Sacramento, California is often not the first place that comes to mind when someone thinks of moving to the city, or even when coming up with vacation spots. However, there are countless reasons why Sacramento is wonderful. Sacramento is California’s capital, located in the northern half of the state, right in between San Francisco and South Lake Tahoe. Nicknamed “City of Trees”, Sacramento is lush with greenery that lines its streets and especially along the banks of the Sacramento River. The city is surrounded with miles of farmland which provides not only a gorgeous skyline, but also gives fresh produce to its hundreds of restaurants. Between Midtown and Downtown, or “Old Sacramento”, there is also plenty to see and do for the night owls. Not only is Sacramento thriving in present day, but the city is rich with culture and history. Being the hot spot for gold mining and settling in the mid-1800’s, the city has many unique and preserved features that remind its residents and visitors just how important Sacramento was in American history (Sacramento). Sacramento is all the things listed above, but more importantly, it is a home for nearly two million people in the area. Many of them fortunate to have a home of their own, whether in the heart of the city or just outside of it. Of these two million are about 3,500 people that do not have a home of their own (Chabria). These individuals have spent, on average, a year or more living on the streets of Sacramento gathering, at
The documentary San Francisco 2.0 examines how San Francisco city officials have given tax breaks to the Silicon Valley tech industry to move to San Francisco. These new techs companies have brought in a lot of wealth to the city, but at a cost. The majority of the low-income natives are being evicted or having their rents raised so high that they can't afford them. The gentrification of the city has impacted low-income districts (for example, the mission district known for its Latin immigrants) that the residents and the culture are being displaced. I believe the documentary is important for the study of the issue of gentrification because San Fransisco was known for being-counter culture, caring for the arts and for civil progress. The housing
Life in the city is often chaotic and fast-paced. It is as quick as a television dinner. Often, people are forgetting the art of appreciation. Things go unnoticed like a pebble under a shoe, like sparkling windows on corporate buildings. Now, people are typically giving more time to their technological devices- which is not necessarily a terrible thing. If anything, it speaks more of an imbalance. There is a wider disconnect in every day social interactions (communications) and public spaces (location). It has been noted by a creator of public spaces, Goldberger, that people are “there but not there”. They have closed themselves off from experiencing what is right in front of them. For example, the average adult spends seven hours on a technological
To people foreign to California, the state is boxed into a set of stereotypical characteristics. The Golden State has received labels such as ‘surf nation,’ and ‘liberal land.’ But to those who’ve gotten a chance to live within this great state appreciate the opportunities and ambitions that come with living in California. Furthermore, what truly differentiates California from any other place in the world is the consistent paradoxical environment. This notion is best epitomized by the city of Sacramento and the cultural, economic and social change that the city has undergone. Gary Snyder communicates this theme through building around John Muir’s ideologies in his work of “Covers The Ground.” Snyder’s work exemplifies the contradiction between nature and innovation. It presents the paradoxical state individuals around the world face on whether to accept the innovation and accept the benefits that come with it, or stay true to the roots of nature and the history that accompanies it. This dilemma boils down to whether we as a race embrace the progression of time and the paradoxes that follow, or we find solace in our current state.
Introduction- The East Bay area is an economically diverse community with many satisfactory and unsatisfactory aspects. Each city had its differences and distinctions in people, settings, and cleanliness. As the bus left the station and went around the corner I could tell that we were in a low poverty city. With loose trash and debris in front of houses and apartment buildings, the area looked torn down and not very visual pleasing. Already familiar with the city of Emeryville I knew to expect a more upscale location. With plenty of name brand stores, and new apartment complexes, it was obvious this city was clean and very different from the previous location. As the bus
Contextualizing history is heavily intertwined with the development and shaping of Los Angeles as a whole. Los Angeles has always been deemed to be one of the hardest cities to develop in being one of the greatest cities in the world. This comes as a result of all of the history behind the buildings in the city. In addition, many of the buildings in the great city (both historical structures and regular buildings) are being renovated and reshaped to keep up with modern trends. Throughout the course of the growth of the city of Los Angeles, the city has seen a lot of growth in terms of infrastructure and population. There has been a recent growth in the popularity and demand for mixed use development. Mixed use development is a very hot
My hometown of Eldersburg, Maryland is fairly indistinguishable from the majority of towns in the rest of the United States. Eldersburg closely strattles the line of being the town mentioned in an All Time Low lyric, and that being placed in the crosshairs of somewhere. The main points about Eldersburg probably stem from the influx of supermarkets we have such as Food Lion, Martin’s, and Safeway, to name some of the larger ones, and the location of Liberty High School. However, despite this inability to have any truly positive distinguishing features, I have always found Eldersburg to be quaint enough to learn the lessons of growing up in a safe, community driven environment. Home is a place where you grow as an individual, flourish into what
With everyone’s love and desires in the heart of this city, we cannot expand because it is necessary to locate ourselves in a spot that is enjoyable to us. Distance is a big problem for us because our families thrive on the suburban lifestyle because it caters to a frugal lifestyle that can better suit us for the future. Also, we are relatively wealthy in our perspectives because we can afford to feed our kids, house our family, and provide everything necessary for a family to live
My kids and I recently spent a week day morning in “Old Sac”. We arrived before noon, but the temperatures were already climbing, so after strolling up and down the planked sidewalks, peering in window fronts and admiring the old-fashioned barrels being used as trash cans (it’s life’s little things sometimes), we headed indoors.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is part of the largest statuary on the West Coast of the United States. The Delta covers over 738,000 acres and is home to over 50 species of fish and almost 300 different kinds of mammal, reptile, and bird species (Lund, et al.) Moreover, the Delta is the largest source of water supply for the entire state, channeling water from Northern California to millions of acres of farmland in the Central Valley and to over 20 million residents in California (Holyoke). In its vicinity, the Delta supports agricultural, fishing, and recreational activities. In other words, the Delta is the jugular of California’s water system and the states’ entire economy and wellbeing is attached to it. With so much riding on the Delta, humans have re-engineer its natural fluvial shape to rip off benefits without thinking of future consequences.
Lynnwood, Washington is not unlike many of the medium sized cities within the United States. With a population of roughly 36,000 people, the area has characteristics that correspond to both large and small cities. For one, the area is small enough to allow intimate relationships between those within the community. However, the city is large enough to allow for anonymity in regards to daily life, if an individual so chooses. Both these characteristics provide Lynnwood with a unique experience relative to its other Washington state counterparts. The streets, much like other small cities are very clean. The community being very intimate in regards to their relationships with one another have pride in the appearance of their city. This is very much unlike many large cities where individuals are so overwhelmed with daily life, that they often neglect the aesthetics appeal of their city. Instead they rely on third parties such as the state or local government to lead these initiatives. This does not occur at Lynnwood, which is very prideful about its cleanliness, appeal, and look. In addition, another small city benefit that is derived from the Lynnwood community is that of space and privacy. Typically, in very densely populated, large cities, homes tend to be clustered. With very few exceptions, large cities
It is no secret that homelessness is quickly becoming an epidemic in the United States, but the homeless population is not one secular demographic. For every person in the US living on the street, there is a unique story of how they got there; nonetheless, that is not to say that many of these stories are without some commonalities. Along with homelessness, there is another issue plaguing American cities, but this issue is much more covert, and exists under a guise of improvements like fancy apartments and trendy restaurants. Gentrification is defined as “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste” (Erikson); but what that definition fails to mention is the discourse it has on the
Growing up in small-town Pflugerville, I never imagined what life would be like outside of a "country" area - until I moved to Killeen, Texas. Killeen is a town full of hot-headed, military, city-slickers that clog up the highway like ants. Often, I think of times when I was younger - looking up at the clear, blue, open skies; the smell of fresh-cut grass always awakened my senses. Now, I look up and I see wires, buildings, cars, and smog. They always say "There is no place like home," and in this case, there are no two places that differ more than my hometown and the town I live in now. The speed of life, the buildings, and most of all, the crime rates are all very new to me. The world is like bowl of fruit, sometimes the taste of each point on a map can differ as greatly as apples and oranges.
Historically, many of the suburban towns and neighborhoods around the major U.S. cities served as homes to poor and minority residents, offering cheaper living spaces due to the marginalized and inconvenient geographical locations with several negative reputations. Yet, given the big cities’ overcrowded environment and expensive living cost, these suburban areas are now popular destinations for people who seek for a less-crowded and affordable neighborhood to dwell. According to statistics by Kolko (2016), in 2015, the population of overall U.S. suburban neighborhoods increased by 159 million people, while only the total of less than 80 million
Manifest Destination uses the concepts of urbanization and tourism to explain the evolution of American culture. Gruen (2014) identifies Chicago as the center of urbanization in the US and this attracts domestic and international tourists to the city. The intention of these tourists was to explore the