the readings for monday

The article by Murphy Davis about Atlanta made me fairly angry, mostly because of the inhumanity of destroying so many housing buildings that people depend on. The fact that all the housing was cleared out for reasons such as building dormitories for the olympic athletes and for other trivial reasons just makes it worse. It's as if they just forgot about the people that probably couldn't afford to relocate, just cast them aside and let them deal with it themselves. He does a good job relating this to Woodruff park, how those in charge are more concerned with aesthetics than maintaining an area that's conducive to people enjoying themselves. However, at least some people, like the author of the article, have a better vision and intention. Unfortunately he probably has little influence over those who have been making these decisions, so perhaps the city is out of luck for a few years until some more empathetic people come to power.

Reading "The Uses of Sidewalks-Safety," I started thinking about the sidewalks around Kutztown. Most of campus is like a mini city, except we have sidewalks without streets, which is even better. Along with that, you will probably end up seeing people you know, at least some you recognize, so it's not like walking around a major city with thousands of strangers. However, I still feel like it's a fairly safe place to be , since there are so many people. People will certainly step in if they see a bad situation in progress. On main street in Kutztown, near the businesses, I would say that there is good interaction between the people on the street and the storefronts and apartments. I think that it's also a little different because most of the pedestrians are college students, and about half of them seem inebriated on most nights. During the daytime, however, there is a pleasant vibe and general sense of safety. I think that the sidewalks in the area are in good shape and I'm sure most people feel safe and comfortable while traversing them.