By attending Community Voices #4, centered around transportation and infrastructure, I was able to see what community oriented organizations are and how they carry out their visions. This seminar began with a look at an organization that has been very successful in working on New York City’s alternative transportation system. Wiley Norvell was the presenting spokesperson for Transportation Alternatives, appropriately starting off his presentation with a description of Transportation Alternatives’ mission, which is to advocate for bicycling, walking, and public transportation as alternatives for the cars that have taken over the city. According to Wiley Norvell, at this time, 90% of New York City streets are used for cars. In a city that deserves to be explored and traversed by foot, this lack of consideration for pedestrians is unacceptable. Thus, Transportation Alternatives aims to transform the city little by little so that it’s streets are designed to a standard of a small child on a bike, as opposed to what they are currently designed around, which is cars.
One of the projects that Transportation Alternatives was involved in advocating for was the transformation of Times Square to include a pedestrian-oriented plaza centered inside the overcrowded and car-friendly tourist trap. This project included redesigning Times Square to cut down on the traffic problem and to make a more pedestrian-friendly space while cutting down on injuries in the area. This project has been very successful with a 74% approval rate and injuries have decreased by 63%. The plaza in Times Square took some getting used to aesthetically since it was a open space in the middle of an area teeming with cars, but it has proven to be a publicly accepted plan.
Currently, Transportation Alternatives is working on improving the access to alternative forms of transportation on First and Second Avenues. These two avenues are brimming with cars and buses, including the M15 which is the busiest bus route in the country. The reason for this circumstance is the inconvenient location of these two avenues with respect to the subway system. Transportation Alternatives has designed a plan which would include a separate bus lane, a physically protected bike lane, and ample street space for pedestrians.
The other speaker at this seminar was Chris Neidl from Solar One, a group which advocates for the use and expansion of solar energy. He explained how behind the United States is in terms of developing solar energy and his group’s goal to make New York a solar leader in this country. Mr. Neidl informed us that Germany is the top producer of solar energy and the programs it uses to create incentives for the use of solar. The incentive is economical and is known as REPs. Solar One is pushing for similar policies to be and incentives to be put in place in New York and eventually across the United States in order to increase our use of alternative energy sources.
This seminar was informative in its insight into the methods of community groups. It certainly became evident that it is very difficult to advocate for anything because of the need for creative solutions which appeal to as many groups of people as possible. Also, it is necessary to fight the government in order to go from vision to realization.
The readings for this week addressed the relationship between ghettos and housing and socioeconomic opportunities. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote his piece examining the Seventh Ward ghetto in Philadelphia in the last year of the 1800s. This area of Philadelphia was a black ghetto with deteriorating housing and little opportunity for advancement up the socioeconomic ladder. Most African-American men and women living in the Seventh Ward at the time were servants or laborers. Du Bois stated that the reason for the difficulties that ghetto dwellers experienced was the racial discrimination directed at them. Being black in a white man’s world made it nearly impossible to obtain a skilled job, not to mention finding and successfully keeping less desirable jobs. Racial discrimination kept these Philadelphian African-Americans in low paying jobs and essentially trapped them in the ghettos.
William Julius Wilson took a surprisingly different approach to his writing on ghettos. His piece was written almost one hundred years after W.E.B. Du Bois wrote “The Negro Problems of Philadelphia” with a different approach and new problems. Wilson studied the ghettos of Chicago and found that as time went on the conditions in the ghettos were actually worsening rather than improving. Unlike Du Bois’ time period, drugs and the violence that accompanies it were becoming increasingly troublesome. Strangely enough, the population inside of individual ghettos was decreasing but the number of ghetto neighborhoods was increasing. Such low density but large surface area coverage created difficulties in maintaining tight security in these neighborhoods and in using the community to reduce crime as well as family issues. What Wilson discovered was that the decrease in racial discrimination along with its continued legacy was aiding the redistribution of the black population into better neighborhoods with more to offer. However, as the more educated and better-off families left, the concentration of the poor became greater. These low-density communities did not offer much support and unfortunately drug use grew as an issue. According to Wilson, the central issue causing the deterioration of ghettos was unemployment. During the 1990s when this piece was written a shocking number of adults living in the Chicago ghettos did not hold jobs. Thus the vicious cycle of the poor trapped inside of lifeless ghettos continues, unless the issue of joblessness is addressed.
Michael Porter’s piece, “The Competitive Advantage of the Inner City”, in some ways addresses the joblessness problem raised by William Julius Wilson. Porter believes that it is time for a new strategy to bring life and energy to the ghettos. He argues that the government and businesses need to focus on an approach using economic incentives to generate wealth in those areas, instead of the traditional social approach that gives away economic care packages to individuals without any long-term effects. Porter believes that the trick is to lure in outside businesses into the inner city areas with the advantages that it has to offer, such as convenient location and human resources. If companies are meticulous in their research they can make the decision whether or not they will benefit from starting/moving their business to the inner city. With assistance from the government and community-based organizations, these imported companies can thrive and bring much needed economic boosts to the areas in which they set up shop.
Hi Everybody!!
I’m Mariya, currently a Psychology major with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience. I’m excited to explore this field that chooses to explain psychology from a biological perspective, very different from Freud’s theories! I’m currently attempting to incorporate myself into a lab or an internship pertaining to my major, meanwhile I’m working in retail to keep myself busy. My other academic passion is Italian which I might double major in. This summer I’m going to Russia and next summer I hope to go to Italy and finally experience real, native, homemade Italian culture. I’ve always wondered what urban planning encompasses so this class will finally fill me in with the secrets and provide some new stimulation from a topic I know nothing about.
