Access and quality of food, transportation, green space, and housing was the topic of today's nested discussion. Our discussion facilitators focused on how each experiences varying access and quality to these services in Spanish Harlem, Lower East Side, Woodside, Elmhurst, and the Upper West Side/Morningside. A question about whether we want a Chipotle in our neighborhoods generated an interesting conversation again about the tensions of wanting access to certain types of food and what a place like Chipotle represents when it moves into a community. The group asked us to reflect on a few questions. Do you see a relationship between community access/quality to food, transportation, green space, and housing to vary based on socioeconomic status? When you think about yourself, how has your community access/quality marked you and impacted you? Do you feel that when new things are added to your community that represent something other, is it disrespecting your identity? Thanks to our facilitators and class for another great day of conversation.
7 Comments
Marionette
5/25/2013 12:32:06 pm
How are hospitals or recreational centers decided to be built in a certain area? Why do some areas have hospitals near by while others do not?
Reply
Aurora
5/27/2013 10:04:47 am
What I found interesting about Friday's discussion was the negative connotation associated with affordable housing. The group's definition of affordable housing was the projects and it made me think about the different types of projects I've encountered. Near my friend's neighborhood in Graham (Brooklyn), you encounter the projects when you head towards Marcy. The projects are generally associated with drugs, danger, and people from a low-income bracket; however, another friend I have lives in the Lower East Side in Manhattan and, too, lives in projects. Her projects, however, are located in such a bustling and well-known area, that I don't see them as dangerous. The buildings on the inside are clean and there are small gardens surrounding them. I realized the distinction between these "projects" came from their location and surroundings and it was an interesting revelation.
Reply
Marionette
5/27/2013 10:43:09 am
Yes, I agree with your statement about what people's definition of affordable housing. I am actually agitated that our classmates think such a way. It makes me question how much did we learn in our class? We are taught that we need to question our surroundings and that a question may not have one answer. If that is the case, then what is affordable housing? Affordable housing is dependent on the income of an individual. And yes the project housing does vary depending on where they are located. A public housing that is close to a well known near neighborhood will be taken care of more on the outside in order to keep the reputation of the near neighborhood up.
Reply
MB
5/27/2013 11:05:51 am
I want us to be careful not to attack our classmates as they wrestle with the meaning of new terminology. Affordable housing is a troublesome term that has different connotations and images to each of us depending on our experiences. Affordable housing also has a policy definition which is perhaps different from our use of the term in our regular discourse. I am adding a new post with a link to a New York Times article that I think you will find interesting and helpful thinking about "affordable housing" in NYC. I also think an important thing for all of us is to be very transparent about how we define a lot of these new terms we are using and why we define it as such.
Reply
Marionette
5/27/2013 12:28:37 pm
Sorry I did not want to make it seem like I was bashing my classmates. I just wanted to point out that we should like you said clarify how we define certain things and why we view the world in such a way.
Reply
Mandee
5/31/2013 07:30:49 am
If I were to continue looking into my community's access, I would look into a few more things... not too long ago, I realized that I may have left a few things out. So I passed by the Queens Center Mall and realized that A high school nearby (Newtown) had a field built right next to the mall. Now what was brought to my attention was the fact that the field and track were only available to the teams of the school. I noticed people jogging around the field, from the outside. Since the field is gated off, runners and athletes would run alongside the fence since they were not able to enter the field. What really struck me was the fact that the field was EMPTY. Newtown's teams barely use the field (from what I have witnessed)...so why cant the field be accessible by anyone?
Reply
Gene
6/16/2013 07:54:26 am
All communities deserve equal access to necessities such as parks, hospitals, food markets and more. Just because one area may be wealthier than another, it does not justify the lack of such things in the latter. It is unfair that neighborhoods that are classified as "dangerous" and "run down" are denied such simple yet very nuc needed things while other places gain them. Every area is different; therefore it has different people. We should not allow the stereotypes of an area to stop us from making sure that place has what is needed for it and its inhabitants to prosper and grow.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorYou are all authors of this shared space. Please use it to comment, discuss, question, challenge, identify ideas. Archives
April 2014
Categories
All
|