Blog Exercise Seven

Through out the 20th century we have seen the development of a true global economy in an increasingly interconnected world. Today cities all over the world look more and more similar with an emerging image of the ideal metropolis through global advertising and the necessity of a central business district with certain primary functions. Cities of the global south are now geared towards the markets of the global north and must compete with these economies on all levels. This idea is facilitated by a growing global middle class, currently 50 percent of the worlds population, with discretionary income and a desire to participate in the global market. Today supplies can be shipped all over the world allowing the actual components of city building to be universalized. Popular culture, food, and even clothing stores are no longer confined to a particular region and are a clear indication of this new global metropolis. As a result, major cities all over the globe have iconic features which provide their own unique identity and distinguish themselves from other major urban centers. This concept has been prevalent for centuries yet has gained vast importance in recent decades.
Constructed icons can take on many forms such as buildings, skylines, different infrastructure and religious icons. In the 20th century there has been a huge rise in corporate identity and the development of the central business district. Major corporations began to build massive headquarters in city centers often as an expression of power and wealth. These buildings themselves can act as major icons such as the world famous Chrysler building in New York city or the Transamerica pyramid in San Francisco. Especially after world war II, cities began to look for ways to set themselves apart usually with the construction massive buildings and the development of recognizable skylines. Today cities are often distinguished in this way, such as the Shenzhen skyline, which has countless skyscrapers with neon lights reflected off the water giving it a rainbow glow. Another example is Dubai which boasts the recent construction of the Burj Khalifa or the largest man made building in the world.
Civic and religious structures can also act as icons for major cities. Infrastructure such as bridges often provide individuality and implications of concepts such as a dedication to public services. The golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, for example, is perhaps the cities most recognizable feature. The opera house in Sydney Australia is another example of an icon which is physically unique as well as indicative of a cultural focus in the region. Also pictured above is the statue of Christ in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil which acts as a symbol of Brazilian Christianity and an icon for the city and Brazil itself. These elaborate structures assert individuality and have far reaching cultural implications.
Many cities have historic or pre industrial icons which help distinguish them from the global city. Rome, for example, has many historic structures such as the coliseum and st. Peters basilica which act as major icons. Some cities have entire architectural districts which helped maintain a unique identity for the region. The French Quarter in New Orleans, for example, has a rich historic culture and can be easily identified by its structure and design. Many other historic cities enjoy a natural landscape which acts as a defining feature. These cities are often surrounded by mountains or other natural features which enhance the regions beauty and individuality. Capetown in South Africa or the city of Vancouver are both examples of major cities where giant mountains provide a unique backdrop. Cities now have the ability to develop and define their own individuality through different means. With decreasing cultural division it is interesting to consider the balancing act of maintaining communities that can participate in an interconnected global society while retaining their own sense of place.

All the bairns o' Adam

Hey there, usual rules, but wait until after Thursday’s lecture to try to respond to this one…I will get the last couple graded by the end of this week…

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Blog Exercise Six

Public housing in Europe has played a very prominent role in society and city structure beginning around the start of the 20th century. Increasing development of public housing a government subsidies of such projects was inspired by the terrible conditions of post industrialization and the second world war. In the aftermath of the industrial revolution working class families resided in very poor cramped quarters. Entire families lived in single rooms often without access to amenities such as proper sewage and waste disposal, running water, cooking space, or even windows. In many places these problems persisted for decades due to issues like massive rural to urban migration, economic instability, and political unrest. Social demand for improved conditions and healthy economic growth allowed many european countries to make great strides in providing affordable housing for lower and middle class citizens with an emphasis on improving conditions and quality of life. European countries addressed this situation in different ways and with varying success.
Some countries, such as the Netherlands, relied on the private sector to build an affordable housing base through non profit organizations. Rent is kept low through government regulation and in many cities such as Amsterdam the percentage of social housing is around if not exceeding 50 percent. In recent years the United Kingdom has also seen a large increase in public hosing associations or non profit organizations which provide affordable middle class housing. Since the 1990’s these associations have been known as Registered Social Landlords and have started to take the place of pervious government run social housing or “council housing.”
Many other countries including germany, handled their housing conflicts through municipal projects and government subsidies. In response to terrible urban conditions before the world war two germany included the right to a healthy dwelling in their constitution. This idea embodied a great deal of city planning a social housing development especially in the early 1990’s. East germany began developing Plattenbau or panel building, as pictured above, under the communist administration and was a concept that quickly gained polarity in the 1960’s as it was a cheap way to solve their severe housing shortage. France had a similar reaction to post world war two society and was forced to combat a rapidly growing population and urban migration. Major government funded construction plans were launched creating new towns and suburbs with “Habitacion a Loyer Modere” or low low rent housing. Construction of these housing developments has seen lots of debate due to illegal political financing and the creating of suburban ghettos yet the system has remained in tack and every city is required to maintain 20% of these affordable housing projects.
Changing social expectations and the rise of socialist parties in the aftermath of poor conditions in europe led to a shifting focus of quality of life in public housing. From the pictures above it is clear that a new emphasis was placed on each household having access to sun light and fresh air as opposed to one room homes with no windows. Many households had access to their own balcony and outdoor space while maintaining a sense of community. There was a new found need for a connection to nature that was conveyed in the architecture as well as the development of green spaces. European public housing has remained successful due to its merging of public housing and social housing. Social housing is subsidized by the government but serves both the middle and lower class and as a result is able to avoid many of the socioeconomic problems associated by many public housing projects around the world.

All the bairns o' Adam

These are all images of social housing projects in Europe…discuss (both the images and the history, execution and success of such projects)…

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Blog Exercise Five

The images above depict the means of a shift in the US city system in a post world war II society due to advances in technology as well as a change in government and citizen perspective. This period can be categorized as Borchert’s third transportation epoch and a combination of auto air amenities which revolutionized American’s day to day lives. These innovations along with government policy and changing social expectations allowed for major changes in city structure and the development of true suburbanization and corporate expansion.
By the mid 1900’s technology had developed past that of a reliance on railway systems to the common place use and ownership of car in addition to aviation technology. Both of these advances had far reaching consequences for US economy, structure and culture. The use of automobiles and development of a highway system allowed massive waves of suburbanization in the face of a rapidly growing population as well as demographic and cultural shifts. Cars and the jet engine led to the possibility of very fast reliable transportation and as a result improvements in a struggling economy and revolutionized business interactions. Aviation technology was highly developed by the military during the war and many returning soldiers were already skilled pilots and mechanics allowing allowing a boom in the industry. Business could be conducted face to face without location being a limiting factor. Corporations could have offices or factories in different locations around the country, often where labor was cheaper, while remaining headquarters in the business districts of major cities such as NYC.
Government involvement and legislation played a huge role in contributing to the development of massive suburbs all over the country. The National Housing Act of 1934, which was passed as a part of the New Deal during the Great Depression, provided affordable loans and mortgages to increase home ownership. Other legislation such as the GI bill had a similar effect in promoting the idea of affordable homes for every American and the clearance of slums and public housing. This is when we start to see a major shift from crowded urban centers to the suburbs, a change facilitated by other government action such as Eisenhower’s Interstate system. The development of highways connected suburbs to major cities and major cities to each other which contributed greatly to the development of the suburbs. New Deal projects built infrastructure which facilitated this change by doing things such as providing reliable water sources to these different communities.
The government’s far reaching fear of communist and socialist ideas prompted such growth through an effort to move away from public housing and give citizens a stake in the national economy through home ownership. Changing public perspective and demographics also had a huge effect on the changing city system. Many African Americans in the South moved to Northern cities after the war and the issues of segregation and “white flight” effected both structural and social development for decades. Post world war II society saw the rise of the baby boomer generation in which the population began to grow rapidly. Families were getting bigger and as a result needed bigger houses with more and more stuff. All of these things have contributed to the development of suburbanization as we know it today and have had a profound effect on United States Culture and society. Although these changes had many positive effects on the issues of the time, such as a struggling economy and poor urban conditions, they have left us with numerous challenges in today’s society. We must now work to combat the issues of urban sprawl and the many problems associated with it in order to create sustainable communities in the face of a rapidly growing population and depletion of the natural resources available to us.

All the bairns o' Adam

Usual rules; reblog, 500 word commentary, remember to actually reference the images in your response…

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