Summary of Chapter 15

In Chapter 15, the author talked about the “slum operates as vicious circles” She used the examples to talk about a perpetual slum is that too many people move out of a place too fast. She also said about the cause of the slum dweller and poor immigrants. She explained the slum formation would bring the crowdedness, and it is the reason people with the only choice to move into an unpopular area. Once the slum formed, the pattern of the emigration would make the successful people to move out. Furthermore, the author also talked about the unsluming and its accompanying self-diversification, which is the population, is reflected in diversification of commercial and cultural way.

Introduction of Research Paper

Flushing is in a north-central Queens. It is all of central Queens from Maspeth to Whitestone. But the neighborhood of Flushing is really between Flushing Meadows Park and Utopia Parkway (Auburndale). Flushing commutes on the #7 subway to midtown Manhattan from the Main Street terminus. The LIRR also runs from Main Street to midtown. Flushing is a home to Chinese, Korean, Indians, Italians, Afghans, Pakistanis, and many others. There are many shop signs in English, Chinese, and Korean on a typical downtown Flushing Main Street. Downtown Flushing Main Street includes a large variety of residential and commercial buildings. Neighbors accept each other’s different skin color, different traditional language speaking, different culture, and different religious belief. Therefore, as diversity spreads in Flushing, it had attracted more population move into here with different background. As a result, it will increase the tax revenue to improve the public service, public safety, & job opportunities for community.

Thesis Statement

Since diversity had attracted more population to move into Flushing, it will increase the tax revenue to improve the public service, public safety, & job opportunities for community.

Support Arguments:

1. Collect more money from tax is good for putting more money on developing more services for community, such as hiring more doctors in hospitals or adding more programs for library to serve residents in local.

2. More population will attract more businesses develop in Flushing; therefore, more job opportunities will create for local.

Summary of Chapter 13

In Chapter 13, the author related to her topic about all kinds of diversity should mingle together and support each other, which is good for people to sustain their society and civilization. She also described the necessary of the public and quasi public bodies for making the city diversity. Furthermore, she talked about some forces that influence the growth of diversity, such as self-destruction of diversity. To demonstrate the self-destruction of diversity, she used some examples to support the tendency for outstanding success in cities will destroy in itself and can be seen little nodes of activity. At the same time, she believed there is some new diversity come in. Therefore, city planner should know the diversion, such as the zoning for diversity, staunchness of public buildings, and competitive diversion.

Database Research

Jeff Vandam. "Sensory Overload as a Way of Life. " New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 10 Dec. 2006, Late Edition (East Coast): 11.9. National Newspapers (27). ProQuest.

The contours of downtown Flushing are somewhat vague. The area includes such a large variety of residential and commercial buildings that it is difficult to tell where the downtown ends and the rest of Flushing begins. But the central bazaar -- where people pick up groceries, mei fun noodles, clothing, Vietnamese pho soup, plastic wind-up toys and shabu-shabu -- is without question the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue. There, one can find the No. 7 subway and the Long Island Rail Road stations, in addition to chain stores like Old Navy.

Downtown Flushing is part of School District 25, which is well regarded by parents; test scores seem in part to bear this out. At Public School 20, on Barclay Avenue, 81.5 percent of students meet city and state standards on math tests, versus 65.1 percent citywide; in English, 76.4 percent meet standards, versus 60.9 percent citywide. At the nearest middle school, Junior High School 189, 60.7 percent meet standards on math tests versus 40.8 percent citywide; 49.3 percent do so on English tests, versus 43.3 percent citywide. At Flushing High School on Union Street, average SAT scores were 396 on the verbal portion and 464 in math, versus state averages of 493 and 510, respectively.The intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue typifies a neighborhood made for ''experience junkies,'' as one fan put it.

Jonathan P. Hicks. "In Primary Upset for Queens Assembly Seat, Signs of a Changing District. " New York Times [New York, N.Y.] 18 Sep. 2004, Late Edition (East Coast): B.2. National Newspapers (27). ProQuest.

Mr. Meng's victory has been portrayed as a watershed event in Queens in that it signaled the rise of Asian-American voting strength in the borough. While an Asian-American city councilman was elected three years ago, Mr. Meng's defeat of an incumbent -- a rarity for state lawmakers -- highlights the demographic shift in Flushing and the way Asian-Americans are beginning to wield their political clout.

Supporters of Mr.Grodenchik have painted Mr. Meng as divisive politician, criticizing him for being a former registered Republican and, more stinging, for anti-Semitic comments posted on the Internet by his daughter, Caroline Meng, a paid campaign worker, after her father's primary defeat in his first bid for an Assembly seat in 2001. Ms. Meng has apologized for the remarks.

In the meantime, Mr. Meng, a partner in a lumber company, said he was preparing to campaign for the general election. While the district is a heavily Democratic-voting district, Mr. Meng has an opponent on the Republican line and faces Mr. Grodenchik on the Working Families line (Mr. Meng is also running on the Conservative Party line).

Summmarization of My Interview

Her name is Lina. She has been lived in my neighborhood for over 10 years. She said that the real estate price was raise up, she told me about her friend’s one family property was 35k three year ago, but the market value was 55K this year. She also told me that there is more immigrant families move into Flushing, which caused more new constructive buildings are building here and it would bring more population. Compared the transportations, she believed the transportation fare was raise up in these year, and the bus and subway was crowded. She guessed the economy distribution in local is around $40,000. She also said that many commercial businesses develop in Flushing, so she has many selections to shop in our neighborhood. As she told me, she didn’t have much new recreation, she only knew one local cinema is near to Flushing, which was the Fresh Meadow Cinema, but is not big. However, she said it is easy to take seventh train to Manhattan to watch any Broadway shows. The public health care generally is Medicaid in our neighborhood. She said that the hospitals provided more bilingual services for the immigrants, which it is good for patients to choose when they need to translate. At the end, she said that the retail price was went up, and the money is worth less than couple year ago. In conclude, she said that she like to live in Flushing, here doesn't has high crime rate. It is safe to live in my neighborhood.

Summary of Chapter 11 & 12

In Chapter 11, the author described her points about concentration. She believed if a neighborhood has a sufficiently dense concentration, which means the effective connection between the neighbors and the specialties in each small community, they can help each other out for the economic and social function. She also used the examples to demonstrate the high city densities and low city densities. Therefore, she believed the city planners should consider the dwelling densities. It would affect the future development in the city.

In Chapter 12, the author wrote some myths about the diversity. Some people believed the diversity brings the city looks “ugly”, also, it might bring the chaos. However, she used the examples to describe the combination of mixed primary uses, frequent streets, and mixture of buildings, and dense concentration of users, couldn't bring the disadvantages of diversity, it just grow the economic benefit for the city. She believed the cities have capability of providing something for everybody because those things create by the residents in cities. More people would bring the energy in the city, it would develop cities well.

My neighborhood

I live in Cherry Avenue. My location is close to Flushing Main Street. Unlike the crowed and noisy place in Main Street, my residential area is a quiet and clean place to live. How can I describe my neighborhood? I would like to share my feelings about what I like and dislike about my neighborhood.

Since I moved to here, I didn’t communicate a lot with my neighbors. I just know that they are both elderly who is properties are in the left and right side of my house. They both lived alone and I don’t quite often see their friends visiting them. I just say “hello!” or “good morning” such polite words to them if I see them. I don’t know much about their families and they don’t know much about mine, too. In this neighborhood, if your family has nothing happen, they just stay the way they are. Obviously, we recognize each other just base on races, such as Korean, Chinese, White, etc.

One reason I like my neighborhood most is that I access many different restaurants for less than 10 minutes by walking. There are some Chinese restaurants, pizza stores, coffee shop and Korean bakery around my house just one or two short block away. If I am hungry, I can order quickly and pick up soon. It is good for me to choose different kinds of food and compare which restaurant’s food makes me most favorable; therefore, choosing delicious foods will maintain good health. Every time, I pass by different restaurants and think about what should I eat for that day. The smell of food is so good. It stimulates my stomach and fulfills my basic need after eating.

Since it is so easy to find the same ethnical group people to talk to, it makes more people to move into this community and join together as neighborhood. I remembered when I moved into this neighborhood first year; there were so many ordinary houses in some blocks away my house. However, after one year, some houses been sold gradually, so the realtors just bought whole block down and rebuilt many Condos, and Mansions in order to sell more people and earn the best profit. As we can see, location is the big attractive reason that encouraged many people bought their apartments here. Thus, my neighborhood is very crowded, and I don’t feel very safe by living here any more. At night, when I walk down the couple blocks to my home, I always hear many noises from some families. I always hear some people find the parking lot by driving back and forth.

In conclusion, that is my residential area; it is a neighborhood includes the variety of diversity.

Ten Interview Questions

1. What is your name?

2. How long have you live in this neighborhood?

3. Do you know how the real estate price changes in here?

4. How about the ethnical race changes?

5. How has the retail price in neighborhood change?

6. How has the recreation change?

7. How has the transportation change?

8. What is the range of the economy distribution in here?

9. How has the health care been change?

10. How has the public safety change?

Queens Botanical Garden (Before 1950)

The Queens Botanical Garden locates in 43-50 Main Street, Flushing. Its 39 beautiful acres are free to the visitors. This garden is incorporated in 1946, and it fulfills the goal of providing beautiful public gardens to the people of Queens and offering horticultural information and education to amateur gardeners.

In Queens Botanical Garden, there are some major cultural and educational facility divisions, such as Demonstration Gardens, Wedding Garden, and Charles H. Perkins Memorial Rose Garden. I would like to describe the Wedding Garden and Rose Garden. As my research shows, “A three-acre Wedding Garden is a Victorian Garden featuring the style of 19th century English gardens. More than ten thousand couples have used this garden on their wedding day. The six-acre Charles H. Perkins Memorial Rose Garden is the largest rose garden in the northeast.”

I like this garden because it is a free place for the local residents to exercise every morning in Flushing. In the garden, you can breathe fresh air and learn how to plant through the program they provided in seasonal basis. “Queens Botanical Garden offers a large number of programs for School Groups, from grades pre-K and up, including outreach programs conducted by Garden instructors at school. At the Garden instructors will also work with teachers to create individual programs for advanced students and children with special needs.” So I wish the residents will enjoy the social life in Queens Botanical Garden and learn something to contribute the community.

Flushing Mall(Build after 1950)

Flushing Mall opened in December 2000; it is located at 133-31 39^th Avenue between College Point Blvd and Prince Street. It is an indoor style and two story mall. It attracts more Chinese and Korean customers to shop inside.

In the mall, as I took the picture and walked into the main entrance, I saw many flags hanging around on the top of my head. It seemed to tell me that this mall is build for every ethnical group of the people and welcome the growth of the diversity in Flushing neighborhood. I usually shop with my friends in the mall. There are lots of small shops to sell everything, such as fashion shoes, fashion jewelry, toys, and handmade artifacts, etc. They both sell in the reasonable price. Although there are only two floors inside of building, but this mall also provides many Asian food, such as Korean snacks, dumplings, noodle, sushi, etc. I guess why they provide a lot of that kind of foods because Chinese and Korean are big population in Flushing. However, if you want to explore the Asian and don’t want to go to far, just come into Flushing Mall, it is one stop and shop all in Asian style goods.

Besides the commercial reason that mall provides for customers, it also provides the local community activities in the mall. Usually in the weekend, the mall hosts a wide variety of community, civic and cultural events. People would usually have fun inside during the weekend and socialize with neighbors in community.

Forgotten NY

New York is a big city. As we live in here, most people work very hard. Therefore, they don’t have time to observe the change in the city. In people’ mind, the most important thing is how to earn more money. They think the looks in here are same and ordinary every day. They are much comfortable about the New York traffic, street lamps, businesses, parks, sidewalk, etc. however, this website created for many outlooks of New York City. It brings us to explore the different treasures that we never pay attention for in city.

In this website, I am interesting of “18, and I like it.” The reason for why I chose this one, it is because the picture contains of many people. As we can see, in this picture, I believe it is a busy commercial and residential street. I am wondering why someone wants to put up this picture, where is Bensonhurst? Since I had explored the street scenes in here, it is just like a trip visit over there. I see the historical bridge and bridge lamps. I also see the some vintage pain and enameled sign. It is a past and it might destroy today. Even though we could see the different kinds of painting on the door in the everywhere of New York City, we just forget to think about how long those paint made up? Why some people to make that picture? What is the meaning in the picture?

By scrolling down the mouse, I see two churches, one is formal and one is informal. Informal kind of church seem is a small group of residents, but it represent people’ belief in the community. Moreover, I see the yellow warning sign and a furniture store. It is long ago, but I guess who cared that warning sign is part of property in New York. If the webmaster didn’t take that picture, I guess most people just never think about its history value.

After watching the street scenes, I want to look up the different historical constructions in my neighborhood. I don’t want to miss some street scenes that might valuable.

Summary of Chapter 9

In Chapter 9, Jacobs explains the needs for the small block with comparing the disadvantage of the long block. By applying the short block, it is easy to meet and contact the neighbors frequently in daily basis. Also, short blocks would help the neighbors by walking short distance to shop in the different business stores. If many small blocks have been built, it would reduce the chance of isolating business in the long block. With the informal short block, it is good for many businesses mixed and mingled together into one convenient location; thus, it will bring more customers to shop here because one place has many selections. Finally, it would grow the economic benefit for the neighborhood.

Flushing Neighborhood

Flushing is in a north-central Queens. The historic neighborhood core is the largest urban center in the borough. Flushing is all of central Queens from Maspeth to Whitestone. But the neighborhood of Flushing is really between Flushing Meadows Park and Utopia Parkway (Auburndale). To the north the Whitestone Expressway and Bayside Avenue separate it from College Point and Whitestone. The LIE is the southern border (Kew Gardens Hills). East of Main Street is the more suburban enclaves of Murray Hill and Flushing-Broadway (north of Northern Blvd). Flushing is a 30-minute plus commute on the #7 subway to midtown Manhattan from the Main Street terminus. The LIRR also runs from Main Street to midtown—17 minutes. Flushing's Chinatown has grown to be the largest, wealthiest Chinatown in New York City. It's also a Korean center, and home to Indians, Italians, Afghans, Pakistanis, and many others. We can see many shop signs in English, Chinese, and Korean on a typical downtown Flushing street. Flushing real estate prices have climbed high since the late 1990s.

As my house location is the most convenient place near to Flushing Main Street. The real estates average price is $500k+ for the 1 family house, and two family houses are $700k+, it means many people like here, and it is a good opportunity to raise the economy distribution in my neighborhood. As my research, my neighborhood has different ethnical groups, such as White, Korean, Chinese, and Hispanic, etc. it is a neighborhood surround with the diversity. In Flushing, if you want to buy the Asian food, it is absolutely a good place to explore the traditional cuisine in here. Flushing is a generally safe neighborhood. The most recently problem and development project for Flushing is traffic, congestion, and overdevelopment for community to concern. Pollution cleanup and development of the Flushing River and Willets Point Iron Triangle are continually advanced. Flushing has many lovely parks, such as the Kissena Park, Flushing Meadow-Corona Park and Bowne Park. Also, the Queens Botanical Garden fulfills the goal of providing beautiful public gardens to the people of Queens and offering horticultural information and education to amateur gardeners.

So, welcome to Flushing, have fun in here!

Summary of Chapter 7 & 8

In Chapter 7 and Chapter 8, the author related to the topic about diversity. Diversity means that there would more population move into small community, and it would increase the business benefit. It would also bring the neighbors together. She also wrote about the effectiveness of mixture. She believed the combined and effective of mixture will put the people in the street at different times. Since the neighbors have a place, such as park to meet and communicate with each other, their relationship with other neighbors would change better, therefore, it is important to generate the diversity. Furthermore, She wrote about three “effective”, those effectiveness conclude the importance of street facility. If the city streets surrounding with the people, the neighborhood would be safe, and it will bring the economic and social benefit for the community because more people choose shopping and living here.

MLA Resources

Roleke, John. Flushing: Queens Neighborhood Profile. 2003.
http://queens.about.com/

This website tells us the details of Queens, such as the population of Queens, most attractive shopping places in Flushing, and how to take the direction to Queens.

NY HomeTownLocator. Queens County NY Cities, Towns, & Neighborhoods. 2008.
http://newyork.hometownlocator.com/NY/Queens/

This website contains the information about local map, cultural feature, resource, and job opportunities, etc. It is a website links with others to search your community.

Introduction

In the introduction of this book, Jacobs wrote her principles about city planning and rebuilding. For example, she asked that “what kinds of city streets are safe and what kinds are not; why some city parks are marvelous and other are vice traps and death traps…”Jane explored her specific point of view to describe why some cities just stay slum. She used her different opinion let readers understood the residents’ real world needs in the city. What do most people thinking and needs about their community? What do they lack for? If government puts a lot of money to rebuild the city, does the new plan will change the city to be better? In her point of view, she argued that the reformers only used the idea that learned from book to build the city, but it won’t help city get better. Also, she used some cities’ past rebuilding plan to prove why cities rebuild couldn’t succeed in history. Therefore, she wrote this book to encourage readers to observe the real world in cities, and observe what happens in people’ daily life in the cities. Those parts are important because cities are not only containing of the new buildings, we should also understood the residents’ needs in the cities. She believed if we understood her point of view, it would bring the social and economic benefit for the cities and the neighbors' public life would change better.

Summary of Chapter 3

In chapter 3 , the author talked about that the city planners always come up the idea to reform the city ; however, they don’t actually live in the city, they don’ t know the basic needs of neighbors are lacking safety in sidewalk and trust with other neighbors. Without the trustiness, people lived alone and don’t like to interfere other people’ privacy as their own, too. Without Sidewalk public contact and sidewalk public safety, it is easy to have the most serious social problem--segregation and racial discrimination. If neighbors don’t know each other which might lead to couldn’t help others when they get a trouble.

Furthermore, the author raised the example of “togetherness”. Even though the city reformers tried to build a place for neighbors to communicate and socialize with each other, it doesn’t work perfectly. The result just like that neighbors recognize their neighbors but without conversation. “Many adult don’t like to involve in any friendship relationship with their neighbors. If it is necessary to form of society, they only limit themselves to one or two friends and no more.” The author demonstrated that the importance of pubic life and connection between one neighbor and other one. She believed we should work on the sidewalk contact in order to reduce the problem about untrustiness.