There are many issues that developing cities are facing in today’s world. One of the biggest issues is that they could be lacking the money to properly develop all of their city and make it what they want it to be. Another is that they could be struggling to find the support for doing the development from the community. Many people hold onto the way that they are used to living life and are not accustom to change. It can be very difficult to rally everyone in the community to develop the way they should, so they have to do it slower and do little parts at a time in order to get people used to it before they change their entire community. Also, a lot of people can look at it as racism or socioeconomic inequality, because the development may hurt poor people and people of color as it has in the past. Therefore they have to focus on making the development helpful to everyone in the community even those that may not be able to afford fancy new housing. Overall there are many problems that developing cities can face in today’s world no matter where they are in the world.

In my life I have visited 3 major United States cities. I have been to Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. I have experienced parts of these cities that were extremely dirty and others that were practically perfectly clean. First, when I went to Boston, I felt that most of the city, or at least the parts I have been to, were relatively clean. I have been to parks in Boston with my cousins that were so clean and very fun to be in. The streets in Boston did not have very much trash and the sidewalks were pretty much clear as well. Next, in Philadelphia I have had different experiences than those of mine in Boston. There were definitely parts of Philly that were cleaner than others, like by City Hall, but in general it was pretty dirty. Especially in the subway and the train stations, I almost did not want to sit down anywhere because of the amount of trash and dirt that was everywhere. There was also more trash on the streets and sidewalks than those of Boston. Lastly, my experiences in New York City have made me believe that it is far dirtier than Boston and Philadelphia. The streets and sidewalks are always riddled with trash, and the subways are not any better, if anything they are far worse. Overall, I would say that cities are not generally clean, but Boston has set an example that it is possible to keep them somewhat clean if they try.

The articles in both Chapter twenty-three and Chapter twenty-four of the Urban Life textbook suggest that the past persists into the present. One example of this from chapter twenty-three is that the native-newcomer theme has shaped all of India’s history. This article talks about how India has been shaped over many years of myriad immigration. This culture adaptation that continued to happen shaped the way that they act and the values that they hold today. They as a culture have changed because of the other cultures that they have accepted into their own. Also, in chapter 24, Crossroads of Civilization, Kristen Ghodsee described the culture of Bulgaria. She says that Bulgarians have always loved to imagine that they are direct descendants of a tribe called the Thracians. This has fed most of their culture and values that they hold. They imagine that they are like them, so they in turn act like them as well. Both of these essays have many examples of how the past persists into the present. They are both very good resources to have when discussing this topic. Overall, these essays have shown that the past does indeed persist into the present no matter where you are from or who you are.

The book “Reconstructing Times Square” by Alexander J. Reichl teaches us many lessons about urban development that all cities should take into account. One lesson that can be learned from New York is that it had the willingness to change even in hard times. One time like this was in the early 1990s when many offices were vacant, but there was incredible development of the Business Improvement District that debuted in 1992. The orchestrators of this incredible feet were actually the businesses themselves, they were the ones who funded the development of this new district. They were able to do this even though there was a commonality in the culture in that most people were against large offices. This changed in the early 1990s and left an opening for these businesses to develop this area that can house many businesses in one of the most populated cities in the country.

I would take a job that takes me away from my family in order to support them. I think this would be a somewhat difficult thing to handle, but the decision to do so would not be as difficult. If I was struggling to find work and our family was struggling financially, and I got a job offer that meant I had to spend time away from them, I would think that I would do it, especially if it meant that our family would be in far better financial standing. My dad did something like this this past year, he accepted a job that meant that he has to travel away from us a lot, but he does it because it helped our family out of a tough time. Also, one of my best friends dad has worked for the navy for a long time and that means he has been stationed across the world for as long as 3 years at a time. It has been very hard for him and their family, but he suffered through it so that he is able to retire from it in 6 months. Therefore, with the examples that have been set from me and motivation to help my family, I would accept a job that pulled me away from my family in order to support them.

I would not want to live in a major international city like Paris or NYC. This is because I am more of a small town type of person. Cities overwhelm me, I like being in a smaller area where I can find my way around easily and not find myself in large crowds a lot. They usually have many people walking on the streets and tons of traffic, which makes it hard to get to different places. This would be very annoying for me since I am not good at leaving early to get places and I would not be able to get to these places quickly since there are so many people on the streets rushing around as well. I do not mind visiting these places on occasions because I believe their atmosphere and diverse culture are very important to experience. However, I can only handle these extreme cultures for short terms, so I would most likely keep these visits to short amounts of time.

Judith Goode explains that people in poverty are just as good at finding solutions to their problems as more affluent people are. They simply are not given the same opportunities because of where they stand in society. Sometimes the only solutions they can find to help their families are lives of crime, such as drug dealing. She also mentions how poor people are blamed for their circumstances and things like racial inequalities and even class discrimination play a big role in why they are stuck in their positions. She criticizes myths on how people on the bottom are being blamed for the unequal social order. Industrial capitalism has caused the belief that the persistence of poverty in capitalist societies on the individual moral flaws and deviant cultures of poor people. These beliefs and ideas dehumanize poor people and inherently cause them staying in poverty by allowing the discrimination that restricts them from getting jobs. Philippe Bourgois focuses on how impoverished people become drug dealers for many different reasons that are not always discussed. One is that people have legal jobs, but begin to realize that their relationships with their employers are not good as they tend to be discriminated against. Therefore, they leave those jobs and find that drug dealing is easy, they can work for themselves or other people that understand them, and they can make a good income to help their families. They also had trouble acting in an “office appropriate” manner because of the culture that they grew up in. Bourgois emphasizes that in both office and street arenas, the conflicts between superiors and subordinates tend to lead to self destruction.

The refugee city of Damascus has many characteristics that differ from those of American cities. In Damascus, the refugees are struggling as a community with remembering the horrors they experienced in their home. They are all struggling daily to get enough food, water, and shelter for their families, which does happen in America, but not as much in such a condensed area. Also, they are not allowed to leave the city unless they get special permission or they need medical attention. However, in America people are free to come and go wherever they please. There is a similarity in the way the people act. America is a place of free market economy, and the refugees in Damascus have taken it upon themselves to live that way. The developed a market, built stores, sell/trade shelter, and do whatever they can to make money for themselves, which is basically capitalism like in the United States. The Chinese cities described are very different and far more developed than the cities in America. Cities in the United States are very congested and have extremely large ecological footprints with little to no efforts to change. However, the cities in China are quickly developing in many ways. They are building taller buildings and making the cities more accessible. Most people are able to take public transportation, bike, or even walk anywhere they may need to go, basically eliminating the need for cars.

I would rather do fieldwork in a town like Hobart. Personally, I am not very comfortable in cities and I think that would hinder my ability to truly connect with the people and the culture there. However, I do think that fieldwork in cities is becoming more and more important due to the way the world is going. Even with this, maybe even especially with this fact, I think the study of suburban and rural towns should to become overlooked or forgotten just because of the urbanization happening in the world. The special cultures and traditions of these towns can be very interesting and specific to a small area. It also would be easier to talk to and observe more people and more of the area because of the small size and compact area. Along with this, I grew up in a town, which would add to my familiarity of the way of life, even though the culture could be very different at least the size would be similar. If I were to do fieldwork I would want to be able to settle in easily so that I can focus most of my brain power on the work itself. Lastly, I feel as though people in towns more commonly have a very tightly knit community with more things in common with each other than those in a large city. I would find that very interesting to observe at a close range.

The largest city I’ve ever been to is New York City. The last time I’ve been there, was when I was 10 to go see the Broadway musical wicked with my mom. We stayed there for two days, and saw many different parts of the city. These different parts gave us a look into different types of cultures that prosper inside of the city. We went to Times Square and saw many of the large stores and famous areas within that place. Being in Time Square was like something I’ve never experienced before. It was so compact with many people and tons of cars, that it was hard to walk around and get places. We also went to Rockefeller Center and saw the famous sites there. That area was very dense as well with so many people rushing around. One night we went to Little Italy to get dinner, the food was unbelievable and the culture that was portrayed there was even better. I’ve always wanted to go to Italy and being in Little Italy give me a little taste of what the culture maybe like. Not only did I witness the culmination of Italian Americans, but also so many other cultures represented throughout the entire city by people, restaurants, stores, etc. Being so young when I visited I had never truly seen the homeless people with my own eyes I had heard about the, and learned about them, but I’ve never experienced seeing them it was a sad sight and I saw so many. However witnessing this gave me a true look into how much of urbanization has affected our world and the people who live in it. I truly believe the New York City is one of the most diversely culture rich environments in the entire country if not the world.