Main

March 28, 2007

Project Plans

Before embarking on a journey that placed me in Austria for a high school exchange, I thought that I had it all in America. From unlimited shopping hours to inexpensive petrol; my life revolved around a culture of convenience. It was not until I lived in Austria did I realize the importance of having and observing culture. From street festivals, Christmas and New Year celebrations, harvest parties, theater musicals, all the way to skiing down a mountain on barrel slots through an obstacle course to Mozart concerts. Such events may seem crazy to an outsider, but to the people of Austria it is something greater. A sense of welcome, pride, community; call it what you want, but it is something that is missing from our contemporary America.
It was not until I returned to my home of Hawai’i did I realize that I need to be living in a place with culture. I was sitting in my apartment watching a special on the Travel Channel entitled 1000 Places to See Before You Die. At one point during the special they featured the beautiful city of Pisa, Italy. Pisa, familiar because of the leaning tower, has what I would argue one of the longest running competitions in history. Since the Middle Ages, the four historic districts of the city gather on June 17th to observe Saint Ranieri, the patron saint of Pisa. For this event, the four districts select eight men to a boat who race 1500 meters to a raft with a flag pole. At the top of this flag pole sits three flags. The racers row their hearts out to get their climber to the pole and claim that first place banner. And what does the winning team receive for winning the yearly competition? Nothing! Just the simple pride that they won. It is events like this that appeal to me.
The level that people become emotionally involved in this might seem crazy to an American. The simple fact that people still observe this tradition and come together as a community is something I want and need in my life. Where in this country do we shut down whole cities for a cultural event? Sure we have federal holidays, but they seem to become more and more commercial each year. (Think of sales that are going on now before Thanksgiving even happens, or memorial day/president’s day car sales!) September 11, 2001 has come and passed; we forget things too quickly in this country. I do not think that most Americans can or even will understand how whole cities shut down for the entire day to observe something that has no real meaning in people lives. This is culture and something that is obviously in the void in this country. So, it is this idea of culture that I am going to observe in Minnesota.
For my final paper, I am going to do a content analysis of cultural events taking place around the state. I am going to e-mail 2 large municipalities (60,000+ residents) in the southern third of the state, middle third, and northern third asking about their events reported to the municipality for the month of March and April. I will repeat the above steps for 2 middle size municipalities (30,000+ residents) and 2 small size municipalities (Less than 15,000 residents). For the metro area, I am going to include both Minneapolis and St. Paul. I am also going to contact neighboring suburbs, some known for being mainly white, some intermixed, and some thought to be the “urban ghetto.” I am going to be building off of Wirth’s idea that the increased density will ultimately increase the number of subcultures within a certain area, ultimately influencing the number of cultural events taking place within the municipalities.


Posted by Jesse Kortuem at 02:52 PM | | Add a Comment (1)

Comments

I whole heartedly agree with, "It was not until I returned to my home of Hawai’i did I realize that I need to be living in a place with culture." However, sad as it sounds, in our phenominal American culture everyone is not granted the privilege to travel. I can't wait to see your project, because more people who have the opportunity to travel and incorporate their ideas in writing is a good way to give less privileged people a look into "culture."

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 04:40 PM

Dorian Stanasel on Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier in regards to Minneapolis.

Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier have different view points on how a city should be built. I am very interested in how these two men’s ideas pertain to Minneapolis. I would love to study in which direction Minneapolis headed. Are we migrating to the Garden State suburbs, building upwards or both?
I like the ideas that each of the two future oriented architects have for the design of a perfect city. I know that Minneapolis has neither of the two’s ideology but I want to see which way it is headed. The idea of gentrification comes into play here as well because population migration will be a staple of my paper, so I will probably bring in theorists that deal with that concept.
There should be ample empirical research available for my paper. Everyday there is something in the paper about a new building being built. I need to keep my eyes out for where these buildings are being built, why they are being built, by whom and for what purpose so that I can tie it back to my theorists. I also need to pay attention to people migrations from suburbs to urban areas and vice versa.
An important aspect of both theorists is transportation but if I were to add this into my paper it would probably make it more like 20 pages. Also, both theorists tend to agree on the importance of transportation which doesn’t do me too much good since I am looking for differences between the two theorists.
Le Corbusier has his plan for a city including decongesting the centers of cities, density augmentation, increasing means for getting about and increasing parks and open spaces. I need to search for signs of this throughout Minneapolis. It might be difficult to do all of Minneapolis so might want to focus on North Minneapolis or South Minneapolis for examples.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Broadacre City” isn’t really feasible and I am well aware of this. Due to this, I am not looking for the exact one acre per land pipe dream that Wright crafted. Instead, I will be looking for data on suburban sprawl and the moving out of the urbanites to other less dense areas. I could also toss in some Webber here since Wright’s idea of a city is really a similar to Webber’s Post-City in regard to relocation of individuals and transportation.
Wright also talks a lot about an “organic” city, basically, building a city with respect to and in tandem with nature. I will need to keep an eye out for ecological movements in Minneapolis in regards to construction to see if this is supported. Decentralization is also a key issue to Wright that could be easily spotted by researching private vs. public school growth and businesses.
To conclude, I believe I have a broad enough topic to keep me going for at least 10 pages but since I know its not possible for Minneapolis to be an exact copy of either theorists cities I don’t think ill be overloaded with data so much that my paper winds up being 20+ pages.

Dorian Stanasel

Posted by Dorian Stanasel at 07:10 PM | | Add a Comment (6)

Comments

Dorian this sounds like a good plan. As a suggestion, you could also look at the old part of the condo revolution in along the loring greenway off of nicollet avenue. Other than that, I think that you are going to find plenty for your analysis.

Posted by: Jesse | March 28, 2007 11:56 PM

Dorian, this sounds like a grat project. You might want to look at the old condoization of minneapolis along the loring greenway off of nicollet. This kind of goes with Le Coubusier and parks in the city, something different than the new condos along the river. Other than that, it sounds good.

Posted by: Jesse | March 29, 2007 12:03 AM

my computer is messed up....

Posted by: Anonymous | March 29, 2007 12:03 AM

This sounds like a good paper. The metro area of the Twin Cities is in an interesting position right now being that it is projected to take in an additional one million new residents by the year 2020. This is a very large number being that there are currently fewer than three million residents in the metro. The big question is where these residents will move to; within the city limits or into even further out area. The metro area of the Twin Cities also happens to be one of the most sprawled in the whole of the States. There is a fair amount of literature regarding possible effects on an increased population in the metro area that might give you some good insight.

Posted by: Jonathan Little | March 31, 2007 05:39 AM

Your project sounds very interesting, because I am from Wisconsin and very unfamiliar with Minneapolis. Your project will be very informative. Moreover, your paper will have nice compare and contrast given the theorists you have chosen.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 04:42 PM

there's alot to go off here, many different ways you can take this which make it an exciting but (to me at least) overwhelming paper idea..i definitely agree that you could turn this into an extensive 20+ page paper...i think focusing on transportation would be interesting, considering it was both architect's main element in design..there's also alot going on right now in our state and local governments concerning transportation/highway growth and development. it's an incredibly relevant topic, especially with jonathan's input on projected population increase..

Posted by: Bethanie Kloecker | April 1, 2007 04:58 PM

research in progress rondo neighborhood sean mcpherson

Sean McPherson
Cities & Social Change
Research Summary

My topic of study will be The Rondo Neighborhood in St. Paul. The largely African-American neighborhood was razed in the mid-50s to make room for Highway 94. The contentious decision to route the highway in a way that would most negatively affect the African-American community was a big issue in its day and it continues to be a problem today. I would like to investigate how this decision was contested and argued by the community during its time. Specifically, I am curious how the neighborhood presented themselves to planning committees in an attempt to convince them to route the highway in a direction where more neighborhoods would share in the difficulty of having a highway going through them.
I will analyze these comments with an eye on Jacobs work that defends the urban ballet of a neighborhood and is anti- the Robert Moses style parkways that were upsetting many neighborhoods in the New York area during her time. In addition I will analyze the handful of more Corbusian developments that have sprouted up near the Rondo neighborhood. Currently I only know the name by what all the kids at Central H.S. called them which is “Ghetto in the Sky” but I will find out how the social interactions in these settings compared to the analysis of the Rondo neighborhood pre 94. Included below is the list of secondary sources from Minnesota Historical Society. I plan to check these works out to begin my research this weekend.

* "Before There Was Interstate 94 … There Was Rondo," by Mary Sanders.
In Voices: A Collection of Writings and Stories for a Diverse Community, written and compiled by Mark Clark, et al.
St. Paul, Minn.: St. Paul Dept. of Planning and Economic Development, 1992.
MHS call number: F613.S3 V65 1992.
* The Days of Rondo, by Evelyn Fairbanks.
St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1990.
MHS call number: F605.1.F353 A3 1990.
* Freeway Exodus; Experiences in Finding Housing as a Result of the St. Anthony-Rondo Freeway Displacement from Western to Lexington Avenues in St. Paul: A Research Report, by F. James Davis, with the collaboration of Alice Onque.
[St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline University, 1963?].
MHS call number: HD7304.S25 D2
* Northern Lights & Insights: Evelyn Fairbanks.
[Minnetonka, Minn.]: Hennepin County Library, 1990.
In this film, Evelyn Fairbanks, author of Days of Rondo, reminisces about the neighborhood that was Rondo and what it was like to grow up there.
MHS call number: Videotape 375 (1 30-minute color videocassette).
* Remember Rondo: Celebrating the People, Their Lives and Times, July 1, 2, 3, 1983: History of Rondo Avenue, written by David V. Taylor.
St. Paul, Minn.: Rondo Avenue, Inc., 1983.
Includes history, the neighborhood, commercial service, Rondo Avenue commercial buildings and other establishments, 1926-1964, and community institutions.
MHS call number: F613.S93 R674 1983.
* Remember Rondo: A Tradition of Excellence, edited by Vikki Sanders
[St. Paul, Minn.: Remember Rondo Committee, 1995].
Includes history of Rondo, black migration to Minnesota, profiles of African-American pioneers, and background on Rondo Avenue, Inc.
MHS call number: F613.S9 A277 1995.
* Remember Rondo Ave. Days, July 11-17: 10th Anniversary Commemorative.
[St. Paul, Minn.: Rondo Avenue, Inc., 1993].
MHS call number: F613.S93 R674 1993.

PRIMARY RESOURCES:

* Metropolitan Waste Control Commission, Project Photographs.
This archival collection includes 1930s-era St. Paul street scenes taken in the Rondo neighborhood.
MHS call number: See the black State Archives Notebooks — filed under Metropolitan Waste Control Commission — for a detailed list and the locator number (there is only 1 box).
* "Rondo Ave., 1865-1966: Echo of the Past, Herald to the Future," Edward Harris, Jr., and Steve Wilson, producers.
[Minnesota]: H/W Productions, 1990.
This video recording examines the history of the Rondo Avenue neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. Former residents are interviewed including David V. Taylor and James Griffin.
MHS call number: Videotape no. 211 (in the A-V Collection; 1 48-minute color videocassette).
* "St. Paul's Past: River, Railroads, and Rondo," written and produced by Brendan Henehan.
St. Paul, Minn.: Twin Cities Public Television, 1991.
This video explores the history of St. Paul, Minnesota through stories of four key places in St. Paul: Lower Landing, Merriam Park, Summit Avenue, and Rondo.
MHS call number: Videotape no. 404 (in the A-V Collection; 1 41-minute color and black-and-white videocassette).

Posted by Sean McPherson at 10:21 PM | | Add a Comment (6)

Comments

Sean, I like that you are going to give a historical background to the area as well as analyze the current situation. Besides my sociology major I am a Political Science major, and I can see a political debate in your topic. It would definitely be interesting to hear what politicians would say about the placement of Highway 94. I think that the highway creates a definite division around the area of concern. Good start!!

Posted by: Kari | March 30, 2007 03:24 PM

sean, your project sounds super interesting and it looks like you have a lot of resources to back it up. although im sure you dont need any additional things to research or write about, it might be interesting to look into the St. Paul West Side Redevelopment Project (or fiasco, depending on how you look at it) that has been going on for the past several years. a developer has been trying to get a relatively upscale development plan passed that would more or less dissect and destruct a predominantly hispanic and african american community. it would be interesting to see if their current efforts to prevent the development are similar to what the residents of rondo went through.

Posted by: amber | March 30, 2007 03:53 PM

Wow Sean, this is a really well thought out project man. Its an interesting debate you're researching and its going to make for a good paper. Good luck.

Posted by: Dorian | March 30, 2007 04:45 PM

Good luck with your research...I am not sure if any of your sources are Minneapolis newspaper's, but the library on west bank has one of those machines that allow you to look at newspapers from any year. I did a project using that and it really helped...sounds fun

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 04:44 PM

Sean very cool idea you have here. It may be because im partial to ideas that cover changes over time and why/ how it came to be. I think it is especially interesting because of how much 94 affects not only us, but the entire city. I would love to see a map in your final paper, just as a specific reference for people who dont know the area as well.

Posted by: Angie | April 1, 2007 09:52 PM

Sweet. I've been curious about this and I would like to read your paper to find out what community members of that time had to say to planning committees. I think it would be interesting to see you compare the Rondo community's protests with that of the other community that Prof Gowan talked about in class the other day about 394, and getting demographic information from both communities would be interesting.

Also, it would be interesting to know where the Rondo African-American community was displaced to... Hearing about how this has effected the African American community reminds of me a different issue in Chicago with African Americans, but it's similar in the idea that ethnic minority populations tend to get displaced by community/city planners. It's a damn shame to hear that minority populations are still be displaced by developers/planners to this day..

Posted by: kat | April 2, 2007 05:14 PM

March 29, 2007

Effects of condoization

Effects of condoization

I am doing my project on condoization. I want to find out what kind of social stratification condoization and gentrification have provided, and continue to provide, in urban settings. I plan on doing my observation and ethnography of condo’s in two or more areas of the city and compare them. In particular (and for one area) I plan on doing research on the midtown area. I am very interested in how the gentrification and condoization of Lake street has effected businesses (smaller ones), neighbors, and in particular the low-income citizens who once occupied this space. Race, class, gender, and sexuality all play a part in the social inequalities that push so-called “second rate citizens” out of their homes leaving them without anything. As far as I know from the little research I have done thus far, it is clear that the areas that are being condolized and gentrified are places typically inhabited by low-income, subordinate race citizens. This remodeling of the city leaves businesses, homes, families, and individuals that struggle enough already in a state of even more despair; homeless, jobless, debited. I plan on interviewing those that live in the condo’s to see, mostly, what their motives for being there really are. Are they there to be surrounded by urban culture and if so how have they in reality begun to get themselves involved. If they have chosen the more secluded route, I want to learn why. Did they really intend to bring their surburban lifestyles with them (assuming they came from suburban areas!?), or did they desire a certain urban gated community. Did they move into the condo from a house, the suburbs, the city, an apartment, for environmental reasons, for less space etc. Are people inhabiting these condo’s coming with their families or individually?

I have already contacted the city pages for articles written in recent pasts about Minneapolis’s condoization. I am trying to track down a book about the effects of condoization as well…(I’m unsure of the title or the author!!)…

As for theorists there are a lot of ways to go about this. I think I will be able to solidify my ideas more once I begin to talk to people. For now though I plan on using Jane Jacob’s use of sidewalks theory. I also intend to use Castells, Caldiera, Zukin, and Groth. All of these theorists in one way or another talk about gentrification and isolation that the suburban lifestyle may provide!

Posted by Kait at 11:51 PM | | Add a Comment (7)

Comments

are you calling minorities subordinate races or just regurgitating a statement that someone else made?

Posted by: Anonymous | March 30, 2007 02:21 PM

Yes, i'm calling them subordinate groups. My definiton of subordinate is: one that is under the authority or control of another in an organization. The organization in this situation, unfortunately, is society. Unfortunately the white race carries far more than half of the power in this society and so classifying non-white citizens as subordinate races is true. No, I'm not "just regurgitating" a statement. The word 'minority' is full of degradation and has condescending implications. Subordination shows a power of relationship.

Posted by: Kaitlin | March 30, 2007 02:46 PM

Just for the record, I like your choice of terminology! I like your idea a lot and I am curious to find out what you discover. It would be nice to have some history too about the neighborhood. How it first developed and then the transitions between the subordinate races. The condoization is a newer problem, and with the prices of the condos they cater towards the wealthier. I also agree with you on your suggestion of bring the suburban life to the urban setting. I am not as familiar with that area, but I would also be curious as to if the condos are renters or used for single family households. I feel that renting and buying provide different perspectives on the neighborhood. New renters generally move in and out from year to year, or every other year and they don't have as great a chance to get to know their neighbors. Good start, I really like your ideas!!

Posted by: Kari | March 30, 2007 03:18 PM

theres no way condoization is a word right?? I love this topic though Kaitlin. The shifts in urban settings from rich to poor and back is a really interesting topic to research and i think you'll find loads to pull from. Good luck!

Dorian

Posted by: Dorian | March 30, 2007 04:48 PM

Looks good Kaitlin. It may be useful to speak of races traditionally relegated to a subordinate role than subordinate races, just to be abundantly clear that you aren’t implying that there is something inevitable about these power relations you speak of. Not that I was particularly confused. It might also be cool to look at how the store owners who were replaced by gentrification feel about the situation as well as the average community member.

Posted by: Greg | April 1, 2007 04:21 PM

I feel the same as the other commenters...In addition to what they have said, i feel that the interviews will add some insight to your paper that you would not otherwise find.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 04:52 PM

thanks for elaborating a bit more on my point greg.

Posted by: Anonymous | April 2, 2007 05:17 PM

March 30, 2007

Reseach in progress-upholding sustainable society in transitions

I have two main objectives. One aims to inform citizens on the current transitions in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. The other is to incorporate urban academics’ theory (to the best of my knowledge) for a working democracy.
The economic prosperity in Minneapolis and St. Paul has tagged us one of the “the most livable” cities in the nation. How did Mpls/St. Paul earn the merit of this title? How is the community working together to preserve it? Those will be my central questions as I do my best to properly depict urban scholar’s view for a healthy society. I feel that before we get too egotistical on how sustainable out city is we ought to do a reality check on transformations that may jeopardize our title. My goal is to investigate current economic activities in the Twin Cities and relate the activities to Wright, Calderia, Wilson and Wheeler’s urban critiques. By applying present social transformations in the Twin Cities to ideologies we can set greater standards to maintain a healthy society.
In order to uphold a sustainable idealistic environment in the Twin Cities, it’s crucial to be mindful of growth trends that could fog this urban success. Some current transformation of the city include; strength in the economy (emphasis on local Fortune 500 companies), extreme condominium craze, boom in the hotel industry and controversial debates for additional public transportations. The Twin Cities is also trying to accommodate an ever-growing population of immigrants who come from all SES backgrounds. My research in progress is, to use pertinent knowledge on social restructuring and compare the information with transformations in the Twin Cities. The goal here is to maintain the title as being the most “livable metro environment.” I intend to compare classic urban concerns and contrast the information in the metro area with flexible views. In the event someone is more knowledgeable on a particular reading or topic, I welcome critique. The intention here is to acknowledge that we have a relatively strong society and to collectively integrate factors that may empower or alienate our metropolitan stability.
The reason I’m springing ideas from; Frank Lloyd Wright because he’ll add a dreamy start for a city filled with independence that practices democracy. Teresa Caldeira based on her progressive hypothesis that spot red flags to class inequalities. William Julius Wilson so I can familiarize myself with the causes and effects of intergenerational poverty found in North Mpls and East St. Paul neighborhoods. Stephan Wheeler’s thoughts will be most useful because he sounds as though he holds the secret recipe for absolute urban utopia. The bottom line here is, who told us we live in a sustainable city and why? And if we are so dang affluent, why does poverty skirt the metro area? Instead of obsessing about social inequalities (as I normally do because I’m broke) I’d like to engineer methods on how to maintain a strong, healthy, vital society. Because whether or not our title is true, everyone in the Twin Cities deserves comfort if our society is bragging about being the “best.” (Especially in our competitive culture) Oh, and my other goal for this project is to not sound like a cheerleader for freedom, rather an advocate towards respecting diversity.

My primary sources will be our class text and local magazines/newspaper literature.

Posted by Valerie at 12:21 AM | | Add a Comment (1)

Comments

After reading Zukin, I thought about your research. This is an interesting topic and would like to find out more about why the Twin Cities are notable for being 'one of the best cities to live in.' I'll also attempt to write a blog on this too so you can probably watch out for that.

Posted by: Kathy | April 5, 2007 01:03 PM

Immigrants/Refugees Who Revitalized University Avenue and Cities Throughout the U.S. of A.

There has been a lot of immigrant/refugee anti-sentiment in the United States and my research will provide for a positive perspective of immigrant and refugee populations in the United States. I will first start off the research by looking into how refugee and immigrant groups have changed blighted neighborhoods throughout the United States. I will then narrow my research and paper on how the Hmong and other SE Asian groups have revitalized and changed the University Ave strip.

I will be including before and after photos of University Ave (before and after immigrants/refugees arrived into the area). I will be utilizing the librarian to dig some news articles, maps, photos, etc. I will be utilizing news archive information primarily, and if I don't get enough info from this source, I will be conducting interviews with neighbors and business owners who have been in the area for 20+ years who have seen the area change throughout time. I also want to look into the demographics of the neighborhood prior-1970s and at the present. I will work theorists Zukin's theory of revitalization and Jacobs' concept of 'eyes on the street' into the research. It might be a stretch to fit Engel's bohemia in, but we'll see how that goes.

Please give me any input, feedback, and suggestions. I would greatly appreciate your two cents.

Posted by Kathy Xiong at 02:25 PM | | Add a Comment (3)

Comments

sounds good Kathy, I'm also interested in immigrant influence and culture. I can't wait to see some further progress.

Posted by: Corrie | March 30, 2007 04:46 PM

Wow your paper's going to be very interesting! Your paper reminds me of an experience I've had growing up in my old neighborhood. The Caribbean community moved in very quickly and there definitely was some anti-sentiment from that from the Jewish residents. However, like the Hmongs did for University Ave, The Caribbeans livened the strip of Flatlands Ave. with Restaurants, Jewelry stores, trinkets, barber shops etc. Hope your research goes well. :-D

Posted by: Dave C. | March 30, 2007 10:48 PM

I agree with Dave...I feel that the good publicity your paper will shed on imigrants is a very positive thing...good for you

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 04:55 PM

"that's SO going on facebook!"

changes in environment are catalysts for changes in human behavior and activity. after high school, each graduate enters a new environment, whether it be at a university, tech or trade school, in the military, in the workforce or elsewhere. this change can have significant impacts on multiple aspects of life, but most significantly on relationships (both the maintenance of previous ones and the formation of new ones) and forms of communication. in the same way, global changes in the availability and accessibility of technology has created an entirely new environment within which one can communicate. with increasing ease, people are able to communicate and interact in ways that have not previously even been dreamt about and across barriers that have been thought of as impenetrable. my hope is to investigate how both of these environmental changes affect the quality, quantity and nature of relationships. do students living on college campuses in high-density dormitories or apartments really engage in significantly more face-to-face interaction than in high school, or do they rely mostly on electronic means like facebook, myspace, text messaging or e-mail to communicate and meet others despite their proximity? how valuable, if at all, are relationships comprised solely of electronic means to people living several minutes or hours away from one another in comparison to people living several thousand miles from one another? is it really easier to become involved if you are placed in an environment with extremely accessible activities like office softball leagues, or do people still prefer to engage in activities only in the tertiary sense (i.e. no actual physical investment is required; online chat rooms, discussion boards, interest groups)? is the girl with turbo text-messaging fingers really invested in any of the relationships she has with the recipients of her messages, or is she frantically typing away to preserve relationships she isn’t able to maintain in person? these are some of the questions i am hoping to research in the process of writing this paper with the help of wirth, castells, jacobs, jackson & robert putnam.

now for a pathetic effort to use technology for exactly what im researching…if you are an excessive text messager, compulsive e-mail or myspace checker, an international student, if you are interested in this topic or if you just enjoy filling out surveys, i would GREATLY appreciate it if you took a few moments and answered some questions about yourself as part of this project. either ask me about it in class or send me an email (melan064@umn.edu) and i would be more than happy to give you a copy.

Posted by Amber Melaney at 02:47 PM | | Add a Comment (6)

Comments

this sounds really, really interesting! i am excited to see how it turns out, and if you would bring a copy of the survey for me, i would be happy to fill it out :)

Posted by: Kate Cichy | March 31, 2007 04:40 PM

I am really excited to see how this turns out! Communication via technology is really growing and I think that it is even surpassing personal contact in some cases.

Allison

Posted by: Allison | March 31, 2007 07:08 PM

Amber! i have a couple of things to share. One might be more helpful than the other, since I don't have citation for the video, but here's a You tube video that seems prevalent to your project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIqk4agzKPE Granted it's not Minneapolis specific but you might be able to use it for something?! Also...I know a couple of people that would be willing to fill out your survey. Do you have it in an email attachment form? Let me know and I can forward it on... (email wied0063@umn.edu). Good luck!

Posted by: Kaitlin | April 1, 2007 08:23 AM

I answered yes to all of the question asked above...text messeger, facebooker, etc...my e-mail barr0451@umn.edu...Let me know how I can help!

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 05:00 PM

haha thats great amber- way to really bring a common thing that we all use every day into the spot light. I can help ya out with your questions too!

Posted by: Angie | April 1, 2007 09:12 PM

dang.... i'm guilty of all of the above. please send me a survey via email at xion0314@umn.edu, but i would definitely love a paper copy from you in class.

Posted by: kat | April 2, 2007 05:28 PM

Paper Summary - Urban Education

Kari J. Johnson
Paper Summary
March 29, 2007

The Urban Education System

Education in Minnesota has always been a strong point among our institutions, until recently. One thing that has always been different is how the same education system works throughout the state. In my opinion, the same curriculums and distribution of funds does not work for all areas of the state. In the rural districts schools struggle to keep enrolments up, and usually small towns have to collaborate to create enough of a student base for a school. In the suburbs, the public schools are immense buildings and they graduate anywhere from 300-1000 students a year. Finally, the urban schools struggle with funding because of poor performance rates in at-risk areas. At-risk is defined as those students who need extra attention because of their home situation and/or poverty struggles. I would like to analyze the urban education system on the basis of race poverty, and a few other areas. With in St. Paul alone, there are well over 300 public schools, and in my hometown, there are only three. There are many large differences between the two, yet they are treated very similarly.
For my paper I would like to do a few observations and a comparison between an urban school and a suburban school. The urban school is called Tuttle Elementary, and is located in Minneapolis. It stands in the middle of the Como neighborhood. Tuttle school has long been a landmark for the neighborhood, but now faces struggles of having to close due to poor performance rates and lack of funding from the state. The school is a beautiful old building, but it is in need or much renovation. The suburban school is called Snail Lake Elementary and is in Shoreview. I would guess that this school is pretty typical for the suburbs. It is newly renovated and its enrollments are up.
The comparisons would look at the standard curriculum for the school, and how it is implemented. The curriculum also heavily depends on funding for the school. The levels of funding decide the condition of books, desks, music and art programs, and after school activities. I want to decipher the positives and the negatives of both and urban and suburban school. I have a feeling that there will be some similarities, but some major differences. The urban schools have to work with a very diverse student population while the suburban schools don’t have as much diversity.
Another large difference between the schools are the settings. I know for a fact that Tuttle stands directly within a neighborhood and is surrounded by residential homes. The Snail Lake school has more green space and is located next to a community center. Within the urban school setting the children of the neighborhood come and go easily to school, they could even live right next to the school, but in the suburban setting the school is further away from the children’s homes. The community atmosphere is very important to the Tuttle school. Because it is so close to the University of Minnesota, a lot of college students tend to volunteer their time to tutoring and mentoring these young students. I think there is a lot to analyze, and I am considering using Wilson, Davis, Engels and Jacobs to discuss theories. I have also found a lot of sources for researching the urban education system. The mix of urban education with race and poverty is a huge topic, but I am willing and ready to dive into it!

Posted By: Kari Johnson

Posted by Kari Johnson at 02:58 PM | | Add a Comment (5)

Comments

Kari!! I'm so glad you're doing this project! I have a couple of REALLY great articles for you if you want them. Do you know who Jonathon Kozol is? He wrote the book Savage Inequalities and has a newer one called The Shame of The Nation. I realize that they are not talking about Minneapolis in particular, but I think you'll be pretty outrage by the inequalities within the school systems! Are you going to be focusing on the students, communities, teachers, all? I'm excited to hear more about this!

Posted by: Kaitlin | March 30, 2007 06:32 PM

I echo Kait's recommendation of Kozol, especially Shame of the Nation. I read it last semester for a sociology class on race, class, and gender and it was simultaneously interesting/saddening/infuriating. In addition to that I think I heard within the past few weeks about a handful of public schools in Minneapolis being closed down despite protests from parents to the Minneapolis school board. Maybe you've already heard about it, but doing a search of recent local newspapers would most likely turn up something.

Posted by: Justin S. | March 31, 2007 02:29 PM

I too read the book...Definately a good resource for your project...Yay now you have people to discuss your issues with!

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 04:58 PM

I don't know if you were going to talk about White privilege or try and explain why certain groups of students congregate together, but I have a ton of resources on the topic if you are at all interested...Beverly Tatum writes a lot about the subject...Hope that helps

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 05:02 PM

Interesting topic. I think it would be interesting to look at the annual budgets of both urban and suburban schools, the total amount of students enrolled, the ses's of the neigborhoods surrounding the schools and the ses's of the students, and other demographic info. i hope i will get a chance to read your paper!

Posted by: kat | April 2, 2007 05:36 PM

Abha on Jacobs and Wirth

My paper topic is about Jacobs and Wirth looking at Dinkytown and Downtown Minneapolis. The main point I will be unfolding is whether Dinkytown is indeed, as its name suggests a miniature version of downtown. I will look at each site and compare them to each other and how they relate to Jacobs and Wirth, and if according to them, they are an urban way of life. Wirth has three points to consider when looking at an urban place: large population, social heterogeneity, and population density. I will also be looking at these points at both sites.

I went to Dinkytown to observe the people and how the area functions. It does have many of the qualities that downtown has, such as small shops, entertainment, heavy foot traffic and vehicle traffic. As far as layout of the area, it is similar to downtown. I also looked at the demographics. I found that most of the people are of the younger age/college students who seem to lead independent lives. Each person seems to flow well with everyone else and fit in easily. There is a minimal number of wanderers with the exception of the homeless; everyone is in the area for a purpose.

Next I will look at downtown and see how Dinkytown compares in all these aspects. Then, according to Jacobs and Wirth, I will conclude whether these sites are of the urban lifestyle.

Posted by Abha at 05:04 PM | | Add a Comment (3)

Comments

nice. perhaps you can go to businesses like jimmy johns which are located both in dinkytown and downtown, or the post office, and observe how the two sites are different...I would also interview students in dinkytown and business people in downtown, and ask them what they are doing and where they are going..you might get the same kind of results with the speed of coffee drinkin laptop carryin cigarette smokin pencarryin crazies.

Posted by: Anonymous | March 30, 2007 08:40 PM

Personally, I have always wondered why Uptown is called "up" town if it is south of the cities...maybe you could add this to your discussion

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 05:03 PM

Looks good. since you are using Wirth, would it be helpful to look at dinkytown as a lower density model and downtown as a higher density model. This would allow you to make predictions about what Wirth would say about the differences between these two areas, and then you could see if those predictions are true via your observations. For instance is their more social interaction between a variety of personality types in downtown vs. dinkytown.

Greg

Posted by: Anonymous | April 1, 2007 05:10 PM

Twin Cities Libraries

The focus of my research is going to Twin Cites Libraries. I chose this topic because there have been several news articles and news stores about our libraries recently and how many have been forced to closed down or cut back on hours. This happens mostly from lack of funds but also a lack of interest from a community (or communities becoming less dense resulting in less tax funds), or because libraries are becoming unused.
I would like to find out why our libraries are becoming increasingly unpopular and what city councils are doing to save them (or if they see a need to). I would also like to see what types of communities are losing their libraries and which are not.
To research this I will attend community meetings in areas that have lost or may lose a library, and observe those who attend and see what is of relevance in these meetings. I will also go to many of these libraries and get some information there by just observing who is using the facilities, how many people, and the condition of the library. In addition, how equipped libraries are with computers and internet access. A majority of my research will be through newspaper archives to find out if this problem is gradual or “overnight” and the general time line of this and some of the key factors contributing to this problem.
The theorist that I will frame my project around will be Melvin Webber. He felt that as readily available global communication and transportation is available to an “affluent class of people”, poor people will be further left behind, as they will be “deprived of access to technology”. This is what I see happening as libraries close down. Libraries are free sources of information. If a society continues to close places of free information, you also are closing the doors of this information and technology to those who cannot afford it personally in their homes. People are being cut out of the information loop, the learning and education loop. This is why I am curious to see which neighborhoods are having problems holding on to their libraries. I would like to tie this research report to another theorist but I think I will have to wait and see what I find. Perhaps Wirth with his ideas of “Urbanism as a way of life” would be something I could tie in to this research. I’ve never heard of a major city without a library.
So far I have found several articles about Minneapolis libraries and their recent struggles. I hope to find more and attend community meetings where I can hear some dialogue on this topic (hopefully).

Posted by Ashley Day at 07:10 PM | | Add a Comment (2)

Comments

I think this is an interesting idea, and I like your approach. Webber and Wirth both have valuable theories that would connect well with libraries. How cities are dependant on libraries would make a compelling study. I don't know if you plan on doing this, but it would be interesting to compare libraries in the city and in the suburbs, to see if they are valued in the same way.

Posted by: Abha | March 31, 2007 12:12 AM

Wow, this is very interesting! Very unique too! Would you be looking to compare libraries from the suburbs and rural areas as well? I know that it might be quite a trip, but it would be interesting to compare the libraries from the inner city to those in the suburbs. I know that when I was little, the southern suburban libraries were busy, but it has definitely calmed down since then. I would recommend including libraries from the Highland Park area in St Paul, maybe one in Frogtown, and the new Central library downtown. Just a thought...

Allison

Posted by: Allison | March 31, 2007 08:50 PM

Modern Geekdom

I am a geek and have been for a long time, so I grew up with the internet and experienced certain things that people will never be able to experience again. In this paper I will discuss how our theorists, mainly Webber, Castells and Wirth would interpret the LAN party as a social institution. A LAN (Local Area Network – physical cables connecting computers in a small area) party is a gathering of people that bring their computers to a central location in order to play video games together. Because the internet has allowed relationships to develop without physical contact (multiplayer video games on the internet) a unique situation arises from applying these theorists to essentially the opposite process of interpersonal communication. Pre-internet communication involved knowing someone in person, physically and then writing letters or phoning (pen pals being an exception?). With the rise of the internet, I was able to form friendships with people in my physical community that I had never met in real life and was then able to meet many of them in real life. As an aside, just because it came up so much in determining locations of LAN parties, I will talk about perceptions of safety in the Twin Cities area and how the suburbanites never ever wanted to come anywhere close to the inner city for a LAN party. One quote from that era, about 6-7 years ago from a 17 year old attending a house party LAN we were throwing: “I am in downtown right now, not sure if you want to risk heading over.” This was at 39th and Pleasant in south Minneapolis, a great neighborhood.

As a requisite of this relationship formation, there needs to be access to the internet and this access is always limited in some physical way. Also, economics come into play, creating a tiered system of access based on quality. Because of this I will be applying Marx to a discussion of the ability to form these unique relationships based on economics in addition to discussing Webber’s ideas about information access and how they apply to contemporary physical internet access methods.

Picture of a LAN party, none of ours were ever this big:

Posted by David Hauser at 07:18 PM | | Add a Comment (5)

Comments

This is such a cool idea for a paper. As an internet computer gamer (despite my statement said as a Bohemian), there really is a whole new social world. As far as making friends on the internet (who I've never and probably never will meet in person), I feel it has it's positive aspects. Because the fact that you'll never meet the person, honesty is super high. Gotta love the honesty

Posted by: Dave C. | March 30, 2007 11:36 PM

This sounds likek an interesting paper. It might be relevent to consider the kinds of groups that take place on My Space, Friendster, Facebook etc. and investigate the 'digital' and perhpas false identities that people create for themselves and how this affects social groups and relations in the digital and the real world. However this might be a bit to existential to include in a sociological study. Here is a funny little exerpt from the Findings section of this months Harper's: "Researchers found that excessive use of computers and other techological devices can cause people to suffer a loss of I.Q. more than twice that observed in marijuana users."

Posted by: Jonathan Little | March 31, 2007 05:25 AM

Since I spend an inordinate amount of time in front of this infernal machine it probably a very good thing that I don't also smoke the evil marijuana *cough* *cough* dude wait wha? They don't mention what kind of an IQ drop was observed, do they? Because if I was starting, for instance, at 160, would it drop all the way down to 130? That would be unbearable.

Posted by: dave hauser | March 31, 2007 01:18 PM

Hey, this sounds like a great idea. Glad to see you've narrowed down your topic choice to something managable. The internet is rich for analysis as an alternate community, and the aspects of tiered connectivity and suburbanites fretting the "big bad city" are very interesting. Your application of Marx will work well, but perhaps throwing some Jackson in there too might help, he might have to say something about how these LAN parties are creating an institution based soley around the computer.

Posted by: Tim Turi | April 1, 2007 01:40 PM

WTH? that's one crazy lan party.

Posted by: kat | April 2, 2007 05:40 PM

Bethanie Kloecker - the unfortunate future of america - rosemount, minnesota

On my way from Milwaukee to Minneapolis at the end of an uneventful spring break, we stopped in Who Knows Where, Wisconsin. Just after exiting the highway, my buddy got lost in some business park, trapped in circular drives, one way streets where for a substantial distance all you could see were large but dispersed office buildings and tons of open space. It was here I got my idea for studying business parks as the unsung hero of suburban America. Finding a similar large business park proved difficult because my knowledge of TC's suburban areas is beyond slim but eventually I found myself in Rosemount. Even here it was difficult to find a business park although I recognized all the telltale signs of a growing suburban neighborhood. Development seemed a plague on the city – every other corner had optimistic For Sale signs, commercial, retail, residential, you name it. Many of the residential areas looked fresh, manicured and yes, mainly single family – so I couldn’t help but ask over and over again, where do all these people work?! Finally I found what I’d come for – Rosemount Business Park. It was small compared to the one I had mistakenly spent so much time in earlier but has offered me, so far, every taste in my mouth of urban sprawl and above the Business Park, in all directions looms the storm cloud of development. Or as the city sees it, the rainbow of development.
A little generic information, first. The Business Park was launched in 1995 as part of a new growth plan the city was so excited for. The Rosemount Port Authority is the elected council on development in the city and they own the land where the park is located today as well as leads on land surrounding the park. The land, selling for one dollar! to industrial, manufacturing and professionals alike, used to be for primarily agricultural use. The park and its surrounding areas paint the perfect picture of an incomplete but hopeful suburban development project. To the north is extensive new housing, to the west is a not-quite-thriving downtown and to the south and east you can find none other than Minnesota’s pride croplands. If this wasn’t enough, it seemed that development had only just reached this point because turning out of the business park to the south you ran into an actual dirt road. There are six large companies on the business park, two smaller buildings with several companies occupying the space. The six companies are all along the lines of manufacturing focused, one distributing medical supplies like gloves and wipes, another making, importing and exporting sheet metal. The only company that stands out is MRCI, a non-profit corporation working with disabled people to find steady employment.
Rosemount Business park, today, covers 80 acres. It’s projected growth? 480 acres. The city-wide growth plan calls for revitalization of the downtown, development of new housing as well as new industrial and professional opportunities. The city’s growth pattern thus far mirrors urban sprawl to a T: the city has grown 50% since the 2000 census; they’ve added more homes in the last 10 years than in the preceding 140 and more than 1,000 people are permanently settling in Rosemount each year. The city boasts of easy access to the Twin Cities Metro Area through state highways 42 and 52, and 35N, which connects you to St. Paul in just ten minutes.
A little more on my paper…I’ll be using primarily ethnographical observation and other research sources for my paper. I haven’t yet decided whether to write the paper objectively or focus on the negative consequences of this suburban development. I’m thinking that even though my natural tendency is towards sarcasm, I may push myself to objectivity because suburban development is, if nothing else, the American phenomenon of this century.

Posted by Bethanie Kloecker at 07:55 PM | | Add a Comment (1)

Comments

my bad for not saying what authors i planned on using. its a tough call because i could focus on so many different points. the amount of international trade these companies do is amazing so castells flow of spaces could really come into play here. especially considering the lack of life in downtown Rosemount, or in other words the fall of space of places. i could look at race and inner-city turmoil in one part of the paper, focusing on a piece in the reader "the competitive advantages of the inner-city" and why one might choose to spend one dollar on land than reinvest in our urban areas. any other ideas? also, i'd like to throw in rosemount's slogan "we are the spirit of pride and progress!" fitting, huh?

Posted by: Bethanie Kloecker | March 30, 2007 08:32 PM

Queer Culture...Space/Time/Local/Global????

“Such (counterculture) movements are likely to occur in major cities that concentrate a young, educated population… [and] …we will be witnessing a constant struggle over the occupation of meaningful space” (Castells, 480).
I propose to analyze the impact of queer mainstream culture (diffusing into local spaces through technological means) on Minneapolis. According to post-city theorists, physical locations are becoming less locally specific due to the global economy and the age of technology. I want to understand how queer culture and identity in Minneapolis are affected by the technological expansion in the post-city age. I will point out the ways in which the “space of places” and the “space of flows” intersect or further sever the divide between local and mainstream culture.
The city of Minneapolis is known as a queer-friendly city, and the queerness that is most visible is distinct in style: the way in which people dress, speak, and consume. This distinct style can be witnessed at bars such as the Gay 90’s, Pi, the Townhouse, and the Saloon. It is also seen in establishments such as the Smitten Kitten, Vera’s Coffee, Wilde Roast Café, and other queer-owned businesses. This style reflects the global capitalism that drives people to reproduce constructed identities, and influences people to buy into their queer identity.
These places are local, but connected to a greater system of information of what it means to be queer globally. The geography of queer space in Minneapolis is not only based in queer businesses and physical spaces, but through internet, cell phones, and rapid techno culture. Queer trends follow the direction of the informational society, even if they are physically disconnected from it.
The more queer identity becomes interweaved with technology, the more ideal queer identity will be linked with elite identity. Castells and Webber both argue that technology will greatly influence the deconstruction of the local city, increasing the divide of elites and the working class. This is clear when observing the urban hierarchy within queer culture. Most businesses that are queer-friendly attract white middle-class men, and those who are privileged and educated enough to tap into the informational technology.
Certain neighborhoods and areas of the city are becoming exponentially marked as homo-normative space, in order to claim meaningful space. Magazines such as Lavender target queers as condominium buyers and renters of specific areas, possibly leading to gentrification. Although queer businesses are a component to social change, they are commonly used as a space to flaunt class and style. Through the media, internet, and cell phones, mainstream queer culture is fully integrated with technology.
I have been already researching how pockets of rural queer culture are influenced by the global and national queer identity, by way of technology. Local becomes lost in technological time/space. A bar and resort called Captain Dix, located five miles from Wisconsin Dells, is a space where predominantly queer men frequent. Many men had come from Chicago to the countryside to relax, but scoped out a homo-normative space within a hetero-normative space. Spaces globally that are traditionally heterosexual, become occupied by queer culture due to the existence of the informational society.
For my methodology, I will use participant observation in order to explore the queer bars, cafes, and businesses that I already attend frequently. I will also look to spaces on the internet that facilitate the connections between queers, observing circulating trends. I will try to understand who is struggling with an identity crisis and alienation within the rapid queer movement. I plan to ask people about how space affects their queer identity, and where they frequent in order to keep up to pace with the changes in trends.
Castells predicts a conflict between the informational society and the society focused on local culture, and although I agree, I witness locally a meeting and intertwining of the two. There is an invasion of local space by the queer countercultural youth, but there are also those who are swept away by the global economy and participate in the space of flows. There are those caught between it, who are captivated by the space of flows while remaining in the space of places. Queer spaces must be observed with close attention to the polarization of culture, and also the mixing and diffusion of culture.
Chrissi

Posted by Christina Barber at 08:01 PM | | Add a Comment (3)

Comments

This is a compelling topic...I agree that Minneapolis is a queer-friendly city. Looking further into how this environment plays a role within the queer population might bring about answers as to why this may be. Also, people of the queer population may be struggling with their identity when they are with/without similar people, and it would be interesting to note where these major changes occur.

Posted by: Anonymous | March 31, 2007 12:34 AM

check out the 331 club (www.331club.com), on the corner of university and 13th st in NE minneapolis. because the 331 is kind of the anchor in the nascent arts district in northeast, there is an interesting mix of sexual orientations present any night of the week. the homosexual contingent is numerous compared to most bars because of the art venues next door, but it is not strictly a 'gay bar'. there is also a large crowd of heterosexual people, both northeast laborer types and artsy types that coexist with the homosexual group. of all the bars in northeast (there are a lot!) this bar is by far the most unique, diverse and compelling from a people watching perspective.

Posted by: dave hauser | March 31, 2007 01:27 PM

This topic is definitely interesting and I look forward to seeing what you do with it. It was already the site of Sean's ethnographic study, but the 19 bar near loring park would be a good site to stop in to as well. I think you are implying this in your mention of an identity crisis and alienation of some facets of the queer population, but the class element certainly comes into play heavily in urban queer culture. The historical conflation of gay identity with upward mobility is clearly seen in media representations as well as in many queer spaces in Minneapolis. I hope this side is explored, but either way, looking forward to your results.

Posted by: Justin S. | March 31, 2007 02:13 PM

Downtown Saint Paul = The Place to be~

Living in downtown Saint Paul for about two years, I've noticed how quiet it can be. Around about 8a-5p it's lively, active, and busy. After 5p, the city begins to proceed retirement for the night. At about 6, the city's use is mostly for transferring from bus to bus, thus the liveliness dies. I'd ask myself, what's up with this city? And as for the weekends? F'get about it, it's a ghost town.

Getting to my research, I plan to look into what Dt Stp lacks and why people don't flourish down there like people would in many other cities (ie: Dt Minneapolis). Questions like, what kind of people do visit the city and why others don't, and who has access to it will be covered and discussed. The method I'll be using for my paper will be in ethnographic form. At the moment, it seems like my paper will consist of statistics of what kind of businesses are run in the city, interviews with people asking several series of questions on things like how they feel about the city, along with research on things such as old Dt Stp (perhaps the city was vital then). Ultimately, my goal is to come up with an idea on what can possibly be done to revitalize the city so smorgasbords of people will want to desparately come down, sprinting and losing their shoes in the process.

Currently, my prime sources appear to be from "The City Reader" particularly by authors like Mr. Wirth, Possibly Le Corbusier, Jane Jacobs, Mike Davis, and friends. Other sources will be coming from . . . the library. Which books I choose is for you to find out...along with I. If anybody has any suggestions on sources, I'm all ears.

Much more good stuff is to come in the future of Dt StP.

*Quick note: for those of you who don't visit this city often, there are plenty of great restaurants out here like: Kincaid's for steak, Sakura's for sushi, and even Mickey's Diner! I don't suggest Fhima's however; the food is overpriced and he's mean (I've experienced it myself). Come revitalize and help Dt StP!

Posted by David Cho at 10:50 PM | | Add a Comment (4)

Comments

I would suggest for you to look into the neighborhoods that surround DT STP and see how that may help you understand why DT STP is soooo dead and making a comparison to that with Minneapolis and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Good paper idea! I've always wondered why STP is sooo dead at night...

Posted by: Kathy Xiong | March 31, 2007 03:51 AM

sounds cool! i have never really been to st paul all that much unless i am at st. thomas...it does seem like the 'non-hip' place to be if you will. perhaps you can bring down this stigma? or at least help everyone understand why that is...good luck :)

Posted by: Kate Cichy | March 31, 2007 04:44 PM

David - This should be a really fun and interesting project. I worked on a paper about gentrification in Downtown St. Paul last semester for a historic preservation class (Random, I know). But anyways, the Minnesota Historical Society library had some great info about previous efforts to revitalize downtown St. Paul that might give you some good background information.

Posted by: Rachel Bickel | April 1, 2007 12:56 AM

Wow that's great info! I'll definitely head over there. Anyone wanna come with? :-D

Posted by: Dave C. | April 1, 2007 02:52 PM

Allison Tierney - (insert strong thesis here...) I'm working on it.

Each individual country has its own structure; each city within its borders has its own unique identity. The social structure of an area is determined by its historic past, its present movements, and its future objectives and goals. While North, Central, and South America are close in physical distance, they each have their own distinguishing social and city structures. In my paper, I will examine the unique structures of the United States in comparison to Mexico and Venezuela, among other Latin American countries as they become appropriate and relevant.

The differences and similarities between the U.S. and Latin America are abundant. Strong familial connections and dedicated religiosity are two traits that Latin American countries display in undying fashion, whereas the U.S. has strayed away from the same ideas in the past few decades. Class and city structures are also interesting variations between the U.S. and Latin America, however, there is also variation within Latin America.

In the U.S., the upper class occupies the suburban areas, while the lower class is left to occupy the city's center. In Guaymas, Mexico - a city of about 150,000 according to census - there is also an extreme difference between the inner city and its outlying areas. However, in this case, the upper class populates the inner city, while the lower class is banished to the outer limits to live in extreme poverty. Mérida, Venezuela - a city of over 200,000 - more closely relates to the U.S. cultural centers in its city structure. The upper class lives in the "urbanizations" (the outlying upper class areas of the city), but the most desolate areas of the city structure are populated by the lower class. The lower class lives in either the densely populated inner city high rises or the rural agricultural areas.

In Venezuela, there seemed to be least one Plaza Bolivar in every city. Plazas in general and churches are important to the structure of cities in Mexico and Venezuela. The U.S. centers its cities around business and commercial structures.

Within my paper, I will pull in several different ideas from the theorists that we have read in class, as well as some outside research. I plan on using ideas on religion from Abu-Lughod in comparison to some of the religious ideas in Latin America and the U.S. I want to use city layout and structure ideas from Castells and Engels as well. I think that the main theorist idea that I want to incorporate into my paper is from Kingsley Davis's "The Urbanization of the Human Population." Davis's work includes information about Venezuela, Mexico, the U.S., and other various countries and his ideas seem to ring true with my personal experience.

I've got a lot to think through...and my central thesis is still pending a strict definition...

Posted by Allison Tierney at 11:02 PM | |