Josh, Philip and Aparna
Do you personally believe that industrialism is good for our country?
· Its necessary, but because of long term effects, it changes the way we think and we’ve become more materialistic. Industry has changed environment we are living in in terms of transportation, production, etc. It has become more individualized… result is too much waste. It was required for us to become a world power. Created a precedent for other countries and raised the standard. If you want to become powerful, you must get into industry.
Do you see any parallels between your town and the author’s?
· Philip lives in neighborhood, woods near home. He can relate to feeling of spirit away from city, more peace and quiet. If you want to go camping its available, away from loud industry.
Does the author really make any suggestions to fix the issue he raises?
· No… I’m sure he does farther into the book but in this reading, he tends to simply point out the flaws and increase in production that is tarnishing the smaller things in life.
Would you prefer a small town with more expensive products or a large city with cheaper products?
· To live??? No Balance??? Too difficult – Aparna would rather live in city as younger, older in town. Transportation costs… reasons like that.
Bryan, Anum, and Maryelena
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think about the reading?
A: It was interesting because it was a story about his life. It was actually pretty unexpected. Then I realized he was talking about the destruction of society, saying how we’ve lost our small-town values with this modernization.
It’s funny because it’s a different take on it, because people are usually for advancement and technology, but this writer takes it from another angle by writing that we’re conforming. He also said that technology in society creates more problems., like bad parenting, drugs, because there’s nothing left to do when a town becomes so modernized!
M: He made a lot of different connections between “development” and a lot of the negative aspects of American culture, especially what people usually typify our culture with (unproductive youth, separation from a sense of community). And he also talks about the destruction of our landscape.
He connects each of those to development and they don’t have a lot to do with each other; he gives development a lot of weight and power in the community, but he blames development for the deterioration of community. He gives development too much importance.
What do you think is the importance of having a place a person can call home? A warm environment to live in?
A: Too much weight on architecture. For me, home is not a structure; it doesn’t matter if it’s some generic house or individualized place, for me it’s about the people there. Maybe he didn’t have a good experience surrounding himself with good people.
M: I felt like he just wrote that people tend to just attach themselves to things easily. For me, I moved one time and when I go back to my old house it’s not the same because the people who live there now changed it, so I’m attached to my new home.
To answer your question, it is important, I feel that the actual object differs with people but I feel that the feeling is pretty common.
Kunstler mentioned that he used to play in an abandoned estate behind his home. Given the chance, do you think kids in today’s society would do such a thing?
A: Not at all. Most kids are lazy these days and they would choose to stay inside and play video games. Even in our own neighborhoods, you see that in playgrounds only young kids want to go out, but once kids turn “game-controlling” age they want to be inside. In Pakistan, we have technology, but many of the kids from there rather run outside and play around, so that contrasts with the American way of life.
M: I think that, if given the opportunity, kids would naturally be outside playing because that’s not something were thought. I feel that the video game craze is something we’re taught, compared to a baby who will naturally run around through instinct.
We often don’t give kids the opportunity to perform physical activities and play around because we feel like kids will benefit from technology; we feel like we know better, and we don’t develop physical activities.
Do you feel you guys have a sense of community where you guys live?
A: I don’t know what a sense of community means, because this concept is drastically different to him. To me, I live in the suburbs or the “fake city,” so when I leave my neighborhood I have to drive. So I don’t know if my community means my neighborhood or city.
I feel that my neighborhood has a sense of community, but I don’t really hang out with my neighbors or know them that well. I think that my most prominent community was my school-students, parents, teachers, all that.
M: For me, I mentioned I grew up in two different communities. For me, a sense of community is knowing the people around you. In my first neighborhood, I knew everyone.
When I moved to another neighborhood where I didn’t know any of my neighbors, I felt that there wasn’t a community. It was just my house for me. So I guess that depending on where you grow up, you form a different concept as to what “community” means.
Jessica Toth Courtney Stoddard Hannah Park
ReplyDeleteJessica: Is there any importance of pausing “to think about what we are so busy building, and what we have thrown away”? Why? 10
Courtney: I think it’s more important to live for the moment but we also need to think about the future instead of seeking instant gratification. It’s human instinct to improve upon our past advances in order to have the best even if it means that it will hurt us in the future.
Hannah: I think that it’s not good to innovate for the sake of innovating or convenience. Most great things, such as the Coliseum, have been built with a specific purpose in mind. And now that our environment has become increasingly more fragile over the years, it is even more important to pay attention to how we effect our surroundings.
J: Do you think suburbia is “destruction”? Are the suburbs a good place for a child to grow up in? Does it provide a sense of community? 15
C: I think that a suburban environment is more comfortable than a city environment to raise a family because there is a better opportunity for community. However, families can get trapped in the “bubble” and often are not exposed to life like life in the city.
J:Does society depend too much on cars? 179
C: America definitely depends on cars more than other countries because of the way American cities and suburbs are located. Traveling from the suburbs to the city almost always depends on cars. Alternatives such as buses, trains, and subways are available, but not realistic. They work for people in the city, but aren’t logical for people who want to travel from the suburbs to work.
H: Cars are a huge part of the American lifestyle and culture not just because of the convenience, but because Americans like their privacy and independence. People don’t like having to depend on other methods of transportation.
J:Is it important for new buildings to appear similar to local architecture? 182
H: I understand where he’s coming from because I once saw a documentary that chronicled the settlement of an Asian community into British Columbia. There was conflict between the groups because the style of the buildings that the Asians were constructing did not fit in to the architecture of the community. The dispute over changing the image of their environment caused racial tensions within the community.
J: With the rise of suburbia, has the sense of community risen or fallen?
C: In many American shows, the suburbs are portrayed as a “Can I borrow a cup of sugar?” community. This portrayal can be accurate but isn’t always true to nature. However, there will always be a sense of community; even farmers in the middle of nowhere will have a common gas station or city hall that they will meet at. I think that it’s a part of human nature to seek community.
H: From my experience, you can develop a tight-knight community in the suburbs if you’ve grown up in it. Going to school, playing sports, hanging out at a diner will lead to relationships with your neighbors. On the other hand, communities in cities are hard to develop because people come and go so fast that you don’t have the chance to build relationships.
Diana: “80% of all that has been built in America has been built within the last 50 years” Why do you think Americans recently have started to feel the need to keep building more and more seemingly unnecessary structures and products?
ReplyDeleteAmanda: The population is growing exponentially so we need more room to hold everyone.
Jackie: The way our society is moving toward, it needs to be big and we aren’t satisfied by small things any more. No one really appreciates the small town.
D: He says that teen life was reduced to basically smoking pot in basements or waiting for your license due to a lack of public gathering places. Do you agree that all of the developments and new neighborhoods in suburbs diminished entertainment and put teens into a “coma”?
A: I agree; that’s how my town was. There was nothing to do besides the movies or mall nowhere to meet.
J: That’s literally how it is in my town. Everyone waited for the first person to get his or her license and then that person drove everyone.
D: Why do you think he says the “process of destruction” suburbia has brought is our economy? How does it affect the state of our economy?
A: Everyone here is obsessed with getting everything cheaper, so stores like Target and Walmart make it easier and cheaper rather than the mom and pop stores.
J: Our economy could work efficiently if we went back to small town but it’s easier to be big. The government promotes this lifestyle by supporting big businesses and corporations.
D: Later he says that as the national economy grew, local economies ceased to matter. What do you think of that? Do you agree?
A: I agree because there is definitely an obvious shift as the government started promoting larger businesses.
J: I agree too, and it was too hard for the local economies to ever easily exist.
D: What do you think the lack of community has done to our society as a whole? We talked in class about how fast food has ruined a lot of it by destroying the typical family dinner, so do you think building all of these houses has had the same effect or maybe even worse?
A: Our society is moving away from community, so it’s much less important. Society doesn’t value relationships as much as it does cheap food.
J: Both do the same thing: both take away importance of eating together and spending time with the people that mean something to you and hurt building relationships.
D: At the end, he says that he believes we are entering a time where small towns will be valued again. If they are so damaged already, how do you think society might go about fixing them? Do you ever think small towns today could be like the ideological small town from pre-WWII?
A: I kind of don’t; People seem to like idea of small town, but I don’t think you can put a person who grew up in the city into a small town. Unless society itself has a revolution the mindset won’t change because it is so obsessed with accessibility.
J: I was kind of confused by that; It was thrown in last minute and he never really explains why he thinks that. Small towns are cool and unique but I don’t know if a huge group would want to go back to that, they just appreciate the idea of them.
Neeki: What first thoughts did you have after reading the article?
ReplyDeleteLeah: I was interested that this piece had a negative opinion of technology and advancements, because typically most people only have positive things to say. I also must agree that in cities we have lost a lot of neighborhood relationships that you have in a small town.
Eric: I actually don’t think that nowadays people are having negative opinions on technology and its advancements. But I also agree that cities have lost a lot of typical neighborhood relations like those in small towns.
Neeki: Yeah, cities definitely do not have the same relationships that can be found in small towns, but that’s just inevitable. So, in other terms, do you view the rise of cities as a good or bad thing?
Eric: I think that it is good in some respects. Living in the city gives people a new experience that they can’t find living anywhere else. The opportunities are endless. It is also a lot easier for younger people who don’t have the money to afford a car and car insurance.
Neeki: Do you think that our society relies too much on cars?
Leah: In the city, I don’t think that people are too dependent on cars because many walk, bike, or ride the metro. In the suburbs, people are far too dependent on cars. I’m from a small town, and I’ve noticed this phenomena. To walk anywhere would take you at least an hour. People are dependent because it is necessary. If there were busses working then maybe that would help.
Neeki: Do you guys agree that new buildings should be built similarly to their surrounding buildings?
Leah: In most cases, I think that they should remain similar. This way, there is one image for the community as opposed to many different styles.
Eric: I agree with Leah. In places like Georgetown, they cannot change the way buildings look. This is so because Georgetown can therefore keep its look of how it used to be. Had they added a new, tall, glass building in the middle of the city, it would not look right.
Neeki: Yeah, I also agree with that. Do you guys think cities or suburbs have a greater sense of community?
Leah: I think that suburbs have a greater sense of community because there are not as many people who inhabit it, and it is easier to get to know people when you see them often. In the city, there are so many different people around every day that it makes it difficult to build personal connections.
Eric: At the same time, I think cities can also have a sense of community. Although in a city you can’t quite know everyone, you can still have a sense of community. Surely it is not the same type of feel as a suburb, but it is definitely possible to connect with the surrounding environment and the people who live in it.
Neeki: I live in a suburb and think that nowadays, some suburbs are getting to be like cities. Where I’m from, I don’t know everyone and it kind of has a city feel to it even though it is a suburb. So I guess, in that respect, it depends. Can either of you relate to the author’s town?
Leah: Yes, my town is very small and peaceful. I can definitely relate to the feeling of being in a place where you have the land to freely do whatever you want.
Greg Sarah and Dylan
ReplyDeleteG: Kunstler talks a lot about how growth is destroying the world, but because growth is basically inevitable, what growth do you think he thinks will benefit the world? He mentions how since industrialism, the environment has flopped and everything is very focused on a "more for less" attitude where exponentially increasing growth is ultimately hurting ourselves.
S: I don't necessarily think that he would want to expand forests or increase greenery. I think he is thinking more along the lines of a retardation of growth to compensate for the growth that has taken away from our natural earth. He wants people to focus on less consumption.
D: In terms of buildings and growth in terms of construction, I think he'd rather see buildings that are of more importance and use. For example, he talks about his college in the small town and how that college allows the town to flourish into a success. So he'd probably support growth with a purpose. And maybe even factories, just on a more controlled scale.
G: Okay, react to his line "it was scaled to people, not cars" in reference to the town of Brockport and minimalism.
S: It's interesting that he would say that in our society we would even think about scaling something to cars as opposed to people because we live in such a techno-centric era. Our concerns are mainly based off of our creations. It's not only technology either, its entire cities that are scaled beyond just humans. All of it seems to be taking away from Kunstler's idea of a natural environment and ideal landscape.
D: Yeah it reminds me of minimalism. But what he doesn't realize is what would happen if we all were to live a minimalistic life. It just isn't very realistic to think that more developed areas can just scale down their new environment. I think it works for smaller towns like Brockport not big cities like New York.
G: Do you think there is a point in changing the world we live in and why? And what do you think might happen if the world/America does start changing?
S: Well its sad to say, but a lot of people think we've doomed ourselves beyond repair. But I know people really respond to campaigns to improve ourselves. Or, as I mentioned in class, how Japan decreased its tuna intake by a pretty large percentage, but I just don't see something similar being possible in America.
D: Well I think it's within a realm of possibility to get rid of the ugly gray rectangles that makes up our cities, but use more aesthetically pleasing architecture. I think that alone will improve.