Boulevard Park Framing (Medium Assignment #3)
The term “place” is casually thrown about and commonly understood. However, the connotations connected to “place are much more complex and deeper than what is typically thought about. This concept of place having different connotations is exactly what Lynn A. Staheli expands on throughout her essay “Place”. By understanding the meanings behind place, one can look at one in many different ways. After reading Staheli’s essay, Boulevard Park can be viewed through different lenses of concept and can take on a different meaning.
When viewing Boulevard Park as a place of cultural or social location, the types of people in the park are given heavy emphasis. From the perspective of a place being a cultural or social location “people are located within webs of cultural, social, economic, and political relationships that shape their identities, or positionalities” (Staheli). So, Boulevard in this context in a sense would have it’s own web of culture or social relationships. Staheli goes on to explain this concept stating “certain kinds of people or activities may be thought of as ‘belonging’ to certain kinds of places.” When viewing the park in this lense, the type of people frequently seen are drawn into great focus. Observing the park, one can see that it does in a way have it’s own culture. And it is what you would imagine a “park culture” to be, happy, positive, and friendly. Groups of people participate in the same types of activities, such as, running, biking, kayaking and walking. Noticing the abundance of these activities being present in the park, and the amount of people participating backs up the conceptualization of place as a cultural or social location.
Another way the place can be viewed is through the lense of the place being a social process. Meaning that the place is “an outcome, or product…. place as a process, as always ‘becoming’” (Staheli). This lense has three major components to it. One, with a place being a process there are “settings in which social relations are constituted (these can be informal or institutional)” this is known as locale (Staheli). Another, is location, meaning the “geographical area encompassing the setting for social interaction as defined by social and economic processes operating at a wider scale” (Staheli). And lastly, sense of place, or “local ‘structure of feeling’” (Staheli). The idea of structure of feeling plays a big role into Boulevard Park. The park definitely has it’s own structure of feeling. The healthy, love for the the outdoors and positive energy atmosphere is very noticeable. The concept of place being a process can be thought of the place affects the people, but also the people affect the place. Boulevard Park does exactly that. Boulevard Park affects the people with it’s beautiful surroundings. But also the culture of the park affects the people. Everything in the park speaks positive energy and calmness. However, it is also the people affecting the park, because the people play a role into creating the atmosphere. Even though the nature surrounding the park is serene and peaceful, if the people being the park did not also create a matching atmosphere, then the park would have a very different culture to it. It is this way that the park can be thought of as a social process.
By analyzing Boulevard Park through different lenses, different factors and aspects come into focus. And clearly shows that a place such as Boulevard Park is not just merely a place. It has much more meaning and layers than what appears on the surface.
