My Neighborhood Reflection by Maryia Agra

Module 2a: What is a City? Pt. 1

mqy5xr6y54 — 2023-10-16 05:58:21 UTC

This is an article that was written in June of this year, titled "Most Desirable Neighborhoods in Salinas California". I live in the Creekbridge area of Salinas and though I didn't grow up in this area, I have seen the difference between this area versus the east side area I have always lived in. The idea of "Most Livable Cities" we discussed in Module 2a and made me think of what has been said about my hometown. In this module we discussed how the real estate industry caters to the real estate game players, developers, and upwardly mobile white professionals. The key aspects that are mentioned in these types of articles are what makes a city deemed "livable" through the eyes of the privileged. These aspects include a city having restaurants, shops, socializing spaces, low crime, and a safe place to go for walks even to the store when one feels like it. In their podcast "Citations Needed", Nima Shirazi, Adam Johnson, and guest co-host Jawanza James Williams discussed how articles such as "Most Livable Cities", list cities where the demographics are predominantly white and are seeking to appeal to the eyes of white-collard families. These kinds of articles there to help the preservation of keeping cities cleared from minority groups and moving issues of homelessness and low-income housing out of the area and replenishing the area with upwardly mobile, white professionals.
The general idea of what makes a city livable is basically its potential to grow, what may be consumed within it, educational opportunities in these areas and so forth. What isn't mentioned in this article is that Creekbridge is actually right by the east side of Salinas, which unsurprisingly is not mentioned in any part of this article. The east side is heavily populated with minority groups, mostly being Hispanic/Latinx. Many of them also tend to work in the agricultural industry. This is a main source of income for many of the families that reside in the east side of Salinas. The article also doesn't mention Salinas's crime rate. Even though Salinas has dropped lower on the crime spectrum, it was just interesting that none of those statistics were mentioned in this article. Urbanism is a way of life for people within a city. The idea of how people residing in the more densely populated areas, tend to see more crime and the negative sides of what comes with the city life can be tied back to even densely populated towns. I have seen this personally in my hometown and of course for marketing and profit-seeking purposes this would not have been mentioned in this article. It is catering to the socially mobile audience that can come and increase the value of these neighborhoods with their careers, social status, and overall privilege. It isn't catering to the families of 5-6 people who are living in small apartments, coming together to split the costs of living.

Module 2b: What is a City? Pt.2

mqy5xr6y54 — 2023-10-16 06:57:14 UTC

This is a video from a Maui relief fundraiser we held at my work. We have quite a few local reggae bands that came together with other local artists to organize an event to help fundraise for the fires that unfortunately took place in Hawaii.
Ferdinand Tönnies introduced the term Gemeinschaft which meant community and how people act with one another. This term describes how people within the community know each other well and have had a long history within the area. These relationships are close with one another and people work with another. This concept made me think of this event that took place. While the bands weren't getting paid to do this, they were willing to take the time to organize an event that would benefit those who just faced a huge tragedy. Most of the bands have played at my work before and have had a long history within the community, as well as my work itself. The owner grew up in Salinas and grew up coming to this restaurant, only to buy it from the original owner when he was older to save it from shutting down. Everyone for the most part knows one another in this community and that it something you will see in a small town or the rural areas. Though Salinas is heavily populated, it is filled with close knit relationships that go back sometimes for generations. People are willing to work together and the interactions with one another aren't just transactional, they are sentimental. Reflecting on this concept makes me feel grateful towards the environment I have been able to grow up in. I do believe that we could see this same level of community help within a city. However, the relationships between these small town community members allowed us to have a lot of people show up to support this great cause. I believe that had a lot to do with the fact that these are small town connections that are more intimate and show a level of loyalty to one another.

Module 6a: Gentrification, Part One

mqy5xr6y54 — 2023-12-18 07:24:46 UTC

For this reflection I wanted to touch on the theming of the town I reside in, Salinas, CA. Salinas is an agricultural town that is slowly growing and thriving when it comes to many new businesses that are opening up, especially in our downtown area. In this module we read about gentrification, theming, and uneven development. The author describes theming to be a term that describes a reaction developers use to revitalize a declining area by differentiating themselves that will ultimately draw in new visitors from other areas. While drawing in new visitors, this also draws in more money which of course benefits the area financially. This made me curious as to what my city does to try and draw in new comers to the area. When I did look into what the city of Salinas has marketed on their website, the article mentioned many of the surrounding areas of Salinas. This was odd to me because if the goal is to draw people into Salinas, why would they continuously talk about visiting the surrounding wealthier areas of Monterey and Carmel. Both of those areas consist of predominantly residents that are more socioeconomically well off in terms of class and race. While Salinas is more known for its agricultural contributions of being the "Salad Bowl" of the world and the home of the famous writer John Steinbeck of course.

Module 7b: Urban Design, Part Two

mqy5xr6y54 — 2023-12-18 07:38:32 UTC

The photo I captured here was taken in the downtown area of Salinas. It is the MST bus transit center. Folks from all over the county use this center. Many of the folks do come from South Monterey County because Salinas is the closest area to them that is almost like a city. We have a lot more options as far as shopping centers and resources than much of the towns that are located within the south county areas. I chose this as an example to tie back to the concept of nodes by Kevin Lynch. Lynch describes nodes as being a, "junction, or place of break in transportation". Nodes are also places like a subway station where junctions of paths are located. Though Salinas might be of a smaller proximity, this is a central part of the downtown area. It is an important resource for those who do not have access to automobiles which are needed to get from town to town. This station is also located in a central square part, not directly in the middle of the dense area which Lynch also mentions where you would typically see these spaces.

Module 7b: Urban Design, Part Two

mqy5xr6y54 — 2023-12-18 07:50:55 UTC

This photo was taken in an outdoor space located near my neighborhood in Salinas. Though I will touch on a concept within the same module 7b, I wanted to relate this photo back to Jan Gehl's idea of outdoor spaces. In this chapter, Gael mentions three different types of outdoor spaces and the factors that influence these spaces. The physical aspect is one of the facts that influences outdoor spaces and what type of outdoor activities they offer which are: necessary, optional, or social. This path in particular presents itself as the optional outdoor activity. Optional activities are those of which a person can participate in if they wish to do so. This happens to be a walking path along a creek that trails through a nicer neighborhood. Many people do chose to utilize this path because it is a bit nice and safer because so many people use it. Outside along the street of this path are sidewalks which are also optional, so it does show that walkers do truly have the option of either taking the scenic route to their destination or the shorter route.

Module 8a: Community and Inequality, Part One

mqy5xr6y54 — 2023-12-18 07:58:19 UTC

This is a photo I took of a small neighborhood that I live close to on the east side of Salinas which is predominantly home to a majority of residents that identity within the Hispanic/Latinx community. Salinas is an agricultural town, which also entails that many of our workers are field workers. Field workers tend to migrate throughout the seasons, but when they do migrate they obviously need places to stay while being here. Either they rent out a place to stay or find a permanent home and just travel throughout the year. I hoped to relate this photo back to Albert M. Camarillo's concept of minority-majority cities. In his writing, Camarillo describes how the white flight factors into changing neighborhoods as white residents move out as immigrants move in. This is much of what has been the case within the east side of Salinas as it has been the home to many migrant farm workers. Camarillo touches on the economic restructuring of cities by minorities that fill the niches of jobs that have been considered low-skilled. Farm work has been deemed as a low-skilled job for many years and also for many years.