Class 4/7/16 Evaluation Ideas

Pick a topic and draw a conclusion from all the research conducted.

(Thesis & claims)

MARTA

evaluating the maintenance of the MARTA train stations.

  1. how they appear on the outside versus the inside.
  2. why users allow poor accommodations.( comparison to Uber’s luxury car service or even Atlanta Air Port) – You would never in a million years see the airport looking as unwelcoming as the MARTA train stations.
  • Profit Margins
  • cleanliness
  • minimum requirements
  • last known construction or remodeling
  • crime rates

MARTA is a  means of transit not only for residents but for tourist as well. Why does it give  off the impression that it is only made for the poor. Why does it feel like an abandoned tunnel made into a (pit) for the homeless? most of the elevators or emergency phones are out of service or poorly maintained.

MARTA(train) creates its own traffic. fastest mode of transportation around Atlanta.

Thesis: The built environment of MARTA train stations forces minorities to conform to the poor conditions of its facilities.

AB: The Building Blocks of Atlanta: Racial Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Inequity

Untitled

Hayes, Melissa Mae, “The Building Blocks of Atlanta: Racial Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Inequity.” Thesis, Georgia State University, 2006.

Using the Census 2000 block group data, Melissa Hayes examines “racial residential segregation in the five core counties of Atlanta.” This study was conducted in order to prove that residential segregation has a direct correlation with discrimination and the inequalities suffered by minorities in the 21st century.

atl-race-ethnicity-changes-2000-2010
Atlanta Region Race & Ethnicity Changes, 2000-2010

This article is useful for anyone needing a reliable source dealing with racial statistics and segregation in the 21st century. Within this article Hayes makes the direct correlation between class and race pointing out the difference in education opportunities and just all around community preservation. Throughout the article is a variety of comparisons of the traditional white neighborhood versus the traditional black neighborhood.

Rich V.S Poor (Color Line)
Rich V.S Poor (Color Line)

Hayes also goes on to say, “During the first half of the twentieth century, white Americans, through the denial of access to housing markets in metropolitan areas, created the black urban ghetto (Massey and Denton 1993).” Thus creating the color line and keeping it going from generation to generation. This information can be used in an article addressing the impact historical events still have on society today.

Other interesting facts include how bank lenders made it difficult for African Americans to leave the ghetto because they will not do business with them. Just the same real estate agents demand “unreasonably inflated interests rates“ requiring higher down payments in order for African Americans to even consider leaving the ghetto. This is a great resource to use on legal racial discrimination in the society today.

AB: South Dakota Ban on Transgender Students

b945a87758d81f38e76696379961d913
(https://twitter.com/hollyyancnn)
http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/02/28/1st-grader-transgender-boy-wants-to-use-girls-bathroom/
(http://fellowshipoftheminds.com)

Holly Yan, a reporter/writer/editor for CNN Digital, wrote the article titled “South Dakota Could be First State to Ban Transgender Students in Some Restrooms” focusing on a bill South Dakota is trying to get passed forcing transgender students to use the restroom of their biological gender rather than the one they identify with. This bill was put in motion in order to ” protect the physical privacy of students from having to expose themselves, or be exposed to others, when in a state of undress or nakedness while at school or school functions,” according the bill’s author State Representative Fred Deutsch. “The state Senate passed the bill Tuesday, February 16,  in a 20-15 vote, after the state House approved it 58-10 last month. The measure now goes to Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s desk.” This news article is useful for anyone needing an example when doing research on architectural discrimination or the exclusion of the transgender community in 2016.

 

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AB: No food stamps for steak or lobster, bill says

 

(http://www.democratandchronicle.com)
(http://www.democratandchronicle.com)

 

(http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/)

(http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/)

Jon Campbell, an Albany reporter who has covered New York state Government for Lohud and the journal news wrote an article titled “No food stamps for steak or lobster, bill says” covering a story that highlights statelaw makers attempting to “block the use of food stamps for ‘luxury’ items like high-end stakes, lobster and junk food.”

(http://autoradiomandri.com/)
(http://autoradiomandri.com/)

Justifying this by using America’s overwhelming obesity epidemic as a scapegoat for a specific attack on lower class minority families. In the bills memo it states’ “…it is critically important that taxpayer-funded programs help low-income consumers make wise and healthy food choices.”

Jeremy Saunders, co-executive director of Vocal New York, feels as though this is none other than, “…a Republican attempt to make it appear that poor people use tax dollars to buy steak and lobster.” This current event can serve as a supportive clause for anyone writing on legal discrimination and the new form of racism in 2016.

His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society (Under Construction)

(http://www.houzz.com/)
(http://www.houzz.com/)

Suzanne Tick‘s “His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society” is an article that focuses on our post modern society and the changes in architecture that need to be made to accommodate all Americans. Tick points out how it’s no longer black and white with female and male sexual identities, now there are actually “five billion people in the world and five billion unique sexual identities.” Therefore Suzanne feels as though, “Designers,who should focus a critical eye on society’s issues, need to work within this discourse and help promote acceptance and change.”

 

Copyright © 2013 infinitas. Article Photo for Denim Jeans Observer www.denimjeansobserver.com
Alexander Wang’s women’s coat from Fall 2015. Copyright © 2013 infinitas.
Article Photo for Denim Jeans Observer
www.denimjeansobserver.com
(http://fullinsight.com/)
Annemiek van der Beek’s Primal Skin makeup line. ( http://fullinsight.com/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Tick the fashion and beauty industry has taken that first step into evolving for it’s updated clientele. For instance, ” Alexander Wang’s women’s coat from Fall 2015 has masculine tailoring with a military look, while Annemiek van der Beek’s Primal Skin makeup line has been designed to be appealing to the male buyer.” This is that first step that we need in order to begin our acceptance process as a nation.

 

(https://developers.google.com/)
(https://developers.google.com/)

Tick also mentions in certain colleges students are not marking their gender on their applications because that don’t want to be identified as one or the other. These small but significant changes are leading to the development of unisex bathroom by big companies such as Google. The purpose is “…  to allow all individuals to feel comfortable, safe, and included—and not have to choose a gender while in the workplace.”

 

Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating’

(http://www.mydoorsign.com/blog/gender-inclusive-restroom-signs-for-transgender-citizens/)
(http://www.mydoorsign.com/)

‘Accommodate’ can have a compulsory aspect — it’s a word that involves moving over to make room for other people, whether you want to or not.

 

Emily Bazelon‘s “Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating‘” is an article that articulates and brings to question the basis of the Public Restroom System we have in place in America. Bazelon informs us that “Transgender people, most prominently, are asking society to rethink all of this, from signs to design to who gets to enter where.” In the 19th century states began to require sex-segregated restrooms on a discriminatory premise, much like racial segregation, yet we still implicate this irrational division as a social norm in today’s society. Bazelon goes on to say similar to the Americans With Disabilities Act, there should be a small alteration to the original design to accommodate for all individuals. “For people with disabilities, reasonable accommodation is about a bar next to the toilet and a button that opens the door. For transgender kids, it’s showering near your peers in your own stall, and then maybe getting dressed behind a privacy curtain.” Bazelon emphasizes.

http://www.rawstory.com/2013/10/fox-news-promotes-false-story-about-transgender-student-harassing-girls-in-bathroom/
(http://www.rawstory.com)

To strengthen her argument Bazelon mentions an incident involving a  “transgender high-school student that identifies as a female who was undergoing hormone therapy and asked to change in the girls’ locker room.” located in the suburban Illinois. The school district refused the teen her rights stating that, “Privacy concerns required sending her to a separate room down the hall.” This resulted in a civil rights complaint from the teen’s family soon ending with an intervention from the United State Department of Education asking the district to “give her the right to shower and change in the same locker room with her female peers.” Bazelon suggested a privacy curtain could be added in order to serve as a compromise for both the transgender teen and those of which have concerns about privacy rights.

To recap, Emily Bazelon published this article in hopes that it would bring awareness to the general public about the urgent need of reform in the architecture of public restrooms in America due to our accelerated evolving nation. Americans have to stop being so afraid of change/the unknown and welcome the evolution. The United States of America was created with the intent to promote freedom and equality for all; while our founding fathers had a good intent, they could not have possibly predicted what life would be like in 2016. With that being said, in spirit of Bazelon’s words it’s time we begin to make these necessary changes to accommodate all Americans and not just the masses.