Urban Communities: Sociology 204
STUDENT PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS
Project: Due May 17, 2006
As part of the requirements for this course, you must produce a five page written project or a multi-page web page based on an “urban community” of your choosing. In both the written project and the web-page one, you must answer the questions which follow on this instruction sheet. The intent of the exercise is to explore a “natural” area of a city by investigating and discussing its form and structure.
If you chose the written project, select your community, research its history and comment on its composition, evolution, strengths and weaknesses. As an option for this section, you may study the two campuses of the University of Delaware, popularly known as East campus and the “projects.” If you select this option, consider the two campuses as your urban community. Compare and contrast them based on the topics outlined.
If you select the web-page option, you must also address the topics on this sheet. The design of the web page is up to you. This assignment takes advantage of the new technology on campus and on the internet. There are several offices at the university that can help you construct your page. You may also help each other and of course seek help from the instructor and teaching assistant. There will be no group web-pages. Keep in mind that others in the class will view your page.
Footnote all direct quotes.This assignment is worth approximately 30% of your grade.
If you were to drive through any large city in the world, you would be struck immediately by the differences in the neighborhoods in which people live. You would notice differences in housing type and condition, the race and ethnicity of residents (since the middle of the 19th century, the urban settlement of immigrants has led to a strong association between city life in America and ethnic diversity), patterns of interaction, presence or absence of business – to name but a few. In this project, you are asked to study one such urban community with the objective of examining and exploring its major features. Ask yourself – “What makes this area a community?”
The community you select may be large or small but should have defining features – a pattern of streets, an area surrounding a park or river or highways and identifiable boundaries. The community should also have name recognition for area residents. Major cities, you will find, have numbers of these sub-areas or neighborhoods. One sociologist, for example, identified 35 different neighborhoods of varying sizes in one medium-sizedAmerican city.
TOPICS:
In studying your urban community, four topics should be addressed:
HISTORY:
Every community has a past. You can discover this history in local libraries, by reading local newspapers, by getting information on the web and/or by talking with long time area residents.
DEMOGRAPHY:
Who lives in your urban community? Find data on income, education, race and ethnicity, occupation, housing condition, etc. from city archives or community institutions or other archival documents.
CHANGE:
Neighborhoods rarely remain the same over time. People move in and out. Sometimes whole groups leave an area – others move in. Buildings deteriorate, new construction replaces vacant land. Cities plan redevelopment. Discuss the major changes that have occurred in your community in the last 20 – 30 years.
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES:
Communities thrive and fall apart. – sometimes by fashion, sometimes by development, sometimes by competition from other areas. Find out what makes or made this community attractive. What problems does it have?
Suggestions:
Pick a community that you have familiarity with and that interests you.
Visit the area – if possible.
Use visuals as much as possible – photographs, maps, brochures, newspaper clippings.
Find community “newspapers” for information about history and change and points of view.
Interview residents – if possible
Interview local officials – politicians, heads or members of neighborhood associations – (They may have email)
Use the web. Put the name of your neighborhood and city on Google or another search engine and explore hits.
Communities often collect data on their areas. Try to find it.
HAVE FUN WITH IT!