Urban Studies Commons^™

Sacred Shelter: Thirteen Journeys Of Homelessness And Healing [Table Of Contents], Susan Greenfield

Sociology

Named a Gift Book for the Discerning New Yorker by The New York Times

In a metropolis like New York, homelessness can blend into the urban landscape. For editor Susan Greenfield, however, New York is the place where a community of resilient, remarkable individuals are yearning for a voice. Sacred Shelter follows the lives of thirteen formerly homeless people, all of whom have graduated from the life skills empowerment program, an interfaith life skills program for homeless and formerly homeless individuals in New York. Through frank, honest interviews, these individuals share traumas from their youth, their experience with homelessness, and …

Sacred Shelter: Thirteen Journeys Of Homelessness And Healing [Readers' Guide], Susan Celia Greenfield

Sociology

In a metropolis like New York, homelessness can blend into the urban landscape. For editor Susan Greenfield, however, New York is the place where a community of resilient, remarkable individuals are yearning for a voice. Sacred Shelter follows the lives of thirteen formerly homeless people, all of whom have graduated from the life skills empowerment program, an interfaith life skills program for homeless and formerly homeless individuals in New York. Through frank, honest interviews, these individuals share traumas from their youth, their experience with homelessness, and the healing they have discovered through community and faith.

Edna Humphrey talks about losing …

The Impacts Of Green Spaces On Crime In New York City, Matthew Edward Iannone Jr.

Student Theses 2015-Present

From the early 1960s through the mid-1990s, crime in New York City ran rampant. With a gradually dwindling police during this time, a high unemployment rate, and an rapidly increasing metropolitan population, crime peaked in the early 1990s, with the murder rate hitting a record-high of 2,245 in 1990. When Mayor Rudy Giuliani took office in 1994 and appoint Bill Bratton as the NYPD police commissioner, these rates immediately plunged. Numerous factors may have contributed to this sudden decline in crime: the police force grew significantly through the 1990s, more criminals were placed and held in prison, and the economic …

Fishing For A Sustainable Future: Aquaponics As A Method Of Food Production, Richard Ramsundar

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis compares and explains the advantages aquaponics farming has over modern industrial intensive farming. Through a comparison natural capital usage, conservation, recycling and cost, the thesis advocates for the expansion of aquaponics usage in urban settings. The thesis also explains the history of intensive farming and aquaponics in America, the science of how aquaponics operates, the economic and environmental costs of modern intensive farming versus aquaponics farming, and the social implications of aquaponics. Lastly, I propose a policy that reallocates farm subsidies by modifying the Farm Bill. Then I propose policies that support creating a new standard of farm …

Last Of The Bronx Giants: Mayoral Control, School Reform, And The Fate Of Bronx High Schools, Ben Delikat

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Disaster From Above: New York City Teachers' Perceptions Of School Reform, Elizabeth Baker

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

"Housing In Crisis: The State Of Multi-Family Buildings In The West And East Bronx", Ryan Grosso

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

In 1890 the Bronx flourished. The borough was a haven from crowded, hectic Manhattan life; it was a sanctuary for second-generation immigrants trying to escape the crowded, dirty, and disease-ridden tenements in Harlem and on the Lower East Side.¹ During this time period the Bronx experienced rapid expansion; between 1880 and 1930, it was one of the fastest growing urban areas in the world, as well as one of the most diverse. People flocked to the Bronx from all over New York City. It became a stable, cultural ethnic hub.

This Land Is My Land: The Evolution And Future Of Urban Homesteading In The United States, Emma Brennan

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

On Track To Success: Extending Metro-North To The Neighborhoods Of The East Bronx, Christopher Kennedy

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

This thesis will examine a large-scale transit project that could have far-reaching, longs-lasting effects on a large swath of neighborhoods in the East and South Bronx. Currently, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and Metro-North Railroad are exploring options to provide their customers access to Penn Station via existing infrastructure. A large part of this plan would involve the New Haven Line, which currently runs from New Haven, CT to Grand Central Terminal. Under the proposal, some New Haven Line trains would access Penn Station via the Hell Gate Line, currently used by Amtrak to bring their customers from New Rochelle …

Risky Business: How Policy, Demographic And Economic Changes Have Left The Lower East Side Empty During Daytime Hours, Dustin Molter

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

"When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sign you're getting old". This statement by world renowned Mark Twain perfectly describes change as it often works. When the 'old' is noticeably transitioning to the 'new', the old's age truly starts to show. The unfortunate thing is that this change, and ultimately any type, is inevitable. Whether abrupt or subtle, sought after or fought against, change occurs. In turn, it is the inevitability of change which prompts out need to adjust to such changes. People, places and things alike all change in different ways, and …

What We Learned From Copenhagen And Where We Went Wrong: Changes New York Can Make In Car-Parking Policy To Better Promote A Bicycle City, Tiffany Zuffi

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

In this study, I argue that the oversupply of parking in New York City promote private care ownership and defeat attempts of accepting cycling as a viable mode of transport. Overabundant parking also actively rakes away from public areas and urban aesthetics, often increasing carbon footprint and traffic congestion and denying the city its opportunity to develop into the walkable urban environment envisioned by PlaNYC2030. Copenhagen was able to realize the importance demand for the automobile cannot continue to thrive alongside pedestrianized design. With existing means of parking management, parking design and perking incentives that will reduce demand for …

Interethnic Relations As A Strategy For Community Empowerment: The Case Of University Heights, Caitlin Waickman

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

I became involved with St. Rita's Immigrant and Refugee Center in August of 2011 and immediately began teaching English classes to groups of adult immigrants in the University Heights areas of the Bronx. The class was relaxed and open, so conversations flowed freely among the diverse group of students. One of the first things that become clear was that communication was difficult. Immigrants that come to a new country not only have to know the difference between 'to be' and 'to have', but also the nuances that separate phrases such as 'shut up' and 'please be quiet.' The other thing …

Behind Enemy Lines: Community Responses To Violence And Incarceration In East New York, Forrest Van Dyke

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

On the fringes of Brooklyn, flung way out east, the neighborhood of East New York is a place most choose to ignore. Desolate and often forgotten, it is a community characterized by neglect and isolation. Tucked out of sight, East New York is a place easy for New Yorkers to keep out or mind.

Forgotten Voices: What Roosevelt Hs Students Have To Say About Education Reform Strategies And The School-To-Prision Pipeline, Angel Melendez

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

America's once revered public education system is now in crisis. In the last two decades, with special emphasis on the time period since the 2002 passing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the United States has seen an unprecedented decline in the overall value and worth of its education system. Graduation rates have plummeted, drop out rates have skyrocketed (The United States graduates fewer then 7 out of every 10 high school student)¹, and the United States continues to fall behind other industrialized countries in the three main subject areas of math, science, and reading. However, …

Losing Our Home: The Closing Of St. Augustine School, Nora Moran

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

“I told them that they should just remove that crds and put up a dollar bill. At least I’ll law what I’m dealing with.”¹ Darlene Rhem, a teacher at St. Augustine School located in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx, stated this as she was discussing the decision by the Archdiocese of New York to close the school in June 2011. She has taught there for 18 years, and will now find herself out of a job in June through no fault of her own. Through that blunt statement, Rhem is vocalizing much of the frustration felt by …

Sin Mis Hijos, No Sería Nadie: Parenting Practices Of Puerto Rican And Dominican Mothers In The South Bronx, Sarah Feeney

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

On the B subway from Fordham Road heading downtown on a weekday morning, an exhausted mother holds her daughter's hand, plops her down on the subway car seat, and adjusts her clothes while she munches away on breakfast. Her daughters feet dangle, swinging back and forth, while she blabs to her mother who is struggling to even keep her eyes open. On East 167^th Street, another mother pushes a stroller in the rain. She stops to adjust with one hand the plastic covering that is protecting her child from the rain while the other is holding an umbrella to …

Treme: A Culturally Historic Neighborhood Threatened By Urban Renewal & Gentrification, Caitlin Cahill

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

As the third oldest neighborhood in New Orleans and one of the oldest black neighborhoods in the country, Treme is unique in that its population has remained well over 80% black from the colonial period to the present. Bound by Canal Street, North Broad Street, Saint Bernard Avenue, and North Rampart Street, Treme has remained practically untouched by tourism, unlike the adjacent French Quarter. Treme is famous for its rich history, cultural diversity and architecture. The physical preservation of Treme is a vital element in the preservation on its culture. Because of its many long-time residents and cultural traditions, Treme …

"Up For The Fight": The Struggle For Arts Education In The South Bronx, Alice Barry

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

New York City's public school system, the largest in the nation, is well positions to be a leader in the field of arts education. Not only does New York State law mandate ares education for grads k-12¹, but New York City's cultural and artistic institutions also offer city schools a wide array of resources and educational opportunities. Artwork and working artists are evertwhere in New York City, yet the place of the arts in New York City public schools os precarious. In 2003, the City Council's Committee on Education released a report that stated in no uncertain terms …

Hope For Queen City: Immigration And Neighborhood Development In The West Side Of Buffalo, Maggie Best

African & African American Studies Senior Theses

In the upstate region of New York State once stood a proud and prosperous city on the edge of Lake Erie. Since its first golden age, Buffalo has experienced, time and time again, setbacks and failures that are often nationally noted, only adding to the city's image as a Rust Belt dump.