Today, I engaged in a peer review with Lyida. Her build environment analysis was about the benefits of attending a school in the city. She had an excellent well thought out idea. The advice I gave was to add the counter argument(negatives of attending a city – based school) and her rebuttal and to reread to check for grammar and sentence structure errors.
Lyida read my analysis and gave positive feedback. She also suggested that I add in why I chose Black Atlanta as my topic.
Still working on my thesis statement. Outline however is complete.
I had to scratch the old one and start over. The new thesis goes something like, ” Destruction of Black Atlanta stream from….” I’m thinking products of gentrification? or …?
Clark Atlanta University’s website (www.cau.edu) is a great online representation of the university: informative, appealing, and organized. The website is a place of pride for the university that wants to present itself in a positive light. A person can even go as far to say, the designer of the website was selling the school to prospective students and parents.
The colors used reflect the school’s colors. How they are used in the website are complementary to the text. For example, body text is black but links are red. The links are red to indicate that if clicked on, it will take you to another website page. The background is different shades of gray that complement the text on the pages. Menus are black with white text. This is to differentiate the gray background pages filled with information versus the menus that help navigate a person throughout the website. Titles and subtitles are bigger than other text. This style makes it easier for the viewer easier to read and understand that mass amount of information presented.
Opening Page
The very first page has a left side menu and menu bar at the top. There is a huge logo of Clark Atlanta University; it acts as a “home” button on each page. The rest of the space is accompanied with a moving slide show with pictures that present events or different actions that visitors might want to know more about. For example, one picture is about a current event Clark Atlanta is engaging in with The Coca Cola Company while another picture is of a graduating class with the words “Apply Now: Become Part of One of History’s Greatest Traditions” slapped right over it. There are three words that act as subtitles presented under the slideshow: “Learn, Lead, and Innovate” Underneath those titles are a few words and separate links that demonstrate how those words are instilled in Clark Atlanta University. If a person was to continue to scroll downwards, they will see a menu for university news, campus media, and links for social media.
Student promotion
Anyone who is searching the site can find what they need. For example, there is a specific page for parents. It has a testimony from another parent, telling the viewer the smart decision they made by allowing their child to attend their school. The page also include quick links that lead to things like a quick facts page, academics page, admissions page, and financial aid page. There are also pages for current students, alumni, visitors, and faculty & staff. At the very top in the menu bar there are links to those pages as well as links to email the university, a link for student email accounts, a link for searching the website all together, and a link for student accounts.
Parent Promotion
If a student was thinking about attending this school, the website would definitely help in making that decision because it would not be hard to find out important information like how to apply, financial aid services, and the different majors offered by the university. Overall, the website is not hard to navigate through and easy to understand. There are always links everywhere that a person could use. If they get stuck in one place, they can always click on the top right logo of the university and it will send them right back to the very beginning.
Content Control Features do this theoretically.
This article, written by Melissa King, argues that content control features are valuable to people who need them. These people could suffer from online bullying, PTSD, and other types of harassment or mental illness that could make them vulnerable to the general public. Throughout the article, she defends her argument by dismissing arguments that those features are useless.
One argument she attacks is that people who use content control features are “weak” or “too sensitive.” She states by criticizing people who use these tools, the world is creating a culture that presses people to expose themselves to catastrophic things. The situation becomes the victim’s problem and that they should “just deal with it”. This advice becomes useless because not every situation is a difference in opinion about something. Content Control features are helpful to stop the effects of abuse and shouldn’t be discouraged.
The second argument she attacks is that people claim that not using the content control tools when in an abusive situation is a form of therapy. The type of therapy referred to is the Exposure Therapy. This technique, gradual and controlled exposure to the cause of anxiety, is designed to cure severe anxiety. The misconception of this argument, King states, is that this argument is misunderstanding human psychology. Exposure Therapy is not random internet insults and threats from strangers. If their theory was correct, the insults would have to be controlled. Since this isn’t the case, this argument doesn’t reduce the trauma but magnifies it. She proposes the solution that people should understand mental illness before declaring solutions to the cures and denouncing helpful mechanisms such as the Content Control features.
The third argument she attacks is that people who are in the “middle” of the situation claim that both sides are unreasonable and suggest a middle ground to be found between both parties. King states that the problem with this argument is that those people are measuring the targets of harassment equal to the harassment itself. These people also fail to realize how vicious and persistent online harassment can be. They fail to acknowledge to the difference between the aggressor and their targets. King goes on to say that this demonstrates a lack of empathy for people who suffer from these situations.
Diversity need things like Content Control Features
King argues that easy one-size-fits-all solutions ignore the diversity of human psyches and experiences. Content Control tools take this idea into fact and allows people to be able to act on their emotional needs. Not everyone is able to ignore threats and still enjoy the internet. No one should be forced to deal with something if they do not wish to; especially if it is causing them emotional trauma. Telling people otherwise is wrong and inhumane. It creates a world of misinformed opinions about how to manage their own mental states. In turn, this increasingly allows a pattern for abuse. Therefore, the use of content control features shouldn’t be criticized but rather encouraged.
Sources:
Gibbs Knotts, H., and Moshe Haspel. “The Impact Of Gentrification On Voter Turnout.” Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 87.1 (2006): 110-121. Professional Development Collection. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
The goal of this article is to discuss the impact on gentrification on voter turnout in Atlanta neighborhoods. The authors generally want to test the theorgia of mobilization and destabilization. Mobilization is the process of citizens coming together to understand their issues and working together find solutions. Destabilization is the constant change in leadership while problems become more varied and harder to solve as a whole. Using the census data from 1990 and 2000, they accumulate their voter turnout model. In conclusion, the find that gentrification decrease turnout among longstanding residents. The authors suggest that policymakers should focus on ways to decrease the negative consequence of gentrification.
The article will be helpful in my research because it will give a political view on gentrification and its effect on the African American neighborhood. The model used for the voter turnout may not be completely helpful for today but based on when it was published, it was the best information available at that time.
SCHINDLER, SARAH. “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment.” The Yale Law Journal 124.(2015): 1934.LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
Schindler writes this article to clearly define what architectural exclusion is and its effects on the general public. She gives plenty of examples in transportation, housing, and public places. She also supplies a reason as to why this issue is occurring. In the end, she offers a solution to the issue she has identified.
This article will be helpful in my research because of the examples given. I can relate all the things she say towards Atlanta and the African American neighborhood. She actually mentions the problem of MARTA and it’s effect on the poor and people of color. I will be able to think about other things in Atlanta’s culture that hinder access to the poorer citizens. The definition of architectural exclusion is another subject I can address in my final analysis and this article defines it.
Immergluck, Dan. “Large Redevelopment Initiatives, Housing Values And Gentrification: The Case Of The Atlanta Beltline.” Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) 46.8 (2009): 1723. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Published in 2009, this paper examines the announcement effects on property values of the Atlanta Beltline. According to the author, the “Beltline” is the large, multipurpose development initiative. The author mentions property values from 2000 to 2006 and compares that data with the amount of news coverage. The paper ‘s thesis is that because of the large increase in home premiums near the lower-income, southside parts of the Beltline district between 2003 and 2005, which correspond to the initial media coverage of the planning process, demonstrate speculation and gentrification.
This article will be helpful to my research to understand the process of gentrification in regards to property values happening at this time. I will be able to back up my statements with the fact found from this study. The time is was published is also important because of the housing market crashing and recession at that time. This study was most likely written to further examine the housing market due to the recession.
“An Atlanta Magazine Roundtable.” Atlanta 49.9 (2010): 70-96. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Written in 2009, this article is an interview with a group of Atlanta leaders who talk about the city by identifying its problems over the past decade and suggesting solutions the newly elected mayor can take to solve them. There are seven interviewees including an educator, an imam, a developer, and a neighborhood activist.
One problem pointed was from Edward Gilgor, a self-employed attorney and chair of the Neighborhood Planning Unit W, expressed that safety and security was a major problem in Atlanta. Another problem was shared by Sharron Pitts, the chief of staff for Atlanta Public Schools, said since the removal of the Atlanta Housing Authority development and the recession, school closings in larger parts of the city have been occurring. All of the interviewees were able to specifically explain what they thought to be an issue.
This magazine article will be highly important to my research because it will give me specific problems that the African American people are experiencing from the point of view of different fields. Because it is written in 2009, that means that people aren’t doing so great because of the recession. This article was probably written to raise awareness of the problems of Atlanta; making Atlanta’s citizens pay attention to what the new mayor does to address their issues.
This blog post talks about the authors’ experience trying to experiment with the Color Walk. The Color Walk idea comes from William Burroughs, a novelist. It is described as picking a color or allowing the color to choose you and following it. It is said that if you get lost, then chose another color. If you happen to get really lost, then you have done really well.
The authors’ trip started at WNYC, in lower Manhattan. First, they followed blues that eventually led them to pinks and finally pulled them towards violets. From the authors’ own words “…the colors hung in our brains and eyes. We walked away seeing a world brimming over with colors…”
WNYC is a public radio station in New York City
The importance of doing such kind of walk could be that it allows you to notice colors in a way that you never have before. The authors stated that after they finished it was as if all they could see was only the colors; like the colors were just lingering in front of them or maybe in their own minds. A person that might benefit from this kind of walk could be painters, writers, or other professionals that desire to be inspired. People who are stressed could benefit from this walk.
There is a popular theory that color therapy is effective.
Also something to be considered is the context. This blog post was written in 2012. This was a time when the United States was rapidly but slowly recovering from the Great Recession. People at this time were still struggling to make ends meet, finish school, hold jobs, and take care of their families. At this time, people could have been stressed and needed a suggestion like the color walk to inspire them with a new idea or solution.
A reminder to the American people of the Great Depression published in 2008 because of the Great Recession
The authors go on to give tips on how to effective exercise this technique. They recommend at least an hour for wandering. They say to pick a color, or to let a color pick you- to follow the one that points out to you the most. Their final tip is to get lost! Getting lost is a sign that you are succeeding at the exercise.
Sources:
The claim: Atlanta’s exterior built environment is transitioning from a car-centered infrastructure to one that is more walkable and bikeable.
Two scholarly sources:
Two popular sources:
Evidence:
Walkways in Centennial Park by bjulmisse1
This picture shows how Atlanta is trying to adapt the culture of walking. Centennial Park is a popular park for tourists and residents. This park has walkways and bike routes. Residents have been known to walk or ride through and around this park. This park is surrounded by popular Atlanta attractions like The World of Coke, The Georgia Aquarium, The CNN Center, and many more.
Bibliography: