The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

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Reference no: EM133595958

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Segregation, or the process of separating different groups of urban dwellers within a given city - be it by race, class, rank, ethnicity, religion, fear, ideology, or other means - has a long history going back to the ancient Babylonian cities. However, despite many similarities across time and space, cities (and, therefore, the residents of those cities) have their own unique histories and experiences with segregation. In your essay, select three to four cities (New York, Baltimore, Mexico City, and Puerto Rico) that we have explored during the semester and discuss the many factors that have contributed to segregation in these places. Make sure to examine ideological, social, political, legal, economic, health, and racial factors, the design elements that have shaped spatial segregation in these cities, and how different groups of residents have responded to segregation.

Reading: William H. Whyte, "Design of Spaces"

Podcast: Episode 219 - Unpleasant Design & Hostile Urban Architecture

Documentary: "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" (William Whyte, 60 min)

What was Riis's attitude towards immigrants and the urban poor more broadly who lived in New York's tenements an area known as the Five Points?

What are the causes of urban poverty according to Riis? Who is responsible for urban poverty?

Are immigrants responsible for their own poverty? If so, how? Is Riis sympathetic towards the urban poor?

Do you agree with Simmel's pessimistic attitude toward urban life? Are Simmel's ideas, analysis, and interpretation still relevant in the 21st century? How so?

How does the city (urbanization and urban life) shape individuals and society more generally? What impact does it have on our psychological states and how we behave including our anxieties, our sense of time, money, fashion, the economy, labor markets, and trust?

Baltimore was the first municipal government in the United States to impose a legally bound, race-based restrictive covenant or ordinance in 1911. Discuss the many ways in which racial segregation was maintained through formal (legal) and informal (extra-legal) practices. How did African Americans (in Baltimore and nationwide) respond to efforts to legally separate the U.S.

Cities along racial lines?

Urban segregation takes on different forms depending on the historical context. According to Setha Low and Zarie Dinzey's experience and analysis of different kinds of gated communities in Puerto Rico?

Reference no: EM133595958

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