A Walk in NYC

Our class discussed what it meant to be an observer in the city and different viewpoints that an individual can take to observe. One of the topics we talked about was the flâneur, a French term that means “idler” or “a person who strolls.” The French poet Charles Baudelaire described him as an incognito man who was able to observe different parts of the city without playing an active role in it. The flâneur has now become an idea or concept that is inapplicable in our current environment with the way society and technology have changed. The interconnectedness of our society makes it more challenging for individuals to blend into a crowd and fly under the radar. We reject this outdated stance, as our individual cultures and experiences allow us to create our own narratives while still maintaining a sense of connection as New Yorkers.
For our project, we each chose to focus on aspects of NYC that are important to us, ranging from world famous landmarks to random corners on our block. Coincidentally, we all ended up documenting walks in a different borough – among the five of us, each one was covered. Every neighborhood we walked in had its own unique characteristics, ranging from stores to cuisines to people. Each borough had its own subculture that developed from shared experiences within communities. Many of these unique aspects go unnoticed when we are in a rush, but when we slow down and take a look at our communities, we finally see the stories and identities that were there all along. This is why we hope our project will inspire people to consider how they engage with NYC and encourage them to walk through the city without rushing to better connect with the places and communities around them.
As we compared our walks through the vast city, we found things in common, such as a sense of community as well as a renewed sense of wonder and exploration even though we live in NYC on a daily basis. It may be easy to lose track of all the opportunities that NYC has to offer us, yet this assignment made us reflect on how the city is the perfect place for us to grow.
– Jafnoon Khatun, Allison Lam, Cassidy LaPointe, Julia Wysokinska, Alan Nesterenko