Monthly Archives: August 2018

Do we have a right to the city?

In the films that we watched it was clear that changes are inevitable. At a certain point, we need changes in our life, community, and city. There are changes that we can’t manage, because of our word or as a person we are not values enough. I am talking about those changes that occur in our city, it doesn’t matter if you were there for months, years, or decades. The time they need to take a decision about a changed they would end up not thinking about you. As a government, you think that the changes will benefit the community or the people, but at the end of the day, they would not. As we saw it in the Jane Jacob film, changes are made in the name of people but nor for the people. The city makes that changes, but as a community, you are the one that has to faces those changes. I think that as a resident of the city you have a right to that city, but we just don’t implement it. It’s easier to blame others or just let them do whatever they want with our rights than used it. I think most of us are just scared of the consequences and that is the reason why we prefer to stay quiet.

Week 1, and blogging assignment for Tuesday, September 4

On Tuesday we reviewed the goals of the course and viewed the film My Brooklyn (log in with your college ID to stream from anywhere). On Thursday we viewed the film Citizen Jane: Battle for the City and discussed some of its themes.

Regular blogging is an essential part of your participation in the course. Your first blogging assignment, due before the start of class on Tuesday, September 4,  is to reflect on the films we watched together and write one 100-word blog post responding to these questions:

How is change managed in a city, and who manages that change? Do people have a “right” to the city?

 

Welcome to Learning Places!

Learning Places is an interdisciplinary course co-taught by Prof. Anne Leonard in the Library and Prof. Jason Montgomery in the department of Architectural Technology. Using methodologies from both professors’ disciplines, we conduct field research and archival research to study one site together in depth. This semester, our case study site is Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and adjacent developments known as Atlantic Yards, Pacific Park, and the Atlantic Center. The site is a short distance from campus, about one mile south on Flatbush Avenue.

Barclays Center Brooklyn

By Tandonva – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69757746

There are no required textbooks in this course. Assigned readings will be posted here on the OpenLab site or distributed in class, and recommended books are on reserve in the City Tech library. You will need a notebook or sketchbook and soft pencils for sketching during our field research visits. We will use cameras to document our research trips. A smartphone camera is fine; it is also possible to borrow a camera from the instructors. Our first class meeting is 2:30-4:35 on Tuesday, August 28 in L543 in the City Tech Library. Questions? Leave a comment below.