Making bathrooms more Accommodating

 

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‘‘Accommodate’’ comes from the Latin for ‘‘to make fitting.’’ It means to adapt, to bring into agreement or harmony, to furnish with something desired or needed, to favor or oblige. (Baseline 2015) “Making Bathrooms more Accommodating” by Emily Bazelon in a sense almost eludes irony just within the title itself. The accommodation of bathrooms can be argued because they are not so accommodating. Bazelon, from the beginning addresses some key points such as feeling vulnerable and also the dictation of ones body.

Many arguments are made in favor of unisex bathrooms, but with societies way of thinking, changing what one would call “the norm” has been proven to be difficult. For years society has brought awareness to problems such as segregation of social classes, race, religion but what we have failed to being awareness to is segregation of bathrooms. At first glance, segregation of bathrooms would not normally be first on the agenda to be addresses but it is a problem that affects the community we surround ourselves with daily.These public conveniences use appearance to dictate who goes where. Transgenders are often faced with agonizing choice of which restroom to use which results in the comfortability of a personal area to be diminished. How should a transgender choose which restroom to use when they fit the criteria of both genders? Should they be judged off original gender, which evidently will cause more problems than solutions? Should transgenders be forced to feel uncomfortable in a space provided for privacy? When it comes down to transgenders and restrooms or locker rooms, there will always be an issue.

A case Bazelon included in her article is that of  a transgendered Illinois high school student was identified as a female or her passport and identifies as a female was refused the right to change in the girls locker room. These inconveniences not only affect transgenders but male and females on a daily as well. Women are forced to wait in long lines while the opposite sex restroom does not have a soul in sight. Should women have to suffer because specific guidelines are not met in reference to who can and cannot use a certain restroom.

Today’s society is always pushing for equality but with the separation of restrooms, the one step we took to progression has now knocked us backed two steps. We argue that both and men and women should be able to do the same things such as both being able to go topless without women being judged but when the  debate of unisex restrooms come in to play, there is not much coverage or argument to get the results we need. The term ‘accommodate’ poses issues within itself and the author addresses that in the article. Bazelon suggests that the loaded term contributes to the  “othering” of transgender people and the manner of the term “often sets up a distinction between the normal and the other.” (Bazelon 2015) In essence the author does provide possible solutions to the accommodation situation that lies in todays society. These solutions are relatively small sacrifices that as a society, we would have to make; Bazelon proposes both privacy curtains and single-unisex stalls.

ATLANTA “College Park Marta Station”

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Buses, trains, and hundreds of pedestrians occupy this area every day. The sound of the tracks and wheels colliding upon one another gives the sense of being in the city; similarly to New York. College Park MARTA station is the 1st stop after the airport so it begins the connection between citizens and the rest of the city. Whether you’re traveling to work, school, events or even traveling to the airport, MARTA is there to provide you with that transportation. The MARTA station costs $2.50 for a one-way pass which allows one to go from one destination to another. Being a Georgia state university student, we have the luxury of getting a discounted monthly pass which allows us to travel unlimitedly each month to and from school as well as other stations and stops.

Annotated bibliography #’s 1-3

Frazier, Ian. “Hidden City.” The New Yorker 28 Oct. 2013. The New Yorker. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

In the article “Hidden City” by Ian Frazier, he begins explaining how homelessness in New York is at an all time and numbers like those have not seen since the Great Depression and in 12 years homelessness has increased by seventy-two percent. Ian has described how since the increase of homelessness has adverted individuals to resort to “living underground, in subway tunnels and other places out of sight.” Further down the article, Frazier makes and interesting point on how homeless families engage.  He begins to explain how homeless families mostly stay off the street and do not normally engage with other passengers on transportation and rarely beg. After describing the average homeless family, Frazier begins to go into detail on a specific family and the programs available in New York.  “Hidden City” can be translated in a way that it correlates with my built environment destination here in College Park, Georgia. Hidden City allows one to get an insight on how homelessness really works. It shows that there are programs out there to help but the programs don’t want to help. Ian Frazier gives a glimpse on how society views those are less fortunate and do not have the means to provide for themselves or a family. 

“Homeless Youth: A Crisis We Choose Not to See | Atlanta Forward Blog.” N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

“Homeless youth: A crisis we choose not to see” is a very heartwarming article as it explains an growing epidemic of homelessness among youth in Atlanta. YPM is one of the only three shelters that is available for emergency assistance. In this article, factors contributing to youth homelessness is discussed. For instance,  youth are turned away by their families, many of their parents or guardians suffer from addiction and illnesses and many teens become homeless as the result of their parents or guardians being incarcerated. The kids have been described as “hidden in plain view” and being victims of child neglect. Foster care is a system that one must outgrow one day. It is not a resource that is available to all because everyone is maxed out at a certain age and then must fend for themselves. This article takes homeless youth and explains its connection to adult homelessness. We turn a blind eye to homelessness but fail to realize it is happening in our own backyards. These kids are the same ones we play with, the ones that sit next to us in class, yet at the end of the day, they are the same ones that do not get to lay in bed at night, under a roof they can call their own. This article points a very interesting factoid that states that these teens are not allowed in Atlanta’s family shelters. Homelessness of our youth can lead them to committing suicide, allowing them to be vulnerable to pedophiles and sex offenders and have a drug addiction forced upon them.

“Substance Abuse and Homelessness |National Coalition for the homeless.” Web. 3 Feb. 2016

“A common stereotype of the homeless population is that they are all alcoholics or drug abusers.” Substance Abuse and Homelessness begins with the stereotype that all homeless people are addicted to alcohol or drugs. Although a mass majority struggle with addictions, most occur because of homelessness not the result of becoming homeless. Often substance abuse is a cause of homelessness because it can cause the loss of jobs and the loss of relationships with family members. Many do not realize that stress and struggle often result in the addiction to both alcohol and drugs. Trying to pay off bills and losing a job can trigger someone coping with their problems by using drugs or alcohol. Often homelessness causes substance addiction; many use it as a temporary pain reliever and over time become used to it. Motivation to overcome drug addiction among the homeless is slim to none as they are more focused on finding shelter and their next meal.

Built Environment Project

For the built environment project are we allowed to use captured videos to help give the illusion of our chosen built environment? Also would there be any restrictions on the types of videos such as personal interviews, etc.?

Posted in SOS

Reading summary 2

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“Tapestry Of Space: Domestic Architecture And Underground Communities In Margaret Morton’s Photography Of A Forgotten New York” by Nersessova discusses a safe haven for those who are homeless. It is evident that having a home and having a stable home do not go hand in hand as being synonyms of one another. Homelessness and the architectural structures go hand in hand in helping to create a place called home. The misconception of the homelessness is fought out in this text. When we categorize homeless people we categorize them as not having home but all in all they do have a home just not a conventional or stable home. Morton tries her best to capture points from the homeless point of view. When  being homeless, you are shunned by those who have more to offer as far as finances. Those who are homeless are looked at as not worthy. Society has gotten to a point where material items and money has deemed ones worthy. Many look at homeless people as people who are lazy and are only looking for handouts but in turn are some of the most hardworking individuals. As middle class and upper class we devalue the lives of the homeless because we feel superior as if we are better than them. A point Morton makes is how the homeless dwell in underground tunnels in New York to escape the bombard of the media and their interpretations on their situations. This is so they can be left to their reality. Nersessova states that since basically since the homeless do not have conventional homes, cities are allowed to destroy the places they inhabit. Life “underground,” is said to be less stressful because the daily struggle of life is not prominent. The tunnel is almost a safe haven for people to escape to. It revokes any type of fear. Morton uses photographs to showcase the not-so glamourous lifestyle that many people live. Morton captures the side of society is often so belittled. She’s able to show how architectural instances are used to help the homeless to express themselves. The discarded materials used to help make a place they call their own and also used to create a sense of identity. This sense of identity is abruptly taken away when their home is blocked. Homelessness is almost equivalent to being a crime in some people’s minds. Basically to turn urban areas into money making attractions, the “goal has been to push the poor out of sight”(Nersessova). Blocking the tunnels left them with no where to go. Overall Nersessova shows the connection between architecture and the minds of people. Your surroundings make you, you. The infrastructure that surrounds you on a daily determines your way of living. Road blocks and tunnel blocks are used as a prevention method to stop the homeless from entering certain areas. Similar to Schindlers view on built environments. Both explain the misuse of architectural structures. Both show how small, simple changes are affecting people by the mass. Lastly both show that segragation and discrimination is very much alive.

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