Blog 5: How the built environment affects me.
Blog 5: is Explore through image and text how the built environment affects (supports or
detracts) who you are. Speculate in terms of frameworks, clockworks, phenomena and
oppositions.
My first thought about this blog, was how could a built environment affect who I am? The built environment, buildings, roads, or lack of, could not possibly support or detracts who I am. I am who I am because of my morals, the way I was raised, my parents, and surroundings. But then I started thinking that surroundings could include the environment, and designed environment, or even culture and physical location. There are many factors that affect who I am, like the ones I listed before, and the designed environment as well. The designed environment affects my daily activities, my lifestyle, or the way I make act or behave.
I grew up in Hawaii, in a house that my parents built ground up. We were close to the north shore, so our house was raised up on stilts, and at the back of our house on ground level was a patio that overlooked the mountains. I remember being outside playing on those steps and eating dinner with my family on the patio more than I was inside. Granted, the location also affected my lifestyle, but even when I was inside, or going to bed, I still felt the presence of outside, through all the big windows that let moonlight, and sunlight in. Also the gentle breeze and sound of the ocean rushed through the open windows, providing my lullaby every night. My lifestyle was different compared to my lifestyle in Wisconsin and in the city.
Where I lived in Wisconsin, the built environment was hard to come by. I lived in an old farmhouse surrounded by seventy acres. With the lack of built environment around me, I was able to jog in a sports bra, with no set path through the woods. With no built up environment closer than thirty minutes, I got creative with my daily activities and spare time. A lot of time was spent outside canoeing down the channel that started in my backyard and led to the lake, or cross country skiing through my woods. The lack of environment allowed me to experience new things I couldn’t do on a daily basis if I lived in a city.
On the other hand there are many experiences I missed out on. In the city, everything is at my fingertips. There are restaurants, coffee shops, sports arenas, and if you cross the river, there is downtown Minneapolis with malls, clubs, and all sorts of little original shops. I might not be able to run (or I wouldn’t feel comfortable) in a sports bra, but the built environment provides a recreational center conveniently located five minutes away, where I still work out.
My lifestyle and some behaviors are affected by the built environment; what I might do, or how I might do it. I do the some of my same routines that I did back home and here in the cities, but they are done differently. I wouldn’t pull a lawn chair out and lay outside my dorm in a bathing suit to tan. I also don’t eat home cooked meals on a patio, but I do eat in a residential dining hall almost every night with friends. The built environment may not affect what I stand for, or my religion, and I don’t think it necessarily supports me or detracts from who I am. The built environment does affect my experiences and encounters, and all these past and present encounters affect me, teach me something, or give me a certain feeling or emotion, and it has helped shape who I am today.