Built Environment Analysis – Exterior: Dunwoody Marta Stations

In the city of Atlanta known for diversity, there is one common word that everyone seems to understand and that is, “traffic”. If you are like-minded to the vast majority of the population then you strongly dislike the notion of sitting bumper to bumper to a complete strangers for 2 hours a day on your way home from an 8 hour work day. Well, I was on the verge of experiencing that exact predicament. Luckily, my route brought me South down Hammond Drive and to my left was a monstrous structure that look as if six football fields were stacked on top of one another to form a parking deck. This was the Dunwoody Marta Station and public transit would soon save my day. I sat patiently at the red light, waiting for the countless pedestrians to cross the street and soon was granted ability to turn left and slowly approach the entrance gates.

As I approached the gates of freedom, I pushed the button for a ticket and entered. Funny how, as a commuter it costs money to partake in these amenities but exterior factors such as the sunlight and cool-face numbing winds were able to enjoy the “interiors” free of charge and welcome their charm, or lack of, to anyone in proximity. The arms raised and I soon instinctively started to follow the white painted arrows around and around until open spots trickled into vision.

I exited my vehicle and I quickly heard the ear piercing screech of metal grinding to a halt. It was the MARTA train and my enemies of red lights, pedestrians and security gates lengthened my trip just enough to miss the train. I knew that I now could walk calmly towards the railways since I had time before the traffic skipping bus screeched yet again into the waiting area below. I barely squeezed into the next available elevator and the doors shut. Holding my breath and unable to reach into my pocket due to the capacity of users, I desperately tried to not think about how we were more than likely reaching the weight limit, if not, well over. Luckily, a few moments later, the doors opened. I exited first and with a laugh, I thought to myself how there might be one thing worst that being stuck in rush hour traffic and that is, being stuck in an elevator with complete strangers.

I was finally on the last leg of my journey to the train as I heading towards the waiting area. It seemed as if everyone was still in the working mindset. There were benches to be sat on, but everyone still insisted on waiting while standing. I guess subconsciously they believed it would help lessen the wait time if they were up and ready as the train approached. Once again, I shrieked as the “nails on a chalkboard” approached from the distance and just like that a somewhat empty train was stormed by commuters and soon escaped into the distance. Instantaneously, countless public transit users escaped the dreaded afternoon horror of rush hour, while the rest of the inhabitants of the city sat in traffic.

Annotation #1: MARTA CEO KEITH PARKER

GIVENS, DARIN. “MARTA CEO KEITH PARKER.” Atlanta 55.5 (2015): 121–121. Print.

This article gives a brief introduction into the task at hand that Keith Parker, Marta’s CEO, had when he took this role in 2012. The company was in shambles, to say the least, and he was tasked with altering the public’s perception and to put MARTA “back on the map” for the city of Atlanta residents and tourists. This source seemed valid to our topic of the built environment because it presented MARTA as a “lost cause” and then brings to light Keith Parker’s determination to change it around from its exterior looks to its ability to create jobs with major companies looking to move headquarters closer to its location. Small changes he added were urine detectors in elevators to help the sanitation and overall look/smell of the atmosphere within MARTA’s properties. In reviewing this source, I cannot find any flaws/weaknesses from this article. It is a newly published, October 2015 article, and a short and concise article that laid out his problems when taking the job, how he has changed the “culture” and lastly the business communities view point on MARTA.

Annotation #2: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)

Toon, John D. “Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. 19 August 2013. Web. 03 February 2016.

The article by John Toon perfectly shapes the transformation that MARTA has gone through since its establishment in 1971 to its success in its expansion of its environment and providing transportation route throughout the majority of the inside perimeter of Atlanta. This source is clearly only intended for educational purposes to showcase the history of Marta the path it has been though to become what it is today. It has broaden my knowledge of the built environment by conveying the reasoning on why it seeked expansion into certain areas of Georgia. It was too include lesser-income households and provide them with the ability to commute for work without an automobile; especially the African-American population. I chose this source because it provided a clear history of MARTA but it did have a few weaknesses. It only mentioned one negative in the article and that was MARTA’s loss at obtaining a bigger influence in the suburban areas of Georgia. This source is not relatable to my first annotation because it doesn’t present modern-day issues with MARTA’s ability to shape the public’s opinion or its inability to connect a vast majority of the public to the only mode of public transit Atlanta has to offer.

Annotation #3: What MARTA’s $8 Billion Proposal Could Mean for Public Transit in Atlanta

Xu, Edmund. “What MARTA’s $8 Billion Proposal Could Mean for Public Transit in Atlanta.” Dailykos. 21 July 2015. Web. 3 February 2016. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/7/21/1404130/-What-MARTA-s-8-Billion-Proposal-Could-Mean-for-Public-Transit-in-Atlanta

This article by Edmund Xu explains the value of MARTA and what it really means to us in Atlanta. Atlanta is recognized, per Smart Growth America, as the largest sprawled out city in America. This research also proves that some residents travel the distance of the state of Vermont just to commute to work. This article sheds light on the horrible pollution and congestion that these factors are causing in the city of Atlanta. I believe this web article was written as a warning to Atlanta resident’s to come together and support the development of a much more functional transit system before it’s too late; even if it means a higher tax rate. This helped me understand the exterior portion of the built environment because it showcases Marta’s forward thinking of upgrading the appearance and facilities of MARTA in the last year. Such things as physical appearance and cleanliness are crucial if you are looking to gain support from taxpayers. I chose this source because it gives a good exterior view of what MARTA is changing with its visual appearance to entice users/investors in their 8 billion dollar expansion plan. This article is closely related to my second annotation because it further expands from where MARTA is at present time and where MARTA is looking to be in the future.

I am having trouble being able to write my annotation within Zotero. Can anyone explain to me how you add a notes section into your Zotero account to compile your annotation on each article?

thanks!

Reading Summary #2: Irina Nersessova – “Tapestry of Space: Domestic Architecture and Underground Communities in Margaret Morton’s Photography of a Forgotten New York

Upon reading Nersessova’s article, I was continuously under the impression of how much she saw promise and the ability for to adapt to life’s sometime harsh conditions for the people of the underground urban communities. Almost everyone has a negative connotation on the “homeless” and less fortunate but even through the trials and tribulations that these people face on a daily basis they still seem to find ways to relate themselves almost adjacently to the people who live a life some people would call privileged.

The people of the underground communities took metal, trash, unwanted items to mix together some sort of structure to call a “home”. This is the most moving part of this article because it clearly shows the ability for someone who is presumed to be homeless to actually have and create a place of their own. This feeling of ownership gives the person a feeling of hope and security blanket to know they still have a place that is theirs. In my opinion, it is a feeling of overcoming adversity. Even though the deck is stacked against the individual they still find a way to believe and move forward. This ability to create is proof that even though you might be homeless, you can still have a home.

Secondly, and in comparison, this idea of being able to find a home while being homeless is also shown in excerpt #12; Morton, The Tunnel 41. Here Manny states, “I feel safe in the tunnel because I don’t care how big you are — even if you have a gun or a weapon — if you don’t know where you’re going or if you never been in there — it has no light, no types of light.” Here he finds security in something that would be more often than not a sign of terror/horror to the normal everyday privileged individual, but for someone who has been forced to adhere and mold their everyday life to their conditions, they are able to find peace in the darkness. It is moving to read these stories because it shows that everyone is going through certain conditions or ideas of loneliness that can always be broken down into a feeling of want or acceptance.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. This saying is very well know and a seemed to be repeated theme throughout this article. Nersessova was simply showing how everyone is cut from the same cloth and just because someone is forced to live in an unfavorable condition that they do not yearn for the same basic principles of self-worth that people with fortunate lives take for granted. The tunnel people are able to see the good in a bad situation and persevere through the tough times.

Reading Summary #1: Sarah Schindler – “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation through Physical Design of the Built Environment”

In my readings, I felt awakened to the ideas and perception of the built environment that Sarah Schindler expressed through her research. Although, it is merely a theory, her case, does hold validity. Human nature, has naturally always been forced to separate or gain leverage, higher position, or better self-worth than the next person. In my summary, I would suggest that Sarah Schindler is merely trying to open the eyes of the people that do not realize that there are subliminal messages that we are forced to subconsciously obey on a daily basis. These messages can be formed in the structure of a city from something as large as highway mapping or something as simple as a long and windy road to a hidden gated community. The way things are designed and where they are located in the city directly affect the type of people that are attracted to those areas. This is also visible in the construction of public transport and the areas assessable by these modes of transport. These deliberate and intelligently structured forms of creating distance is what has always shaped the lower class from the higher class. Now, in more present time, we are starting to see an emergence of a more noticeable middle class. This is an exciting time, in my eyes, because it gives a unique perspective on the built environment from a set of eyes that has experienced life from opposite ends of the spectrum.

The ability of lawmakers and architects to create diversity from bridges, walls, dead-end streets, etc. is most clearly portrayed in Article II – Architectural Exclusion: Practice. In section A, Schindler cites Robert Moses’s Long Island Bridges as a clear example of using barriers to exclude. Here she exclaims how he intuitively designed the entrance of this area to limit the ability of public transport to enter (1953). I don’t believe that this is a clear “slap in the face” to the assumed lower class of not being able to enter an area of higher class but instead it is something that we do not notice unless it is shed light upon. I feel like this is an example of a clear mix of city design/structure and public modes of transport working together to limit exposure of the less fortunate into the higher class, white-collar, area. More often than not, it is only the people on the outside of the fence that realize these clear divisions of class from the architectural walls built around them. In other words, it is hard for someone to gain support of a presidential candidate that claims he understands what the poor needs/wants or what it is like to be in there shoes when they have lived a life of fortune.

All in all, the built environment is not something that is clearly shown to the inhabitants of a particular city or state. This is something that is strategically placed/designed to limit the exposures of certain people into certain areas. I do believe that it is something that was much more limited in the past decades and is now being opened to new theories in present time. We have much more overlap of people into the low, middle and higher class and I believe that this perspective will allow us to grow as a whole and be able to view the world in a much consolidated approach.