1st -2nd S & 12th - 13th E: 1 Individual post

Walking about the block from 1^st to 2^nd south and 12^th to 13^th east was a beautiful experience. The fall weather was beautiful, and the colors of the leaves were striking. That block also happens to be a very beautiful neighborhood. The house styles vary from Colonial to Victorian with

many versions of the classic Bungalow. Some of the designs were very whimsical, picturesque, or striking. Some were obviously designed to blend in with natural surroundings, others to stand out. The variety of designs was not chaotic, but instead made the area interesting and eclectic. It seemed to be a very family friendly area. We even had a man take our group picture who was working in his yard with his dogs and children. Overall, it was a very friendly area.

On our block, there was also an interesting integration of residential and business. There were three sides of the block that were homes and a few apartments, while the forth side, that of 13^th E, was mainly apartments or offices. There was also a gas station. Just a block over there was also a whole line of businesses including a CD exchange, and many restaurants. I didn’t grow up in a city, so the idea of having the integration of business and residential areas in this manner was novel to me. I think it’d be so nice to live somewhere where you could walk a block to a nice restaurant, CD store, or convenient store.

Alex Butler

Westmoreland Place Individual #2

My group and I traveled to Westmoreland Place between 15th East and 13th South and I was instantly surprised by how much changed once we turned onto Westmoreland Drive. First of all, it was incredibly quiet and serene. The streets were calm, relaxed and cozy instead of busy with rush hour traffic. I would have never known that behind all the hustle and bustle of the city there was such a little slice of heaven.

I noticed that all of the houses were set back from the street more than the other surrounding areas and there was a large emphasis on yards, landscaping and seasonal decorations that evoked an authentic fall feel. As we wandered throughout the neighborhood I couldn't help but smile and enjoy the gorgeous fall day. As we marched through the leaves, we admired every house's unique features and what it brought to the overall feel of the neighborhood. Although nearly all the households seemed to be keeping to themselves, we did see a couple families playing in their front yards with their young children and enjoying the pleasant fall weather. The streets followed a completely different structure and layout than the surrounding neighborhoods. Rather than following a strict grid system, the streets went by names such as Colonial Drive and Harrison Avenue and were curved and met at random places instead of following exact blocks. Although this was a bit more confusing than the grid system I found that it was far more interesting and it created a whimsical feel in the neighborhood. All the houses were neutral and sophisticated, but they all brought their individual unique qualities to the neighborhood overall.
The vibes I got from the neighborhood were very positive. It came across as an upper middle class, well maintained, classy area. A lot of times when I walk through a neighborhood that seems well established and clean, I feel out of place, but this neighborhood was so classic and beautiful without being in your face or overdone. The majority of the houses were simple and I could tell the emphasis was on simple beauty, not overwhelming wealth.
Overall, I was impressed with the cleanliness and beauty of the neighborhood.

Group 6 Walkabout, Capitol Building

Our group went to the Utah State Capitol Building. We arrived in the late afternoon, on a beautiful almost-fall day. The sun was shining, and there were hardly any clouds. Since the Legislature was not in session at the time of our visit, the building and grounds were almost completely deserted, apart from the occasional tourist. The people that were there tended to stick very closely to their own groups.

The state capitol is somewhat unique in being both an edge and a landmark. The building itself is positioned on top of a hill, and as such is very visible to the entire valley. This positioning on an edge is what also makes it a landmark. Inside the visitor's center, there was information available about nearly everywhere in the state, not limited to the immediate surroundings. Clearly, the capitol is meant to be an indispensable part of any visit to Utah. The inside of the building strengthens this hypothesis- most of the space is devoted to displays about Utah history and culture, geared towards an audience that was not familiar with it to begin with. Outside of the building was very clean and well-maintained. Although the area is close to the heart of the city, there was a suburb-like feel to the area- that is, it was removed from the ordinary hustle and bustle of the city.

Overall, we enjoyed our visit to the capitol. None of us had been there since elementary school field trips, and probably gained more from the visit this time around. We did notice that there was a somewhat surprising lack of personal opinions on display, but that may be due to the legislative recess.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail *Group 3*

By: Andrew Hancock

     We hiked the Bonneville Shoreline Trail at 10:30 AM on a Saturday morning in September. The weather was sunny and clear and in Emily’s words, “It was a beautiful day!” We went as a group and observed all the other people exercising on the trail that morning.  As we were hiking, a few of us complained about the hike and one of us hated the fact that nature was touching her. Though there was some hesitation about the hike in the group, we all continued on together to accomplish our goal of viewing how others interact with nature and how this trail is considered an edge.


     The energy level on the trail was higher than the average everyday energy.  Most of the people on the trail were running or biking and in the end, some sort of exercising is what was happening there.  It is a public area and there were all different types of people using it, including animals.  Seeing that the area is so large and people traveled in pairs or by themselves, there was little to no communication on the trail. Most of the communication was trail courtesy warnings and a simple “hello” as individuals would pass. 

   Edges “are the linear elements not used or considered as paths by the observer. They are boundaries between two phases, linear breaks in continuity,” according to Image of the City. On the other hand a path is considered a walkway that people can move on. So technically, this could be considered a path and an edge. It is a path in the sense that it can be walked on to get in and out of the district we live in, but an edge in the sense that it marks the end of the district. Whichever way you would like to take it is your choice; we are stuck in the middle.

     In the end, most of us thought the trail was very nice and relaxing.  It was nice to be out in the open and enjoying the city view.  We thought the attitude of the people was overall very positive and friendly.  We felt very safe and protected on the trail.  We have all experienced events like this before, but some of us had better reactions to hiking than others.

  

Farmer's Market Experience *Individual*

     My group attended the Farmer’s Market in Pioneer Park. It was a great experience that really opened my eyes to new produce and various talents that individuals possess. There were many merchants selling items that varied from tomatoes to demented paintings of Disney characters and there were people there to purchase all of those things. It was a real eye opener to me because my previous assumptions about Pioneer Park were completely different from what I discovered that it is. Pioneer Park is a park just like all the rest now that it has been cleaned up. In the past, I would have never imagined stepping foot into that park, but now, it is a place that I would go any Saturday.

 

     This park was full of families and individuals coming to take part in the market. There were children playing on the playground while their parents walked around, discovering what the vendors had to offer. The booths were spread out over the entirety of the park, which helped to fill the space and make it seem more inviting. Overall, the set up of the park helped to make this a very open and public space.

    As the book, Image of the City, discusses, a public space is an area that is open and inviting to everyone no matter of class, gender, or ethnicity. This was evident through the fact that people of many ethnicities were present as well as homeless individuals and even individuals with disabilities. To my surprise, they even had a program that coincided with the food stamp program that allowed lower income shoppers to be able to purchase items too. It was a really fun to be surrounded by interesting people and tantalizing food.

Group 4 Temple Square Walkabout

Temple Square is in the center block in Salt Lake City. To get to Temple Square, we took Trax. The first thing that we noticed when we got to Temple Square was that it was walled off Temple Square is not a public place, it is private land owned by the LDS church. It is portrayed as public but the LDS Church could kick someone off the land. When there are protesters at Temple Square, the protesters are forced to be outside the square in true public land.

When Land is not public, the people inside lose rights and liberties that they would have if they were in a public place.

There are gates on each side off the block. The wall created a separation of the square from the rest of the surrounding city. On the outside of the wall there were homeless and beggars. As soon as we walked into the square the scene changed dramatically. It was very clean and orderly inside. There was a calm, serene feel to it.

There were a wide variety of people inside. There were many tourist taking pictures of the beautiful gardens and architecture. Many of the tourists were from outside the US. Most of the foreigners were Asians. There was also many from Northern Europe.

The workers and tour guides inside the square were Sister Missionaries of the LDS church. Sister Missionaries are women who are serving a church mission for the LDS church for two years. There were Missionaries from everywhere in the world. They would wear a flag below their nametag of their home country. There were also locals who were of the LDS faith going to worship inside the temple. The visitors were very respectful with the space. People would stay on the paths and stay off the grass. For each person there, the square had a different meaning. For members of the LDS church it had religious significance.

The temple is holy to members of the LDS faith. For tourist, it was seen as a landmark of the city. It brings in 3 to 5 million tourist per year. For missionaries it is a holy place and it is also their workplace.

While inside the square, there was a strong feel of respect and modesty. The people inside were cleanly dressed. It was not formal dress but most were in nicer clothes. Most of the people visiting seemed to be from a middle class background. For the tourist, they had to have money to travel so it is safe to assume they come from a wealthier background. There was also a very conservative feel to the area. There was no one radically dressed. Everyone spoke with respect and there were no vulgarities. People interacted in different ways. Most people stuck to the groups they came in. Families talked amongst themselves. There were interactions from the missionaries to the tourist. The missionaries led tours and answered questions. Everyone inside was polite and friendly, especially the missionaries.

There is lots of Urban Embellishment inside the square. The Square was filled with

gardens. There were fountains and pools throughout the area. The entire area was meant to be clean and orderly. We were shocked

when we saw a dead mouse inside one of the fountains. The area had dozens of sculptures. Most of the sculptures were of famous LDS church members. There were very few depictions of woman. When there were women in art or sculpture they were depicted as a wife or mother. This showed the separation of social classes in the square between males and females.

In the book Image of the City, the author, Kevin Lynch establishes 5 elements of the city. They are paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. Temple square had all of these elements.

The paths were the concrete walkways through the square. They led you to what was wanted to be seen. Temple Square is considered a district of Salt Lake City. It is identified as the religious section of the city for the LDS faith. The edges of Temple Square were the wall that surrounded the square. It creates a boundary of the district. This creates a sharp contrast of the city and the square. Temple Square is also a node. It is what Salt Lake is known for and is the focal point of our city. The Temple is a landmark. It is always portrayed in the Skyline of Salt Lake City.

Our walkabout to Temple Square was very informational. Many of us knew a lot about the square prior to the visit but we had never looked at this in depth. We learned many things that we didn’t know about Temple Square.