Blog #4

This is what we get...

this is what they have...

Deciding how to preserve the aesthetic of a neighborhood is important. One of the most beautiful things about a city is diversity, the idea of a melting pot of people gathered in a small area coexisting. But, in any city there are smaller “towns” where one race or ethnicity tend to gather, such as Chinatown or Greektown. These areas are full of specialty shops, grocery stores and markets that reflect where the people who live in the neighborhood came from. This, too, is important to preserve. So how can the two meet halfway? I think as long as the district or area doesn’t cover too large a space relative to the city size, then there is nothing wrong with having guidelines about the buildings there. By creating and maintaining an aesthetic for a particular neighborhood, the history of the area is preserved as well. Though, sometimes this can keep buildings around that really don’t serve a purpose or aren’t suiting the needs of the people using it, such as our Union. While it more or less serves our school well, it doesn’t really match the main building. Having seen the union at Illinois Institute of Technology last year, I developed some serious canteen envy. Because it is a historic building, it cannot be torn down, even though it no longer suits our needs for it. I think that our Union is a good example of the downsides to historic neighborhoods.