Reading Summary 3

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Summary of “His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society” by Suzanne Tick

This is an image of Caitlin aka Bruce Jenner. She is transgender and has been working on being accepted as such. She deserves to be accommodated and respected as the woman she is. While it is not easy, changes to how we see things have to be made with her and design.

In Suzanne Tick’s article “His & Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society”, discusses how United States textile designers are arguing for more gender-neutral designs. The year is 2016; in this day in age, the line between man and woman is extremely blurred. There are plenty of women who identify as men and men who identify as women. She described this as “a time of gender revolution” (Tick). She argues that the designers should focus on the issues facing society and support acceptance and change.

 

Tick goes on by describing the widespread and popular modern design. She claims that such a design does not adequately represent both genders. It focuses more on the male gender because the males tend to dominate the work places and occupy a majority of the power in the offices. What about the women, though? Do they not count just because they are the minority? As the wave of feminism and LGBTQ rights movements have gained support, more companies are starting to see understand the importance of gender equality and support it.

 

As the article goes on, tick gives credit to the corporations that have started to make changes for equality. She uses Google as an example and recognizes how they now have gender-neutral and unisex bathrooms, in addition to conventional restrooms. Their goal with that is to allow “all individuals to feel comfortable, safe, and included- and not have to choose a gender while in the workplace” (Tick). While that goal was accomplished, Google is one company; others should follow in their actions.

 

A major example that Tick uses in the article is her comparison between accommodating the disabled and accommodating the varying genders. She says that if it can be made mandatory that we adjust establishments for people in wheelchairs, then the same accommodations she be made for other people. Tick does not believe that it should be approached in the same way, though. She admits that “it’s unbelievable how hard it still is to find accessible bathrooms and entryways” (Tick).

 

While Tick expresses the many ways that companies should be making changes for the changing gender roles, she also acknowledges the confusion associated with the changes. She understands that it can be difficult to make modification for a subject that is not yet understood. However, Tick provides an example of students asking to have their gender unspecified and their schools accepting that. Although it is difficult for people to comprehend amongst the confusion and disapprovals, she goes on to say, “as designers, we can’t fall behind in embracing that, too” (Tick).

 

Like Tick, I believe that as the world continues to develop and grow, we need to learn how to progress with it. All of those alterations are only the beginning. Tick believes that as the definitions of masculine and feminine change, the way that we treat them should change as well. People be able to should feel accepted regardless of where they are. In our post-gender world, it is important that we be mindful of individual needs.

Built Environment Description

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For my external built environment, I chose Downtown, Atlanta. Over the course of the past two weeks, I have spent a few hours exploring and observing the downtown area. With an area as large and as broad as downtown, how could just one image or location properly depict the city? Thus, I collected digital records of various significant places that represent the area pretty well, such as the Atlanta Street Car, Centennial Olympic Park, Woodruff Park, the Jackson Street Bridge, and Octane Coffee. To get to Centennial, I took the Streetcar. When I first moved downtown, over the summer, I rode the streetcar almost every time that I went to the market or to the Centennial area because it was free and easy to access. The night that I went to observe Centennial, it was extremely cold outside, so I opted for taking the streetcar like I did over the summer. This time, however, I had to pay one dollar each way to get there. I personally did not mind paying the dollar because it saves me a two-mile walk. After realizing that the streetcar only takes cards, I was immediately off put by it. It lacked accessibility for the homeless people who use to spend a lot of time on the streetcar during the heat of summer. I felt sad for them when I thought about the fact that they would not be able to ride from point A to point B because many of them do not have debit cards with money on them and it was roughly 20 degrees outside. Each of the other places that I chose to record is public and open to people of all races, genders, and socioeconomic levels. That quality about them was important to me because I wanted to see downtown from the perspective of the average person. Anyone could have seen downtown like I did. Each place offers a sense of comfort and made me feel happy. The past couple of weeks have been particularly cold, so I was shocked to see the fountains at both Centennial and Woodruff parks still pouring with water. I expected them to be frozen and quiet. The bridge filled my heart with solace as I watched the buildings light up the city skyline. Cars zoomed by, some coming into the city and some departing. It was simply beautiful. As for Octane, it is a cute coffee shop that was full of light and busy people. There were people working, reading, studying, and conversing. My favorite aspect of the sites is there inviting nature and the diversity that they offer.

Annotated Bibliography One

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Salley, Kim. “Preventing Shelternization: Alleviating The Struggles Of Homeless Individuals And Families In New York City.” Fordham Urban Law Journal 42.4 (2015): 1019-1062. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

 

In the article, “Preventing Shelternization: Alleviating The Struggles Of Homeless Individuals And Families In New York City”, author, Kim Salley, discusses the problems that the homeless man and women of New York City face. While the article has several points and is broken up into four sections that also contain sub-sections, I am primarily focusing on the second section titled: “Sate of the Homeless: Factors Contributing to Homelessness and Failed Legislative Policies. Upon acknowledging the growing homeless population and a lack of preventative measures, Salley sought to provide New York with potential solutions to the problem, such as implementing more preventative programs, closing the gap between the minimum wage and the housing wage and establishing a better public assistance to help them get health care and food. Although the article discusses the struggles facing homeless individuals in New York City and my research topic is Downtown, Atlanta, it is still a reputable source because it was acquired through Georgia State University’s library database. Additionally, both places are popular urban cities and it is possible that some of those problems may also be applicable to the homeless population in Atlanta.

 

Sparks, Sarah D. “Homeless Student Population Still Rising.” Education Week 33.11 (2013): 1-15. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

 

In the article, “Homeless Student Population Still Rising”, author, Sarah Sparks, discusses how the 2008 recession in the United States has impacted the homeless student population. Sparks considers the factors that contribute to the problem, such as the recession itself, a lack of shelter, children being displaced and family need being unmet. In the shelter section, Sparks talks about how these students often have nowhere to go for shelter because the families that would have taken them in were struggling themselves and could not afford to take in anyone else. The section titled “Reasons for Leaving” points out the circumstances encouraging the students to leave such as domestic violence, problems in at home. Another section about family needs labeled transportation as a huge problem for the homeless students. Without transportation, they are unable to get to and from work, which makes it difficult for them to meet their needs. They could not make enough money to pay for transportation, food, shelter, and their education. Due to the fact that Sparks discusses the United States as a whole instead of just one location, the article is applicable to my research topic of Downtown, Atlanta. Given that I got the article through Georgia State University’s library database and Sparks uses statistics to back up her claim that the homeless student population is still rising, I consider it to be reputable source.

 

“It’s drugs that make people live on streets.” Daily Mail 18 Dec. 2014: 39. Regional Business News. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

 

In this news article from Daily Mail titled “It’s drugs that make people live on streets” by Regional Business News, the author claims that the homeless population faces homelessness due to drug addiction. The author acknowledges that there is a need for more affordable housing; however, he believes that no matter how many houses are built, the homeless population will still exist due to the number of homeless men and women who are addicts. He, the author, also points out the problem as predominantly one of the urban areas. The author concludes by stating, “as long as we fail to acknowledge that heroin is still eating away at the very heart of our society, not only will homelessness continue to grow, but it will be the least of our problems” (Daily Mail). This article came from the Georgia State University library database, which provides it with a little bit of credibility, but not entirely. The article fails to recognize the numerous factors other than drugs and affordable housing that also contribute to homelessness. It also labels many of the people on the streets as drug addicts, which discredit those who are on the streets and not on drugs. This article acts as an example for how people often look down on the homeless population, which makes it harder for them to progress.

Octane Coffee Shop- Downtown

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Octane

This is Octane Coffee Shop in Downtown, Atlanta. As my friends and family know, I have a thing for coffee shops. It is a cute little place. Music and chatter fill the atmosphere. The variety of people in shop is extremely diverse. I spent a few hours here doing homework and observed business men and women, students lime myself, baristas making beautiful lattes and people there just to hang out and have a drink. It was interesting watching everyone use the space in their own way.

Reading Summary Two

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This is an example of a park bench divided into individual seats to keep homeless people from being able to sleep comfortably on it.

“Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment.” By Sarah Schindler

 

In Schindler’s article, “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment”, she addressed many issues involving the built environments of various areas throughout the United States. She argues that places are built with the intentions of excluding certain individuals, such as poor people and people of color, from accessing them. She recognizes the numerous instances in which discrimination and segregation factors in architecture and the government allowed it to happen.

 

In the introduction, Schindler provides an example of such discrimination and segregation that Schindler mentions was in Memphis, Tennessee in 1974. At that time, the white residents requested that a street that connected an all-white neighborhood to a predominantly black on be closed off. The claimed that “it was ostensibly reduce traffic and noise, in addition to promoting safety” (Schindler, 1938). The Supreme Court allowed it. Justice Marshall was quoted in the article saying that by allowing the street to be closed, it possessed a “powerful symbolic message” and that it is just “a white community, disgruntled over sharing a street with Negroes” (Schindler, 1938). It was evident even when there was a blatant problem it still got over looked.

 

Throughout the remainder of the article, Schindler discusses architectural exclusion in two sections: Theories of Architectural Exclusion and Practice of Architectural Exclusion. In the first of these two sections, “Theory,” Schindler describes the exclusion as a regulatory practice. She mentions the three ways in which exclusion happen. The first is by law, the second is by threating people, and the third is by architecture. The architectural form of exclusion Schindler claims in illegal. She discusses how “cities were constructed in ways- including by erecting physical barriers- that made it very difficult for people from one side of town to access the other side” (Schindler, 1942). An example of this architectural exclusion that act as a form of regulation mentioned in the article is how some park benches have arm rests separating the benches into individual seats. This design is really intended “to prevent people- often the homeless people- from lying down and taking naps” (Schindler, 1942).

 

The second for part, “Practice,” discusses the many ways that states built and designed their environments to deny access from specific areas of a community. The sub-sections for this part are physical barriers to access and transit. Schindler says, “For example, sidewalks make walking easier and safer, in large part by reducing the risk of pedestrian and vehicle collisions” (Schindler, 1954). Her opinion is that such barriers are approved and brought about in an effort to promote public safety. As a result of these barriers, significant changes have taken place within the communities. In reference to transit, the article discusses the placement of public transit and the stops. For example, some people are against public transit in the nicer and more-developed areas because are believe that it will increase the number of homeless or lower-income people from coming in and out of the areas; thus, increase crime rates.

 

In conclusion, it was evident that Schindler’s purpose for writing the article was to draw attention to the illegal and unacceptable methods of exclusion that take place. It is unfair that the architecture is planned out in a way that will intentionally exclude certain groups of people- often the black and the homeless.

Reading Summary One

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Summary of “Tapestry of Space: Domestic Architecture and Underground Communities in Margret Morton’s Photography of a Forgotten New York’ by Nersessova

 

The article, ‘Tapestry of Space: Domestic Architecture and Underground Communities in Margret Morton’s Photography of a Forgotten New York’ by Nersessova, opened with an introduction about how “Morton’s photographs of New York’s homeless demonstrate how urban space impacts the psyche and directs behavior” (Nersessova). Morton’s photographs show how the homeless use discarded materials to make a place of their own. The homeless men and women of these shanties gain a sort of “space” by aligning their materials to provide themselves with shelter. Nersessova discusses how although these spaces are not permanent, they allow the homeless to express themselves architecturally, which establishes a sense of identity. However, that identity is stripped away when the tunnels are blocked off and their homes are demolished. The remainder of the article is broken into five categories excluding the conclusion: Situationalist International and Material Production, The Role of the Urban Photographer, Psychogeography as Rejection of Imperialism, Public Space vs. City Attractions, and Domestic Architecture. However, throughout this summary, the main focus will be on the Situationist International and Public Space vs. City Attractions sections because those are the most pertinent to me.

 

The first of those categories is the Situationist International and Material Production. In this section, Nersessova compares Morton’s photographs to twentieth century Marxist ides. Nersessova acknowledges Morton’s “commitment to anti-capitalism, psychogeography, and participation in the dérive builds upon situationist ideas…” (Nersessova). With respect to the material production, Nersessova defines the difference between material production and what Morton’s interviewees did. Material production frequently harms the environment, while the interviewees use the space as a way to demonstrate their creativity. By building on the space, the interviewees are not exploiting the environment; they were simply using what was already there to provide them with shelter. The purpose of the Situationist International was to “eliminate the division between art and life to examine everyday life in its entirety” (Nersessova). This section basically addresses the ways in which the homeless men and women are deprived of their homes and displaced.

 

The second category of relevance to me was the Public Space vs. City Attractions. In this section, Nersessova quotes Morton’s interviews and talks about how public spaces are being padlocked and welded shut blocking the interviewees from access. Although the behavior of the interviewees may not be considered ill, “the label “homeless” has been mistakenly approached as a criminal behavior itself” (Nersessova). In order to turn the urban areas into city attractions and profit, “businesses have to expand, bring in the wealthy, and attract tourists. The means to this goal has been to push the poor out of sight” (Nersessova). By banning the homeless from public places, yet shutting down the underground tunnels that they move to, the officials are leaving them with no where to go. As a result, “the war on public space intensified…” (Nersessova).

 

In conclusion, the primary purpose for Nersessova’s writing was to draw attention to the classist, capitalist ways in which urban areas, such as New York, operate. Morton’s photographs depicted the struggles that the homeless population face. Where are they to go if they are banned from public areas and their tunnels are obstructed? Throughout the article, Nerssesova brought up several valid arguments about the nature of the circumstances that the homeless encounter.