Professors Montgomery and Leonard

Film Reflection

After watching the film my Brooklyn, it became more prevalent to me that the neighborhoods around the city have communities that are defined by the people who inhabit them.  Every community in the city that has been successful has taken years to build along with dedicated people wanting to improve the environment around them.  It became increasing clear that once a developer is given close to free reign over improving a neighborhood, it will destroy the sense of community that families have been building there for generations.   The Citizen Jane movie showed me that it is not in the best interest of the community and the city for neighborhoods that have been defined and lived in to be torn down for public housing to be built in its place.  The new housing not only looks more like a computer designed them but the housing style destroys any sense of community with no one wanting to get to know there neighbors, and people spending more time in there houses then on the street with there neighbors.  The film Human scale was very interesting as it showed how when new Yorkers were given the space to actually sit and enjoy a meal or talk to strangers they actually used it.  When parts of Broadway street were converted into areas for civilians to use instead of cars it really showed to me how appealing it is to actually have a place to sit in the city that wasn’t a park.  I feel that public space in new york city is a must and should be utilized more as while this is a city of 8 million people, we rarely know the person standing next to us, maybe the public space will help with that or at the very least give us more space to hang out with the friends that you do know.

1 Comment

  1. Connie Koo

    Hey Jake,
    I agree with you that public space in NYC is a must. Public spaces have different uses and meanings in each neighborhood and community. It is vital that we protect public space because a cities become denser, access to green public spaces will become even more important. Green areas can lower people’s stress levels and overall enhance the well being in cities. Public spaces have the power to connect people and make life better.

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