Quoting Chicago: Further Exploration of my Theme
“By using an urban place against the grain of common practice, one owned it — albeit for the briefest moment.” (Hollis L.) Hollis is talking about using a public space in a city and feeling like it belongs to you. This is actually the whole theme of my final project so this quote fits perfectly. I think Hollis really defines the feeling of using public spaces as if they were your own, even the title Cities belong to Us fits exactly what I’m trying to say. It’s somewhat difficult to explain how it connects since this is exactly the point I have been trying to make.
“allowing ourselves to explore spaces that we commonly crossed without consideration, and to enjoy the company of strangers.” (Hollis L.) Hollis is talking about a walk with a group of strangers through London at night. I feel like this quote really helps give my essay a new perspective because most people don’t really walk to notice and end up missing things. For example, the wedding I saw on Michigan avenue, if I wasn’t walking to notice I might not have seen the couple.
“We complain about the distracting intrusions of the devices we tote around these days, but the technologies of attention theft have defined city life for more than a century.” (Walker R.) Walker is referencing our phones in this quote and how we keep them with us at all times, which stops us from noticing our surroundings. I think this helps my point of walking around public spaces and stopping to see how others use them. Because with people on their phones all the time, how can anyone notice anything?
Aeonmag. “Cities Thrive When Public Space Is Open to All: Aeon Essays.” Aeon, Aeon Magazine, https://aeon.co/essays/cities-thrive-when-public-space-is-open-to-all.
“The Art of Noticing: Five Ways to Experience a City Differently.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 May 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/may/09/the-art-of-noticing-five-ways-to-experience-a-city-differently.
I walked to Belmont and went to Giordano’s for dinner with some friends. I found the area to be very walkable with nice sidewalks, lots of restaurants and stores and most importantly lots of people. Nothing seemed to be run down, and there were no empty lots in sight. The street was also well lit and most of the stores had signs that were also lit up. There were noticeable crosswalks which made it a lot easier and safer to cross the street without having to worry about getting hit by cars. I think part of the reason it’s also walkable is because it was commercialized. With so many stores and restaurants around, the street was very lit up, like I said earlier. It also has the effect of gentrification because there are people with higher incomes living there now so those people are offered more protection than people with lower incomes are which keeps out crime. There’s also an L station nearby so that makes it more accessible for more people to get where they need to go and therefore, the area is more walkable than different areas. While Belmont might not be the safest place to walk, I still consider it to be very walkable, especially during the evening times. (212)
