As an international student who has just freshly arrived in America few weeks ago, I have been to many different cities for educational purposes. The most memorable city in my opinion was Seoul, the capital city of South Korea where I had spent half of my life. Seoul is an amazing city that is smaller than Atlanta yet holds a huge population even bigger than the population of entire Canada. The atmosphere of the city is always crowded and busy, but it surely does possess a charm that can draw everybody in.
The very first impression of the Seoul is that it is like a forest instead apartments being trees, and cars being millions of creatures. The tall buildings and apartments stand almost everywhere, and the long traffic jam sometimes suffocates me just by watching it. On the very centre of Seoul, a huge statue of Lee Soon Shin general stands still. He is the most renowned navy captain that fought against Japanese navies in Japan's aggression to Korean. It is quite bewildering since there is a little park around the statue, and it is placed on the right centre of huge traffic.
Seoul is more amazing in night time. Lights of hundreds of buildings illuminate the city, and the street is still teeming with people even after midnight. Dongdaemun that is placed on the east side of Seoul is a fashion mecca of South Korea. Thousands of clothing stores are concentrated on this area, and surprisingly the peak time when most people come is after midnight. Along the street of Dongdaemun, copious of snack stalls that sell a bunch of appetizer and drinks greet people that come and go out of the stores.
According to Suburban Nation, my community can be classified as a sprawl due to its dominant separation of communication and life. However, it still holds a portion of traditional aspect as one can see in the statue at the centre of the city or the Dongdaemun that still holds its cultural tradition for more than 800 years. After all, Seoul is the combination of both sprawl and traditional aspects. The old statue has been modernized with the centre park for everyone, and Dongdaemun market has been renovated for more convenience while still grasping its tradition. I strongly disagree with the notion that sprawl is 'good', and tradition is 'bad.' It is just an stereotypical image that the sprawl city lacks communication and the old towns are more affinitive. There are still a lot of places that are rational, consistent, and comprehensive; blaming the lack of communication on social tendency is just a bad excuse.
-Geon Hui Yun
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
How to Describe Virginia Beach?
I moved around a lot as a child because my father was in the army, so it’s hard to describe a hometown. I “grew up” in many different cities so I don’t know a great deal about any one of them. The most recent city in which I lived was Virginia Beach, Virginia. I loved Virginia Beach because there was always something to do and curfew wasn’t enforced even when it applied to me.
I moved to Virginia Beach when I was thirteen and enjoyed being there almost every minute. From where I lived, I could walk to the ocean front along the boardwalk and see live performances by amateur bands. And if I didn’t feel like walking, I could always ride the trolley around the city and get the full experience of the ocean front. All along the beach, huge statues have been erected to depict ocean scenery and ocean related themes. For instance, there is a huge statue of Poseidon on the boardwalk where Twenty-Fifth Street meets the ocean front.
In addition, during the summer, there are sandcastle competitions that would completely shock anyone who saw the structures that can be built from sand. Also, the East Coast Surfing Championship is held in Virginia Beach and, although the waves don’t get very big, it is still fun to watch. And as far as traditions go, every February, there is an event called the Polar Plunge where anyone who wants to participate can dive into the ice cold water just for the thrill of it. I have never done the Polar Plunge because I’m not crazy.
In comparison to Molly’s hometown, VB has a few similarities and many differences. For example, to get to the parts of VB where the stores and restaurants are, a car is necessary. In fact, most of the big establishments are closer to Norfolk than VB. But, there aren’t many open fields, besides the ocean front, for golf courses or things of that sort in VB. In fact, there was only one golf course in the city that I knew of and it was located in a neighborhood for members only.
VB has a very big difference in financial status in regards to the citizens. Some families with lots of money live on the ocean front or in closed gate communities where every house is the same. In my particular neighborhood though, no two houses were the same. The smaller, one floor houses are in the front of the neighborhood and the larger houses are deeper into the neighborhood. I say no two houses are the same because a great deal of my neighbors were architects or in some way designed their own house.
Suburban Nation states that my hometown is considered sprawl but I like that it is a “sprawl-like” city. The fact that one can go to the busier parts of the city to accomplish their errands and go back home to enjoy themselves sounds perfect to me.
-- Michael Saunders
I moved around a lot as a child because my father was in the army, so it’s hard to describe a hometown. I “grew up” in many different cities so I don’t know a great deal about any one of them. The most recent city in which I lived was Virginia Beach, Virginia. I loved Virginia Beach because there was always something to do and curfew wasn’t enforced even when it applied to me.
I moved to Virginia Beach when I was thirteen and enjoyed being there almost every minute. From where I lived, I could walk to the ocean front along the boardwalk and see live performances by amateur bands. And if I didn’t feel like walking, I could always ride the trolley around the city and get the full experience of the ocean front. All along the beach, huge statues have been erected to depict ocean scenery and ocean related themes. For instance, there is a huge statue of Poseidon on the boardwalk where Twenty-Fifth Street meets the ocean front.
In addition, during the summer, there are sandcastle competitions that would completely shock anyone who saw the structures that can be built from sand. Also, the East Coast Surfing Championship is held in Virginia Beach and, although the waves don’t get very big, it is still fun to watch. And as far as traditions go, every February, there is an event called the Polar Plunge where anyone who wants to participate can dive into the ice cold water just for the thrill of it. I have never done the Polar Plunge because I’m not crazy.
In comparison to Molly’s hometown, VB has a few similarities and many differences. For example, to get to the parts of VB where the stores and restaurants are, a car is necessary. In fact, most of the big establishments are closer to Norfolk than VB. But, there aren’t many open fields, besides the ocean front, for golf courses or things of that sort in VB. In fact, there was only one golf course in the city that I knew of and it was located in a neighborhood for members only.
VB has a very big difference in financial status in regards to the citizens. Some families with lots of money live on the ocean front or in closed gate communities where every house is the same. In my particular neighborhood though, no two houses were the same. The smaller, one floor houses are in the front of the neighborhood and the larger houses are deeper into the neighborhood. I say no two houses are the same because a great deal of my neighbors were architects or in some way designed their own house.
Suburban Nation states that my hometown is considered sprawl but I like that it is a “sprawl-like” city. The fact that one can go to the busier parts of the city to accomplish their errands and go back home to enjoy themselves sounds perfect to me.
-- Michael Saunders
What!? My Neighborhood Was Sprawl This Whole Time!?
Nicholson, Georgia. The place that saw me mature from a cute little middle school runt to a slightly more confident cute little college runt. The place that I consider my home and the place that brought me to all of my best friends. The place that I can't wait to see again every chance I get. A place that is completely and undeniably dominated by sprawl.
When I first started reading Suburban Nation and the opinions of Duany, Plater-Zyberk, and Speck, I did not want to agree with them at all. Their words seemed unfounded and pretentious. But as I read on, I slowly realized that it wasn't the words that offended me; it was the fact that I knew deep down inside that what they were saying was true and that I was a victim of the march of suburbia. My neighborhood, King's Bridge Crossing, is a giant unsalted nightmare of repetitiveness. All the houses look almost if not entirely the same, it is miles and miles from anywhere even remotely interesting, and no outlet of community activity lies anywhere on the marvelously desolate ocean of monotony that is the King's Bridge subdivision. Middle class white people rule the neighborhood while the occasional African-American owns a home here or there, but don't ask me about their ages or incomes because I don't know many of them personally.
Do I consider the neighborhood that I grew up to have been bad growth? Of course. I visited Key West, the place where my girlfriend grew up, over the summer and it was a complete eye opener for me. Ironically, despite the wild reputation of Key West, it is as traditional a place as you can get. Everything you could ever want sits within walking distance there and therefore, pedestrians and bikers take priority over cars on the road. At one point, while waiting for my girlfriend to get out of the dentist, I had the option of walking a couple feet to spend downtime in a department store, a book store, a movie theater, or her dad's work. I loved it and up until I read Suburban Nation and watched Blueprint America, I blamed my lousy position on living in the country. Sprawl is bad growth, even if it is capable of producing a community of some sort. I have seen things from both sides and I say down with suburbia.
-Andrew (Andy) Van Deventer
When I first started reading Suburban Nation and the opinions of Duany, Plater-Zyberk, and Speck, I did not want to agree with them at all. Their words seemed unfounded and pretentious. But as I read on, I slowly realized that it wasn't the words that offended me; it was the fact that I knew deep down inside that what they were saying was true and that I was a victim of the march of suburbia. My neighborhood, King's Bridge Crossing, is a giant unsalted nightmare of repetitiveness. All the houses look almost if not entirely the same, it is miles and miles from anywhere even remotely interesting, and no outlet of community activity lies anywhere on the marvelously desolate ocean of monotony that is the King's Bridge subdivision. Middle class white people rule the neighborhood while the occasional African-American owns a home here or there, but don't ask me about their ages or incomes because I don't know many of them personally.
Do I consider the neighborhood that I grew up to have been bad growth? Of course. I visited Key West, the place where my girlfriend grew up, over the summer and it was a complete eye opener for me. Ironically, despite the wild reputation of Key West, it is as traditional a place as you can get. Everything you could ever want sits within walking distance there and therefore, pedestrians and bikers take priority over cars on the road. At one point, while waiting for my girlfriend to get out of the dentist, I had the option of walking a couple feet to spend downtime in a department store, a book store, a movie theater, or her dad's work. I loved it and up until I read Suburban Nation and watched Blueprint America, I blamed my lousy position on living in the country. Sprawl is bad growth, even if it is capable of producing a community of some sort. I have seen things from both sides and I say down with suburbia.
-Andrew (Andy) Van Deventer
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
My hometown... sprawl or traditional?
Marietta, Georgia is a diverse community of various setups from traditional to modern, and it is where I grew up. In 1964, a group of men decided that they wanted to build an excellent golf course and community which is how Atlanta Country Club, my neighborhood, came about. It is located next to the ruins of a confederate paper mill, Sope Creek, and the Chattahoochee River as well as surrounding Macfarlane Park. As a child, I would play in the creek and fly kites in the vast park with my friends who I would meet while swimming in the neighborhood pool, and most of our parents were friends too through involvement in the club with activities such as golfing or tennis. In Atlanta Country Club, all of the houses are of differing structures and colors, and they all have plenty of space in between them. However, as soon as I leave my neighborhood, I am on a collector road as Duany, Plater- Zyberk and Speck classify Johnson Ferry Road. New neighborhoods with homogeneous houses line this road and are very much separate from all other aspects of life like shopping. A car is necessary to go anywhere, and even my school was a fifteen minute drive in the morning. Almost every parent must commute to Atlanta in terrible traffic for work. This environment makes it only possible for middle to upper class to live there.
After reading some of Suburban Nation, I would classify my community as a sprawl due to the way it is laid out as well as the separation of every aspect of life and of social classes. However, Atlanta Country Club in particular does have character which contradicts the idea of sprawl given in Suburban Nation and Blueprint America which classifies sprawl as being filled with bland, ordinary houses. Both of these sources portray that an area is either sprawl or traditional neighborhood, and although I think that is sometimes true, many areas like Marietta have mixes of sprawl and traditional neighborhood. Marietta has historic value, and it even has the Marietta Square even though most of its roads and neighborhoods are of the sprawl description. Therefore, I disagree with the idea that an area is either a traditional neighborhood or not one. I also feel a sense of community in Marietta even when I am in the parts that are considered sprawl. This contradicts the idea presented in Suburban Nation that all sprawl tends to alienate people. I do not agree that all sprawl is bad growth because of my own experiences although it would be nice for everything to be closer so that a car would not be necessary. I have always wanted to be able to ride my bike to areas that are close also, but the traffic makes this too dangerous. In that aspect, I agree with the authors of Suburban Nation.
- Molly Waller
After reading some of Suburban Nation, I would classify my community as a sprawl due to the way it is laid out as well as the separation of every aspect of life and of social classes. However, Atlanta Country Club in particular does have character which contradicts the idea of sprawl given in Suburban Nation and Blueprint America which classifies sprawl as being filled with bland, ordinary houses. Both of these sources portray that an area is either sprawl or traditional neighborhood, and although I think that is sometimes true, many areas like Marietta have mixes of sprawl and traditional neighborhood. Marietta has historic value, and it even has the Marietta Square even though most of its roads and neighborhoods are of the sprawl description. Therefore, I disagree with the idea that an area is either a traditional neighborhood or not one. I also feel a sense of community in Marietta even when I am in the parts that are considered sprawl. This contradicts the idea presented in Suburban Nation that all sprawl tends to alienate people. I do not agree that all sprawl is bad growth because of my own experiences although it would be nice for everything to be closer so that a car would not be necessary. I have always wanted to be able to ride my bike to areas that are close also, but the traffic makes this too dangerous. In that aspect, I agree with the authors of Suburban Nation.
- Molly Waller
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