Monday, November 30, 2009
Neighborhood Photo Essay Project Due 11/30
Your final project is the day we return from Turkey-Day Vacation. Remember we are having a presentation day in class!!!
Predictions Summary
Example Overview: PREDICTIONS
Park Slope is in its Third Wave of Gentrification. It is hard to imagine that the neighborhood could get much more upscale. Before the recession hit the country, Park Slope was developing along Fourth Avenue into Third Avenue, and south towards Twentieth Street. Now that we are in an economic downturn I predict that development will occur at a slower pace. This does not mean that the neighborhood will not continue to develop however. I believe that once the economy picks up that the area will continue to attract residents with upper-middle-class incomes, and that the upscale shops and restaurants and expensive housing will continue their spread. I hope that the diversity of people that live in the neighborhood south of Ninth Street and along Fourth Avenue remains, and, because these areas are last to develop, perhaps it will be so. I believe Park Slope will continue to be a desirable place for families because of its excellent schools, parks and other amenities. Unless there is a huge shift, I believe that more and more people will be migrating to Brooklyn to live and that Park Slope has developed the reputation for being an excellent place to settle down. This means that the neighborhood will only become more crowded, more popular and more expensive. Buy now! That’s the way to stay.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE PREDICTIONS
Which trends in your neighborhood do you think will continue?
Which trends do you think will end or reverse?
Who do you think will live in your neighborhood in 5, 10, 15 years?
What do you think is best for the neighborhood and the people who live in it?
Park Slope is in its Third Wave of Gentrification. It is hard to imagine that the neighborhood could get much more upscale. Before the recession hit the country, Park Slope was developing along Fourth Avenue into Third Avenue, and south towards Twentieth Street. Now that we are in an economic downturn I predict that development will occur at a slower pace. This does not mean that the neighborhood will not continue to develop however. I believe that once the economy picks up that the area will continue to attract residents with upper-middle-class incomes, and that the upscale shops and restaurants and expensive housing will continue their spread. I hope that the diversity of people that live in the neighborhood south of Ninth Street and along Fourth Avenue remains, and, because these areas are last to develop, perhaps it will be so. I believe Park Slope will continue to be a desirable place for families because of its excellent schools, parks and other amenities. Unless there is a huge shift, I believe that more and more people will be migrating to Brooklyn to live and that Park Slope has developed the reputation for being an excellent place to settle down. This means that the neighborhood will only become more crowded, more popular and more expensive. Buy now! That’s the way to stay.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE PREDICTIONS
Which trends in your neighborhood do you think will continue?
Which trends do you think will end or reverse?
Who do you think will live in your neighborhood in 5, 10, 15 years?
What do you think is best for the neighborhood and the people who live in it?
Personal Neighborhood Connection Summary
Example Overview: PERSONAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Walking down the street in Park Slope I am bound to run into someone that I know, be it an acquaintance or a good friend. It is rare that I take a straight path home because I want to dip into any number of stores or coffee shops, to grab a cup of tea, a coffee, or to say hello to someone. When I moved here 15 years ago it was hard to imagine that this neighborhood, let alone NYC, would ever feel like home, but it has become so. Park Slope is the place where I matured into an adult, where I became truly independent, and where I began building my private New York.
Over the 15 years that I have lived here I have seen the neighborhood change a great deal. Fifth Avenue has sprouted into a boutique store and restaurant mecca, the rents have gotten much higher, and the amount of young families has at least doubled. Its hard to believe that the “fancying up” of Park Slope has happened, as the neighborhood when I moved here was still affordable for a young person making very little money in a non-profit job. At that time there were more mom-and-pop shops, and more of a funky vibe that has all but disappeared. Still, there are things that have remained the same, and for which I am thankful. Prospect Park continues to be a haven for all of the communities that surround it, and the neighborhood maintains its community feel – whether that means organizing block parties, watching any number of parades down Seventh Avenue, or just going out on errands and seeing people stopping to chat with each other on the sidewalk.
Park Slope holds numerous places that have become part of my personal landscape and where I have developed layers of memories. Like all people, the memories I hold are both joyful and painful, but that just makes my experience in the area all the more rich. I am grateful for what the neighborhood has offered me and am glad that after so many years I am still living here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE PERSONAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Include the following details in personal neighborhood piece:
What you like to do in the neighborhood
How long you have lived there
Whether or not you feel a part of your community
Why the neighborhood is important to you (if it is)
FEEL FREE TO ADD OTHER DETAILS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU
Walking down the street in Park Slope I am bound to run into someone that I know, be it an acquaintance or a good friend. It is rare that I take a straight path home because I want to dip into any number of stores or coffee shops, to grab a cup of tea, a coffee, or to say hello to someone. When I moved here 15 years ago it was hard to imagine that this neighborhood, let alone NYC, would ever feel like home, but it has become so. Park Slope is the place where I matured into an adult, where I became truly independent, and where I began building my private New York.
Over the 15 years that I have lived here I have seen the neighborhood change a great deal. Fifth Avenue has sprouted into a boutique store and restaurant mecca, the rents have gotten much higher, and the amount of young families has at least doubled. Its hard to believe that the “fancying up” of Park Slope has happened, as the neighborhood when I moved here was still affordable for a young person making very little money in a non-profit job. At that time there were more mom-and-pop shops, and more of a funky vibe that has all but disappeared. Still, there are things that have remained the same, and for which I am thankful. Prospect Park continues to be a haven for all of the communities that surround it, and the neighborhood maintains its community feel – whether that means organizing block parties, watching any number of parades down Seventh Avenue, or just going out on errands and seeing people stopping to chat with each other on the sidewalk.
Park Slope holds numerous places that have become part of my personal landscape and where I have developed layers of memories. Like all people, the memories I hold are both joyful and painful, but that just makes my experience in the area all the more rich. I am grateful for what the neighborhood has offered me and am glad that after so many years I am still living here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE PERSONAL NEIGHBORHOOD
Include the following details in personal neighborhood piece:
What you like to do in the neighborhood
How long you have lived there
Whether or not you feel a part of your community
Why the neighborhood is important to you (if it is)
FEEL FREE TO ADD OTHER DETAILS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU
Character of Neighborhood Summary
Example Overview: CHARACTER OF GREENPOINT
Greenpoints’ character changes depending upon which part of the neighborhood you are in. If you are walking along Manhattan Avenue from Greenpoint Avenue towards Newtown Creek, you will see a mix of young hipsters, Polish residents and Puerto-Rican old timers. People often are hanging out in front of stores, talking to friends, often with a dog, speaking in English, Spanish or Polish. It is not an uncommon site to see older women with scarves tied around their heads pushing shopping carts of groceries, or on their way to one of the large Catholic churches in the community. The industrial past of Greenpoint is evident everywhere you look – old factory buildings line the water’s edge and piles of lumber still exist ready to be picked up by construction workers. The side streets are primarily residential with small wooden or stone walk-up homes, trees and fences. The commercial streets have a mix of Polish bakeries, 99cent stores, and fancy boutiques. Southern Greenpoint has more new development and is closer to McCarren Park where all neighborhood residents use the fields to play soccer, softball, or in the case of the young hipsters, dodgeball. On summer weekends Greenpoint is a crowded attraction, though it is not uncommon to walk some of the more industrial streets during a weekday and feel as if you are the only person who exists in the world.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - Include the following details in your character overview:
What do you see when you are walking down the street?
Who do you see when you are walking down the street?
Where do people hang out and what do they do while hanging out? (shop, eat, sit on stoops, play ball, hang-out, barbecue, block parties, get their hair done, argue, stay inside etc.)
Languages spoken
Types of shops
Where there are residences, businesses and factories
If its noisy or quiet, empty or crowded
What types of buildings you can see (single-family homes, apartment buildings, housing projects, two-story walk-ups, etc.)
What makes your neighborhood unique?
Greenpoints’ character changes depending upon which part of the neighborhood you are in. If you are walking along Manhattan Avenue from Greenpoint Avenue towards Newtown Creek, you will see a mix of young hipsters, Polish residents and Puerto-Rican old timers. People often are hanging out in front of stores, talking to friends, often with a dog, speaking in English, Spanish or Polish. It is not an uncommon site to see older women with scarves tied around their heads pushing shopping carts of groceries, or on their way to one of the large Catholic churches in the community. The industrial past of Greenpoint is evident everywhere you look – old factory buildings line the water’s edge and piles of lumber still exist ready to be picked up by construction workers. The side streets are primarily residential with small wooden or stone walk-up homes, trees and fences. The commercial streets have a mix of Polish bakeries, 99cent stores, and fancy boutiques. Southern Greenpoint has more new development and is closer to McCarren Park where all neighborhood residents use the fields to play soccer, softball, or in the case of the young hipsters, dodgeball. On summer weekends Greenpoint is a crowded attraction, though it is not uncommon to walk some of the more industrial streets during a weekday and feel as if you are the only person who exists in the world.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD - Include the following details in your character overview:
What do you see when you are walking down the street?
Who do you see when you are walking down the street?
Where do people hang out and what do they do while hanging out? (shop, eat, sit on stoops, play ball, hang-out, barbecue, block parties, get their hair done, argue, stay inside etc.)
Languages spoken
Types of shops
Where there are residences, businesses and factories
If its noisy or quiet, empty or crowded
What types of buildings you can see (single-family homes, apartment buildings, housing projects, two-story walk-ups, etc.)
What makes your neighborhood unique?
Trends Summary
Example Overview: TRENDS OF GREENPOINT
Like much of New York City, Greenpoint has been changing a great deal in the past ten years. Prior to the late 1990s, the most prevalent trend in Greenpoint was immigration. Greenpoint was the neighborhood with the highest population of Polish residents in all of New York City, and anyone walking the Greenpoint streets would see Polish bakeries, restaurants, stores and the Polish language on many signs. While there is still a strong Polish presence, the neighborhood’s demographics have recently changed quite a bit. Starting in the late 1980s, young artists and students began to make their way into the largely abandoned and run-down loft spaces alongside the East River and Newtown Creek. This was the first wave of gentrification, and while Greenpoint wasn’t speeding through the process as fast as its neighbor, Williamsburg, the new population was still laying down its roots. McCarren Park, the park that separates Greenpoint from Williamsburg began to be developed with condominiums in the early 2000s, and this change greatly impacted the community. Young people wishing to move to rapidly gentrifying Williamsburg found that Williamsburg was too expensive, and therefore looked to Greenpoint as a more affordable option. Prior to the recession of late 2008, Greenpoint looked as though it would go the way of its next-door neighbor – homes were being renovated, restored and new condominiums were bringing in residents with a higher income. Boutique clothing stores, high-end coffee shops, restaurants and bars, as well as independent bookstores began to sprout in Greenpoint. Though the recession has stopped gentrification’s spread for now, the neighborhood is primed and ready for more newcomers when the economy picks up.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE A TRENDS OVERVIEW
Description of trends you can see while visiting the neighborhood
When these trends began to appear in the area
Any reasons for why these trends are occurring
How the trends are impacting the neighborhood (bringing new people in, or upgrading the neighborhood, or displacing people, or diversifying the neighborhood, etc.)
Like much of New York City, Greenpoint has been changing a great deal in the past ten years. Prior to the late 1990s, the most prevalent trend in Greenpoint was immigration. Greenpoint was the neighborhood with the highest population of Polish residents in all of New York City, and anyone walking the Greenpoint streets would see Polish bakeries, restaurants, stores and the Polish language on many signs. While there is still a strong Polish presence, the neighborhood’s demographics have recently changed quite a bit. Starting in the late 1980s, young artists and students began to make their way into the largely abandoned and run-down loft spaces alongside the East River and Newtown Creek. This was the first wave of gentrification, and while Greenpoint wasn’t speeding through the process as fast as its neighbor, Williamsburg, the new population was still laying down its roots. McCarren Park, the park that separates Greenpoint from Williamsburg began to be developed with condominiums in the early 2000s, and this change greatly impacted the community. Young people wishing to move to rapidly gentrifying Williamsburg found that Williamsburg was too expensive, and therefore looked to Greenpoint as a more affordable option. Prior to the recession of late 2008, Greenpoint looked as though it would go the way of its next-door neighbor – homes were being renovated, restored and new condominiums were bringing in residents with a higher income. Boutique clothing stores, high-end coffee shops, restaurants and bars, as well as independent bookstores began to sprout in Greenpoint. Though the recession has stopped gentrification’s spread for now, the neighborhood is primed and ready for more newcomers when the economy picks up.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE A TRENDS OVERVIEW
Description of trends you can see while visiting the neighborhood
When these trends began to appear in the area
Any reasons for why these trends are occurring
How the trends are impacting the neighborhood (bringing new people in, or upgrading the neighborhood, or displacing people, or diversifying the neighborhood, etc.)
Monday, November 23, 2009
First Summar - History and Introduction Due 11/23
Example Overview: INTRODUCTION TO and HISTORY OF GREENPOINT
The neighborhood of Greenpoint is situated at the very northern end of the borough of Brooklyn. It is separated from Queens by a three-mile long body of water called Newtown Creek, which at one point was as busy an industrial waterway as the entire Mississippi River. Greenpoint is actually a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides. Along with Newtown Creek to the north and the East River to the neighborhood’s west, Bushwick Inlet lies to the south, dividing the area from its neighboring community, Williamsburg. Water has played a large role in the history of the neighborhood, from the time that the Lenape Indians fished along Newtown Creek’s shores, to the Industrial Revolution when the port of New York housed numerous factories on the bank of Greenpoint. Walking along the streets of Greenpoint today it is easy to see the neighborhood’s industrial history. Abandoned factories stand side by side with small manufacturing businesses. Newtown Creek remains one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country due to a great amount of illegal dumping of toxic chemicals during its industrial heyday. However, despite this blight on the community, the neighborhood is thriving. The water treatment plant has just been remodeled, and along with it a new city park has been built. The area holds a strong Polish community that own many shops and restaurants, and attend several large and beautiful churches. In addition, for the past ten years the area has been gentrifying, and a walk along Manhattan Avenue today will bring you past Thai restaurants, boutiques and organic grocery stores. Still, the most compelling feature of the neighborhood is Newtown Creek itself. While it is hard to imagine what it was like when many barges were going back and forth, carrying goods such as lumber, oil, glass and sugar, the creek remains the neighborhood’s focal point and reason for being.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OVERVIEW
Where your neighborhood is located in Brooklyn (south, north, east, west, middle)
Basic geographical features (next to water, landlocked, hilly, flat, etc.)
Why the neighborhood developed (for example: industrial history, or a “bedroom community” for commuters to Manhattan, or farmland that turned into residences)
What remains of the history of the neighborhood today (old buildings, or
undeveloped land, or old shops, or brownstones built to house wealthy, early commuters)
Who has lived in the area over the years
A quick summary of how the neighborhood has changed
Any interesting facts
The neighborhood of Greenpoint is situated at the very northern end of the borough of Brooklyn. It is separated from Queens by a three-mile long body of water called Newtown Creek, which at one point was as busy an industrial waterway as the entire Mississippi River. Greenpoint is actually a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides. Along with Newtown Creek to the north and the East River to the neighborhood’s west, Bushwick Inlet lies to the south, dividing the area from its neighboring community, Williamsburg. Water has played a large role in the history of the neighborhood, from the time that the Lenape Indians fished along Newtown Creek’s shores, to the Industrial Revolution when the port of New York housed numerous factories on the bank of Greenpoint. Walking along the streets of Greenpoint today it is easy to see the neighborhood’s industrial history. Abandoned factories stand side by side with small manufacturing businesses. Newtown Creek remains one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country due to a great amount of illegal dumping of toxic chemicals during its industrial heyday. However, despite this blight on the community, the neighborhood is thriving. The water treatment plant has just been remodeled, and along with it a new city park has been built. The area holds a strong Polish community that own many shops and restaurants, and attend several large and beautiful churches. In addition, for the past ten years the area has been gentrifying, and a walk along Manhattan Avenue today will bring you past Thai restaurants, boutiques and organic grocery stores. Still, the most compelling feature of the neighborhood is Newtown Creek itself. While it is hard to imagine what it was like when many barges were going back and forth, carrying goods such as lumber, oil, glass and sugar, the creek remains the neighborhood’s focal point and reason for being.
OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OVERVIEW
Where your neighborhood is located in Brooklyn (south, north, east, west, middle)
Basic geographical features (next to water, landlocked, hilly, flat, etc.)
Why the neighborhood developed (for example: industrial history, or a “bedroom community” for commuters to Manhattan, or farmland that turned into residences)
What remains of the history of the neighborhood today (old buildings, or
undeveloped land, or old shops, or brownstones built to house wealthy, early commuters)
Who has lived in the area over the years
A quick summary of how the neighborhood has changed
Any interesting facts
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Check out this Link!
This link has good examples of how to write photo captions.
http://www.urban75.org/photos/newyork/greenpoint-brooklyn.html
http://www.urban75.org/photos/newyork/greenpoint-brooklyn.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)