ON:Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
Due: Wednesday, May 15 By Bridges
Length: c. 5 pages, typed, doubled spaced.
In a thoughtful essay,
Not getting anywhere no matter how much you think?
E-mail me with your questions, or drop bythe office.
(a) explain how attitudes toward cities can act as self-fulfilling prophesies by leading to behavior which shapes cities to fit prior attitudes toward them, and
(b) identifies at least two ways in which previously held ideas have led to actions which actually harmed the cities they were designed to help. The essay should demonstrate a good understanding of the ideas in Jacobs. Feel free to question her assertions. If you do, try to find visual evidence of situations where her ideas and yours don't agree.
The best papers will illustrate the points they make with visuals found through the tools we've been using, if possible, from the city you've been studying. (Of course, a paper including lots of visuals will be longer than a paper containing text alone. If you need a refresher on how to capture a screen image and turn it into a usable picture for a file see me in the office..
Option ONE
Option TWO
Remembering that cities are organic, multifaceted things, composed of many parts,
(a) identify and discuss at least one of the city aspects Jacobs describes (sidewalks, streets, diversity, old buildings, etc) and contrast "good ones" and "bad ones" in terms of how to tell one from the other and in terms of their the quality effects the quality of life in that part of the city, and
(b) identifies and contrasts examples of good and bad neighborhoods in an American city of your choice--you may use any city, not just the city upon which you're working in a group.
The best papers will illustrate the points they make with visuals found through the tools we've been using, if possible, from the city you've been studying. (Of course, a paper including lots of visuals will be longer than a paper containing text alone. If you need a refresher on how to capture a screen image and turn it into a usable picture for a file see me in the office..
Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
