Intro to City Final Exam

Ranking places

Americans are fascinated with rankings. good ranking=free publicity, bad ranking ticks off civic boosters, wounds civic pride, might scare away potential newcomers and new businesses. what categories might wee look at to rank places: property value, public transportation, unemployment rate, crime, water quality, money, education, quality of life, leisure and culture, weather, meet the neighbors

City of Anaheim vs. Angels baseball

Angels play baseball in orange county not in los angeles. case study of power of urban name recognition. first name the angels becasue they used to play in los angeles. anaheim angels changed their name to los angeles angels of anaheim because LA is more marketable. TV deals=more money if LA is in the name. city of anaheim sued to stop name change, but lease agreement says Anaheim has to be in the name. the fans didnt want to be associated with LA. team won in court, city of anaheim quit appealing

Madison landscape

Greenbush neighborhood torn down for urban renewal in 1960. former residents loved it, but rich people outside it thought it was a bad neighborhood. memory of landscape thru a marker monument

Branding Milwaukee

Spirit of Milwaukee: sponsered by businesses, the greater milwaukee branding stategy studies people's word associations with milwaukee (beer and cold). figured that people easily identify with iconic structures

public/private space

a mall is not really public space because its privately owned --no free speech or right to assembly. parks, plazas, mass transit, sidewalks, roads are public space. signs: the right to pass by permission and the following not allowed in the park--defecacting, sleeping, littering.... so who really has the right to public space?

counter urban heat effect

adding trees, vegetation cover, green roofs, cooler pavement

south kinlock park, st louis, MO

all black suburb. redlining--areas of the city weree penned financial danger zones due to large black population

Landscape Element

anything that we can see that symbolizes the presence of a cultural group's ideals

food desert

area of city without wide variety of nutricious food at grocery stores, but has junk food available. unlike rural areas, in cities some food source almost always available. in some poop neighborhoods. happens because of zoning or property values, tight profit margins in supermarket industry.

making cities more bike friendly

bike lanes prevent over correction by drivers, bikes reduce danger for both even when sharing a narrow road. percent trips to work by bike: amsterdam 30%, CA 14%, Madison 3%. bicycle boulevard--street where bikes have preferential status, have few traffic signs making bikes stop, and sometimes have barricades to keep cars off. bike boxes--at intersections bikes can pull farther ahead of cars to help bikes be more visible to cars.

urban heat island effect

built up areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas. cities over 1 million people in the US are hotter than rural areas outside the city. really dense areas show up white on heat test--hottest around beltline and capitol. this means more energy costs with air conditioning, more pollution, and heat related illnesses

biological problems in urban landscape

cities serve as initial hubs for plant pests because of globalization--transportationof goods allows introduction of exotic pests, and human interaction. cities are also hubs for human diseases because of globalization, industrialization, and poor sanitation

marketing cities

cities use mega events for marketing purposed but may go into debt building for it. build urban playgrounds--attractions for the creative class.

Historic District Commission

group that approves/denies designs for properties within historic downtown. interprets local design-related ordinances. this helps preserves the ares, as a whole is better than the sum of its parts, this brings in more tourism money. but it also brings in extra government, and people think they should have the right to put up whatever type of building they want.

barriers to biking

lack of bike paths and connectivity. difficult street crossings, safety, high speed/volume, inadequate bike path maintenance, getting sweaty on way to work

summary of urban landscape

landscapes reveal bits of the past--we should integrate what we're seeing. different ways of seeing landscapes--vary by social group.

vernacular landscape

landscapes that are common/ordinary in a given society. Ex. subdivisions with same roof houses and trees

derelict landscape

landscapes that are neglected or abandoned

Dubai

largest city in UAE. historical center for shipping trade. politically stable for region, but not democracy. some oil money, but most from tourism. most residents are from elsewhere. sheikh Mohammed is ruler of dubai. he tried to make dubai spectacular. within just 13 years, lots of transformation--more skyscrapers. cut and paste urbanisn. economic downturn. people are living horribly

Gentrification

the transformation of central city neighborhoods with regard to socio-economic composition. from working class to professional class. smaller household size. usually less racially diverse, neighborhoods become more dominated by whites

barriers to walking

time/distance, weather, safety, lack of sidewalks, elderly/disables

peoples park

vacant land owned by university of CA Berkley. people did landscaping and turned vacant land into park. may 15 1969 university put up fencing around park and there were protests, violence, reagan had to call in the national guard. memorial day protest: 30,000 person peaceful protest, the city council decided to support park, and the UC reluctantly agreed

Richard Florida-- "Rise of Creative Class"

well off places have technology, talent, tolerance to attract creative people, generate innovation, stimulate growth (must have all 3). creativity and diversity work together to attract talent, generate high-tech industries, and spur growth. creative class= 31% of workers but 48% of wages. knowledge workers want to be in smart places, cities with learning opportunites. people dont follow jobs, jobs follow creative people. BUT, some cities win, others lose--we cant all attract newcomes the same way. this glorifies gentrification or upscale life, elitist--other people dont matter

reading the landscape

why does the landscape look the way it does? who would feel comfortable here? who isnt welcome here?

how might we see the result of laws when reading the landscape

zoning laws-setbacks from street, height of building. traffic laws are seen in stoplights, signs. landscape ordinances

place marketing

the selling and promoting of a city's competitive advantage and distinctive attractions. this boosterism is not new, ibut nstead of newspapers, its a multi-billion dollar industry. the challenge is to stand out from other cities

Why study perceptions of cities

1. affects where pppl live, travel, and spend money 2. mental mapping (paths, districts, landmarks, boundaries) 3. Kevin Lynch believed that ppl preferred to live in places w/ distinct elements of the built environment 4. marketing cities

Keweenaw, Michigan

National Historic Park. preserve and interpret copper mining story and landscapes. established in 1992 after debatinng with congress for several years. economic development or park-barrel spending(spending money on old stuff). public-private ownership, little ownded by federal government. lots of churches--wated to attract "goood" men as miners. strange boundaries.

gentrification: where?

the central cities of the largest metropolitan areas of the advanced capitalistic world. especially in cities with a disproportionate share of advanced service sector jobs in the CBD (FIRE: finance, insurane, real estate). large cities with lots of FIRE jobs have more gentrification.

diffusion

the spread of ideas/culture over time

gentrification: theoretical explanations

economic: developers fill in the rent gap, making money in doing so, and promoting neighborhood transformation. large expanision of high paying public sector and FIRE jobs in CBD's, making central city more attractive to young urban professionals. cultural: increase in anti-suburbanism, broaders cultural turn towards appreciation of history, heritage, roots, nostalgia. infrastructural improvements--spend money making places look nice. build large scale developments in iffy areas. real estate agents search for neighborhoods ripe for gentrifications

meanings of landscape

everybody will have a different perception of landscape. our results are most useful if we generalize by social group. Ex. a rich person would look down on teh slums and lock their doors, but a lifetime resident would enjoy the area

urban environmental hazards

flooding: st louis has had bigger floods in the last few years. earthquake: reinforced buildings in some parts of the world, but many locations without tough building codes for earthquakes, earthquake bolts--reinforcement bolts oon older buildings. snow hazards.

Lowell, MA

former textile mills. 1978--Lowell National Park established. high unemploymet. Lowel NHP mission: preserve buildings, revitalize city=> brinng in money. public-private ownership. hard to figure out boundaries. cooperation with city government.

JB Jackson

founder of landscape magazine, didnt want to associate as a member of any one discipline. lectured in geography and landscape architects department. he didnt like academics and urban planning. shopping mall is a rich source of info about our culture. ordinary landscapes are important to interpret: political/cultural forces behind why the landscape looks the way it does

public space research trend

free speech, but where? bubble laws--must be a certain radius away from somewhere (if protesting abortion, must be x ft away from abortion clinic). right to free speech and right to not feel threatened. geography dimenstions of abortion protests, panhandling, sleeping

amendments to urban fabric to attract creative class

make are more fun to walk around, recreation corridors, public art--sense of place and neighborhood identity, aesthetic (appreciation of beauty) vs utilitarian (makes everyone the happiest) design, public-private partnership to promote development in specific corridors

cultural approaches to landscape study

make observations supplemented by maps, property value data, census data, blueprints, archival research

changing the land

mexico city is sinking.. it depends on groundwater that is not being replaced, worst area down 25 feet, ground not all sinking at the same rate, which cracks water pipes, sewer, subway tunnels. urban shoreline changes in just about every city on the water. land redamation--turning tidal lands intofarmlands.

urban forest

most ppl live in urban areas. nature contributes to recreational opportunites. provides ecosystem services: CO2 absorption, production of O2, recreational opportunities, soil preservations. compared to natural, urban forests are highly managed. it affects the appearance and feel of a city.

cultural landscape

nearly everything we see when we go outdoors. landscape reflects tastes, values, fears. it is land that has been shaped by humans. almost everything in landscape reflects culture.

world business chicago

non-profit org with goal to make Chicago more popular for global headquarters. Chicago based business leaders like the city, but elsewhere people think of Chicago as gangsters, bad weather, or didnt know much

gentrification: when?

noticed as early as late 1950's in central London. in US, mid 1970's. deepends in 1980s and deepens even more in the 1990s when all factors are favorable (low interest rates, economic boom). continues at somewhat slowed pace these days

trends in studying urban landscape

ordinary landscapes are important to study. cultural landscape studies had anti-urban bias until recently. reading the landscape is useful, but other sources important. studying meanings of landscapes. different perspectives by gender, race etc. more theoretical in last 25 years

lexington kentucky

the courthouse square is full of statues celebrating the confederacy. Thoroughbred Park--hills with horse statues. thought to be racist because it hides the East side (ghetto) from view of passing motorists, masks the ghetto and funnels travelers onto main street. but horse statues were important--horse motif is widespread in lexington

public space

place where everyone has teh right to be, regardless of economic or social conditions

gentrification: impacts

positive: city image and tourism money, make significant profit for some groups (banks, real estate, developers). negative: displacemnet--cant afford rent, lower quality of life for displaces residents, land grabs

gentrification: context?

post WWII--central city decline. suburbanization, population decline, increasing poverty concentrations, abandonment. creates rent gap--difference between site's actual value and potential value. downtown renaissance of the 1980s/90s

trends in studying public space

research relationship between public space and people. use ethnography, interviews, focus groups, mental mapping. geographers tend to critique designs of public space. unforseen uses of public space like pick up lines used at dog parks. history geography--loook at development of park system, who has access? what income levels? researching memorialized public spaces, focusing on ideology and iconography

consumption/waste

scale of consumption in cities is incompatible with long term sustainability. out of sight, out of mind... where does trash go? toxic wastes in cities. water consumption/wastes

importance of branding cities

shift the perception of a place that may be suffering from poor image, gets rid of cities' bad stereotypes. create a common vision for future of city. provide consistent representation of city. enhance city's name recognition. City image provides marketing and public relations services to city governments. Ex. I <3 NY

symbolic landscape

smaller landscapes that symbolize a bigger area or category. iconic landscapes, i.e. the state capitol symbolizes WI. every landscape can symbolize something, but these are focal points for people's attention

make cities more pedestrian friendly

state law--yield to pedestrians in sidewalk. try to slow down fast traffic at intersections. curb radius reductioon forces drivers to slow down and pay more attention. roundabouts--slower speeds and safer (less vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to pedestrian conflicts). higher density--more encouraged to walk, but how far are yo uwilling to walk to work or shopping? children are more dependent on walking for transportation.