The Plaza Theatre

There has been a recent phenomenon throughout the United States of gentrification. As older parts of neighborhoods are occupied by new tenants with money, the neighborhood changes and loses its old character. Those who might have lived in those neighborhoods their entire lives are pushed out as rents begin to skyrocket and the surroundings begin to change. This has happened in many neighborhoods. One of the most well known is San Francisco, where technology companies have brought in new software engineers that have caused local rents to skyrocket and people to move out of the area. However, just as importantly has been the influx of new money to Brooklyn, where local neighborhood changes have forced people from their homes, traditional music to be replaced, and old businesses to go bankrupt.

At 12:30 PM, on October 18, 2016 I attended a Brown Bag Event that took place at the Jackson-Graeter Backstage Theatre of the Mary Alice Marshall Performing Arts Center. The event was a recital by singer / songwriter Ms. Amy Engelhardt, performing original works from her 2008 album, Not Going to be Pretty. She played the piano as she sang; and two Temple College staff members (Tarik Hassan on double bass and Norm Bergeron on the drums) also accompanied her.

In Nightingale Square, a small run down ‘mom & pop’ grocery store, a newly updated/built Downtown Store. I noticed many vehicles parked on the streets and residents walking the streets.

On May 3rd when I visited the site where the Norman Blumberg Housing Project once stood, the air was hauntingly peaceful. I had read about the notoriety of the site during my research, how over its existence it had become an area of concentrated poverty and crime, but on this day this urban setting was quiet and calm. On the two square city blocks where a complex of apartment buildings once ruled the landscape, only a single high-rise remained among the unchecked wild grass. However, even in the peacefulness of this day in Sharswood, the looming presence of the infamous Norman Blumberg Apartments could still be felt.

The gentrification process can be seen through the demographic and physical changes of the South Parkdale neighborhood. Gentrification is “the invasion of working-class areas by the upper- and middle-classes, who upgrade shabby, modest housing into elegant residences, resulting in the displacement of all, or most of the original working-class occupiers”. (Lyons, 1996) South Parkdale is a neighborhood in downtown Toronto that faces problems of gentrification. This problem has been ongoing since the nineteen fifty’s’.

If a neighborhood this elegant is rarely used, it begs the question; why bother with its expensive upkeep instead of putting up modern developments? How does the preservation of St. James' homes benefit other

Part of the beauty of living in a Dallas highrise is the lock and leave lifestyle and convenience of having everything at your fingertips. And that includes the nearby cultural venues that enhance your quality of life. The AT&T Performing Arts Center, also known as the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, is just one of the many such sites that bring you a wide variety of cultural, educational and other entertainment opportunities.

The site of Bayview Yards was once a symbol of Ottawa’s growth and prosperity – housing “buildings associated with municipal works including machinery storage and repair, stables, offices and stock rooms” . The once lively and rich community of buildings and civil workers required in aiding in the operation of the city has since been exhausted and its importance forgotten. Despite bordering three of Ottawa’s historic communities: LeBreton Flats, Mechanicsville and Hintonburg , Bayview Yards remains relatively lifeless since the decommissioning of the City Works Building #4 in the late 20th century.

In order for our business, The Broadway Café, to become more competitive in this environment, I deem it necessary to build a collaboration tool that will stimulate contact, knowledge, information, and events among employees, customers, suppliers, and all others who are interested in the business.

However, a highly affected area of gentrification, in turn with living situations, is the suffering of local businesses. The appeal of gentrified neighborhoods has raised commercial rents to the point where small-scale tenants cannot afford to pay them, even at a steady profit. This situation has many titles, but most appropriately it has been named hyper gentrification. It is described as a mature stage during gentrification when not only are residents displaced, but, when commercial real reaches a market value difficult for anyone but a national or global corporation to pay, forcing businesses to also be displaced. It has the same benefit as displacing a common resident would in the end, higher profit for the larger owner (Ehrenhalt,

The objective of this assignment was to understand how urban areas are subject to processes of change and to be familiar with as well as become accustom with the history of the space. The locale that I will be concentrating my research and observations on is Christie and Dupont and the decade I will compare and contrast is the 1910s. The location of Christie and Dupont is based in the Midwest part of the city’s downtown core; An intersection that has been in this city for over a century, this is one of the older areas in the city and has helped shape Toronto’s expanse downtown core. The intersection was recognized and named in honour of “The king of Cookies”, William Mellis Christie in 1861. Development went underway within the 1870s. Meanwhile,

Realism provides only amoral observation, while absurdism rejects even the possibility of debate. (Frances Babbage, Augusto Boal). The cynicism of this remark reflects the aberrant attitude towards absurdism, yet there is truth to it. Theatre of the absurd is an esoteric avant-garde style of theatre based on the principles of existentialism that looks at the world without any assumption of purpose. Existentialism and Theatre of the Absurd became identified with a cultural movement that flourished in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s, after the Second World War. The idea that man starts with nothing and ends with nothing is a common theme amongst most absurd plays. Despite this strange philosophy, Theatre of the

According to Dictionary.com, “gentrification is the process of renovating houses and stores in urban neighborhoods to fit the middle or upper-income families, raising property value, but often displacing low-income families.” Gentrification has been an idea since the 1960s and had an effect on countless cities and neighborhood communities. Gentrification was first used by Ruth Glass in her book London: Aspect of Change in 1964, she noted that ¨gentrification can progress rapidly until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced, and the whole social character of the district is changed.” Nonetheless, gentrification has helped revive many cities and revolutionize them, especially with technological

London Docklands A Case study of: q Urban redevelopment / Urban regeneration q Economic decline and regeneration q In migration into an area and its impact q An urban planning scheme Where are the London Docklands?

With reference to one property development site within the City of London, critically appraise the extent to which that development delivers successful modern property development whilst at the same time respecting the historic sense of identity of the City of London as identified by Glinert.