Honggang, X. (2003). Managing Side Effects of Cultural Tourism Development – The Case of Zhouzhuang. Systems Analysis Modelling Simulation, 43(2), 175-188.
In this journal article, Xu Honggang discusses the effects that tourism may have on the culture and traditional aspects of a society. Tourism is a booming source of economic growth and prosperity for many countries, and especially in developing countries, governments often invest in tourist attractions. Honggang notes that “public and private investments in tourism related activities have reached $800 billion annually, accounting for 12% of total worldwide investments” (Honggang 175). Throughout the article, Honggang focuses on the effects that tourism has had on Zhouzhuang, an ancient town in China near Shanghai known for its cultural uniqueness and local flavor. However, much of his discussion can be adapted and applied to New York City, and in particular, the community on 57th street in Manhattan. Tourism, in general, brings many positive effects, such as an increase in employment and an improvement in infrastructure. On 57th street, shopping provides a huge market for employment, and the street is wide, allowing for better traffic flow. However, Honggang discusses that, for locals, tourism can make the cost of living in the area high, forcing them to leave the area. Once again, this is demonstrated on 57th street by the raising real estate prices on the east side, where tourism is most prominent. In essence, Honggang shows that tourism can have both positive and negative effects, all of which can be readily applied to the changes on 57th street.
Korca, P. (1998). Resident Perceptions of Tourism in a Resort Town. Leisure Sciences, 20(3). 193-212.
In this journal article, Perver Korca discusses the impact that tourism has on the residents of Antalya, a small town in Turkey. Perver Korca is part of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the Istanbul Technical University, and this research quantitatively measured the attitudes of Antalya residents to tourists based on various statistical measures, including the Likert scale. Although this study is conducted in Turkey, the results are extremely applicable to New York City. In previous studies, researchers found that tourism is almost always supported by governments for its economic benefits. In general, an increase in tourism will result in more upkeep and preservation of the area. In relation to 57th street, this is clearly evident in the east side of the street, where the atmosphere is increasingly fancy and upscale due to the influx of tourists in the area. Korca, in her research, finds that many of the residents support tourism simply because it is associated with the preservation and maintenance of the surrounding areas. However, the results of this study also showed that the farther away that the residents were from the tourism zone, the more likely they were to support tourism. This is also represented in 57th street, where the residential area, the west side of the street, is isolated and separated from the tourism zone, the east side of the street. Therefore, the diversification of 57th street and the contrasts between the east and west side can be explained by considering the effects of tourism.
Zukin, S. (1998). Urban lifestyles: Diversity and standardization in spaces of consumption. Urban Studies (Routledge). 35(5/6). 825-839.
In this journal article, Sharon Zukin discusses the changes that have occurred in the urban lifestyle because of a change in the use of public spaces. Zukin explains that, over the past several years, public space has been used increasingly for attracting the “mobile public,” such as through hotels and stores. Because of this, cities are expanding the job market with low-income, menial labor that is governed and regulated by private companies. This can be seen on 57th street in the multitude of retail stores that have opened in the past several years. In addition, the residential area of the street has remained low-rise and somewhat run-down. On 57th street, the developmental changes that have occurred are a direct result of the privatization of the property, and therefore, in the west side residential area, no real maintenance progress has been made. Zukin also mentions that the whole basis behind the establishment of retail stores and shopping places is the accumulation of money and material things. She points out that living in an urban environment like this can easily tempt an individual into placing more emphasis on money than is necessary. Therefore, on 57th street, the increasing presence of retail stores and upscale shopping will likely have an effect on the residents of the street, even though the two areas are relatively far apart.
Miller, D. (n.d.). Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan gave birth to modern America.
Supreme City by Donald Milller reveals the story of Manhattan’s growth in the 1920s. This book is especially relevant to our project because it tells the story of how Midtown Manhattan was significantly transformed in the 1920s from a “commercial backwater” with one skyscraper, into the entertainment and communications epicenter of New York. Miller provides the reader with some history by letting us know the district was mostly characterized by docks, warehouses, tenements and middle class townhouses. He reminds us just how much things have changed as Midtown Manhattan’s glamorous restaurants, boutiques, high-end department stores and skyscrapers took over. Miller’s discussion on how rise modern America affected everyday American life is valuable.
de–Shalit, A. (2003). Philosophy Gone Urban: Reflections on Urban Restoration. Journal Of Social Philosophy, 34(1), 6-27.
The article presents the author’s opinion on urban life in New York City’s midtown commercial district. He challenges the typical anti-urban ethos presented by environmentalists including the negative aspects of commercialization. He says that commercialization “describes a process in which human beings, the cities they inhabit, and other objects, are seen as having an essentially instrumental value, even though their intrinsic value is recognized.” He claims that commercialization of the streets carries implications regarding the way people see the city as good or bad. Mostly he argues that commerce contributed to the rapid economic development of Manhattan and one should not complain about it. This article is especially useful because it summarizes the pros and cons of commercialization.
Gordon D. MacDonald and Rosalind Tough. “Manhattan: Social Ecology and the Changing Skyline.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 23(4), 407-418.
The author of this study is “primarily concerned with the distribution in space of the twentieth-century commercial construction and the underlying social processes responsible for these skyscrapers.” I gained insight on the historical background on Midtown ; the authors view the skyline as a product of two periods: post WWI-Depression and post WWII. I also chose this article because it helped me understand how people from 1960s viewed the boom in the construction of commercial buildings. MacDonald’s and Toughs analyze Midtown’s land use in terms of ecology. They explain why buildings tend to clusters and how they represent “a distribution in space necessitated by need, a mutual cooperation and interdependence.” Also, I learned that residence areas become commercial because it yields the owner of the site a greater net return on capital invested.
Domosh, M. (1990). Shaping the Commercial City: Retail Districts in Nineteenth-Century New York and Boston. Annals Of The Association Of American Geographers, 80(2), 268-284.
In Shaping the Commercial City: Retail Districts in Nineteenth-Century New York and Boston, Mona Domosh discusses the changes in architectural structures that began to appear in NYC and Boston in the 19th century. In her article, Domosh argues that socioeconomic disparities play a significant role in how and where retail districts appear in cities. New York is described as growing horizontally—and vertically, its buildings (residential and commercial alike) displaying wealth and consumption. Because of New York’s location and status as a financial center, its economy grew rapidly during the first half of the 19th century, and the architecture followed. Urban economic theory states that patterns of consumption dictate where retail expansion will occur. Domosh’s analysis of socioeconomic patterns and architectural growth is relevant to how we look at 57th street. Although the article is largely a generalization, it does explain many of the changes we noticed.
Goldstein, D. (2010). The Wizard of Fifty-seventh Street. Southwest Review, 95(1/2), 185-204.
In The Wizard of Fifty-Seventh Street, Darra Goldstein discusses the restaurant industry in New York City. Her focus on the Russian Tea Room is particularly relevant to our research. In 1926, the tearoom opened, a symbol of the prohibition era. It served as an entertainment area for the performers; Albertina Rasch being one of them. Towards the end of Prohibition in 1933, Alexander Maeff purchased the Russian Tea Room. Maeff did plenty to contribute to the mystique and legend of the restaurant. As time passed, the Russian Tea Room continued to see changes, but was constantly in the spotlight as a place where stars would gather. In 1995, Warner LeRoy, son of Mervyn LeRoy, producer of The Wizard of Oz, purchased the restaurant. This article adds to our understanding of the popular culture element 57th Street has to offer, which is a large part of what makes the street a good representation of New York on a smaller scale.
To Buy or Not to Buy? The Changing Relationship between Manhattan Rents and Home Prices. (2012). Current Issues in Economics & Finance, 18(9), 1-7.
In To Buy or Not to Buy? The Changing Relationship Between Manhattan Rent and Home Prices, Jason Bram explores the volatile nature of housing costs. He argues that as costs have changed, buying a house is less financially valuable. He also argues that the supply and demand is what creates a fluctuation in pricing, which makes sense. In reference to Manhattan, Bram says that the availability of amenities brings residents and the vast economic possibilities bring businesses to the area, and this essentially perpetuates pricing changes. This article gives us a glimpse into one of the hidden results of commercialization: we already knew that 57th street was desirable because of it’s centralized location, but Bram’s analysis provides a better understanding of what this entails.
Weisman, W. (1954). Commercial Palaces of New York: 1845-1875. The Art Bulletin, 36(4), 285-302.
In Commercial Palaces of New York: 1845 – 1755, Winston Weisman portrays the evolving architecture of New York City and its impression around the world. “Those who were content with ordinary three story brick fronts,” he writes, have become immersed in extravagant designs. Adopting the Roman or Greek architectural styles, or the “wonderful engineering of London or of Paris” became an obsession during the 1860’s. As we moved into the late 19th century, big businesses were no longer palaces, but they were skyscrapers. The slow evolving of architecture is evident on 57th street as one makes their way from the west to the east side. The brick buildings are common representations of residential areas and apartments whereas the palatial style building stands as Carnegie Hall in midtown Manhattan. As we move towards the east, our businesses become skyscrapers. Several decades of architectural history can be found on this one block in Manhattan.
Gassan, R. (2010). Tourists and the City: New York’s First Tourist Era, 1820-1840. Winterthur Portfolio, 44(2/3), 221-246.
In Tourists and the City: New York’s First Tourist Era, 1820-1840, author Richard H. Gassan discusses the beginnings of tourism in New York City and how the term tourism came to apply to a group. The first group of tourists to arrive in New York City, arrived in the early nineteenth century as an “outgrowth” of the “Fashionable Tour.” At the time, New York was nothing like it is today. It was not a booming city full of excitement for new arrivals. The first tourists stayed in “second-class hotels” and enjoyed limited entertainment. However, as the numbers rose, the tourist became beneficial for the economy. They played important roles in keeping hotels, shops, and entertainment districts open. The effects of tourism more than two centuries ago have been instrumental in developing New York City “as the country’s center of culture.” Even today, 57th Street crosses the commercial 5th Avenue to create one of the major tourist spots in New York City. They businesses along 5th Avenue depend largely on tourism for profit, much like they did in the 1820’s.
Ross, E. (1920). Commercialization–Increasing or Decreasing? International Journal of Ethics, 30(3), 284-295.
Edward Alsworth Ross discusses the effects of commercialization in Commercialization—Increasing or Decreasing? He defines commercialization in the first line of the article as “the increasing subjection of any calling or function to the profits motive.” In other words, commercialization depicts the process of using an object or a skill for financial gains. As human beings, we may do this for several reasons, according to Ross. The first on his list is to take “pleasure in creative activity,” followed by “pride in the perfection of one’s product.” If the architecture of 57th Street is any indication of commercialization, I would agree that the architects who first built skyscrapers in Manhattan were most definitely exhibiting pride in their work. We have become accustomed to find such structure beautiful; so much so that many of us now prefer “modern” architectural homes to live in. These are the same structure that attract our tourists and build our economy.
