HW October 27th, 2011

Thoughts on Urban Life

I enjoyed reading this book (for the most part). It was interesting reading about ethnography and how people go about researching other communities. Some of it was boring to me since I am not overly intersted in anthropology, but I enjoy learning new things, and this opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at my community and the city itself.

Rethinking Urban Parks (pages 1-18)

"The Cultural Life of Large Urban Spaces"
This chapter was an introduction to looking at urban spaces. It give reasons why public urban spaces are important. We depend on spaces such as parks, garden, benches, ect for cross-class and multicultural contact. We need these types of spaces to promote social and cultural diversity. Here are six lessons to provide a guideline for park planning, management, and design:
1. People and their culture need to be represented in these spaces
2. Acess (visitation and income) must be taken into account for all social groups
3. Social intereaction within diverse groups can be maintained with safe, spacially adequate space for everyone
4. Accomodating differences in the ways social class and ethnic groups use and value public sites
5. Contempory historic preservation for the facilities, diversions and scenic aspect.
6. Symbolic ways of communitcating cultural meaning

Social sustainability is important in the framework of planning and managing large urban spaces. Place preservation, cultural ecology theories, and cultural diversity help make up this framework. There are many arguments that affect social sustainability. Cultural property rights, community participation,empowerment and citizenship, heritage, and cultural values are a few that are touched on in this essay. It is really important to have an understanding of sultural diversity adn community values if a city is to have a successful park, bench or heritage site.

I think this book will be very interesting since it takes public spaces from New York City and focuses on them. I am looking forward to learning more about this.

The Edge and the Center: Gated Communities and the Discourse of Urban Fear

Setha Low writes this essay to show why people move to gated communities. She takes a gated community in Queens and San Antonio and interviews people in those communities. She uses these two because they are very different from each other. Some of the differences are population size and density, history of the gated community development, scale and design of the gated communities, legal and government structure, crime rates for the region, and cultural norms and behaviors. Many people move to gated communities because they feel it is safer. One third of all new homes built in America are in gated communities. In New York, nine out of ten of the people Low interviewed mentioned that crime was a reason they moved to the gated community. Nine of the interviewees in San Antonio said crime was a reason. Many of the moms in San Antonio moved for their children.

In New York, most of people moved to the gated community because of the deteriorating communities they had lived in and the increase of crime. In San Antonio it is similar, but more people were afraid of illegal immigrants and kidnapping.

I thought this was a very interesting article. I enjoyed learning about reasons why people move to gated communities.

Homework for October 20th

Malerie Brill

October 20^th, 2011

SSN

Prof. Galvin

“From Cuenca, Ecuador, to New York, U.S.A.: Families and Transnational Lives” (pages 378-393) Miles

Ann Miles illustrates for us in this essay the challenges that immigrants face with transnationalism. She interviewed a man named Vincent Quintasacas who moved to New York from Cuanca, Ecuador. He faced many challenges throughout his journey. He was so sad about leaving Ecuador because that was where his whole life was. His family and friends lived there, and moving to the unknown was very intimidating. Money was an issue, and Vincent owed a lot of money to some of his family and friends who loaned it to him. It was difficult for him to send money back to his family though because he had many unexpected costs. He had to spend money on a car because he got beat up in the subway on the way home from work. That was an expense he wasn’t expecting, but one that was important for his well-being. It wasn’t hard for him to get a job. He had a friend help him out with that. The language barrier made it difficult as well. Learning English was difficult for him. He found that making a living was hard. He worked many many hours a day, and made very little. He also says that health can be a problem. He was fortunate to be in good health, but if he wasn’t he wouldn’t be able to work and many money to support himself. Vincent went back and forth in his story about whether he wanted to stay in the states or go back to Ecuador. He seemed to think he would stay, but then he would say he missed his family and home and would want to go back to Ecuador. He felt as if he were a river that had no place to go.

This was a very interesting article. It was interesting to read an immigrants viewpoint on life here in America, and the struggles and accomplishments he went through.

“Global Tranactions: Sudanese Refugees Sending Money Home” (pages 394-402) by Dianna Shandy

This article by Shandy shows us how transnationalism is connecting rural and urban areas because of the money that the immigrants send back to their homes. Many people in the home countries are moving to cities to be able to receive the money sent to them more easily. She focuses on the Nuer refugees from Sudan that are now living in the US. So many of these refugees that are living in Addis Ababa rely on the remittances that their relatives abroad send them. Western Union has become a large business because of the need for these people to get the money from overseas. They use kiosk-like structures for the people to easily access their remittances. In a refugee camp, formal employment is not legal, so the people must rely on either the remittances they receive or work informally. Many people receive monthly remittances, and some receive just one to cover a medical bill or anything that is a larger expense.

This article was a large overview of remittances and how they work. I thought it was not super interesting, but it gave a good idea about the process of remittances.

“Beyond urban and rural Communities in the 21^st Century” (pages 413-420) by Walter Zenner

Zenner seeks to explain how rural and urban terms are becoming less relevant today. So many communities that in the past would be described as rural are now showing signs of urbanism. During the 21^st century the population changed from being predominately rural to being predominately urban. Zenner gives us eight examples of an urban community.

1) High degree of specialization in labor and mass production of goods.

2) Higher commitment to mechanical power

3) Individuals are more transient and detached from tradition. More people live away from where they were born.

4) High mobility in day-to-day life. More job and residence changes.

5) Continuous changes in the environment – technology and structural innovation

6) More mechanical and held by time

7) Verification to prove who we are

8) Conflict between the desire for freedom and the desired to keep control over people

Location and size do matter when talking about rural and urban spaces. Many places in the US have a distinct urban community and a distinct rural community.

Homework, October 13, 2011

Malerie Brill

October 13^th, 2011

SSN 182.6858

Professor Galvin

“Civic Ecology, Urban Elders, and New York City’s Community Garden Movement”  Pages 243-255 by Jay Sokolovsky

This article by Sokolovsky describes how in an urban setting, “community” and “garden” goes together hand in hand. There are 300+ community gardens in NYC, and those are places where older people can spend their free time and younger people can learn from their elders. It is a place where people come together to make something beautiful and learn from each other. Many places where community gardens are located used to be trashy and run down. The action of transforming these places to be beautiful gardens is a form of “civic ecology.” It promotes community involvement and socialization. Many people of all ages are involved with community gardens here in NYC, most of the time it is an older person who is in charge of the garden.

Community gardens have been going on for many years. In bad economic times, the community gardens were a source of food.  Victory gardens during WWII and “relief” gardens during the Great Depression are just a few examples of when community gardens flourished.

Many gardens maintain an assortment of medicinal plants that they use regularly for minor hurts. Not only can one find healing plants in the gardens, but the gardens themselves can be mentally healing. Horticultural therapy was introduced in the 1800s and is still being used in many rehabilitative settings.

I loved this essay because I am very interested in gardening and being outdoors in nature. I love reading about how so many gardens are here in the city, and people are coming together to work and maintain them. Being ale to be outside and work with your hands is a wonderful feeling, and I think is very beneficial to an urban community.

“Caste, Politics, and Criminality in Urban India” by Jeffrey Witso (pages 269-279)

In this article, Witso describes the crime in a city called Patna in India. Patna is the capitol of the state of Bihar, the poorest state in India. He describes how much of the crime is run by the politicians and people in power. The people living in Patna were afraid to out after dark for fear of being kidnapped or robbed. For a long time, people in higher-caste systems were in power. Caste plays a huge role in India’s wealth and crime. Many of the corrupt politicians that were being voted into power were in a higher caste system. Because of the caste system, they had more power to get into the positions they wanted. Politics is central to both caste relations and crime in the city. Once the NDA succeeded to get rid of the upper caste in the political system, the political geography started to change. There was still crime, but the people were no longer afraid to be outside after dark.

I thought it was interesting how the different caste systems operate and how they reflect political and personal life.

“The Extended Community: Migration and transformation in Tzintzuntzan, Mexico” by Robert Kemper (pages 285-299)

When Kemper began this study of the community in Tzintzuntzan, he did not thing it was going to be a very long one. But, it turned out to be a 40 year study on the people there and their “extended community.” The “extended community” is the people who spend more time outside of the place where they live. The people who are migrating to other areas face different issues they must overcome. Where will they work and live? How will they handle being away from their old community and family? Kemper has discovered that now it is hard to define who is and who is not a resident of Tzintzuntzan. People come and go constantly. Distance is no longer a significant factor because of inexpensive travel by many different means. Communication is no longer a problem because of phone and internet. The increasing number of students that live outside of the community but come back for holidays and weekends. And the earnings that people are making outside of Tzintzuntzan help keep the community’s economy up. Inheritance plays a large factor in the “extended community.” Older migrants still have homes and land in Tzuntzintzan that will pass them onto relatives. Many younger migrants want to share the family claims by visiting tzuntzintzan on a regular basis. Tzuntzintzan was treated like a closed system by many villagers and anthropologists, but now it is expected to continue growing and expanding.

I thought this was a good article about how migrants continue to keep in touch with their old background, but it was a little boring.  

“Transnationalism, Old and New: New York Immigrants” by Nancy Foner (pages 363-377)

Foner suggests that transnationalism has been going on for a long time. She points out the differences between then and now. Back in the early twentieth century many immigrants that came to the states, maintained relationships and connections to their homelands and traveled back and forth when they could. Many of them planned to return to their old countries. Now days, technology has changed the way we travel and communicate making it easier for immigrants to stay in the country and still be connected to their old homeland. Because of international businesses, the global economy, dual nationality, and a greater acceptance of multiculturalism many immigrants have a more hopeful view of transnational connections.

This article was very interesting and I enjoyed reading about how transnationalism has changed in the past century.

October 6th Homework

Malerie Brill

October 6^th, 2011

SSN 182.6858

Professor Galvin

“How Urban Ethnography Counter Myths about the Poor” Pages 185-199 (Judith Goode)

In this article Goode attempts to refute the stereotypes of poor people. They are not irrational people. With their limited choices, they make rational solutions to fix their problems. Goode suggests that instead of looking at the people as the problem, we must look at the economy and political structure and fix that.

Family is an important part of survival for the poor. If one home and family is linked to another family, they can help each other out in the harder times. Many families are “doubling up” and moving in together to strengthen that bond of trust. Mullings (1995) showed that many times when people see a black unwed mother with children, they look down on her as being irresponsible and stupid. When in reality, her family is what is keeping her together. The sacrifices she has to make and the investments for their future inspire her to push through life.

Goode discusses welfare programs, and says that throughout recent years, research shows that poor people are not lazy. They want to work. Working in the programs is hard. Many of the providers are dishonest which then makes the welfare workers afraid. The workers sometimes hide things from their overseers and that could cause a lot of problems and make them seem as if they are dishonest as well. That’s why many people resort to underground work.

I think the point of this article was a fantastic one to think about. Poor people should not be categorized as lazy and unwilling to fix their lives. Yes, some do not care, but so many of them do not like where they are at. They want better jobs, they want nicer homes, and they want to provide for their families. We are people stereotype to a fault. If we actually got to know these people, we would see that they are trying very hard to make a better life for themselves and their families.

“Gangs, Poverty, and the Future”  Pages 232-242 (Vigil)

The article “Gangs, Poverty, and the Future” gave us a look into some impoverished neighborhoods (barrios) in Los Angeles, CA and why poverty and gangs go together.  Vigil suggests that the main reason for the rise of street gangs is poverty. Because many of these neighborhoods lack strong families, good education, and healthy law enforcement, gangs replace family, education, and law enforcement. Because of racial discrimination, many of the neighborhoods that have gangs are in spatially distinctive neighborhoods. They are set away from nicer areas. Many Mexicans and African Americans make up a large part of the gangs. It is difficult for youth in these types of areas because no matter if they are involved in a gang or not, they are affected by it. Many people seek out gangs when school or family has failed. For many of them, it is something to keep them safe as they live in their neighborhood. They feel a sense of worthiness in a gang that they could not find anywhere else. Many of the kids join gangs to get attention because they did not get any at home. Most drop out of school because the schools in their area are no good.  The California budget for prisoners is the same amount of money as the Los Angeles school district. The problem with that is that there are over 700,000 kids vs the 150,000 prisoners. The school system is a joke and the drop out rate in the Los Angeles district is 30-59% in inner-city neighborhoods. The kids that do make it through high school usually have a hard time finding good opportunities available to them afterwards.

Reading this article made me very sad. Because of the way many of these children are raised, they usually do not see any other way of living their life. I don’t think this goes for all people living in an inner-city neighborhood, but it is harder for them to get out of it and go make a good life for themselves. I think the government should use money to help the school systems and living conditions in those areas instead of spending it on something unimportant. We tend to avoid those areas and try to forget about them, when in reality, we need to be helping people out of those areas. We should be helping to make better education and job opportunities for them.

“Office Work and the Crack Alternative among Puerto Rican Drug Dealers in East Harlem” Pages 202-216 (Bourgois)

Bourgois talks about why some people deal drugs instead of work. Most of them start out at a young age working. They drop out of school because a job is more appealing. But, the problem comes in when they realize that they are not being treated the same at their job whether it is because of the way they are acting or because of their lack of education. Most of them are males and they have a hard time working in a situation where a woman is in a higher position then them. One man that Bourgois interviewed was named Primo. He started out working in an office. Things went downhill when his female boss would tell people he was illiterate. He didn’t know what that meant, so he had to look it up in the dictionary. He became angry that she was using a word to disrespect him that he didn’t even know. He then goes on to say his crack house franchise owner Rocky would never disrespect him. Primo felt he was more educated than Rocky because he had a GED.  He was more comfortable being involved with dealing drugs than working in a white collared environment. Working in the street, Primo was respected and excelled in the street’s underground economy.

Now days, heroin and crack are still a multi-billion dollar business that affects families living in the inner city.  It is not as open as it once was – now it is run indoors and quiet. Many of those who deal drugs have jobs as well.