(these questions are a continuation of the questions from HW4. Do THOSE questions first)
READING THE AMERICAN CITY
Katz describes “the New American City” as “readable” much like a book is readable. Katz means by this idea that one can see evidence of larger political, economic, and social phenomena in the built environment (building, parks, streets, lots, etc…) of cities. In other words, the forces that shape urban life leave behind evidence in the physical landscape that we can later “read.” For Katz, the built environment are like fingerprints of these forces.
In this activity, you will “read” images of the city and connect those images in an analytic fashion to Katz’s essay.
HOMEWORK QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FOR EACH IMAGE OR SET OF IMAGES BELOW:
A) Identify the phenomenon described by Katz for which the image provides evidence
B) In 2 – 3 sentences, describe both the cause and the consequence of the phenomenon from (A).
C) Explain how the image records evidence of the phenomenon you identified in (A). (in essence, this is a warrant).
Look closely at each image or cluster of images, paying close attention to the details in both the background and the foreground. Look closely for what’s there and then what should or might be there that’s not there. Then, think about Katz’s chapter. My hints below will help point you in the right direction; you should not answer the questions contained in these hints, but coming up with the answers to those questions will help you respond to the “Question to Answer” above.
IMAGE CLUSTER 1
hints (you do not need to answer these question in your response; they are just to help you analyze the photo. You do need to answer “homework questions” A-C (see above) for each image or image cluster):
What changes are visible in these images from the same location in the South Bronx from 1979 – 1993? What specific process does Katz describe that would cause these change and WHY? Are the buildings in the later images of stable residential neighborhoods? Is the business represented in the final photo part of the new, dynamic downtown economy (financial, technical, design, etc..) that Katz describes or is it a more marginal businesses? Look closely Notice that the railroad track visible in the 1982, 1990, 1993 photos were also there in 1979, but just are not visible in the 1979 photo
IMAGE 2
Harlem, 1989
hints (you do not need to answer these question in your response; they are just to help you analyze the photo. You do need to answer “homework questions” A-C for each image or image cluster):
Katz describes a variety of different types of ghettos: “the immigrant ghetto,” “the institutional ghetto,” etc . . . Which of those types of ghetto does this image seem to represent and why (use Katz’s typology and his phrase in your answer)? What process described by Katz is at work here?
IMAGE 3:
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 1989
hints (you do not need to answer these question in your response; they are just to help you analyze the photo. You do need to answer “homework questions” A-C for each image or image cluster):
Look closely at all of the types of structures in the foreground. What different function might they have once have? What function do they now have? What’s not there that might have once been there? What is phenomenon described by Katz is that absence evidence of?
What’s in the middle ground? What sort of activity or policy described by Katz produced the structures in the middle ground?
What different sort of activity or policy described by Katz produced the structures in the background? What is the relationship between the activities (or lack of activities) in the foreground, middle ground, and background? What larger force or trend, according to Katz, shaped these various activities and their relationships?
IMAGE CLUSTER 4
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 1990 and South Bronx, 1992
hints (you do not need to answer these question in your response; they are just to help you analyze the photo. You do need to answer “homework questions” A-C for each image or image cluster):
Again, what type of ghetto (see image 2) described by Katz best fits these images? What process described by Katz is at work here?
IMAGE 5
South Bronx, 1980. NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY’S Morrisania Air Rights Houses
Answer “homework questions” A-C for this image
IMAGE 6
Lawndale, Chicago, 1988
hints (you do not need to answer these question in your response; they are just to help you analyze the photo. You do need to answer “homework questions” A-C for each image or image cluster):
What sort of building is in the background of this image and how do you know? What function did that building once serve? What function, if any, does it serve now? What is the man likely doing with the shopping cart? Who does this man remind you of from The Wire?
EXTRA-CREDIT (potentially an extra 15% on this assignment)
Using a photograph THAT YOU TOOK YOURSELF of a New York built environment or streetscape, carefully describe how the details in the photographs illustrate a significant point made by Katz. (It has to be a significant point) Be sure to include both the paragraph and the photograph in Blackboard submission and attach with your regular homework submission. Again, you must connect a specific and significant point made by Katz to the image of your photograph. So, for example, merely photographing a public housing development would not satisfy this requirement; you must capture an important point made by Katz is your photograph. That is, I must be able to “read” the city through Katz’s analytic lens in your photograph.
INCLUDE THIS PHOTO IN YOUR MS-WORD FILE THAT YOU SUBMIT
“END OF ASSIGNMENT”
