In this article Kelsey Thomas shared the following photo as the winner of a contest that Penn Institute for Urban Research and the Center for Public Health initiated. The contest was designed for photographers to capture the ways public spaces and environments promote health and well-being to get people involved with outdoor life. The photo above was taken be Ben Chrisinger in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. There were two other runner-ups who captured pictures at a Philadelphia waterfront pop-up park and Schuylkill River Trail. The purpose of the contest was to demonstrate how various urban environments make people be physically involved and active. From the lakes and forest trails to the community recreational centers, how do urban environments keep people from being couch potatoes to physically active. I found this article interesting and very intriguing to get you thinking more about how people use their surroundings to become more active instead of sitting around.

Scholl, Kathleen, & Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi. “Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces.” Journal of Learning Spaces [Online], 4.1 (2015): n. pag. Web. 24 Feb. 2016

 

In the article “Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces”, authors Kathleen G. Scholl and Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi explain how the modern college has moved away isolation feel that had dominated for many generations, to one that is now inclusive and open to more people such as the public. In this article, both authors discuss how the growing demographic changes are going to have a major impact on many colleges as more students of different cultural, ethic, and ideological views are now going to be attending at the same place. Throughout the rest of the article, the authors continue addressing their point by using various quotations from other writers who explain the importance of college inclusiveness and how it benefits the average student in their career later in life, and explaining the history of college and how it has affected the academia and intellect of society. The authors conclude this article by continuing to discuss the importance of creating environments that are going to be socially accepted by many new students.

I found this article very intriguing and insightful by I learned and gained knowledge

Bazelon, Emily. “Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating.’” The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

 

In the article Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating,’ the author Emily Bazelon discussed the social restraints that derive from the evolving society in America – subject of gender. The author addresses the most obvious form of gender segregation in the interior design of everyday facilities: public bathrooms. The separation of sexes whether it’s through bathrooms or locker rooms have been accepted as a social norm since women entered the workforce, but with the increasing awareness and rise in the population of transgender citizens, and major issue if revealed: individuals find it difficult to enter a bathroom comfortably. In today’s society, the definition of male and female does not pertain to the physical appearances of the body of when a girl or boy is born, because social standards and science has progressed to a point where a person can choose what they prefer to be called. In this article, you see that gender no longer has two simple options and become a blurry subject. Furthermore, instead of maintaining gender-specific bathrooms, the author draws attention to the need for accommodation. The author states to inform the readers that accommodations have already been made to accept individuals with disabilities, regarding the practice religion, and racial diversity. Lastly, the author discusses how women also use public restrooms for sanity purposes while on their menstrual period, and how the only way women are accommodated in public bathroom settings is through adding trash cans in each stall, whereas men are given a completely separate invention apart from the toilet.

I choose this article due to the argument that Bazelon posed about bathrooms should be more accommodating for the LBGT community, which I believe should happen by most females including myself, in particular, would feel violated if a transgender male walks into the women’s bathroom.

Reitzes, Donald C., Crimmins, Timothy J., Yarbrough, Johanna, Parker, Josie. “Social support and social network ties among the homeless in a downtown Atlanta park.” Journal of Community Psychology. 39.3(2011)274-291. Wiley. Web. 24 Feb, 2016.

 

This article discusses the problems the homeless face, how they find support and a sense of community, and how they find help. In this article the authors explain how the homeless come together from support and how homelessness effects other races and gender. They help each other with normal task, integrate them into their familiar, and hold casual conversations. This article focuses on the same topic of homelessness expressed in Tapestry of Space by Nersessova, except this article gives you a clearer insight of their realities and how they try to stick together to help one another. I choose this article because I liked how it gave me insight of a particular space and community and made me feel as if I was there to witness this research myself.

“College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living on Campus?” College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living on Campus? Web. 05 Feb. 2016. >.

In this article Professors, Ruth N. López Turley and Geoffrey Wodtke discuss the effects of living on campus for college freshman and how it promotes a variety of desirable outcomes for the students’. The view that these two professors have on this particular research is unbiased and provides various details on how someone’s GPA and the change they experience living on campus versus those who live off campus with family. What’s intriguing about this article is that it explores the different factors you take into account when comparing the benefits of one over the other such as what type of college it is, the various types of students that attend the college, and the ethnic background of the larger population. This article ties into how the built environment impacts the lives of the people who inhabit within it. The source of this article does not take a good stand on the following subject but provides great information on the studies that were taken.

 

Watson, Jaye. “Metro Atlanta Mom Writes Why White Parents Won’t Choose Black Schools.”11Alive. N.p., 10 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

In the story aired by 11Alive last year, this woman named Abby Norman who is the mother of two kids, and an English teacher who lives in an Atlanta area with white residents posted a blog about racism and education. Mrs. Norman, who sends her kindergartner to the neighborhood school, was told by many of her white neighbors not to send her children there. In the post she wrote on her blog, she says “This summer, when I told the other moms at the pool where my kids went to school. I was repeatedly told to move them. This from women who had never set foot in my school. They had not had contact with our deeply passionate, and very responsive principal, had not met the pre-k teachers who my daughter loves more than Santa.” Although Mrs. Norman would voice her opinion to these other moms, the criticism was still there. This article does an excellent job of showing how race means nothing, as long as your child is receiving a great education and meets friendly people that will show her the right direction, the color of your will never matter because we are all equal.

 

Oakley, Deirdre. Ruel, Erin. Reid, Lesley. “Atlanta’s Last Demolitions and Relocations: The Relationship Between Neighborhood Characteristics and Resident Satisfaction.” Housing Studies. 28.2(2013): 205. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 5 Feb, 2016.

In this article written by three Sociology professors, they discuss how moving lower income communities to better neighborhoods will increase their happiness, ability to make money and have a stable job, and their helpfulness to society. The people who were relocated were moved to safer areas, which allowed them to live happier and longer lives. This move caused a tremendous drop in the crime rate for that particular area and the whole city as well. The authors wrote this journal to inform people on how changes to an environment can change the person and their whole attitude and demeanor. This article gave me more insight on how I want to help stop crime in the low-income areas around and outside of Atlanta.