout the course of the text. One of the more culturally significant binaries that Jacobs relies on in her narrative is the effectively paradoxical relationship between diversity and homogeneity in urban environments at the time. In particular, beginning in Chapter 12 throughout Chapter 13, Jacobs is concerned greatly with debunking widely held misconceptions about urban diversity. Jacobs views diversity as the number of ways in which limited areas of space are allocated, as opposed to having an inherent racial or cultural connotation. Jacobs emphasizes that various types of business and residences are the elements of prospering city neighborhoods. Jacobs begins to explore three main myths. These myths are arguments often cited by city planners against diversity. To begin, the first myth that Jacobs attempts to discredit is that diversity is unattractive. She repudiates this assertion by saying that the opposite is in fact true, in which homogeneity is unappealing. I believe that it is quite detrimental when city planners attempt to create a contrived atmosphere of diversity in order to conceal the existing homogeneity. This is accomplished by artificially building different shapes and styles of buildings to give outsiders the impression of diversity. Jacobs underscores the flaws of contrived diversity in the following excerpt: But these contrived differences give rise to esthetic difficulties too. Because inherent differences—those that come from genuinely differing uses—are lacking among the buildings and their settings, the contrivances repre... ... middle of paper ... ...diversity through her narrative in Chapter 12-13. She argues that diversity is intrinsically responsible for allowing city life to flourish in a productive manner, and as well provides the foundation for the perpetuation of urban environments. I strongly agree with Jacobs’ insights as to the urban planning techniques that maintain diversity in the city. Works Cited "DNAinfo.com." Crime & Safety Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Jacobs, Jane. "12-13." The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961. N. pag. Print. "Upper East Side (UES) Neighborhood in New York, New York (NY), 10021, 10028, 10128 Detailed Profile." Upper East Side (UES) Neighborhood in New York, New York (NY), 10021, 10028, 10128 Subdivision Profile. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. .
To appreciate a row house neighborhood, one must first look at the plan as a whole before looking at the individual blocks and houses. The city’s goal to build a neighborhood that can be seen as a singular unit is made clear in plan, at both a larger scale (the entire urban plan) and a smaller scale (the scheme of the individual houses). Around 1850, the city began to carve out blocks and streets, with the idea of orienting them around squares and small residential parks. This Victorian style plan organized rectangular blocks around rounded gardens and squares that separated the row houses from major streets. The emphasis on public spaces and gardens to provide relief from the ene...
“Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district's character and culture.” (Grant) In layman’s terms, gentrification is when white people move to a black neighborhood for the sake of cheaper living, and in turn, raise up property values and force black neighbors to leave because of a higher price of living. Commonly, the government supports gentrification with the demolition of public housing in areas that are developing with more white neighbors. This is causing a decreasing amount of African Americans to be able to afford to live in the neighborhood as their homes are taken away from them, forcing them to relocate. Whilst gentrification normally has negative connotations, there are several people who believe gentrification brings about “an upward trend in property values in previously neglected neighborhoods.” (Jerzyk) On the other hand, this new trend in property value and business causes those...
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood with a plethora of diversity and multiculturalism, hence there’s wide coverage of Gentrification in the media and literature. Jackson Heights is skyrocketing economically like many other local neighborhoods, with the looming possibility of becoming out of reach for the average American family. Redevelopments of infrastructure have rapidly progressed causing a rise in house price and rent, this ultimately resulting in the neighborhood to become financially unreachable for most. This is an example of the term that was first coined in 1964 by German-British sociologist Ruth Glass as ‘gentrification’. Ruth Glass wrote, "Once this process of 'gentrification' starts in a district, it goes on rapidly
The Character of the City Boston in J Anthony Lukas' Common Ground and Richard Broadman's Mission Hill and the Miracle of Boston
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”.
How has this book advanced the study of urban environments? In “The Origins of the Urban Crisis” we have learned what can happen in a very industrial city when it pertains to one major industry and what the differences are between the way that different races are treated when it comes to the hiring, laying off, and firing differences as the industry changes. I feel that this book has taught us that industries are always changing and that they need to advance and move to keep up with the demands that the industries have to offer. This book focuses on the 1940s through roughly the 1970s, this was a time when equal rights and major racial discrimination were very big issues that not only Michigan faced, but, cities have faced all over the United States. During this time, was also when there was a major rise in the automobile industry. As the automobile industry took off and we learned that as technology advances that there is not as much
look into its planning policies in order to prevent spatial segregation in Toronto. However does not explain what planning instruments are needed to help diversify the socio-economic composition of Toronto’s inner city. The article also suggests that for a more socially progressive city, anti-gentrification policies should be incorporated and adopted into Toronto’s official plan policies but does not explains what can be included as anti-gentrification policy.
Mystique Caston Ms. Jefferson English 22 february 2016 Gentrification and Chicago Gentrification and chicago “Gentrification refers to trends in the neighborhood development that tend to attract more affluent residents, and in the instances concentrates scale commercial investment. ”(Bennet,).This means that gentrification can change how a neighborhood is ran or even how much income the community takes in depending on what businesses come in and what class of people decide to invest into that community. In this paper i will be discussing gentrification and and poverty, pros and cons of gentrification, relationships due to gentrification, conflict due to gentrification, reactions/ feelings or of small business owners about
Ellis, Edward Robb., and Jeanyee Wong. The Epic of New York City. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf, 2005. Print.
Cities by John Reader, the acclaimed historian attempts to dive readers deep into the territory of urban historians, depicting and analyzing the greatest cities of planet earth. From the earliest examples of cities to the ultra modern cities, 7000-9000 years later, of Mumbai or Tokyo, Reader paints the picture loud and clear. Cities around the globe are home to half of the entire planets population! Those living in cities, consume nearly 75% of all natural resources in the entire world. From the ruins of the earliest cities to the present, Reader will explore how cities develop and thrive, how they can decline and die, how they remake themselves. In the beginning of chapter two, Reader states, “The first cities are said to have arisen from rural communities whose intensified farming practices produced surpluses large enough to free craft workers and other specialists from working on the land (Reader 10).” With that being said, the first cities were basically an intensification of agriculture. He starts with extreme detail describing the “oldest-known cities” from around 9000 years ago. Starting with the claimed first city Çatal Hüyük. This was a large Turkish neolithic site, has been described as the world's first city. Stretching back over 9000 years, at times up to 10,000 people might have lived there. As Reader stated, the site was discovered in 1958 by the British archaeologist James Mellaart. He was unsure in categorizing Catal Huyuk as a city or a town. From what we think as of a city today, like New York or Paris, classifying Catal Huyuk as a city can be difficult. Catal Huyuk was a settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5700 BC. Certainly it is a site of immense historic and social...
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
The poem “Chicago,” by Carl Sandburg, and the story, “A City Ready to Burn,” by Jim Murphy, both descried the effects of “fire” on the city of Chicago using two distinctive methods. Sandburg presents a more positive picture of Chicago by identifying its positive attributes and feelings of hope despite its flaws. Murphy on the other hand describes the details of the layout of the city that lead up to the catastrophe demise known as the “Chicago Fire.” Both approaches are used to create a certain imagery of the city.
Location, location, location -- it’s the old realtor 's mantra for what the most important feature is when looking at a potential house. If the house is in a bad neighborhood, it may not be suitable for the buyers. In searching for a house, many people will look at how safe the surrounding area is. If it’s not safe, they will tend stray away. Jane Jacobs understood the importance of this and knew how cities could maintain this safety, but warned of what would become of them if they did not diverge from the current city styles. More modern planners, such as Joel Kotkin argue that Jacobs’s lesson is no longer applicable to modern cities because they have different functions than those of the past. This argument is valid in the sense that city
The U.S. Department of the Interior, describes the term "diversity" is used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics. America's diversity has given this country its unique strength, resilience and richness. (doi.gov)
Susan S. Fainstein, Scott Campbell. 2003. Readings in Urban Theory. Second Edition. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.