Union Square As A Tourist Attraction

In the city of Baltimore, people have decided to tear down their urban slums, which are heavily populated urban informal settlements that are characterized by substandard housing and squalor. Baltimore is also lowering its land taxes endeavoring to encourage wealthier people to move into the central business district. Other methods are increasing the creation of various public places such as parks. In New York, for example, Central Park serves as a perfect example of a space that was built to bring people together. Parks, change the urban landscape of the area, and impact society as well. With more parks such as Central Park, the central business district will be affected. Central Park an urban park in middle-upper Manhattan, within New York City, heavily impacted the CBD for it is one of the most popular parks within the world. Thus, urban policy has resulted in the alteration of central business and residential districts though the creation of various parks and the reconstruction of

Bobby Lefebre says, “Watching everything I love about my neighborhood slowly walk into a mere memory is disheartening. It seems like every day there is a new institution, business, or mural being cleared away to make room for the new.” This quote not only helps you understand just how upsetting gentrification is to people who were rooted in these areas, but also how the original atmosphere is no longer apart of the neighborhood. These Chicanos, are not saying that people of other races or backgrounds cannot live in these neighborhoods as well, they just want it to be the same tight knit group of people who are able to help each other out and provide information to people of the same background. The idea of a tight knit community plays an important role in preservation and is imperative to these individual’s survival. Bobby Lefebre also writes, “Let’s honor our past by ensuring Northside communities of all backgrounds are not erased. Let’s work together to preserve our diverse traditions and cultural artifacts; even if preservation means creating things anew.” Even though gentrification is happening in multiple neighborhoods, there is still ideas for how to keep the original feel and the historical value that people who have lived in the area for a long time would benefit from and help give peace of mind, with the changes that are happening in their neighborhood. The ongoing stories of these people can remain in the neighborhood and will grow with them as well as the growing communities. Jolie Diepenhorst comments at the end of Bobby Lefebre’s article and her comment is another voice for how truly upsetting gentrification is to people and the history of the area. She says, “This is a beautifully written piece that illustrates everything that is

Lead with a commitment to new housing, some already built, with plans for development along the popular waterfront area. Of course, new housing means new people and businesses. Such as, the Brick Tavern, which recently opened. Downtown nightlife is sure to heat up with this addition. A exciting new arts district anchored by 28-east Gallery adds to the cultural landscape on Union Avenue. Along with several antique and thrift shops, jewelers, banks, a bed and breakfast Inn, and fine eateries suggests downtown has a foundation to build on.

The work of developers reconstructs the buildings and the historical culture of the city, allowing newcomers to forget what Washington, D.C. once was. A culturally coined, popular seafood restaurant, Fish in the ’Hood was forced to change its name to “Fish in the Neighborhood” to “survive,” as quoted by Bill White, owner of the establishment. Whereas in the U Street area gentrifiers are embracing and commoditizing the black history, while displacing the minorities all in one fell swoop. The African-Americans and Latinos who manage to remain in these areas are faced with cultural alienation. They feel as though the newcomers want them gone and their history is the only weapon they have in the battle of money and power with

The park’s story is worth retelling: The bisecting of the Barrio Logan community by I-5 and the Coronado Bridge, ending in a concrete “roof” supported by large gray pillars, replaced at least 1,500 families. With a society of 20,000 in its heyday in the 1940s, the historic neighborhood was rezoned as industrial in the 1950s, ushering in junkyards, auto-wrecking operations, plating and chemical companies, and now, a legacy of environmental and air condition issues.

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

It seems the south Brooklyn neighborhood known as Carroll Gardens is a victim of its own success. For the better part of the 20th century, this small neighborhood community, which is partly framed by the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) and the Gowanus canal, was populated by working class Italian immigrants and their families who created a rich Italian American imprint on the area.

The Madison Area neighborhood has achieved a full circle, from being a thriving shopping center, to a feared poverty stricken sector and back to a place where people can walk down the road without fear (Samuelson, & Schrier, 2003). If you were to take a snapshot of Madison Square in 1915 you would have seen an overload of cars, shops and foot traffic. It rivaled all of the shopping districts in Grand Rapids and was a booming epicenter of business. As time moved on an increasingly poor population settled in just north of Hall and the drug trade started to flourish. By 1967 there were riots over racial violence and the streets had become unsafe; at one point it was even referred to as the “killing corner”. Severe

I have been to Times Square for two times, and I have a very deep impression on it. It locates in the interchange of Manhattan 42 west street and Broadway avenue. It is interesting that Times Square is

New York City is made up of five boroughs, which include the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Within these boroughs, there are high and low-income neighborhoods that contain either high or low status organizational structures or facilities. Each division has their own characteristics and top attractions, such as the Empire State building, Central Park, or Times Square. As New York City may be known for great food and fun attractions, New York faces infrastructure problems within each borough. New York City’s infrastructure funding is limited in lower income neighborhoods, where money needed to upkeep the city goes toward prime tourist’s areas or residents living in high status neighborhoods, such as The Upper East Side of Manhattan, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and Lenox Hill, Manhattan. Moreover, abandoned buildings, poor sewage conditions, and rocky roads and streets are examples of low-income area infrastructure problems that may hinder neighborhood growth both structurally and economically. Harlem, East Brooklyn, and South Bronx are low-income parts of New York that lack new and refined facilities, roads, plumbing, and fundamental structures, which contribute to high crime and arrests.

In class, we were well informed of the detrimental effects of this urban-planning method. The increase in property value could weed out inhabitants with lower income. With the higher standard of living, it becomes a struggle for lower-class residents to pay to live in their current homes and forces them to relocate to cheaper areas (Knox 228). This serves as a counter argument to the claims of diminishing crime rates; the crime rate is not disappearing, it’s just being replaced to another area. The increase in payment for rent does not only affect household residents, it also affects local businesses. Big companies such as Dunkin Donuts, or Starbucks overshadows smaller coffee shops owned by locals. This makes it difficult for locals to compete in business, ultimately forcing them to close down. Many people in Brooklyn were outraged with the Downtown Brooklyn Plan because of its community-destroying affects. Brooklyn is known for its strong cultural diversity. As the rental payment increases, which mainly Caucasian graduates and families can afford, many people of different cultures are being forced out. Brooklyn is being stripped of its ethnic variety and the diverse communities that built the reputation for it (Yee, 2015). Brooklyn residents were also skeptical of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan’s influence on the Fulton Mall. The transit mall located in downtown Brooklyn was already highly

Revitalization efforts in downtown areas have gained momentum over the past few decades, this paper is focused on revitalization strategies, recognizing the process of decline, while identifying key strategies used in downtown revitalization efforts over the past fifty years (Faulk 2006). Downtowns, unlike suburban shopping malls or office complexes, evolved slowly over time, responding to changing technologies, social and economic patterns. A city’s identity relies heavily on the image of its downtown, so inevitably cities of all sizes commit themselves to achieving successful downtown redevelopment (Robertson 1995). As I have been reading literature on downtown revitalization a number of strategies and principles have surfaced. Many of

When you mention New York to anyone, they automatically think about Times Square. This beautiful place with skyscrapers, Central Park, and a unique transportation system. However, if you were to ask me what I think about New York; I believe the skyscrapers block the sun, Central park is just a regular park for dogs, and the subway trains rarely run consistently especially in the mornings. I have lived in New York for 18 years, and I have yet to understand what everyone likes about the “ Big Red Apple.”

The privatization and fragmentation of space in post-industrial urban America is a widespread social problem. As society becomes even more globalized as a result of technological advances, the rampant spread of a privatized public realm is ever-increasing. Public space is needed as a center in which to bring people together to share a common place. It is within public spaces that public life unfolds and without public spaces such as parks, streets, and buildings, the mixing of classes will become increasingly uncommon. Society is made up of two sectors: the private and public, and it is essential that both remain separate entities. However, through the use of fear tactics especially the threat of

Space that is documented and utilized by humans, whether directly or indirectly, takes on a basic level of social utility and cultural construction. As Elias Canetti would suggest, the prospect of touch carries with it the risk of being taken and subsequently assimilated or digested (1). The predecessors to the first great urban parks in the United States, namely country estates, cemeteries, and town squares or plazas, all contribute some aesthetic and related ideological basis for a newly emerging discourse of urban parks. Parks were seen as the “poor-man’s countryside,” in reference to the country estates of the wealthy. Also, cemeteries were the first naturalistic open spaces consistently built within urban boundaries. The idea of the commons and town square is perhaps the most telling predecessor of the city park.