Observation: All of the houses at Baldwin Park were nice two-story homes spaced closely together with a small yard and no driveway; space was delineated on the side of the road for parallel parking. There was a recreational sidewalk that I saw several people using for walking their dog and bicycling. The colors of all the houses matched. With the exception of other AP Human Geography students and the sales representative, no one else was inside the model house.
Speculation: I think the neighborhood is located at its location because of its proximity to a lake and the central business district of Orlando, both of which would certainly be desirable features to prospective residents.
Analysis: The neighborhood is at its location because the land previously belonged to a navy base, providing a vast expanse of land for development. The prices of the houses range from $220,000 to $3,000,000. The community is two miles from downtown Orlando, enhancing an easy lifestyle for which all the residents share a common desire. The neighborhood is meant to appeal to families, and mothers are most often seen inside the model homes.
Evaluation: I think the neighborhood is at a well-thought out location. Since the land belonged to a navy base, it made avail of a large amount of land suitable for development in a location with the appropriate demographics. As the sales representative said, its location does add to an easier lifestyle.
Baldwin Park and my neighborhood share far more dissimilarities than similarities. All the houses in my neighborhood are one-story and vary widely in color, in contrast to congruent array of colors in Baldwin Park. The "niceness" of Baldwin Park also distinguishes it from my neighborhood: besides the differences in housing, the cars are also much more nicer.
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Nice job on your observations. However, what did you notice as far as the spacing and architecture of the buildings? What about the street patterns and the their width? What about traffic, both car and pedestrian? What about the buildings? Were any buildings “mixed-use?” In other words, did you see any buildings that served as both residences and businesses? What about the homes? Where were the cars? Were there driveways? Did you notice the parks? Did the community have amenities such as community pools and gyms? What about the schools?
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that you're trying to understand the concept of urbanization. Baldwin is a great example of what urban planners have been trying to do, which is to stop the suburbs. For more info, check out the following link:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/00/earthpulse/sprawl/index_flash.html