Coming full circle

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This semester has been interesting, I’ve learned a lot about the Greensboro area that I didn’t previously know before and I have been exposed to the area and all its history and meaning. By observing places as well as comparing them with each other and assessing the different values, I was able to understand the city as a whole. This class was also effective because we started off on a small scale and worked our way to a bigger scale. I could also apply the techniques used to all places that we visited. Reading clays book also helped me to understand the city a little more because it enabled me to understand things a little more. This class has also enabled me to look at things in more detail; I consider the architectural details which helps me to think about the values that may lie within that building or space.

For my final project, I would like to discuss boundaries within Greensboro. Clay refers to these as turfs. I think that these boundaries are important in a city because they tell people what they can and cannot do. I will look at the advantages of turfs as well as the implications.

Roadways

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Being that I am from a small island, the words ‘interstate’ and ‘highway’ meant nothing to me before this class, in fact I wasn’t quite sure exactly what they were but now I am clear and understand how they play a big role in the running of a town and how everything connects together. Along the edges of the highways are trees, this makes the area look more attractive and neat. There are also signs telling drivers what highways there are, when stop lights are coming up as well as exits. This assists people in their journeys and helps them to know where they are going. I also noticed different billboards and advertisements along the sides. This also adds a retail aspect to the highway and shows where a lot of the city values lie. Summit Avenue and wendover have a lot of similarities; there are strips of stores, such as Wal-Mart and target as well as restaurants such as McDonalds. They seem to be two very busy areas.

Open space

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One of the opened spaces that we visited was the Battleground Park, I thought that it was beautiful because it reflected the season that we are in. It is also evidently historical to the city because of the fact that a large war took place here.
This park is not only a previous battle ground but it is also used as a normal conventional park for leisure. It is a very relaxing atmosphere therefore the fact that it has historical value makes it even more special. This shows us that the city has a value of history and they wanted to keep their history alive, so much so that they didn’t want to build on this park however I think that this may have been due to the fact that there are grave yards within this park and therefore it would be unethical and difficult to build over these or remove these.

Residential

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One of the houses that we visited, we actually got the chance to enjoy a tasty lunch as well as learn about the history. I learned that the house was built in 1954 and it was built very precisely and with a lot in mind. The slanted windows in the living room where made to maximize the sun in the winter and minimize it in the summer. However, because a lot of the aspects of the house where so technical, the materials used were natural to give it a more ‘homey’ feel. There were a lot of untraditional aspects to the house. One of the things I noticed was the fireplace because of the fact that it didn’t have a chimney; the heat released from it travels underground. The house was quite large with very long hallways, this showed visitors the difference between public and private spaces; the bedrooms were completely separate from the living room. It also seems like creativity is important to this family because of the fact that there is a lot of art inside the house as well as outside the house. The art is also very creative and unique which adds quality to the house as well.
The residential areas that we had previously visited differ from the one that I mentioned above because there weren’t as are artistic or very creative and most of the houses in those areas all looked the same. The other area that we visited differed from all of the previous areas because it was like a mini town within a town. There are church and stores so that people living within this area don’t have to go far. This shows that this village wanted to be convenient. Another thing that I noticed that was unusual was that there were no sidewalks in this village. This is because it is a private area and they don’t wish to be a part of the city. This made me think about how each part of Greensboro tries to be different and unique in their own ways. It’s almost like a battle between neighborhoods and properties.

Retail

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The places of retail that we visited were the friendly center and the four season’s town center. One thing that I noticed about the friendly center was that it was divided into two sections, old and new. This is evident through the store types as well as the actual buildings themselves. The other buildings had a rustier looking brick. The old stores were stores such as the animal clinic and radio shack whereas the new stores were stores such as Victoria secrets and the limited. This shows the difference in values. The newer buildings seem like they are more for luxury purposes whereas the older buildings are more of needs. The restaurants are sporadically placed around the friendly center in between the stores; this adds a value of convenience because it means that people can shop as well as eat and not worry about where the restaurants are. It can be argued that it may be more convenient to have all the restaurants in one place but that depends on the individual. The parking surrounds the friendly center making it convenient for people to shop. The parking bays are placed in front of each store and therefore people have the option of parking in front of the store they wish to shop in or they can park and walk around.
At the four season’s mall, the shops are placed differently. Although it is still circular, there are three circular floors. The shops seem to cater mostly to the younger demographic. The four season’s town center is surrounded by many things. There is a movie theatre around as well as hotels which shows that this may be a tourist area or a show off area because it has a lot of leisure activities. It is convenient for students because it isn’t far from campus. As you leave the mall you can also get onto an interstate which shows that it is connected to other places.
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