Urban Methods: A Reflection

I found the essay by Lynch and Rivkin interesting. The comments on how people seemed to focus on the same parts of the block: the spatially dominant buildings and the overall blending of the buildings and other components of a street were very interesting, especially after having my own excursion walking the city. I only remember certain parts of the landscape: the construction, the marked difference between the Lusty Lady and the surrounding buildings, a large factory with a calming picture of orcas in the ocean, and how there were, at one point, a large number of sunflower seeds on the ground. The first and second of these certainly relate to the convergence of the various parts of the landscape: I saw some parts as incongruent with the rest. The Lusty Lady was a small, rather beat-up looking building with a sign reminiscent of decades past while the surrounding buildings were tall and streamlined. The construction was also a contrast to the surroundings. The third of the observations mentioned was a spatially intrusive building (it was much larger than the buildings next to it) and it had been painted in very bright colors, catching my attention. The fourth probably relates better to what Lynch and Rivkin said was also of importance: the quality of the pavement. I recognized what I was walking on and registered what was covering it.

I also found it interesting that people did not tend to focus on certain stores, except for the ones with two sides open for viewing. Only the very visually catching stores (such as the toy store) were commented on by more than half of the viewers. One thing I noticed with the essay was that it did not mention the people that the viewers noticed. I would think that’s probably a result of how people do not stay put so it was unlikely to have the same person still in the street during the different tours. I also rather wonder what are considered “signs”, whether they are street signs or store signs, because one of the participants apparently mentioned 78 different ones.
I thought this was an interesting piece. It would seem like there are so many things composing a street that there would not be any outstanding preference for commenting on certain objects, but that is not the case. It was quite the interesting study, and its implications are rather important for city planning.

Walking Around the Block

Colleen and I went downtown to the Lusty Lady (we didn’t go inside, just walked around the area and observed) Sunday morning, which is admittedly not the best time to see anything of interest. I thought it was rather amusing that there were more people taking pictures of the place than actually going in it. We only saw one person go in (a man that looked mid-twenties of standard stature and somewhat wider than standard girth). I didn’t see his face. There were three people who took pictures of the place (including myself), who were all female and about 20-30 years old. There wasn’t too much leg traffic in the area, although there were at least two people with leather coats (yes, I know, random detail). I only mention it because the first man I saw in a black leather coat was also wearing a black leather beret and a pair of black sunglasses walking with a woman dressed in black (you see their backs in the picture). The man was quite interesting because he was talking animatedly to the woman with much waving of hands. There was also a young black man with a very very fluffy white coat. Most of the other people we saw were middle aged and dressed in casual wear. There was a Muslim woman, at least two black males, at least one Asian (Chinese), and several Caucasians. Most people seemed to be in a good mood –it was sunny and it was a Sunday. There isn’t really a back to the Lusty Lady, more like steps going down to another street level. We walked there. There were even less people. Someone had been there earlier and had strewn many sunflower seeds on the ground for at least 10 paces on the sidewalk. Also, there was a somewhat amusing factory producing smoke with a picture of a serene aquatic environment. Oh, and there seemed to be some construction going on right next to the Lusty Lady.

I think that this method of data collecting would be quite useful in Amsterdam, especially as a way of getting a feel for the area beforehand. Additionally, as Zeisel mentioned in his paper, “an investigator who wants to know how strictly hospital attendants follow fire-safety rules will learn more from counting the fire exits blocked by stretchers than from interviewing attendants, who may want to paint a rosier picture than actually exists.” It is often useful to determine from observation things which might be less available from simple conversation.

Also, as a side note, after reading Lynch’s paper, I find myself rather amused by my notes. I seemed to not notice many buildings except the one we had come for and a building with a big colorful painting on it. All my observations are of people…and seeds on the ground.


This picture is of the Lusty Lady:

This is the back of the man with the black leather coat and beret.

This is the factory


These last two pictures are of the people taking pictures of the Lusty Lady

Online Manifestation

Relevant Links:
1. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/148231/A_Bit_Of_What_The_Soldiers_Fancy_Does_Them_Good
2. http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/laws/000022.html
3. http://www.pic-amsterdam.com/
4. http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/RaymondVAW.pdf
5. http://www.iusw.org/policy/05_legalisation.html
6. http://sextradeworkers.blogspot.com/2007/04/legalization-vs-decriminalization.html
7. http://www.pic-amsterdam.com/
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6178793.stm
9. http://www.sexworkeurope.org/
10. http://hookers.nl/

I find it interesting that many sources say that child prostitution in the Netherlands has increased with the legalization of prostitution. Also, I’ve seen people stating that as much as a quarter of the prostitutes in the Netherlands are a result of human trafficking. However, even though a large percentage of European prostitutes are driven to become prostitutes by their drug addiction (according to BBC news), only about 10% of the prostitutes in the Netherlands had this incentive. Additionally, many people see the Netherlands as much safer for prostitutes than other countries.
Also, as a side note, the last link is entirely in Dutch. However, if I can find anyone who can read Dutch (hint, hint ^_^), I think it might be an interesting source. Apparently the site has about 40,000 visitors a day.

I’m not sure how to analyze the online manifestation of my topic. One way is just to see the different opinions posed and who those opinions come from. I’m not really sure how else to analyze the online components that I found…

...and just so that I have this link for later…I was thinking about finding this book in the library : http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Workers-Netherlands-Approaches-Sociology/dp/0415972345 .

Research Groups

I guess that I’ll just take the third option on this assignment because I was unable to establish a group. Also, for the restating of my research idea post, I think I’ll use my euthanasia idea because I have a slightly clearer idea of what I would want to do with that topic.

a) I failed at this one. Hopefully I can work it out in class tomorrow. I would like to work with Colleen, because we seemed to have somewhat similar preliminary interests, but I think everyone’s topics are interesting so I’d be willing to work with anyone.

b) I would want to compare the perspectives/views taken by Seattle’s primary religious groups on euthanasia to those of Amsterdam’s. Is there any difference in the positions taken? In how the topic is considered? Are there any variances in position on the topic between the religious groups? Are these variances duplicated in the two cities, or do they differ? If they differ, how do they do so and why? Do the religious groups take a different position than that of non-religious people?

c) I don’t really know too much about this topic at the moment. Most of the information I could find indicated that the Netherlands was somewhat all in agreement on the topic, but I doubt that all opinions are exactly the same. Thus, I think that it would be better if I took the international engagement option. I think the topic is interesting, and I would like to explore it. As I have never been to Amsterdam for an extended stay, I don’t have a clear view of what to expect, and I would rather keep my options open.

d) I don’t think there will be that many problems with finding people to interview/ask questions as these are religions pursued by a large number of people, and I think that most major religions are fairly open with their viewpoints. One thing that I could foresee as a problem is the sensitivity of the topic. It’s a question of life and death, and questions like that almost always get everyone tied up in a knot, from my experience. Still, asking questions in a non-provocative way and being considerate of people should help alleviate at least some of that problem.


Oh, as a complete and unnecessary aside, I found a rather amusing Dutch legend at
http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/017_legend.html .

Picture of Self...sorta

Somebody mentioned in class last time that it would be good if we would all post pictures of ourselves so we can equate the face with the name...I realize that this isn't exactly the best picture for face-name association...but it's better than nothing, right? It was the only picture of myself I could find on my computer and I don't have my camera with me sooooo...yeah. Why not just wait until I am reunited with my camera? Ummm...I don't have the patience and I'd probably forget about it ^_^. So, yes, everyone gets to see a picture of a camera...and a vague outline of my face and some hint of glasses ^^;;;. Plus, everyone gets to see my bird!
And, yeah, this picture is going into a post and not as the picture on the side where I post pretty pictures (like the Sandpiper right now) because I think it would be somewhat creepy to see myself staring out of my computer all the time...as a post, I can just quickly scroll over it. Plus, this way I get to keep putting up pretty pictures on the side. ^_________^
Okie. That turned out to be a long post. Shutting up now.

Ideas, Questions, and Evidence for Research

I am rather interested in the legalization in the Netherlands of what would be very controversial topics in the United States. I actually had two ideas, so I’ll write both of them up and see what I come up with. I'm not sure quite yet which topic I'll choose. Anyway, I split them up into the three different areas (idea, questions, and evidence) for easier reading.

Idea: I think it would be interesting to see how (or if) opinions of the legalization of euthanasia differ in regards to the main religious groups in the Netherlands: unaffiliated, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim.

Questions: Whether there are differing views among religious groups in the Netherlands having to do with the legalization of euthanasia.

Evidence: This would probably have a component of “let’s stalk the churches/mosques”. I would have to make sure that the places of worship I asked at were in various different parts of the Netherlands to make sure that the opinions I gathered were not just those of the local people and I’d want to ask random people in that area their opinions to contrast to the people that visited a place of worship. I could also ask random people in different areas of the country about their opinions.


Idea: Another idea is to do with prostitution. I’d like to compare the problems associated with prostitution present in the Netherlands to those present in Washington (or the U.S. in general, but that seems too broad for the scale of this project), mainly to see if there are any outstanding differences in the problems present and to see if these are in any way tied to the differences in policies in Washington and in the Netherlands. I know sexual assault is a major problem in the prostitute community in the U.S., and it seems like the Dutch’s legalizing of prostitution might have some effect on curtailing this problem. The offering of regular health checks in the Netherlands seems positive as well. However, there is also the issue of trafficking, which some say has increased with the legalization of prostitution in the Netherlands. Also, sex workers in the Netherlands are required to both register (which they can only do if they are legal in the mind of the Dutch government) and to pay taxes, something that many of the trade can not do or do not want to do. Personally, I think that legalization is a good way of handling things, at least, if the state/country is willing to spend the resources on making sure that regulations are followed. Although they are different, one can compare to the legalization of alcohol: when it wasn’t legal, consumption still took place, it just was a lot more covert and somewhat more dangerous at times. Of course, even now that alcohol is legalized, there are still problems, such as people who make moonshine or other illegal alcoholic drinks.

Questions: How much does Washington’s prostitution scene differ from that of the Dutch? Does it have anything to do with the differing legal and cultural positions on sex workers? What are the positives and negatives, comparatively, of these two systems in these areas?

Evidence: I would do research both in Washington and in the Netherlands. I’d probably get in contact with police stations and ask them some questions. I could ask sex workers in the Netherlands in the Red Light District, but I’m not sure whether I would be willing to try and find sex workers here to interview (which is a rather interesting distinction on my part…)

Response to Hirsi Ali's Submission

Hirsi Ali’s Submission was a work close to her own heart, and it definitely resonates that way. Learning about her experiences with the Islamic culture sheds light on this provocative film. To me, Submission seems a narrow-minded, one-sided view albeit a very visually and artistically appealing one. Abuse of women seems to be pinned entirely upon the Koran and Allah’s words. Although I have very limited knowledge on the Koran, I would argue that, while abuse of women is indeed a major problem among some Islamic cultures, it is not necessarily a direct offshoot from the holy text. For example, Western cultures were partially ruled and founded by the followers of the Bible. Similar to the Koran, which Submission mentions dictates the whipping of adulterers, the Bible (Old Testament) dictates the stoning of adulterers to death. Personally, I do not hear of many adulterer deaths by stoning nowadays. And abuse of women is not uncommon even in the U.S., especially if one looks at the statistics in certain parts of the U.S. Admittedly, there seems to be a common thread where abuse is too common to be ignored in certain –and only certain—Islamic communities and individuals. This seems more a testament to the culture and practices in those communities rather than a problem singularly attributable to the Islamic religion. Still, it seems that many of the practiced abuse of women is substantiated by the Koran and until the culture of those certain Islamic communities and individuals rejects that practice, the Koran will be used as an excuse.

There seem to be many different views on Hirsi Ali’s work. Some regard it as a brilliant and shrewd work, while others think it demeaning, insensitive, and ignorant. Others straddle the fence: it brings issues to the forefront but was somewhat lacking. What it was lacking in depended on the reviewer. As I said before, I’m in this middle camp. I appreciate Hirsi Ali’s willingness to bring pressing social problems into the public view and her desire to stimulate debate but I have trouble seeing her film without trepidation at how she attributes the problems to the Koran and the Koran alone. Ceylan Weber (from the Al Nisa Foundation for Muslim Women) said that Hirshi Ali “has absolutely no clue of the complexity of domestic violence” and, while Submission is a short piece with a point to make, not an hour long documentary, I am inclined to agree. Religion is not the sole reason behind domestic violence in Islamic communities, although it seems it will be quoted as such.