Tag Archive | walking

Summary #5 Color Walking by Phia Bennin & Brendan McMullan

Mar24

Color Walking depiction

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

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.

A lot of people think color therapy is effective

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 and how we should avoid it.

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:

  • McMullan, Brendan, and Phia Bennin. “Color Walking.” Radiolab Blogland. WNYC Radio, 29 June 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • Antiel_eldar/flickr/CC-BY-2.0. Digital image. Radiolab Blogland. WNYC Radio, 29 June 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • WNYC Logo. Digital image. BuzzMachine RSS. WordPress, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • TIME Magazine Cover: The New Hard Times – Oct. 13, 2008. Digital image.Time. Time Inc., 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Atlanta’s built environment: Walkability/Bikeability

Mar23

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:

  1. Sarah Schindler’s article about Architectural Exclusion mentions the  the placement and size of public transportation and how it affects the public. She does mention Atlanta’s MARTA train transportation and compares it to a much bigger impactful public transportation system like New York’s. In Atlanta, there have been discussion of it’s expansion; however citizens of certain neighborhoods do not want this to happen because they do not want lots of outsiders near their homes. This means in Atlanta, it is hard to just depend on train transportation because it it limited to certain areas causing cars to still be a major form of transportation.
  2.  The annotated bibliography created by qmcclain2 talks about bike lanes in Atlanta. It states evidence showing how Atlanta is trying to incorporate bike lanes throughout the city. The lanes benefit not only the bicyclists but everyone else too.It provides more safety for the bicyclists and drivers of cars. The downfall of bike lanes are the city’s struggle to pay  for the cost.

Two popular sources:

  1. This website talks about the reasons for the construction of the Atlanta Streetcar. The name of the website is Central Atlanta Progress; Atlanta Downtown Improvement District which means that this information is coming straight from people who report improvement projects in Atlanta. The article goes on to say what the city of Atlanta have planned for the streetcar. One goal they described they wanted for the Streetcar is to decrease the dependence on cars. Thereby, promoting walking to get to certain popular destinations. The city also wants to promote the MARTA by having the Streetcar routes connect to certain transit stations. The audience of this website would be citizens of metro Atlanta; people who work in Atlanta, people who live in Atlanta, and people who visit Atlanta.
  2. This website promotes the accommodation of walkers within cities. It emphasizes the importance and the benefits of making cities walkable through street design. Walkability is explained to be inexpensive, healthy for residents, and beneficial to natural and economic resources: overall wellness. This website is clearly biased in that it only provides visitors with the advantages of walkable environments. An argument is vaguely stated, but it not fully reliable because of the lack of evidence and a counterargument. Therefore, the visitor can conclude that the website is to advertise the inclusion of walkable streets in cities in order to further accept people who rely on their feet as a means of transportation.

Evidence:

  1. Atlanta’s streetcar promotes walking through the city instead of driving your car to and from popular places in Atlanta. We choose this source because it relates directly to our topic and shows how Atlanta is becoming more walkable and bikeable. Atlanta residents and tourists can walk, bike, and skate to the streetcar pay a single dollar and ride to a particular destination in the city. The streetcar advances the walkability and bikeability of Atlanta.
  2. Bike Lanes are being constructed in certain areas to allow safe transit for bike riders. Most bike lanes are near major tourist attractions and parks. All bike lanes connect the attractions that they are near. For example, traveling from Freedom Park (King Center area) to Centennial Olympic Park isn’t a problem because of the connection of bike routes.
  3. MARTA is a great way for people to ride around Atlanta from place to place. Though MARTA has its flaws it is better than the Streetcar because it goes to more destinations in Atlanta. People are able to walk, bike, or skate to MARTA and bring these things on the train. This relates directly to our topic because it shows how MARTA enhances the walkability and bikeability of Atlanta.
Walkways in Centennial Park by

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:

  • Goines, Tay. “Streetcar- Downtown.” Web log post. Tay Goines Blog. WordPress, 13 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • McClain, Quintia. “Annotated Bibliography 4: Bicycle Lanes.” Web log post.Qmcclain2s Blog. WordPress, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • “Atlanta Streetcar.” Atlanta Streetcar. Central Atlanta Progress, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • “Bike Lanes, Cycletracks and Sharrows.” Central Atlanta Progress. Geocentric, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • “Walkable Communities.” Walkable Communities, Inc. Walkable Communities, Inc, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • Bjulmisse1. Centennial Olympic Park. Digital image. BrandonsBlog. WordPress, 9 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • SCHINDLER, SARAH. “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment.” Yale Law Journal 124.6 (2015): 1934-2024. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Dec. 2016.