Here is my site report link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cuBUSHAAKXDFNREktfaiVcWST_sSmfzeU_UpaH-evFs/edit?usp=sharing.

My daily morning commute is just what you would imagine of your everyday New Yorker. A half mile walk to the J train station at Marcy avenue to rub shoulders and sometimes literally fight to get onto the train with the thousands of people waiting as well to commute. In as much the commute is not as enjoyable as I would love it to be, I do pick up a lot of things while I work. In the 5 years that I have lived in the Jewish populated neighborhood of South Williamsburg in Brooklyn, a lot has changed. With the rise of Williamsburg in the real estate industry comes a lot of other changes, on broadway directly below the J train line, you have new Condos with a stretch of stores restaurants and cafes. In the early morning as I walk to the train, Bedford ave is quiet with the exception of a few cars going by and the follow commuters who are headed to the train with me. This changes once you hit broadway, it is a whole different atmosphere because unlike Bedford, Broadway is a commercial street and people are already packed up either at the McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts or the food trucks getting their breakfast to get them started for the day

Walking around my neighborhood, and paying attention to the surroundings makes me understand the meaning behind it. One thing that I defiantly have seen change is the increase of traffic in the area. The reason behind it is that 7 years ago there were no areas for public spaces, neither schools. Present time, I’ve notice the construction of a high school, and the development of a park. Streets are completely packed because of the usage of parking, and when it hits 4-5pm traffic overloads the street, making it almost impossible to get in my parking spot. This, however is only when I drive. When I commute in public transportation, I’ve notice that the typical deli that used to close at 7pm now stays open until 11-12pm. The bus line runs packed, and they also change the line to limited because of the extremely amount of people. The bus takes you to the train line, where it hits the major street; Queens Blvd. The boulevard is big, and the city extended many of their turning lanes because of the demand of cars. One last thing to be mentioned is the construction of a new residential building right on the Boulevard. Couple of years ago before they started building the residential space, they constructed another building across the street making me analyze that the demand of living around the area has increased incredibly.

Walking seems too far me, except every day walking to the train station. As Jonn Elledge said walking refresh our mind, and walking in the City is not only a walk but to recognize and get familiar to the City. However, some people just don’t like walking, just like me. My opinion is, when there is an easier, faster, and safer way to get to a destination, why not using it! An aimless walking could be dangerous, especially when walking by yourself, because you never know what kind of people you will encounter, a drunker, a robber, or maybe a killer?

I love walking and knowing new places. After I read “Urban Walking isn’t just Good for the Soul,” I realized that I been doing the rights things for me and the city. It is vital that we walked around seeing things that are unseen by just watching. As New Yorkers we need to be observed everything more carefully. It’s important to know how a city works and what parts we play in helping the city to work. I agree with the reading that when you walk, it helps your body, your mind, your peace, this was one of the primary reasons why I walk, and I love it.

 

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.

Typically my personality, I love traveling and visit new places to see new things that I had never seen before. But my everyday walk from home to the train station is a different story, it is like walking dead. I don’t really recognize a lot of details and places in my neighborhood. In my opinion, I think this happens because your neighborhood is always there. For example, every time I say, “I want to discover new places around me”. In 5 seconds I change my mind and say, “no maybe later, it is always there next to me”. That’s why we always seek to look for new and far places because everything hidden is always more interesting. According to the article “Urban walking isn’t just good for the soul”, it shows that repetition is so boring. Especially when you see the same thing every day, you get to a point that you can’t even see anything new in that same place.