This was the impregnable gate, the source of profound dismay to those poor crestfallen souls who entered without a card or money to pass, and the over dramatized way down the Marta subway cars. The gate is easy to pass if you just scan a valid card to ride the subway.

Ihlanfeldt, Keith R. “Rail Transit and Neighborhood Crime: The Case of Atlanta, Georgia”. Southern Economic Journal 70.2(2003)273-294.JSTOR Journals. Web. 24 Feb, 2016.

This article talks about how the addition of new rail rod stations causes an influx of crime and violence on surrounding  neighborhoods.  The Railroads are used as easy transit to a new area where they commit crime, though this displacement caused by this also decreases the crime in the areas where these people were originally from. This article give incite on other’s points of view, and also explains how some people who used to live in crime free areas are now being plunged into a world of crime by urbanization. The weakest point of this whole paper is the fact that you never know if the research they did was skewed by some other means such as just random coincidence. This paper related to all the other reach I’ve done about safety and building of communities. One of the parts that brings up community is how the communities will band together and object to a new rail way being put in.

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 talks about the problems the homeless face, how they find help, and how they find support and a sense of community. The article explain how homelessness effects other races and gender now more than ever, and how the homeless come together from support. They make there homeless brothers and sisters into their families, and they help each other with normal task or just giving them a normal conversation. This article hits on the same topic of homelessness, though this article talks more about their realities and how they help each other rather than where they live and what a person could consider a home. The only weaknesses that existed throughout this paper was the feeling it wasn’t talking all the bad sides of the homeless. I picked this source because it deals with the sense of community that I’m trying to research, and it also kind of hit on the topic of safety.

Inwood, Joshua F.J. “CONSTRUCTING AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN SPACE IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA.” Wiley Blackwell. 101.2(2011):147-163. Environment Complete. Web. 24 Feb, 2016.

The paper is talks about an urban redevelopment scheme by Big Bethel ame Church. Their plan was the turn the adjacent city block into a more diverse grouping of races. The adjacent city block, Auburn Avenue, is a very historically significant African American business area in the United States. I choose this source to gain a better idea of how areas are raced, and to be able to see things through a different persons eyes who had a different background. The only sort of flaw I found was the paper was wrote in a semi-biased. The paper is wrote from the point of view of one of the people from Big Bethel ame Church, though this does not take away from my research due to it being a gathering of other’s views. This source over all help with my research of safety and the idea of bringing people together for the betterment of a community.

His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society

We’re living in a time of change, the revolution of the ideals of gender. Masculine and feminine roles are being questioned and challenged through advances in science and technology and the cultural shifts in the depiction of genders. But as things change something have yet to change or yet to catch up in the change, such as most companies having a male CEO and female secretaries. Fields that deal with technology and web design at the top companies are 85 percent male. Though recent event show that a new wave of feminism may be needed, and implores men to also get into the fight for gender equality. And, the LGBTQ community has also made many great progresses and change in the world, with America making same sex marriage legal and many other countries around the world following suit.

The first thing to adapt the this change and become part of it was fashion, due to its ability to change quickly unlike architectural based jobs. With this becoming like this there is a bit more confusion with girls looking like boy and boys looking like girls. Things have become more androgynous. When everyone is born they are born with a gender, but beyond that that can decide what gender they truly are. There are college students who don’t put down their gender because they don’t want to be assigned as one or the other. In the past trans people were discriminated against and outcast, but with today’s progressive and more accepting views they’re being welcomed and accepted.

Corporations have started taking note and changing to be more accommodating to their workers by adding in gender neutral bathrooms such as unisex one. This allows their workers to feel more comfortable at work. Thought bathrooms are only one part of this grand puzzle we most solve, but they are a space at is very sensitive to this personal issue. In a case recently, a worker went under gender reassignment during summer break. After returning to work both male and female co-workers went to human resources and said that they didn’t want this individual in their bathrooms. This is a very hard issue and must be fixed in a way that no one is negatively effected by it.

Making everyone feel comfortable and accommodated no matter where they are parallels the bigger issue about design. The Disabilities Act are a disaster about how it went about doing things and we most not approach gender issues the same way, with regulations and forcing everyone to comply.  We are only the start of gender neural design, and having something like a safe place or everyone to function and feel safe in is the one step.

In the world where everything is being change, challenged, and switched, where the line between gender is being blurred and broken we need to design for different human beings who are out there by being respectful and understanding. We need to create a world where human beings can be their own individual selves.

Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Spaces

Education in today’s society is facing many challenges and changes in providing good learning spaces for the diverse needs of today’s college kids. As the years rise so do the number of students attending a college. In 2019 the amount of students registered in college will be around 9% higher than it is today. America expects a college to look like a place of learning inside and outside. A college needs more than just technological upgrades, class room additions, and new buildings. A college needs to feel like a learning space, a place where it always feels like a holistic learning space so it can provide a holistic learning experience. Learning is a constant goal that is always happening 24/7 all year long. Only around one-fifth of a student’s time is spent in a class room, which means that most of there time is spent around campus and not in class. A more adept learning space has more ability to provide learning outside of class, which might be an overlooked catalyst that can help students learn. The whole college experience is a very demanding time that requires a very high level of focus and concentration. This increases the chance of students falling into fatigued states and exhausting themselves out, and with all the technology in today’s society the students face a higher chance of being distracted. Although student’s cognitive abilities are highly over taxed and expected to always be working their best, universities do not provide any way to replenish or restore cognitive abilities.

The first American colleges were built to be self-sufficient in rural areas, having  dorm, dinning halls, and class rooms. Many of the people who wanted to make colleges back then wanted to make an ideal community that was isolated from the life of city but open who others to join. As time went on the lay out of college changed to be more open and less focus on many buildings together to block out the outside world’s temptations. Adding farms, gardens, and greenhouses started to provide student with more of a sense of community and a place to belong.

The layout of a campus has an impact of the learning behavior of a students, so a well designed campus is a crucial element into the learning of a student. Natural scenery refreshes the mind and helps it over come fatigue.  Though nature as proves to be hard to define. Nature could mean anything from just plants to gardens or even untouched woods. In most cases nature means anything that has to do with plants, fresh air or water. Without ways to restore ones cognitive abilities a individual may become angry or irritated.

Traditional campuses pride learning opportunities inside, but campus fail to provide a good learning environment that facilitates learning outside of class on campus.  Colleges need to pay attention to this mixture of indoor and outdoor spaces to help grow a community for their students. Nature trails provide an area for the growth of community and quiet area provide a student the ability to refresh one’s self. If colleges can mix their campuses in the right way they will provide a higher and more effective learning environment for their students.

Some of the trees are without leaves due to the winter, but they still look hauntingly beautiful since they will once again return for this dead looking state to a state of lush green. The sidewalk that surrounds the park all the way around its super long length can be seen.

Some of the newer trees that are being grown while older more fully grown trees are in the background. The park is very open and has many shady trees that can be used for cover in the rain and/or sun. This picture was taken from the road and shows how easy it is to get into from the road.