Term paper assignment

•Discuss the changin a local place, of which youhave -hand knowledge, in context of social and processes.

•Focus on a neighborhood, street, square, or some other small scale place where you have lived or that you otherwise know intimately. How has this place changed in recent years? Why?

•What is the role of "globalization" or structural changes in the world economy? What sort of place-making efforts can you observe?

•Can you identify conflicts between top-down placemaking and bottom-up placemaking, or between other competing visions of the place?

Processes that often lead to conflict over the meaning of place, and that lend themselves to multiscale analysis include:

•Gentrification - Wealthier residents moving into an older city neighborhood, causing housing prices to rise and forcing poorer residents out.

•Ethnic transition - The growth of one ethnic population in an area, at the expense of another.

•Polarization - An increase of both wealth and poverty in a particular area.

•City marketing - Efforts by politicians and business leaders to promote a city or part of a city in order to attract tourists, conferences, businesses, and wealthier residents.

•Urban beautification - City marketing often involves physical changes to the city or parts of the city as part of an effort to change the city's image.

•Post-industrial spaces - Areas where industry has declined are converted into leisure and residential spaces.

•Deindustrialization - The decline of industrial areas

•Technopoles - The (usually government-sponsored) development of high-tech industries in particular areas in an effort to improve the broader economy.

These are suggested issues meant to give you ideas for your topic. Your topic may include a combination of these issues or none of them.  

Once you have identified a place where old meanings are being challenged and new meanings are emerging, you can begin your research.

Find local history as background. City and borough web sites are very useful. Search local newspapers for stories that provide background  and stories that discuss recent changes. You may be able to find information in history books. Concordia Library's on-line databases provide full text searches of newspaper and academic articles. Consult a librarian. Finally, conduct interviews with local people. Two or three good interviews with friends and/or relatives will be fine for most papers, but you might also consider interviewing others who have intimate knowledge of your place. You may also provide information from your own experiences and observations.

Make sure to refer to relevant concepts and ideas from the coursepack and from lecture.

1,900 words, double-spaced, proof-read and spell-checked.