This produce sign in the Municipal Market was very interesting to me. The Municipal Market  is composed of many private vendors instead of one major corporate grocery store. The phrase “BEST SERVICE IN TOWN”, is making a statement that you will get quality service and great produce from that vendor. I believe this sign is a small statement that encourages small businesses to strive. This sign also encourages people not to be afraid to shop at small shops or vendors.

Construction is very important to building the built environment. Many thing that are of use in a particular area are enjoyed without thinking of the work it took to built such a place. The building of the environment itself has certain effects on our everyday lives.

In article,” Build a Positive Atmosphere in the Waiting Room to Make Patients Comfortable and Happy”, list the major influences the waiting room has on the patients mood. Waiting time in a waiting room is crucial to a persons patience level, anxiety, mood, and level of pain. The mood and attitude of doctors, nurses, or other people who work in a doctors office can also influence the patients mood . “Not being greeted by a receptionist… can also impact the patient’s mood”.

Major conditions can change a person’s mood in a waiting room. Lighting, artwork, furniture, reading material, Internet access and technology, and the overall layout can change someone’s experience in a waiting room . The lighting in a waiting room, for example, is very important because a dark dim place does not seem very suitable to be treated.

By having a hospital nearby, student may want to feel they someplace safe to go if an accident occurs. The layout of the hospital is very important. Having a hospital on campus is  a certain luxury that most people do not have in their built environment.

Emily Bazelon writes about the type of discrimination that come with public bathrooms. The bathroom is a place where most be people fell vulnerable and may feel more exposed than they ever have in a public place. Bazelon points out how Women wait for an extremely longer period of time than men to use the bathroom. Groups outside of male and female seem to not have a stance or equality for the necessity of using public restrooms. The fear that a man will hurt a female in a mixed stall has scared people out of equality. Transgender students all over the country are being called by their preferred name and join the sports team identify with which is a step towards equality at all levels but not all. A teenage transgender undergoing hormone therapy is not being treated as the person she is. Her school will not allow her to change with other females in the locker room. This is seen as a problem because children are being discriminated against. At the same time the transgender teen does not fit in ordinary category that has previously existed so some “accommodations must be made. The word accommodation is, “…often sets up a distinction between the normal and the other” (Bazelon). Those who are transgender and some who are not transgender want Transgenderism to be normalized. Making “accommodations”, seem as there is being room made for the undesired. Bazelon tries to prove to the reader that separated bathrooms based on sex is a form of segregation. Some feminist feel as though certain “accommodations”, for men benefit them and do not do the same for females. “Over time, women have become attached to the camaraderie of the ladies’ room” (Bezelon). The camaraderie that women share is also a way to discriminate against transgender people. Women highly enjoy the time spent in the bathroom away from men and the time to spend with a women or someone they see as an equal to them. When a transgender person comes in to join the camaraderie, women do not want to share themselves with a man. Time in the ladies room was meant to be for them and feel as though a “man”, is coming in and stealing their time. Transgenders feel pushed out of society and pushed out of everyday activities such as using public restrooms. Something as simple as using the restroom to a person who is transgender equates to a huge problem that involves the help of the law. To a person who is transgender, walking into a bathroom full of women is normal because although she is not fully a biological one, she feels as though she is. The gender she identifies with is what she feels she should be treated as. Other accommodations are made for children and adults who have certain disabilities to make them feel comfortable in their skin and have the same rights as others. Those who are transgender want to same rights and common privileges as other human beings.

Introduction

There is a significant amount of students enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the United States. The amount of student are intended to rise even more throughout the years. Kathleen G. Scholl and Gowri Betrabet Guulwadi, propose,”… that the natural landscape of a university campus is an attentional learning resource for its students” (53). A university campus is a representation of the learning environment and the university itself. All parts of the university, open and closed spaces, should represent not only the quality of the university but the community it is in as well. Technology may cause students attentional fatigue. Gulwadi and Scholl want to figure out how buildings, open roads and spaces, and natural open learning spaces help to support the learning experiences with the students.

Historical Context of the American College Community

Gulwadi and Scholl begin by describing the definition of the word campus itself. Originally campus was another way of saying field but campuses are now defined as, “…overall physical quality of higher education institutions” (Bowman, 2011). Most universities and colleges were built in rural areas as a way to be secluded the city and city lifestyle. This way students and faculty can have a sense of their own space and environment to learn. After the Morrill Act of 1862. Open space on campuses became more popular and common as a way to introduce different types of studies at universities and colleges. Because of this campuses became more open compared to the previous way campuses were linked together. There was a shift in the way campuses were created and universities and colleges are redefined in this way. After the Second World War, colleges and universities grew and so did their outside spaces. There was a change from usual all pedestrians to lots of students driven and even possibly commuting. With an increase in cars parking lots had to be made available on campuses. Open spaces are used for ecology, agriculture, and other environmental studies. Outside environments must be treated with care and be valued by those who live by campus and the surrounding community in order to preserve the environment.

Concepts of Attention and its Impact on Student Learning

The word landscape describes the relationship between the built environment and nature. Nature is proven to help human cognitive functions such as problem solving and concentration. Involuntary attention of the environment and nature allows students brains to replenish itself involuntary. Having nature around positively benefits the students in ways that may consciously and unconsciously understand.

Holistic Landscapes for Holistic Learning

There are six main settings for human-nature interactions. They consist of indoor, urban, fringe, production landscape, wilderness, and specific species human-nature interactions. These interactions can also take place in three modes which are indirect, incidental, and intentional. Holistic landscapes provide opportunities for students to enjoy nature on an everyday basis. Holistic landscapes also allows holistic learning experiences.

Conclusion

Student learning consists of structured and natural environments. This balance occurs to give college and university students a holistic environment because of the landscape provided. Public trails, study areas, and learning environments give students a chance to explore their campus, community, and a chance to interact with their environment. Colleges and universities go beyond aesthetic value. They advertise the thing that matters the most, the educational value.

Visiting the Oakhurst Community, located in Decatur Georgia, was very calming and beautiful. I visited the Oakhurst Community on a cool Monday morning. As I walked through the neighborhood I felt very safe and the sense of community was very apparent and clear. I seen residents walking their many dogs and other going for a morning jog. one major thing that occurred to me while visiting the area was how much the community is impacted by families and children.

There were a few small bookcases outside encouraging children to take a book to read like the one below in Harmony Park. This showed to me how people in the community were willing to uplift the children in the community and how encouraging the residents were towards education. There were also many beautiful homes in the area. there were very few abandoned homes in the neighborhood. I seen workers rebuilding and remodeling homes in the area. This showed to me the community cares about their overall appeal of the neighborhood.

In the neighborhood their were signs to better help the community such as Dead End signs, and Clean Up After Your Dog signs as well. The Oakhurst Community is very clean. I did not see any debris or trash lingering around which definitely gave me a good feel of the neighborhood. While walking towards the center of the community, people walking down the sidewalk greeted  me with kindness and a smile. The center of the neighborhood had many small restaurants and businesses. There was also a fire station very close nearby. The community also has a garden. The Oakhurst Community is very diverse with having African Americans, whites and other races living in the area.

While visiting the Oakhurst Community I came across a small bench in front of the Community Garden.  To me this garden represents the sense of community Oakhurst has. The bench seems to be decorated by young children from the neighborhood. The bench itself looks very unique in how it is made. This bench gives the community a sense of family and youth. The bench shows that the community desires their residents to feel as though they belong and have an input in how the area looks.

In the center of the Oakhurst community, I was astonished and delighted to see the mural above. This particular mural filled me up with joy because it was nice to see a community promoting a happy environment for children. This mural in my opinion represents being active and it gives me a glimpse of how the people view their neighborhood. The mural presents happiness, joy, and peace within the community. The mural make the community feel like an actual community and not just strangers living side by side.

As I walked around the Oakhurst neighborhood I noticed this sign. This gave me the idea that there must be a lot of people who own dogs in this area. This sign showed to be the value the Oakhurst neighborhood has for itself and the people who reside in the community. The sign is a reminder to the people who there who have dogs to clean up behind them. Although this is the law I understand that most communities do not have this small luxury of a kind reminder. This sign is a small gesture that makes the community look more organized and pleasing to the eye.

Universal Joint, was one of the many small restaurants that I viewed in the center of the town that particular day. There were many stores, restaurants, and small businesses in the area. This was an opportunity to understand what kind of taste the community has. The Universal Joint is a family friendly pub with five star reviews. This location was very clean like the community itself. The Universal Joint seems like a town favorite and original place to dine.

This is a picture of the mailboxes that are owned by the residents who live in the Oakview Gardens Apartments in the Oakhurst Community. These mailboxes represented the two different types of lifestyles in the community. In most of the community, the people have house that vary in size but others live in small apartments. The mailboxes represent how certain people are forced to live a certain way. The mailboxes allow no personalization and creative freedom like other mailboxes I seen in the community.

Vogel, Steven. “On Alienation From The Built Environment.” Ethical Theory & Moral Practice

17.1 (2014): 87. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

In the article, On Alienation from the Built Environment, the author takes time to describe the actual meaning of the work environment and how it is not often used in the context it was meant for. Steven Vogel considers himself an environmental philosopher. Vogel claims, “…the built world appears in most environmental discussions not as the environment but as a threat to the environment (88)”. Vogel also suggests that we are alienated from the built environment itself which in fact makes us alienated from the environment itself. The environment in which most people live in are socially constructed places. Environmental problems are in fact social problems. Because we do not recognize the origin of things and the role of nature we therefore fail to recognize the human nature, socially surrounding up. The tragedy in what Vogel calls alienation can be overcome by making collective decisions as a whole to improve the true environment, instead of a series of individual motives.

Beer, Chris. “The Contingent Public Value Of ‘Good Design’: Regulating The Aesthetics Of The

Australian Urban Built Environment.” Australian Journal Of Public Administration 73.2

(2014): 282-292. Business Source Complete. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

In the article, The Contingent Public Value of ‘Good Design’: Regulating the Aesthetics of the Australian Urban Built Environment, proposes that the built environment in Australian cities should be more visually appealing. Aesthetic regulation is aimed to promote the good design and beauty but is not the only goal. The writer goes in depth about the history of aesthetic value. The manifestation of the concern of rapid urbanization stemmed from the ‘City Beautiful’ movement that arose from the United States. Public value today, is a rationale for aesthetic regulation but has not always been historically. Recently there has been studies aiming to analyze ‘the value of urban design’. The writer examines the specific forms of public value and how over-regulation and under-regulation would be a danger. Also about the issues in the design of greater regulatory practice. Finally it concludes that taste and good design remain controversial within the design between professionals.