Paper Assignment

I got some time after class today to put together a description of the longer paper I want you to do for this course (see below). And to save paper I am going to post it here. You will note that it is not due for roughly a month and a half.

Sociology 230
Paper Assignment
9/30/08

A. Chapters 7 & 8 in The Geography of Nowhere contain some of author, James Kunstler's, most hard-hitting and perhaps controversial criticisms of the kind of housing subdivisions and suburbs we've been building in America for roughly the past half-century. In this paper I want you to identify and discuss any FIVE such criticisms he makes in these two chapters, and then discuss the relevance of these points to an existing subdivision or suburb around Spartanburg or other city you may be familiar with and can visit. Based on your observations, would you agree or disagree with Kunstler's points? Moreover, I want you to discuss how that place you observed might be improved if you had the political and financial capital to do so. Finally, as an Appendix, I want you to take TWO photographs of the place you observed: one of what you see as the BEST aspect of that place, and one of what you see as the WORST aspect. As a caption to each photograph, provide a brief explanation as to your choices of best and worst.

B. The paper should be roughly 8 pages, including the appendix. Please be sure to indicate the page number(s) of any passages from The Geography of Nowhere that you quote in your paper. Also, if you do consult any additional sources, including Internet sources (which is NOT required), please list them in a bibliography at the end.

C. This paper is due TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH, at which time we will begin class presentations of your paper. This assignment counts 50 points (40 for the paper and 10 for the class presentation).

Family Activity Reminder & Some Lecture Notes

First, DON'T FORGET TO POST YOUR FAMILY CASE FOR "SMART GROWTH" AND AGAINST SPRAWL BY NEXT MONDAY (9/29). Check the previous blog post for a description of what I want you to do, and as I added yesterday, please put those three points in context or provide an introduction to them. I don't want just 3 points. We will review these on Tuesday (9/30) and determine which is the best case. Also on Tuesday, I will begin to talk about some of the main theoretical perspectives on the city, and once we wrap that up, we will move on to our first book, Heat Wave.

I had a few final observations about the most recent trends in urbanization in the U.S. We wrapped up sprawl on Thursday, so let me add the following:

F. In this chapter the authors also cover some other recent urban developments which I just want to touch on.

1. First, perhaps the ultimate in terms of decentralization is the development of so-called "EDGE CITIES." ( a term coined by Joel Garreau)

a.) "An edge city is a new, sprawling, middle-class, automobile-dependent center typically located at the fringe of an older urban area, at the intersection of major highways where little except villages or farmland existed three decades earlier." (p.118)

b.) Some 200 such edge cities have developed such as Tyson's Corners, VA. Joel Garreau interviewed some Tysons Corners' residents and got a very dim view --
"They described the area as plastic, a hodge podge, Disneyland (used as a pejorative), and sterile. They said it lacked livability, civilization, community, neighborhood, even a soul." Not very flattering. Perhaps due to its newness, low-density, auto dependent.

2. Second, the rise of GATED COMMUNITIES (among the first of which was Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island) -- over 20,000 today; 9 million people. 80% of new urban housing developments are gated. (also referred to as "Common Interest Developments")

a.) Represents a withdrawal or secession from the city. Privatized functions such as sanitation and security. Trying to insulate themselves from the city and not participate in solving city problems. Reinforces class and racial segregation. Homeowners' associations impose often ridiculous rules to protect property values. (Whatever happened to our belief in individuality and creativity?)

b.) Professor of Public Policy, Robert Reich, refers to these gated communities as "privately policed fortress communities."

G. Finally, (as discussed in the handout and on the video) the authors present the case study of Portland, Oregon, which appears to have been successfully resisting some of these trends, especially the negative aspects of sprawl.


That's all for now.

Passages From Yesterday & First Family Activity

Below are the longer passages I quoted in class yesterday (Thurs. 9/18):
First, a passage which relates to the point that we are living with the implications of decisions made years ago.
"For example, the change in public preference from urban to suburban living owes much to federal legislation in the late 1940s and 1950s that provided low-cost builder and buyer loans, as well as to a massive highway-building program that made it easier to live away from city jobs and activities. That growth in middle-class suburban housing, and the subsequent exodus of many businesses to suburban campuses or shopping malls, eroded the city's economic vitality and tax base, which, in turn, worsened the quality of life for many city dwellers who remained. The suburban lifestyles that most North Americans favor today, as well as the problems besetting many U.S. cities, are the result of social forces unleashed two generations ago." (p.108)

Second, the rather long-winded, and clearly slanted definition of SPRAWL:
"SPRAWL is the term used to describe spread-out or low-density development beyond the edge of services and employment. It separates where people live from where they work, shop, and pursue leisure or an education, thereby requiring them to use cars to move between these zones. This type of development results from decades of unplanned, rapid growth and poor land-use management. Sprawl thus identifies the cumulative effects of development that is automobile-dependent, inefficient and wasteful of natural resources." (p. 108)

FIRST FAMILY ACTIVITY:
Following the viewing of "Understanding Urban Sprawl" next Tuesday (9/23), the families will have an opportunity to brainstorm the main points made in the video. I will also hand out a recent article on sprawl which each member of the family should read. Then, in the context of the video and the article, as well as points I made in class about sprawl, I want each family to identify what you believe are the THREE strongest points you would make if you had fifteen minutes with the leading politicians and businesspeople of a community to convince them to adopt a higher-density, "smart growth" approach to development.I will also give you some time in class on Thursday (9/25) to discuss this with your family. Each family should designate a family member to post your case as a comment on this blog by MONDAY, SEPT. 29TH. We will review and critique them in class and the family with what is judged to be the strongest argument will win a bonus point for this exercise. This activity is worth 5 points, AND ALL FAMILY MEMBERS MUST WATCH THE VIDEO, READ THE ARTICLE, AND PARTICIPATE IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS IN ORDER TO EARN THE 5 POINTS.

That's all for now. Remember to make every effort to be in class next Tuesday so you can see the video program.

Quoted Passages

Below are the passages I quoted in yesterday's class (Tues. 9/16):

First, with regard to the point that economic considerations were among the most important reasons for the trend toward decentralization of cities:
"By about 1950, more and more businesses, particularly in industry and manufacturing, were moving away from the industrial districts of central cities. The costs of refurbishing older buildings were high and, given high rents, expansion wasn't always possible. Further, some new assemblyline procedures required large, low-level structures rather than multistory buildings characteristic of an earlier era. Concerns over rising crime rates, taxes, and traffic congestion also played their part in a proliferation of new 'industrial parks' in the outer urban areas. Workers often moved from the central city to be near their relocated jobs. The result was a growth in suburban population and a decline in central-city population." (p.80)

The Bureau of the Census's definition of MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area):
"...at least one city with 50,000 or more inhabitants, the county or counties containing the city, and any surrounding counties that have a high population density and a large proportion of inhabitants commuting to and from the central city." (p. 82)

In the context of the authors of the text discussion of Sunbelt City Expansion, they made the following important point always seeking to ESCAPE rather than IMPROVE our existing cities or suburbs:
"The pattern is nothing new. Throughout North American history, people have come to cities for the amenities they offered -- jobs, education, the arts, and so on. When the cities become too crowded, a large percentage of people move on to what they perceive as greener pastures -- the suburbs, the Sunbelt, anyplace where the streets are safer, the smog less oppressive, the cost of living lower, the jobs more plentiful. In time, these areas too begin to deteriorate as the 'secret' of more comfortable living gets around and others descend on the area. California and other Sunbelt states are now beginning to experience this declining quality-of-life problem. The question is: Where will we go, now that our older inner suburbs and our Sunbelt cities are experiencing the same deterioration and overload that the Snowbelt cities experienced not so very long ago?"
"Perhaps the answer is not to move at all but rather to attend to the problems of the city as they arise. Perhaps the urban core and all the amenities it has to offer could be salvaged if we were more attentive and less willing to pick up stakes and move the moment difficulties arise." (p. 88)

I have a few more comments about the coming of the Postindustrial City, and then we are going to turn our attention specifically to suburbs and sprawl. Next Tuesday (9/23) we'll see our first video presentation, "Understanding Urban Sprawl," and I may combine that with a little family exercise. See you tomorrow.

Passages from Text & Reminder

First, in the context of talking about London, I quoted the following passage which made a general and valuable point about the vital link between a thriving city and the advance of cultural ideas (such as Shakespeare's plays):
"First, a dynamic city draws to it people from different backgrounds. As the population grows, the possibilities of permutations and combinations of ideas and lifestyles became legion. Second, a thriving city is usually a wealthy city, and there has been a very intimate historical link between wealth and the development of cultural ideas. Simply, wealth supports leisure. Creative artists with wealthy patrons or buyers for their work can literally afford to develop their art in ways that would be impossible if leisure time were not available. In addition, the rich demand drama, architecture, and music, thereby enhancing the creative arts in another way."

Second, in commenting on the tensions and violence stemming from the influx of so many immigrants to our major cities around the turn of the 20th century, I quoted the following near the end of class:
"Another problem of the times was that large-scale immigration sparked an increasingly bitter reaction against newcomers. It was not just their numbers. By 1900, immigrants were more often from southern and eastern Europe, more likely to be Roman Catholic or Jewish than Protestant, and more likely to have darker eyes, hair, and skin tone than whites of northern and western European descent. Moreover, these newcomers often had manners and dress that made them stand out as 'different.' These 'less desirable' immigrants added significantly to anti-city sentiment because, even more than earlier arrivals, they were overwhelmingly urban settlers."

Next Tuesday I will then pick up with the final segment of this historical overview of the city -- The North American City of Today: 1950 to the Present -- which I will cover in a bit more detail and which we will be reading about, of course, when we get into the books.

REMINDER: Please don't forget to post your urban impressions, the first blog exercise NO LATER THAN NEXT MONDAY, SEPT. 15TH. And remember, it is worth 5 points.

Passages from the Text

As promised, below is the passage I quoted yesterday in class. At some point you should insert these in your notes in the appropriate place. In talking about the earliest cities, the authors suggest this was something of a "mixed blessing."

"This, then, was the period of the first urban revolution. From approximately 4000 B.C.E. (before the Christian era) to 500 C.E. (Christian era), urban sites multiplied and their populations grew to sizes previously unknown in human history. (Rome at its apex surpassed 1 million people)."
"In retrospect, the first urban revolution appears to have been something of a mixed blessing. The city's greatest positive attributes are its ability to improve people's standard of living, provide choice in the conduct of life, and stimulate the human imagination. On the other hand, these first cities also had rigid social class divisions that extended the city's benefits to only a small minority of the urban population. With the emergence of city-states and urban empires, human warfare and bloodshed rose to unparalleled levels." (pp. 32-33)

And note that I expressed some doubts as to whether the city is really to blame for war.

On Thursday we'll quickly survey the rest of European urban history, and then begin to focus on America, especially the period from 1950 to the present. And now that you all should have the correct URL for this blog, don't forget to respond to the little exercise I posted last week.

My First Lecture

I apologize for a rather boring first lecture. Presenting this textual material in an interesting way is always a challenge, and I felt I didn't rise to the challenge yesterday. Nonetheless, we'll carry on, but in the near future I may begin posting some of these notes rather than present them in class. Let me also take this opportunity to remind you about the little exercise I posted on Tuesday, Sept. 2nd. You need to respond to it by next Friday, Sept. 12th.

Introductory Exercise: Urban Impressions

The following exercise is intended primarily to get you familiar with commenting on our course blog, however, I may revisit the following topic later in the semester after you've learned more about the city.

In ONE or TWO paragraphs, I'd like you to write about your experiences of visiting or living in a large city (roughly 250,000 pop. or more). General impressions are fine but also include at least ONE particular exerpience you had which you believe is indicative of urban life in America today.

Please post your comment NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, SEPT. 12TH.

This exercise is worth 5 activity points.