Downtown

Signs, Space, and Change in Northern Liberties

2006-04-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

The most striking thing about the field exercises in Northern Liberties was experiencing the extreme linear separation between places. At first this difference seems somewhat intuitive – Girard, for example, appears to be a clear transitional zone. North of Girard invokes a different feeling from south of Girard. I always knew that these “neighborhoods” were different, but taking field notes opened my eyes to distinct details. On Second Street, referenced in the gentrification post, shops cater to a “hipster” class interested in vintage-modern wares, art for art’s sake, and vegetarian food. Girard, however, hosts McDonalds, the Poison Apple Tattoo shop, Oz’s ”gentleman’s” club, and Goodwill.

The current commercial strips reveal nuances about what classes inhabit the neighborhood because the goods and services offered are very different. I wondered “How are neighborhood lines drawn?” “Who draws them?” “Is it government zoning? Real estate? Residents? Or a combination?” This is a map of all the areas that I covered in field exercises. Orange represents the entire area of study, green is healthscapes, yellow is gentrification, and blue is commercial and industrial.
The streets of Second and Front provide a model of delineation. These two streets run parallel to one another and are only one block apart. As stated in the urban industrial post, Front Street is hindered by its location under the el and freeway. It is littered and abandoned. Second Street stands in lavish contrast. Only one block away, it is bustling with new residential and commercial development, newly paved roads and sidewalks, shops, restaurants, taprooms, fitness centers, and the like. Although an industrial legacy is apparent, most of the industrial buildings that still stand are morphing into new uses, either commercial or residential. New mixed-use development and old rehabilitated buildings mingle together along this street that caters to the class interested in art, antiques, flower shops, vintage furniture, vegetarian and gourmet food, boxing classes, coffee shops, and microbrews.

Something else that popped out at me were the signs and how I interpreted signs. Many signs allowed me to figure out what was inside the building or what was formerly inside the building. Studio B declared what class offerings it had, and Henry F. Ortleib’s Brewhouse was etched into a stone placard on the building. Many signs on Girard were bilingually written. I haven’t been inside many of the buildings, so, I don’t really know what these signs portray. The field exercises are a good way to familiarize yourself with an area, but further research is necessary to really understand a place and the historical events that led up to the current status of place.

The final thing that stood out was how quickly things changed. Our class worked on the field exercises from January to May, and so much changed during that short time period. The blog can be a powerful tool to disseminate recorded history in a new way.

All aerial maps courtesy of Google Earth. All photos and illustrations by Bri Crowley unless otherwise credited. Copyright Gabrielle Crowley 2006.

Field Report: Gentrification

2006-04-08T13:18:00.001-07:00

Second Street in Northern Liberties is the perfect example of intensive gentrification with Tower Investment Corp. at the helm. The things that stand out for me in a landscape in the process of gentrification are real estate signs, dumpsters, and port-a-potties. Wherever I saw a dumpster, I could expect to find a house under rehab. Another sign of gentrification in this historic neighborhood was houses with garages and driveways. On my short walk on 2nd, Girard, Brown and Orianna (with a quick jaunt to 3rd) I saw no fewer than 26 for sale signs. And some of these signs were for multiple units. I also saw 5 dumpsters. The area that I walked for this field exercise was the smallest area of all of the exercises. The growth in this neighborhood is immense. It seems as though Tower Investments has a sign at every major development on 2nd Street. They have signs at Girard, George, and Poplar. Their developments in the area include Boone Lofts, Liberties Walk, 1000 N. Hancock, and the list goes on. They tout themselves as “Aggressive, Creative, Urban.” Tower is not the only developer in the area, they are just the most prominent.

I really can’t tell you what I think of this group. We have heard both sides of the coin for gentrification. It is bad because it pushes out the residents who were living in the area that can’t afford to stay. It is good because it creates new jobs, housing, and boosts the economy. From what I can see, the good things about Tower Investments are that it creates mixed residential and retail areas. I think that America needs to start planning in this fashion, instead of continuing to sprawl all over the place, creating longer commutes, more pollution, etc. However, I also think that a requirement of new development should be mixed income housing. I cannot afford to buy or rent from Tower Investments.

I am an educated, resourceful person. What about the people who do not have a choice or access to the same resources that I do? In addition, I love the historical integrity of Northern Liberties. As I admitted before, I do not know much about architecture, and I haven’t researched the neighborhood’s history as much as I would have liked; but I do know this… I think that Tower Investment properties are ugly. They don’t fit in with the landscape, or the historic architecture of the neighborhood. Others may disagree, which is fine.

Tower Investments has a “master plan” for Northern Liberties as well as other neighborhoods in the Philadelphia area. But I think that there needs to be a master plan that includes the poor. The rich continue a tradition in American cities of pushing the poor around. If the rich want to live in the suburbs, they push the poor into the cities. Now that suburbanites want to move back into the city, where will the poor go? I took a class where the professor told us that measuring poorness was about measuring choice. The fewer choices you have available, the poorer you are.

This has been a struggle for me. I am a rural gal. I moved into the city. Many of my friends are doing the same. That means that in part, I am one of the people spurring gentrification. I had the choice to move here. I sometimes get the feeling, when I walk north of Girard that people are staring at me and wondering what I’m doing in “their neighborhood.” I think people have every right to feel skeptical or concerned or mad about my presence. They don’t know me. And history hasn’t exactly proved that my race or class should be trusted. But I don’t know how to interpret this uncomfortable feeling I have. Should I feel this? Is it good that I’m aware?

Gentrification deals with economic revitalization. We see the government supporting the revitalization with paved roads, new sidewalks, and tax breaks. But what choices are they providing for the poor? The Philadelphia City Paper ran an issue dealing with gentrification during the week of January 26 – February 2, 2006. They talked about artists paving the way for vulturous developers. The developers track where the artists go and then they follow them and create lofts out of warehouses, and end up pushing out the artists who can no longer afford to live in the area. This makes me wonder about the parameters of gentrification… don’t these artists, don’t I, have more education, and therefore more choice? I suppose that is why gentrification is considered cyclical.

All photos by Bri Crowley. Map courtesy of Google Earth.

Field report: Healthscapes

2006-04-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

The geography of health was an important theme for our class this year. While on my field exercise in Northern Liberties on April 16, 2006, I broke down 5 themes related to health: fitness, food, medical facilities, general community health, and environment. After I went out multiple times, I thought to include spiritual health, but did not document it in this exercise. There are numerous churches in the neighborhood, as well as a yoga and Capoeira studio, and parkland, which for some, provides spiritual uplifting and solace. I will talk about some of these spiritual locations in other themes, such as fitness or food. The streets that I focus on are Fairmount, 2nd, Poplar, 3rd, Girard and 6th.

Fitness:

Northern Liberties Recreation Center – on Fairmount between 4th and 5th – an athletic facility providing boxing, swimming, basketball, a playground, etc.
Studio B – on Fairmount between American and 2nd – yoga, Pilates, nutrition, and Capoeira, a type of Afro-Brazilian martial art.
Iron Works and Soy Café – on 2nd between Brown and Poplar – this is a weight gym.
J. P. Sneed – Personal Fitness Studio – personal fitness training.
The School at 6th and Fairmount – Basketball courts.

Food:

Palm Tree Market – on 2nd between Fairmount and Brown – fresh vegetables and other conveniences… this is an upscale convenience store and deli.
Bakery – 3rd and Poplar – breads and pastries.
Liberty Deli – Orianna and Poplar – regular convenience store.
Almanac Market – 4th and Poplar – specialty food cache, gourmet, organic, macrobiotic (local).
Liberty Lands Park – bound by East Laurel, Bodine, 3rd and Wildey – farmers’ market in the summer.
Multiple BYOBs and Taprooms – usually freshly made food.
Girard Supermarket on Girard – regular convenience store.

Medical Facilities:

Philadelphia Department of Public Health, District Health Center #6 – on Girard between Orianna and 3rd – Who goes here? Who is served? What kind of cost is associated with this place? Do you need insurance? Where are the other numbered centers?
Engine 29 – on Girard and 4th – medic and rescue.
Medical Office of Nasira Y. Majid – Girard and 5th – general and child fractioned, sign in English and Spanish.
Dental Office and Pharmacy of Joly Jacob – Girard and 5th – dentist, sign in English and Spanish. Do these doctors or their staff speak Spanish? Or are they just trying to attract Spanish clientele from the neighborhood?
Pharmacy – Girard and 6th.

General Community Health:

Women’s Community Revitalization Project – Fairmount between 4th and 5th – Is this for victims of Domestic Violence? Is it something else?
Orianna Hill Dog Park – Orianna and Poplar – pets often contribute to human health and this is a place for them to be healthy. There is also a kennel called Doggie Daycare on Poplar and 3rd.
Philadelphia Free Library – Girard and 6th – resources and education

Environmental:
Liberty Lands Park – bound by East Laurel, Bodine, 3rd and Wildey – Penn State Cooperative Extension has planting beds here. This is a “green space” with grass, trees, plants, playground, etc.
Philadelphia Street Cleaners – I’ve seen these guys working especially on Girard picking up trash.
Garbage Can at 6th and Girard – filled to the brim with someone’s personal trash even though the sign on the bin says that it is illegal to dump your trash there (In Spanish too).

Basically, I found a lot of signs of good health for all classes in the area. Yes, there are gyms that you have to pay at, but there are also free and cheap facilities to get exercise, including sidewalks and basketball courts and parks. As compared to our field experience at Temple on Cecil B. Moore, the health services, availability to fresh fruits and vegetables, and environmental quality seem to be a lot better. However, this isn’t the healthiest place in the world. There is still a monoculture of trees, and as Dr. Masucci says, just because a place is “green” doesn’t mean it’s really of good environmental quality. There could be brownfields lurking in every corner for all I know. Just because street cleaners pick up the trash doesn’t mean that it isn’t there, going into storm sewers. There is a lot of traffic, adding to air pollution. In addition, not everyone can afford the luxury of health. I did not research how much a membership to some of the fitness places costs, but I do know that a lot of the food is more expensive here than at McDonalds or at a regular grocery store.

All photos by Bri Crowley. Map courtesy of Google Earth.

Field Report: Commerce and Industry

2006-03-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

In Northern Liberties, it seems as though the main thoroughfares for commerce today are along Spring Garden, Girard, and Second Ave. Sprinkled throughout the rest of the neighborhood are other little restaurants and shops. An historical legacy also remains from earlier days of industry and trade in this neighborhood. The American Street corridor has a great deal of industrial legacy. According to Matt Davis, from the Information and Technology Society Research Group of Temple University, in the late 1800s and early 1900s north Philadelphia and American Street, specifically, was once the industrial center of the east coast and of the world. Within this assignment, there are two distinct goals: recording current commerce and retail, and recording historical commerce and industry. The route that I walked to gather information about urban industrial and commercial landscapes was between Girard Avenue and Spring Garden Street and along Front and American Streets. In large part this field work was collected on April 17, 2006 between 12:30 pm and 7:50 pm. Some photographs and field notes were also taken on March 19, 2006.

While taking notes on industry and commerce, it was apparent that Front and American streets have more of an industrial legacy, while Girard and Spring Garden house current retail and commerce. Second Street, which was not a part of this field exercise, also shows very different offerings. These offerings will be fleshed out in the gentrification post.

Front Street, on the outskirts of Northern Liberties, is littered with glass and trash. It has abandoned warehouses and vacant lots from a more historic industrial era, including Fruchter Industries, Inc. – “whole sale distributors of kitchens, vanities, and appliances” and Wood Superior, Inc.
Also on this block are General Marine Refrigeration Corp., and Viking Supply. These two industries are still in business. I looked them up on the Web. One thing that helped during the field exercise was that many older buildings had their names etched or painted onto the facade. I don't know much about architectural history, but I think this was an interesting feature of older businesses. Instead of having a neon sign, the name was more permanent. Maybe people thought their businesses would be around a lot longer. It also makes me wonder what used to be where the vacant lots are now, and when the el and the interstate were erected.

The elevated train runs above Front Street until Laurel Street and the I-95 corridor, where a PECO substation is located, then the train follows under the interstate. Before I walked along this leg of the journey, I wondered what would be under the interstate and the el. I found, maybe not so surprisingly, abandoned and vacant areas, along with a NIMBY (the PECO Laurel substation). Not many people want to live under the loud rumblings and dreary belly of the el and the highway.

After Front Street emerges out from underneath the el, it is still littered, but there are apartment units being built on Front between Ellen and Poplar and some trendy shops and bars emerge on Front and Fairmount. At Front and Ellen, the Herman L. Winterer building is available for lease by Plumer associates. Turning the corner onto Spring Garden, there is another “adult entertainment club” along with other shops and bars.

Spring Garden Street is the southern limit of Northern Liberties. The commerce and industry along Spring Garden between Front and 3rd Streets consists of an autobody shop, a health food store, a popular bar, an abandoned shoe company, a spa and salon, and a plaza with Rite-Aid pharmacy, deli, Chinese food, pizza, and laundry.

American Street is more insulated within the Northern Liberties neighborhood. The industrial legacy is more starkly contrasted on American. Buildings such as Ortleib’s Brewhouse on Poplar and American are vacant. When I walked by there were bulldozers there. I do not know if this building is slated for demolition or for rehabilitation and mixed use. Henry F. Ortleib’s Brewhouse, circa 1914, is large, occupying half of the American Street block from Brown to Poplar and extends deeply into Poplar to 3rd, where Ortleib’s Jazzhaus utilizes some of the space for live music. Directly across the street on American and Poplar is a bottling house. I’m not sure if the bottling house was owned by Ortleib, but the two buildings are definitely connected.

When traveling north on American, from Poplar to Laurel, most of the block is residential. Between Wildey and George, there is an area with shops below and residential above. These mixed-use buildings are called “Liberties Walk” and are Tower Investment property. I will talk more about Tower Investment in the gentrification post. The Philadelphia 76 Trolley Works and Carriage Company on American and George has a sign posted stating, ”For sale… prime development, 40,000 sq. feet.” The Horse and Carriage post ties into this commercial space. If this land is for sale, where will these horses go? Where will the company go? And how will that affect tourism and traffic in Philadelphia?

Turning onto Girard and stepping down toward 4th, you can see shops like Botanica Rodriguez and Anta African Hair Braiding. The Poison Apple Tattoo shop sits between Hancock and 2nd. And who can miss McDonalds, just a couple of steps away from Front St. on Girard and Lee, their sign stating, “Billions and Billions served”? These commercial strips provide insight into who shops in the
neighborhood, and what their needs are.

All photos by Bri Crowley. Map courtesy of Google Earth.

Location

2006-03-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

The location I've decided to use as a case study is in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. I would like to focus on the area within the boundaries of 6th to Front streets between Girard (to the north) and Spring Garden (to the south). This map is from the program Google Earth. I just moved to Northern Liberties after living with my sister for a year in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I personally do not know very much about the city of Philadelphia or Northern Liberties. I think this project will be a good opportunity to get acquainted with my new neighborhood and the city. I realize that this neighborhood is becoming gentrified, and although I did not previously live here, I do have experience living in another urban neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio that was experiencing gentrification during my period of residence. There are some parallels, but also many differences between these two locations. While studying Northern Liberties, I hope to draw on some of the insights that I gained while living in Over-the-Rhine.

There does seem to be a nationwide trend of movement back into the city, and especially for people moving back into the urban core. Both of my parents went to college, and they both moved back to their rural roots. Now, I think that not only are more kids going to college, but less are moving back home. None of my close friends from high school have moved permanently back home. Most of them are living in Pittsburgh, where many of them went to school. Some people (including me) moved back for a short stint while figuring out other plans, but almost always, lived in our parents' homes. The same trend is true for my younger sister and her friends.

In this area there are more dwelling units than I could estimate, multiple restaurants and places of worship, neighborhood community centers, murals, play grounds, parking lots, banks, a funeral home, grocery stores, warehouses, flower shops, etc. There are homes for sale and apartments for rent. Some parts are dilapidated, while others are newly built, and others are still under construction. My friend just moved out of the neighborhood after a five years at her apartment because she couldn't afford the rent. Old brownstones and rowhouses are selling for upwards of $300,000.

A healthscape is one of the main themes of this class. I would like in my search to study the history of the neighborhood, especially access to food, shelter, water, medicine and culture. At this point I would like to focus specifically on food sources and their historical and current presence in Northern Liberties, specifically including grocery stores, urban farms and farmers markets, and community gardens. Also included in this theme are greenspaces, and vacant lots.

All Photos by Bri Crowley. Map courtesy of Google Earth.

Ethical Argument

2006-02-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

This post will examine the value systems surrounding the environmental ethical dilemma of different modes of transport in the city including my own personal experiences with cars, buses, bicycles, and walking.

It is evident that private cars pose an environmental problem in the city. Not only does a multiplicity of private cars cause congestion and pollution, but there are environmental problems associated with highway and road infrastructure, parking, safety, and petroleum production, refinement, acquisition etc. Even though most people are aware of the obvious problems that cars pose to the environment many continue to drive alone. In addition, these commutes are not usually enjoyable. Have you ever heard of a person who relishes long commutes, sitting in traffic jams, avoiding accidents, or the stop and go of city driving? In Philadelphia the average commute is approximately 30 minutes according to a 2005 U.S. Census Bureau Press Release. Yet, people continue to drive individually, clogging the roadways with their cars. Let us look at the value systems behind driving, and the alternatives (specifically buses, biking, and walking).

Values
Driving Alone
The value systems that people draw on for driving alone are, in my opinion, usually more individual-oriented than community-oriented. These individual values consist of freedom, self-reliance, control, privilege, comfort, convenience, and sometimes ego.

Walking, Biking, Bus Riding
The value systems that people draw on for alternative modes of transportation can be multi-fold: either they don’t have the money or the desire to own and maintain a car, or they have an orientation that is more community-oriented or environmentally friendly. I think that people ride public transit because it can be cheaper (which is debatable, especially here in Philadelphia); they are not able to drive due to age (too young or too old) or physical or mental or language restrictions; they are actively trying to reduce pollution, parking, etc. for environmental or other ethical reasons (such as peace); they do not want to deal with driving for safety, weather, or parking reasons; they had one too many drinks at the bar; they want to get their exercise; or they just enjoy riding buses, trains, and bikes, or walking.

Bicycling is still considered one of the most efficient modes of transportation for short distance travel. Transportation Alternatives, a group dedicated to transforming the transportation system in NYC has an article about the cost-benefit arguments of bicycles and individual cars. If you check out the main page of their site, you will also see their Green Transportation Hierarchy. According to this hierarchy, walking and bicycling are the “greenest” modes of transport, followed by mass transit, and bottoming out with individual cars. The Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley presented an action plan to Mayor John Street in 2000 to attempt to get Philadelphia on the right track to increasing bicycle ridership across the region. See the full proposal. This information would be helpful to anyone who wants to increase bicycle prevalence and safety in Philadelphia.

My Experience
Walking and Biking
One of the major pluses for me is that while biking and walking, I am in touch with what is around me. I interact with people and with my environment to a greater degree. The slower my means of transit, the more I notice intricacies, and connect with what is around me.

However, I am caught in the middle of this ethical dilemma. Although biking is my preferred means of transport, I live in the city and have class 5 nights per week in Ambler, Pa. In addition, my sister lives in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Unfortunately, I am not able to bike that distance. Jaime Lerner would recommend that I live closer to where I work (or in this case, go to school), but life’s circumstances are not always so cut and dry, especially in a society that plans everything around the individual car as the epicenter of life. There are other challenges associated with biking as well. My options are quickly narrowed down to public transit, the Temple shuttle, or driving.

Shuttle Bus
Temple offers “free” shuttle bus service to its HSC, Tyler, and Ambler campuses, included in the cost of tuition. These buses run approximately every hour (with some discrepancies) throughout the day. This seems like a good option to my ethical dilemma of driving to Ambler for classes. Mass transit is more economical and environmental than driving. My problems with the bus are as follows:

Unlike others who are able to study on the hour long ride to Ambler, I am afflicted with a terrible case of motion sickness. You name it, if it moves, it probably makes me nauseous... boat, bus, plane, train, subway, truck, or car backseat. I am the one who sits in the front of the bus, meditating on a horizon focal point at all times. Despite this problem (I've been this way ever since I can remember, a trait I inherited from my father) I do make every attempt to ride the shuttle as much as I can possibly bear. This feat is made easier if certain bus drivers are not at the wheel… The ones that like to crank the heat up to desert-like conditions, slam on the brakes at the very last second or pulse-accelerate.

In addition to my motion sickness, I have Chronic Lateness Syndrome. True, CLS is a self-diagnosis, and no medical practitioner would probably agree to label it as such. However, ever since I was 10 days late for my own due date to make my appearance into the world, I have never seemed to catch up. I cannot seem to consistently be on time for anything. This is a problem when the shuttle and most other forms of public transport run on strict schedules. If I miss my schedule, I end up being more than an hour late for classes in Ambler. In Curitiba, Brasil buses run at much greater frequency (as often as one minute per stop). In his talk… Jaime Lerner says that public transit should follow these 3 principles: frequency, reliability, and ease of use.

This photo of a Hummer parked in the city streets is an example of egotistical reasoning for driving a car. It is clearly not necessary to drive a military vehicle that gets 8-9 miles to the gallon around in the streets of Philadelphia unless you are hoping for attention. I realize in saying this, that my value set is blatantly transparent. I will own my bias and say that I think that anyone who drives a Hummer is nothing less than selfish and egotistical, or perhaps, just ignorant. Some could say the same about me for driving an individual car, and I would probably concede.

Driving
Additional reasons I would rather drive than ride the shuttle are that I am moderately comfortable (not stuck in a vinyl seat that was designed with a second grader in mind, bordered by a dirty window, a wheel hump underfoot, a cage skyward, and another adult just as large as I squished in next to me), I can eat or drink almost anything I want, I can listen to my choice of radio (or none at all, which is a respite compared to the acid jazz on the bus), I don’t have to worry about having tokens or exact change, transfers, or figuring out the system (which may be considered laziness), and the number one reason is that I can control the ventilation and heating system. These may seem like ridiculous reasons, but they are probably similar to the reasons others drive their cars alone.

I know that I just made it sound like I would rather drive than ride the shuttle any day. However, that is not the slant I want to convey. The reality is that I don’t really like driving either, but I don’t want to gloss over the fact that sometimes I do drive. And every time I drive, even though my car is a compact diesel (for which I am actively searching out biodiesel suppliers in the area), I feel utterly guilty. I am aware of the Green Transportation Hierarchy. This is the environmental ethical dilemma I am faced with every day.

Photos by Bri Crowley 2006.

Juxtaposition

2006-02-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

According to www.wikipedia.org a juxtaposition "is an act or instance of placing two things close together or side by side. This is often done in order to compare/contrast the two, to show similarities or differences."

I chose to shoot photos of urban trees. Most of these trees are surrounded by impervious pavement and restricted of air and water in their root systems. In addition, urban trees are subjected to polluted air, compacted and nutrient-poor soil, road salt, dog urine, and litter in their branches. Trees also have to survive car doors being slammed into their trunks day in and day o ut. Although some are resilient, most trees are not invincible.

In the Philadelphia urban setting, sometimes the mere presence of trees seems like a juxtaposition in the landscape. It doesn't look like they belong in those tiny holes in the sidewalk, their roots bulging up into a cement ceiling. Even peering down a street, especially now in the winter, when deciduous trees are naked, stretching their boney branches skyward, there is a visible contrast with the linear lines of all the buildings and streets and fences.

Many people don't even recognize that the trees are there. I know that until I took a class in tree identification, I certainly did not see trees as I see them now. After learning that each tree has its own set of characteristics that set it apart from all the others, I began to see different trees everywhere. Upon learning their names and forms, how they thrive and reproduce, a relationship was spawned and a new world opened up to me. Plants often do best when they are planted in their natural plant community. Just like people, plants require a community and a set of cultural conditions to survive.

When the Europeans first came to the new world, the east coast was shrouded in impenetrable climax forests. Now, we intersperse monocultures of trees like soldiers in rows along the street. Even the trees that are planted in urban settings are often not the trees that are native to the region. Many invasive species are taking over any greenspace in an urban setting. The health of a forest is determined by what species are actually reproducing and surviving. If this is the definition of health, the native species in our urban forest aren't doing so hot.

Philadelphia boasts a cornucopia of horticultural history, and within that history are plant explorers who traveled the globe to collect different species for the wealthy who had botanical interests and owned land. Meantime, the plants native to North America were being exploited and extinguished. Many of the collected species of plants were kept in arboreta and estate gardens that are still around today. These are the remnants of a history in which we discounted the native species as abundant and never-ending and continued on an insatiable quest for more.

Today many of the arboreta realize that the plants native to this region are in fact vulnerable (often to the very foreign plants and the diseases those plants carried, which the arboreta are protecting). Some are changing their missions to not only preserve the history of the estate or arboretum, but also to include some type of stewardship for the plants that were displaced by that history. All photos by Bri Crowley 2006, Philadelphia, PA.

Community Map

2006-02-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

Drawing a community map conjured up many things for me. I struggled with what community I should portray. Being a student studying horticulture, the first community that I thought of was ecological plant community. Being a human, I wondered if I should show a global community, the neighborhood where I live now, the community where I was born and raised, where I grew up (at college), or where I felt the most like I was a part of a community. I ended up choosing somewhat of a combination, an intentional community that I lived in for over a year in Sitka, AK.

I attempted to capture the important things in the Sitka community, focusing on my nuclear intentional community, as well as our greater community, including cultural, historical, structural, recreational and natural elements. This may not be an aerial view or an exact cartographic schematic, but this sketch more accurately depicts my ideas of community than a charter of streets and exact building locales. Illustration by Bri Crowley, 2006.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to live and work in Sitka because it is unbelievably rich in experiences, especially for an outsider from the lower 48, like me. The natural history of Sitka is profoundly interesting. I have never lived anywhere with such apparent biodiversity. The temperate Tongass rainforest ecology is dominated by Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce (the state tree of Alaska), and has healthy shrub and herbaceous layers. Sitka is located on Baranof, an island located in the fire ring off the coast of the south eastern portion of Alaska. It has multiple habitats from mountains to muskegs and streams to coastal tidal pools, supporting wide varieties of plant and animal life, which I tried to represent in the community map because I believe these things all make up community. Tongass photo credit to Ron Niebrugge.

The cultural history of Sitka is equally fascinating. The original inhabitants are the Tlingit people of southeast Alaska and approximately 25 – 30% of the population of Sitka are of Tlingit ancestry. For a brief time, Sitka was the capital of the Russian-held territory of Alaska, until the United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. And, of course, people from the United States and Canada pioneered their way up to Sitka, changing the cultural dynamic again. There are significant populations of Filipinos and Latinos in Sitka as well (around 5 - 6%, combined). The amazing thing about Sitka is that it retains and celebrates many of these cultural differences. There are other towns in Southeast Alaska that are not so forgiving to historical and cultural change. Racism can be a major problem in some other communities.

Some of the important cultural aspects that I included in my community map are the Sheet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi house, or “Sitka Community House”, Totem Park, St. Michael’s the Russian Orthodox cathedral, the Pioneer Home, and some of the local hot spots – The White E thrift shop, Old Harbor Books, Kettleson Memorial Library, and the Mojo Café. Believe me, there were many things I did not have room to show on this map, but this is a good representative spattering. Photo of St. Michael's goes to the Sitka Convention Bureau Web site.

My intentional community was made up of four others and me who were in Sitka for a year of service. We all lived together, but worked at various organizations throughout the town. Community living, when done intentionally is not easy. In my intentional community we attempted to make decisions based on consensus, which is nothing like a majority vote. Majority voting in many ways is easy, but can discount voices. We had to struggle through many conflicts, and try to come to a point where everyone in the community could agree on the choice, even if it had to be amended multiple times. I think that living in community was rewarding, but it was also frustrating, emotionally charged, and incredibly difficult. Everyone was from a different background, though there were definitely similarities, it wasn’t like we all were friends who hand-picked the people we were going to live with. To live with intent is to live with purpose.

Photo of John Bell, in traditional Tligit garments, photo credit to in areas like Fairbanks and Anchorage, where temperatures reach 40 below and are dark at points for 24 hours a day in the winter. It is a fallacy to think that all of Alaska is dark and freezing.

In the summer, spirits are high because there are 17 - 20 hours of daylight every day; people are busy shuffling tourists around, or busy trying to avoid tourists, fishing, kayaking, camping, picnicking, etc. However, during the winter when fishing season dies down, tourism slows to a halt, and it seems to be dark or cloudy all the time, things start to get rough. It probably rained 70% of the time, and in the winter did get very dark (at the worst point, we had about 3.5 hours of daylight.) So if you can imagine the way you feel on a drizzly dreary day here in Philadelphia, imagine how you would feel if it was raining 7 out of 10 days. You probably would tend to get depressed. Well, it isn't too much different in Sitka. People get depressed. But, in Sitka, the community has adapted, and winter is when community really kicks in. If anonymity is what you are looking for in a community, you won't find too much of it in Sitka. There are cultural programs, contra dances, concerts, educational seminars, musical jam sessions, film screenings, and all sorts of other events that bring the community together. People are very proactive when it comes to community health, whether you have been a part of the community for a week or for your entire life. This doesn't always annihilate depression or violence or substance abuse, but it certainly tempers it, which I think is a great tribute to community.

Photo of totem pole credited to the Sitka Convention Bureau Web site. This is also a good link to learn more about Sitka, AK. Illustration by Bri Crowley 2006.

Horse and Carriage

2006-02-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

A horse pulling a carriage in NYC recently was spooked and ran across lanes of traffic, injuring the carriage driver, and mangling a car. The horse sustained considerable injuries and was later euthanized. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) along with Alexis Stewart lobbied that the horse and carriage rides should be banned from the city streets, as they have been in other major metropolitan areas. PETA’s premise is that the working conditions are poor for the horses (long hours, breathing in pollution, etc.) and that euthanizing the horse was cruel. PETA's site can provide more information on their stance. See the photo of the horse and carriage (Central Park, Manhattan).

The class was asked to take a stance and argue it. Should the horses be banned from the city or should they continue to work? Many ideas and issues were garnered by the group either for or against banning carriage rides as they are utilized presently. These debates included tourism, safety, historical memory and animal rights. This spectrum of themes is just a sampling of the intense discussion surrounding the debacle of the horse and carriage in NYC!

Keep the Carriages
History
New York City streets were built for horses, and they were the main mode of transport until the automobile was popularized and made affordable in the early decades of the 1900s. The Metropolitan Transit Authority web site has the historical facts associated with mass transit in NYC, starting with horse-drawn stage coaches. Visit their site for a more complete look at the evolution of transportation in the city. Many people have a nostalgic affection for horse and carriages, and jump on board to create memorable or romantic occassions, like Valentine's Day and weddings or anniversaries.

Economics
Of course, jobs are always at issue when this type of conflict is aroused. The jobs of the horse caretakers, as well as the photographers who snap portraits of tourists out on a holiday jaunt, and the souveneir hawkers selling I Y NY tees and fake Louis Vuitton bags could all be at stake if the horse and carriages vanish from the city scene. To compliment the economic argument, other horse-related occupations were spotlighted. If carriage rides are halted in the city, should mounted police be banned as well?

Environment
One possibility is that horses are an environmental solution, a form of greener transportation, along with bicycles, rickshaws, more efficient mass transit, etc.

Flip the Coin...Ban the Carriages
Safety
In this specific incident, not only was the horse hurt and eventually killed, but the driver was hospitalized, and others could have potentially been injured or killed. PETA argues safety as one reason horses should not be on city streets. They contend that horses out of their natural environment are dangerous to society due to their shy nature and skittish instincts.

Animal welfare
Not only are horses a safety concern on streets, they are subjected to poor working conditions in polluted air and long hours on hard pavement. To read an even more drastic opinon than that held by PETA, visit the In Defense of Animals Web site.

Everyone else is doing it
Many other metropolitan regions have banned horse and carriage rides, including London, Paris, Toronto, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Santa Fe, according to USA Today. When so many influential and global cities have instituted the ban, it raises a few eyebrows. Is this a policy that New York City should institute?

What I think
At first, I was on the fence with this issue. If prodded to choose one side over the other, I most likely would have chosen to ban the carriages, especially for the horse's welfare. But after investigating a bit deeper, I found indications that horses aren't always treated poorly. According to the USA Today site, "Ian McKeever, owner of Shamrock Stables, has been giving rides for 19 years and said his seven horses are seen by veterinarians every week, work a maximum of seven hours a day and spend four months a year resting on a Pennsylvania farm." For the article see USA Today.

In the group presentations, both sides conceded that there was a middle ground in this situation. Both groups stated that a possible solution would be to keep the horses restricted to Central Park, as long as there was protection for the horses' working conditions.

Although I believe that cooperation is important, I think that a different perspective is in order. The intentions of both viewpoints are noble. However, it appears to me that we are simply readjusting our blinders. In most of the reports that I read online, the horse was painted as a crazy and manic animal. It almost seems like the reports are blaming the horse for its erratic (and understandably, instinctive) behavior. I think that the true culprit in this tragedy is the congestion and traffic of New York. The horse may have been provoked by a car swerving or honking or squealing tires in protest of being slowed down. In addition, the poor working conditions for horses are caused by pollution (created by traffic), and difficult walking (due to pavement, necessitated by cars). Photo credit to Michael Hauer at the Gotham Gazette Web site.
Isn’t it really the cars and traffic congestion that are at the root of the problem? These days, horses and carriages are minority modes of transportation. It is often more convenient to restrict or displace the minority instead of looking at the greater dilemma. So why aren't we looking to ban cars from city streets? Because this kind of talk is radical.

This could be a time for creativity, for establishing or linking greenspaces to run horse and carriage rides in NYC, which would also encourage a healthier environment. This could also be an opportunity for addressing the congestion in the streets of New York, which is not only detrimental to the health of horses, but to pedestrians, bicyclists, and stressed-out drivers.

See text for photo credits.