We started class this year looking at census data so that we all have a picture of what the current state of Brooklyn is today. Next we are going to write a personal narrative in which each of you reflects on your own personal connection to Brooklyn. By now you have all read and become familiar with the Colson Whitehead essay, “City Limits.” Whitehead contends that everyone has a private definition of New York, and that each experience we have adds another brick to our New York story. To better understand our own Brooklyn stories it is important to clarify in writing what Brooklyn means to each of us. Your 2nd large writing assignment will be an exploration of your own private New York, entitled “My Brooklyn (if you live in another borough you can write about that borough).”
Below are the guidelines to writing your essay:
The assignment should be 2 pages minimum and 4 pages maximum (1-2 pages typed).
Writing Prompts:
What is “your Brooklyn?”
How has “your Brooklyn” changed in your life?
Life in “your Brooklyn” and/or your neighborhood (People, the streets, communities, etc.)
Sights, sounds and smells in “your Brooklyn”
Early memories, important memories
Something you wish was still around
Something new
Population change
Trends you notice (new buildings, stores, etc.)
Techniques you must use in your paper:
Detailed Description: make sure your reader can create a picture in their head of what you are explaining in your writing.
Commentary: This means adding your opinions and how you feel about “your Brooklyn” and the changes that have happened (remember the Bronx slideshow).
This is a summative assessment and will count towards your academic mastery grade!
Using the data you gathered while exploring the census, write a 1 – 2 page summary that addresses the following issues.This summary is a summative assessment and thus reflects your understanding of the issues below and will count towards your grade for the first marking period.This summary needs to be typed. While writing make sure to use correct sentence structure, and to check for grammar and spelling.
1.General observations and patterns of Brooklyn based on the 2 – 3 zip code areas you studied (one of which should be your own zip code).
2.Specific examples and/or citations from the data that support your inferences and patterns you noticed
3.Questions that were raised for you about the data that you observed.
4.State which questions were most interesting to you, making sure that these questions fall on the higher levels of Costa’s chart.
5.How does this information compare to your original perceptions?
Example Summary:
I looked closely at the zip codes 11215, 11229 and 11226.The communities that make up these zip codes include Park Slope (11215), SheepsheadBay (11229) and parts of Prospect Park South, Flatbush and East Flatbush (11226).Some basic general observations are that these areas are racially segregated.A high percentage of whites live in 11215 and 11229, while Asians also live in 11229 and 11226 has a predominantly black population.
One thing of interest to me was that the white populations of 11215 and 11229 were actually quite different.11215 had a much higher percentage of people earning $200,000 or more a year, while 11229 hovered between less than $30,000 - $75,000 per year.In addition, there was a much higher percentage of foreign born residents in 11229 than in 11215, where, overall, the percentage of foreign born residents decreased from 2000. There was also a higher percentage of Asians in 11229, who were concentrated into specific areas of the zip code.This made me wonder:Where did the population in 11229 come from, and were they from similar regions of the world, which seems like it is basically true in Brooklyn?What as going on the neighborhood, that there was a close knit group of Asians in only part of it?Also, I wondered where my perceptions that “white neighborhoods” generally consist of upper-middle-class to wealthy residents comes from?
I also noticed that within 11215 there were census tracts that were more or less diverse in terms of race, income and education.Generally, the whitest, wealthiest and highest level of education was next to ProspectPark, while a more diverse group of people lived near Fourth Avenue.This made me wonder:Why are these two areas so different?If I were to walk these areas, might I see a difference in housing quality, or amenities?Also, I wondered if there was a correlation between the fact that there was an overall decrease in foreign born population in Park Slope with its predominantly white character? I know that Park Slope used to have a much higher Hispanic population.Is the population staying but they are no longer foreign born, or is this population leaving?
Another point of interest to me was that both the communities of 11215 and 11226 border ProspectPark and yet are very different.11226 has a predominantly black population.It also has a very high percentage of foreign born.I also noticed that while there is an overall density of population across both zip codes, that 11226 had a higher density per census tract.This made me wonder:Are families larger in 11226?Or is housing denser, for example, are there larger apartment buildings vs. single or two-family homes in Park Slope? How does housing get planned and built? Who decides what kind of housing goes where? In 11215, the wealthier residents live by the park, yet in 11226, residents with much-lower income also live by the park.Is it possible that living by the park is more desirable in 11215 for some reason?
This data confirmed some of my perceptions of Brooklyn while challenging others.I believed Brooklyn to be a segregated borough, and that was confirmed.Yet, I also believed that white neighborhoods in Brooklyn were concentrated nearer Manhattan, and I was surprised to find a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn that was primarily White and working class. 11229 was also the most integrated of the neighborhoods I observed with a mix of Asians and Whites.In my own neighborhood of 11215, I knew to be true that the area was becoming less diverse.I noticed a decrease in foreign born population, and I imagine that is related to the decrease in diversity but that might not be so.I would need to do further research to find that out.
My main questions center around the issue of what is it that prompts people to settle where they do?Clearly, race is a factor, but it is not the only factor.How does housing type influence where people live?What is the most important factor in guiding people to settle where they do in Brooklyn, and is it possible to create neighborhoods that are more diverse? What would that take?
Click on the link above to view the photo slide show we viewed in class. When you get to the webpage, scroll down and click on the interactive multimedia feature. You may also preview other photo slide shows in the series, "The New Brooklyns: Portrait of a changing Borough" as we will show them in class eventually.
