As we continue to learn at DU, what is our responsibility to the city? Should i get more involved?... I dunno. Du has graciously included bus fares and other RTD transportation in our tuition, so are you taking full advantage of the free transportation around the city?
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
City I live in
Last monday we went downtown, between Lincoln and Broadway. Many streets in many towns correlate to downtowns across the country. How is the grid-pattern of Denver City like your hometowns? or how does the layout remind you of home (ex. 1st St's across America, Speer Blvd alongside the river)? How has getting out of the class to roam the city of Denver been proactive to your activity in this city? Have you found yourself more interested in the local parks or the daytime bustle of 16th Street Mall?
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As I walk down the 16th Street Mall, I am reminded of Church Street in Burlington, Vermont. This is not where I grew up, but where I spent the last 4 years before I moved to Denver. Like 16th street, Church is dominated by pedestrians, it is blocked off to through automotive traffic (without the shuttle that 16th street has). Though 16th is much much busier than Church, it has a similar feel...nice restaurants and shops, some particularly geared towards tourists.
Getting outside of the classroom in this course has definitely gotten me more active in my surroundings. If we had not visited the Art Museum, I never would have gotten up the motivation to get out and go again, this time taking friends along. I feel comfortable enough to show my parents around when they come visit. Because of all this I have a stronger desire to go out exploring a bit more in the city.
As my time at DU nears its end, I can say that I probably have not taken FULL advantage of the free RTD fares. I have not gone out to see what Denver has to offer, but have used this to my advantage when traveling to and from a job. I don't really think this is proactive to my involvement in my city.
I really find very few similarities between the city I grew up in, Philadelphia. Denver was originally planned to lay on a 45 degree angle grid so that the sunlight would naturally melt all the snow on the newly created streets in Denver. As the city grew, a more typical strait up grid expanded to the east of the city with the divide being the federal district in capitol hill. Philadelphia on the other hand was intentionally designed to resemble Paris. In the middle of downtown is Independence Hall. All streets lead to this location. The city is planned in circle around city hall in accordance with Ben Franklin's desire to emulate Paris. Additionally, the citizens of Philadelphia cherish the historic landmark that is Independence Hall. The Capitol Hill area in Denver, on the other hand, is the center of poverty and homelessness. I do find myself interested in the creation of open space in Denver and have noticed more parks in the center of smaller town centers. Examples would be Washington Park, Chesman Park, and Observatory Park. Unfortunately, I do not take advantage of the new light rail system (the closest stop to my apartment is still 3 miles away). I do feel that we have a responsibility to improve the public transit system in Denver as it is completely inadequate in meeting the demands of the ever growing population in the small communities that have grown around the open space/park areas in Denver.
Being from a small town, I cannot really relate Denver to where I grew up. There is a river that run through St. Joseph but it is the Missouri River, much bigger than the Platte river that runs through Denver. St. Joe is modeled around a large parkway system that curves its way throughout the entire town. It could be compared to Speer Blvd as it is lined in trees and has nice homes that appear along the road. Aside from that St. Joe is a dying city, not thriving like Denver. It's best days are behind it and that is apparent by the lack of commerce left in the town. It has history unlike some of the newer cities out west but struggles to keep up with the changes our culture has come across.
I feel as though I have done a good job at exploring Denver. I have lived in the DU/Wash Park area as well as downtown. I am unfamiliar with the majority of the outer lying areas of Denver though. I do not know much about the suburban areas such as Highlands Ranch or Aurora for example. I have established myself in this community and I believe that I have a responsibilty to my community before the city that my community is in.
This city reminds me nothing of the place I grew up. I grew up in northern Colorado Springs in a rural area of the forest. The streets are hardly symmetrical or have any pattern I can figure out unlike Denver. It is fascinating to me to see something so linear and busy become a home for people. When I first came to DU I was terrified because I thought I was going to miss the rural feel of where I grew up with bike and hiking trails just minutes away. Thankfully the beautiful campus can satisfy some of this desire.
I have found getting out into Denver a very important aspect of understanding more about where I live and spend 3/4 of my year at. It really helps me to expand my preconceptions and challenge my expectations. I still don't know what places are safe or unsafe or the places' background to know what they are known for. This inside knowledge is something I envy of others.
I really love the local parks here. I used to run at Wash park weekly but now do so closer to home but I have not found a park like it. I really enjoy rural areas; there is something in me that always yearns for nature and freedom. I do enjoy shopping at Cherry Creek Mall and other areas as well but my true passion is for the open spaces.
I feel that I have some responsibility in the city as I am now becoming a resident. I feel my main focus should be on the homeless population as I see that as a huge issue. I participated in Project Homeless Connect last year and learned so much from it.
During the school year I used the lightrail weekly. It was so great to hop on to see a movie or go to the clubs. I have never used public transportation before so it is quite nice to have some so close by!
Denver is a really different city than Taipei where I grow up. Denver is a really square city and even the street name is been coordinated. The road is north to south and the street is east to west. And every part of Denver has its own different community and subculture such as LoDo, DU, and Uptown.
As I have been living Denver for a while, Denver is no where similar to my hometown. I guess for the atmosphere is just totally different. In Denver or I would say most of American City, it has been designed that different part of areas have its own purpose. But back in Taipei, it would be felt like everywhere is downtown.
My favorite part of Denver, I would say the City Park system. The Denver park system is just beyond description. If Central park is the lung of New York City, then I would say Denver is a city full of Oxygen. It just feel like that park is in every next block and there is no such thing as air pollution as far as I have been here. I guess the forest city is the main thing that makes Denver outstanding.
Denver’s layout is not similar to that of Highlands Ranch. Being a suburb, Highlands Ranch consists of a few big streets – Broadway, Highlands Ranch Pkwy, Lucent, University, Santa Fe, - which branch off into curving neighborhood roads littered with many identical houses. Denver is a city with apartments, mot houses, and streets filled with things to do and see. Considering I live about 50mns away from Denver it is surprising that I have hardly been downtown until I came to DU. My only visits were on Elementary School Field Trips or the rare family outing to the Buell Theater, both never providing the opportunity to actually see the city. Once I came to DU, I began to visit the city at least three times a quarter, and when a class takes us to the city, three visits usually increases to at least six. Going to Denver so often has definitely sparked an interest in the city because there is so much to see and do. It is an unfamiliar and new place to be explored. I can’t say I am going downtown enough to claim taking full advantage of the free transportation included in tuition. Before I can get more involved in the city, I need to get more involved with Highlands Ranch.
The city I come from is only 25 miles away, but it isn't much of a city compared to Denver. Broadway is one of Boulder's main streets also, spanning from where Hwy 93 turns into Broadway in South Boulder all the way up to North Boulder where it becomes Hwy 36. One of the biggest differences between Boulder and Denver is that there are almost no one way streets in Boulder. It seems like bigger cities tend to have more one way streets, probably because with that much traffic they're necessary to keep it flowing. In every city I've driven in one way streets have intimidated me because I feel like I'm going to get lost of I won't be able to get where I want to go. But as I'm getting more comfortable in Denver I've realized it's not so scary. I've always thought of wandering and getting lost as the best way to get to know a new area but it's much less intimidating on foot. I'm really looking forward to getting my RTD sticker in the fall so I can use the bus system. Not only are buses also a good way to get familiar with a new city, but also one of my favorite things about living in a city is public transportation. I like the idea of getting involved in the community of Denver and not only through DU. Our field trips have helped me to see more of Denver and start to think about all the opportunities.
Denver is not like nor does it remind me of a place in which I live. I have already had chances previously to see the city and so this was not the first time. The different city items are interesting for a while. The responsibility to the city is not necessarily different to those for other cities: to try and maintain a clean environment, etc.
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