Week of February 12

City News Sources

All You Can Read is a source for discoviring Newspapers on the Internet. It includes both major newspapers and local newspapers--even college newspapers with web presences. A quick check showed that each city we're studying has at least three newspaper sources online. Some have many more. Groups should investigate these, decide which should be read on a daily basis, and which deserve at least an occasional check-in. Remember you're looking for local news, which of course includes local human interest news, sports, business, and the like.

I think we have our city groups sorted out. Thanks for the help you gave in this. We do need to play catchup a little this week,however, so the reading load is going to be on the modest side, largely repeating some of last week's work. As I type this, I don't know if people have begun to look for examples of some of the things Jane Jacobs analyzes in Death and Life of Great American Cities. I hope so. I'll find out tomorrow.

Jacobs argues here that children are safer on the streets than they are in the parks, though “common sense” planning believes otherwise. One doesn’t think of Jacobs as a feminist, particularly, but you will note in this chapter some observations of gender roles which fit in nicely with feminist theory. Sidewalks of the type Jacobs advocates socialize children into a world in which both men and women play important roles. Suburbs and traditional parks do not. Is she right?

Some of the most elementary and ordinary features of cities turn out to be some of the most important.

We remind ourselves that the lowly sidewalk is itself important enough to demand three chapters, and you will notice that each chapter interrelates with and builds upon the previous one: if sidewalks are not safe, they won’t facilitate contact, and without contact, children cannot be assimilated. These chapters are especially crucial because many of you most likely live in sidewalk-less neighborhoods.

Chapter 5. The Uses of Neighborhood Parks

Jane Jacobs is not a particular fan of parks as theoretical solutions to urban problems. She is in favor of parks which work well. In this chapter she tries to separate good parks from bad parks. To do so, she looks at concrete examples in a number of American cities, some of which are the focus of group projects. Those of you studying places like New York or San Francisco will want to try to Google some of the parks she mentions by name. Google Image them, too. In fact, all of you would benefit by locating some of the parks, neighborhood and otherwise, in your city of choice. One of them (not a neighborhood version) is pictured in this weeks corner-left picture frame. You must note that “park” carries a broad definition. If you have in your mind’s eye a vision of trees, grass, and the odd swing or two, you’ll need to broaden your horizons some.

Both pictures illustrate children on the streets of New York in the early years of the 20th century. In both, the neighborhoods are poor (Little Italy to the left, Brooklyn below). But notice that the children are under the close supervision of adults in both instances.

Washington Square, New York City is one of Jane Jacobs' examples of successful city parks. Click on it to reach the home page of the Village Independent Democrats, which can serve as an example of one of the district organizations which are so vital in advancing the interests of urban neighborhoods.

I would also be remiss if I didn't take a few electrons to wish you a happy Abraham Lincoln's Birthday. When I was a youngster everyone knew his birthdate and George Washington's as well. Why? We got both day's off. No More! We get the Monday between off, and everyone can go out and buy a new car to celebrate.

Friday the 8th I will spend some time introducing some of the new additions to this class's Blackboard site. I encourage you to try them out over the weekend, and I'll ask you about this on Tuesday.

There are at least two sources to locate local radio stations. Radio-Locator (above) began at MIT., ans is pretty much a no-frills website. Web Radio, (below) is more elaborate in design, but not necessarily better for that reason.Try them both on for size and choose the one most which suits you best.

As with newspapers, you're looking for local news, but also for some insight to the cultural attributes of the city and its surrounding region. Web Radio provides information by genre, and a quick look at the list in the city gives a rough idea of listener preferences--only a rough idea, however, as we don't learn how big any given audience is. Keep a special eye out for local talk radio.