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.