chapter 6: Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park

Orchard Beach is a resource for bolstering Latino community identity and has contributed to sustaining NY's cultural diversity. This beach has a history of attracting people who like to make it their own. the place was created in 1880's. Budget constraints contributed to the park's low-key approach toward management during the early years. The park's passive approach to management eventually favored an increase in visitation and visitor autonomy.

Chapter 5: Jacob Riis Park.

This park does not have enough funds to keep the place proper. Jacob Riis Park has a beach where more socially and culturally diverse population encounter one another while engaging in a great variety of activities. In federal parks the government has to consul the public and has to consider the viability of cultural groups ways when managing and making major changes to the park.  Most people that use Jacob Riis Park are recent immigrants who do not speak English or do not have a citizenship.The cultural behavior of these park users poses a challenge for park staff. This park has different bays. Bay 1 is a bay where many gays go, it is also a nude bay. This bay is dirty which does not stop people from coming here, the crowd is diverse.  Bays 5 &6 are where people sit in groups or alone. These bays are more relaxed and quite and the crowd is mixed. Bay 14 the boardwalk has no facilities and acts as a sort of cul-de-sac for boardwalk activities. Mostly men visit this bay.

Chapter 4 The Ellis Island Bridge proposal..

The National Park Services wanted to build a bridge from Liberty State Park to Ellis Island. The restoration project included the construction of a bridge across the 400 yards of water between Ellis Island and Liberty State Park. People who were interviewed were into the situation, they took part of it with interest not just for the heck of it. They were understanding of the problem and its consequences even if they had different backgrounds. Some people view the changes as negative others positive. Residents of Ellis Island feel that the ferry is for tourist whereas a bridge would be for the local population who do not normally visit the island. If the bridge is built the locales will visit the island often and also learn the history.

chapter 3

Prospect Park is located in Brooklyn, it is 526 acres and was built between 1867-1873. It is a place recreation that is taken for granted or not noticed. The park is culturaly diverse. It also several crowd attracting features like the Bandshell, Park Zoo, Lefferts Homestead, historic house museum. There are 6 children playground, all at different locations of the park. The social life at Prospect Park is also rich and diverse. They got African/West Indies drumming and dancing. Haitan roots music. Many people use the parks for picnic and cookouts.

summary due november 3, 2011

"Urban Parks"

This writing talks about the history of parks. The very first parks were used for grazing cattle and militias purposes. Some parks were build for certain purposes like the Central park was build for landscaping. This chapter gives us a little history about different types of parks and the movements they started. Olmsted wanted to create great social spaces out of the materials of nature. So he creates the lakes, streams, waterfalls and pastures. Pelham Bay park belongs to the era of public reservation. it is selected for the scenic value of its shoreline ans adjacent islands alog long island sound.

h.w due october 27 2011

"The Cultural Life of Large Urban Spaces"
 This chapter talks about the importance of urban spaces in our lives. These spaces are good for cultural diversity, it brings people from all background together in one place. In NYC very few places retain the cultural and social diversity ater 9/11. There are 6 lessons that promote the sociabilities o small urban spaces.
1. People need these space to represent their cultural.
2. social interaction of diverse groups can be maintained.
3. Income and visitation pattern must be taken into account
4. differences in the way ethnic and social groups use and value public sites
5. symbolic ways of communicating cultural meaning are an important dimension of place attachment that can be fostered to promote cultural diversity.
6. contemporary historic preservations should not concentrate on restoing the scenic features without also restoring the facilities and diversions tat attract people to a park.

According to Whyte the main reason why people stopped using public spaces is because of the fear of terrorism.

summary due on October 20, 2011

Miles talks about how immigrants come to the USA for not only safety and financial issues but also for their families back home. Miles illustrates this through the story of an Ecuadorian. She talks about the challenges the immigrants face and the "questions of identity they struggle with." Even thought the Vicente works longs hours he is unable to pay his debts and can hardly send money back to his family. His family back home worries about him and fear that he might become too American. It was hard for Vicente to adjust to the US. He had to learn English, which is very difficult is you have spoken a different language through out your life. He had buy a car since he got harassed in the subway.

This article is interesting but not surprising to me. My parents left their country so we can have a better life and education in the states. They miss their family a lot and I have seen them hurt when they couldn't go home to meet a sick family person. However, now my parents go to India 2-3 times a year. My brother and I hardly go because we don't like the environment there.

Shandy talks about the way immigrants send money back to their country. According to Shandy people that receive money in their home country are moving to cities, where it is easier to get the transfer. She also thinks remittance are not just the transfer of wealth between people, but also serves to maintain ties of reciprocity within families separated by warfare and emigrants.

Zenner talks about how it is hard to distinguish between rural and urban since telecommunications are found throughout the world. Zenner explores what distinction meant in the recent past and what it may mean today.

summary due october 13 2011

Sokolovsky talks about how community and gardens are urban partners. In NYC older citizens grow food in gardens and spend time there and talk to other people. They also share their experiences and knowledge. Gardens are places where young adults learn their culture and about food. He also talks about how people come together to take care of these gardens and everything.

Witso talks about how democratic politics affects everyday life in Indian. He also talks about the Indian caste system. He says that politicians from upper-caste backgrounds dominate political life in Bihar for most of the post-Independence period. Many politicians are in the upper-caste system. People in Patna were scared. Wisto looks at the crime, politics and the caste system of Patna and relates them to each other and shows how each of them effect the other.

Kemper followed the migration of people from the Mexico village of Tzintzuntzan. He studies the people for 40 years. These people were able to spend years and years at distance without losing their sense of membership. Once Kemper went into research he only had 20 migrants names and 2 addresses, however after 6 months he had gathered information on nearly 500 people. These people face many issues like whether to leave their community or not. Then they face survival issues and finally learn new ways of thinking about the world and understanding their place in it.

Summary due October 6, 2011

Goode talks about how poor people are not responsible for the conditions they are in. They try to make the most out of it and adjust within the circumstances. She also says that the poor people are as realistic as any other social class. They try finding solutions to their problems like any other human would. The poor people are very rational. They want to work, but might have no skills. She also says in order to live in these circumstances people have to have family structure and sometimes need help from networks, friends, family and neighbors.

I agree with Goode completely, no one want to be poor! People want or need money to feed themselves and their kids. Everyone wants to live in the best situations with the best house and other modes of living. Blaming poor people for their condition doesn't make sense to me. No one asks to be unsafe, everyone always wants the best. However, not everyone gets the best. There are people out there that want to get out of these poor conditions and are trying. Poor people are not "..flawed individuals who need to be reformed by letting experts repair their damaged psych and values."

Bourgois talks about the drug dealers in Spanish Harlem. He says there are many reasons people choose to drug deal. Most drug dealer used to have appropriate jobs but they didn't like the superiority or felt uncomfortable because of the cultural difference. Most drug dealers wanted to keep their cultural, not feel inferior and make a reputation with in their communities. He also interviewed drug dealers and found for them it was easier and more attractive to drop out of school and earn money. Especially if they come from poor backgrounds. People also brought street culture in factory and working settings, which the higher authorities didn't like. They often tried to change to these behaviors. Drug dealers didn't want to change. So they took up illegal activities so they can be their own boss, keep the street culture and have a reputation.

According to Vigil, poverty is the "central" reason for the street gangs. Vigil says gangs form then there are less family support, bad education system and the laws towards poor. Gangs make people feel more safe. They are usually made up of males who grew up together in low-income neighborhoods. 

summary due on September 29 2011

Summary p.157-169 & p.171-184

Pardue talks about how cities were analyzed by their spaces. People living in different parts of the cities often use different methods or transportation, which also relates to people’s social class and access of wealth. People with less money flow and less options usually get less privacy and lowest types of transportation. Therefore, Pardue uses the types of transportation to understand the people in the Sao Paula, Brazil. People with less money use trains and busses and people with money own a car and also have a private driver. Pardue interviewed three different people and their modes of transportation.

1.      Robson was one of the people Pardue talked about transportation. He was from a working class family and thought that trains were lowest form of transportation. He liked travelling in the busses and though that it gave people “view of life,” even though the price for bus and trains were the same.

2.      Second person was a woman named Edilaine, who grew up in a working class family. But later in life she became a journalist and then an editor of a professional news release for medical doctors. She used busses and trains before but now has a car and a private driver. She also move to an upper-class neighborhood.

3.      The last were hip-hoppers. Who used public space for greater accomplishments in gaining recognition from society. They used downtown subways to prove themselves.

I think sometimes in NYC people use subways and trains because they can not afford anything better. However,  people with cars also public transportation because there are times they wont find parking. Then there are people who use a cab because they don’t have to worry about parking or being pushed around in trains and busses.

Lewis talks about cultural poverty and poverty. He says in the record of history and literature, people look at poor people in 2 ways. 1) poor people are characterized as blessed, virtuous, honest and kind. 2) poor people are characterized as evil and violent.

Lweis says its not the people’s fault they are poor. No one desires to be poor. He also says sometimes it’s the governments fault that the poor are poor and have to use illegal methods to survive and make their place in the society.

Summary 2. Due 09/22/2011

Neema Khan

09/21/2011

Summary 2: p.101-118 & p.119-130

 Wirth talks about how city influences social organization, attitudes and personality of their inhabitants. In order to call a place a city, you have to take the following characteristics in account; size, density, transportation, communication, facilities, and cultural. All these characteristics make up an urban community. According to Wirth a city influences a person’s social life, because it is the “controlling center of economic, political and cultural influences.” Wirth also says, we meet new people all the time and the only reason we make friends is due our own selfish needs. Cities are a very competitive place; we compete for everything with each other. However people with the most money will obviously get better resources. Wirth also mentions that there is not enough trust in the cities and the only thing that keeps cities together are laws. Most people won’t brake the laws due to the consequences, which can disturb their daily lives. Wirth also talks about how city people are more reserved and protected and don’t have enough trust.

 In the Urban Dangers, Merry conducted her own research and chose a high-crime housing project in the Northeast to carry out her research. Merry studied many different culture and people in Northeast. Since she was researching on the dangers of the city, she studied how people in that community behaved towards their protection. Merry also interview people on how they handled the high rate of crime, which surrounded them.  According to Merry the borders between ethnic groups provide “opportunity for crimes.”

People only communicated with people from the same ethnic group and did not even bother getting to know other people.

 I agree a little with Wirth, it is true that people in the cities don’t trust easily; however, I also agree with Merry about once we get to know people there will be less crimes. if people just stayed and communicated to people in the same ethnic group, there will be no intercultural. Life would be boring. To me meeting new and different cultured people is what make life a little interesting. There are good and bad people in every ethnic group; however, the entire group should not be judged on what ONE person does or says.

neema

       It’s not easy to research an urban society, especially one far from home. Sometimes you have to learn to talk a new language and not to judge society on your own perspective, which can be a problem, since we tend to look at things in our own way. But using proper research methods and asking the right people for help can limit difficulties.

Summary: p5-19 & p20-35.

              Anthropological research on city life started after WW II, and evolved in 1960s and 1970s, when Urban Sociology was already a developed fieldwork. Anthropologists have recently “settled upon the most appropriate research strategies.” When Anthropology first came out as a science it was only concerned with illiterate people, which later changed to bigger societies and different cultures. In the beginning the Anthropologist based their assumptions on descriptions of missionaries, later however, had better choices with research methods and information to base their hypothesis on. Fieldwork in the 20^th century was restricted, since it was hard to travel and due to the lack of money and time. The ways of the British to study societies and culture were becoming better, because of Malinowski. However, 10 years after Malinowski, American Anthropologist were also stepping up their game. Later anthropologists learned; good data- gathering techniques, importance of observing and the significance of witnessing a special event. Research was done in rural areas and urban areas. However, research  in urban anthropology can be challenging because anthropologist tend view urban populations from a rural view, which can lead to few problems. In the future there will be better research materials, opportunities and money to make urban research happen in better ways.

   

        In the “Fieldwork in Tokyo,” Bestor explained his research in Tokyo. He had to be a part of the community to actually understand them and their ways. First he had to learn Japanese, so he can communicate and travel easily. Finding a field site wasn’t easy due to vast communities. But him and his wife went to different communities that might have been suitable for research. Bestor was advised to “find a network not a community.” He started his research in Miyamoto-Cho and later Tsukiji. His had connections and asked them to introduce to other people, which they in outing and in festival celebration. To observe people in his field site better, Bestor moved in the same neighborhood and became a part of the community. He was introduced to local leaders, activists and the vice president of the neighborhood. His “network” increased and he had more variables for his research. He attended local festivals, where he could observe an entire neighborhood together. Once he started new research he still asked help form old connection. In Bestor’s later research he was introduced to officials of major trade federations and got access to their documents and was introduced to many more people.

     As the first writing described research method and opportunities have gotten better than before when Anthropology was new. It is still difficult since its hard to get people talking, especially now when people have to finish many tasks in one day and do not want to be disturbed.