What do you think the speakers and interview subjects did particularly well to communicate their ideas? What questions do you still have, or what do you think they could have explained better? Feel free to link to 1-2 of your favorite podcasts if you regularly listen to ones you want to share.

After listening to “East New York, Did it Work?”, I have found that the speakers are very clear in their explanation and are short and to the point. One thing he did well is adding in specific statistics about Phipps Houses and interviewing a city counsel representative, Raphael Espinal and finding out that there is mainly affordable housing plans put into place. One question I have is that how are the scouts picking and choosing which properties to flip when they are either owned by another owner, or being resided by another tenant, and what can those people do in order to fight back the gentrification fight.

Here is the link to my Midterm Presentation.

Research Presentation

 

Upon reading “Urban walking isn’t just good for the soul. It could save humanity”, I have taken into consideration that my daily commute for over 3 years has not changed, therefore I have grown accustom to it and only notice when major changes, such as a new shop, or a cleanup or renovation has taken place. The author describes aimless walking to be perceived as a bizarre occurrence, when in reality, it is quite a normal thing to do, and the fact that people do it, show that they are willing to take a step away from the internet or smartphones and enjoy outdoor activities for once.  I agree that it isn’t the safest or cleanest to be walking in a highly populated city, but trying to get to the countryside, or for urban dwellers, public parks can have a positive effect on the mind and humanity as a whole.

Change is not a very easy pill to swallow, especially when its somewhere you grow up and call your home. Most of the time, the community does not have a say in a changes made to a area, such as a new building, project, institution, or renovation. The power of change is held by the government, or the property owners, in that case, making it difficult for a community of people to have a say in these projects. The goal of these owners or developers is to make progress and push for a modern and urbanized society, while the community might disagree and say that original buildings or areas kept in original condition are what keep the culture of the community. It is impossible to satisfy everyone, however thinking about the the future generations and creating a society that is built on modernistic thinking and lifestyles of the future is important, while keeping parts that are original. Having this balance is the best way to satisfy the minds of developers and the members of the community.