Neighborhood and Communities
NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY ASSIGNMENT
The purpose of this assignment is to have you examine your neighborhood and to consider how your community is similar or different than urban Black communities. This will be an opportunity for you to critically examine your neighborhood, and to examine the values of your community and see how they compare and contrast with other areas where people reside in New York City. This assignment will be completed in two phases. The first phase involves your investigation of your neighborhood and your writing a reflection of your experience. The second involves your sharing a photo essay with others – students in this class and students in a second section of SSN 280. Each class will be taking still images or creating videos of their neighborhood and discussing aspects of where they live. You will have an opportunity to compare your community with a larger pool of other communities and to critically analyze what similarities and differences exist.
PHASE I: Information Gathering/Essay
In essay form, please provide an in-depth description of your community. Please be sure to include the following in your narrative:
Discuss how and where people live - what type of housing (i.e. apartment buildings, homes, public housing); what the condition of the area is (well kept, nicely manicured with gardens, grounds to sit in, or dirty, no community spaces)
What types of businesses exist (i.e. grocery stores, supermarket, clothing stores, liquor stores, funeral parlors, bicycle shops, book stores, beauty salons, etc.)?
What is your neighborhood known for? (Does your neighborhood have a particular reputation?
What is the economic structure of your community?
What are the positive aspects of your neighborhood?
What, if any, are the negative aspects/elements of the community?
What are the “ethnic” elements of the community?
How does your community compare with some of the urban black communities that we have discussed in class?
The purpose of this assignment is to have you examine your neighborhood and to consider how your community is similar or different than urban Black communities. This will be an opportunity for you to critically examine your neighborhood, and to examine the values of your community and see how they compare and contrast with other areas where people reside in New York City. This assignment will be completed in two phases. The first phase involves your investigation of your neighborhood and your writing a reflection of your experience. The second involves your sharing a photo essay with others – students in this class and students in a second section of SSN 280. Each class will be taking still images or creating videos of their neighborhood and discussing aspects of where they live. You will have an opportunity to compare your community with a larger pool of other communities and to critically analyze what similarities and differences exist.
PHASE I: Information Gathering/Essay
In essay form, please provide an in-depth description of your community. Please be sure to include the following in your narrative:
Discuss how and where people live - what type of housing (i.e. apartment buildings, homes, public housing); what the condition of the area is (well kept, nicely manicured with gardens, grounds to sit in, or dirty, no community spaces)
What types of businesses exist (i.e. grocery stores, supermarket, clothing stores, liquor stores, funeral parlors, bicycle shops, book stores, beauty salons, etc.)?
What is your neighborhood known for? (Does your neighborhood have a particular reputation?
What is the economic structure of your community?
What are the positive aspects of your neighborhood?
What, if any, are the negative aspects/elements of the community?
What are the “ethnic” elements of the community?
How does your community compare with some of the urban black communities that we have discussed in class?