GREENSBORO PROJECT

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INTRODUCTION
At the beginning of the semester, I was introduced to the phrase ‘You are your own GPU’ and now that this semester is coming to a close, I am beginning to understand what it actually means. I have been introduced to things that I wasn’t aware of before, I am also intrigued by my surroundings now as well as more aware of the values that lie in the buildings and areas that I pass on a daily basis.

For my final project I have decided to tackle what clay considers to be ‘turfs’. Turfs are “ landscape spelled out , it says who goes where, who belongs and who does not; it is admonitory and administered “ (clay 153). My project will specifically look the difference between private and civic turfs at UNCG, downtown and the areas in between.

TYPES OF TURFS THAT I DISCOVERED
Hedges- a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
Walls-an architectural partition, used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
Curbs- an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway
Maps-A map is a visual representation of an area
Signs- a public display of a message
Symbols-something such as an object, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention
Markers-a distinguishing symbol
Directions-Instructions, particularly as to how to reach a destination
Warnings- cautionary advice


A LITTLE MORE ABOUT TURFING


Turfs are essentially important to the city because they are enforced and this is shown by the amount and frequency of turfs throughout the city. The city may have many turfs because it is a well populated area which essentially means more traffic. Turfs in this area are mainly for traffic as well as a method of traffic control. Another thing that I found interesting was that turfs are in place wherever you go, meaning no matter whom you are and what class you are in society, you will have these boundaries. Turfs don’t discriminate. However this wasn’t always the case, as we know, your social class determined where you could and could not go and what facilities you could use. From this we can see that the people who use and obey turfs have changed.


CIVIC TURFS


Civic turfs are essentially boundaries put in place for the public. These types of turfs are very popular in these areas that I visited and they seem to repeat themselves throughout the city and they come in many forms. Civic turfs are also more general addressing the public as a whole. Civic turfs also tend to come in abundance such as stop signs which are placed all around in public or well populated areas. The types of turfs in public areas vary and all types are used however signs are most popular mainly because they can be understood in any language etc.


PRIVATE TURFS


These types of turfs exist normally in private places such as neighborhoods, back roads, parking lots and private properties. The term private turf means turfs that are put in places that aren’t in view from the road or in access to the public. Private turfs tend to be more specific to a particular area or group of people. Private turfs tend to be less frequent and are one type of turf such as a ‘no trespassing’ sign. I noticed that hedges and walls are frequent types of turfs in private areas because of the fact that they are private areas which mean they should be attractive; this also shows us that private turfs can be made by anyone, a hedge or wall can be made by any individual to act as a boundary for a particular area.


Hedges/fencing/walls














Maps










Signs












Symbols












Markers





Directions









Warnings


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