Assignment 26: Mentorship Reflection

Honors Mentorship has by far been one of the best experiences of my high school career. Through it I have gained an understanding of the logistics of working in my career field. Additionally, the most important thing I gained through my mentorship was the relationships that I formed with my mentor and the others at my mentorship. Being active and trying my best to be entirely engaged in my mentorship, even during a "boring" workday, really helped me make the most of my experience.

The most important takeaway I have from this experience were the real-life interactions I was able to have with people in the field of city planning. Through working with Alpharetta I sat in on meetings with developers and city officials. I was able to see planning in real-time, and the amount of time and steps it takes before you can break ground on a new development. I feel like I am much more prepared to take on a career in planning and local government. When I went into my mentorship, I was unsure of whether or not I wanted to pursue a career in planning. Now, however, I know for sure that I belong in city government.

The most important advice I have for future students in Honors Mentorship is to be proactive. My first potential mentor fell through, so all of last summer I had to search frantically for a new mentor. I was actually so close to giving up, but I am so glad that I persisted. Another thing I want to tell new members is to make sure you establish a great relationship with your mentor. I am so happy that Mr. Woodman and I were able to grow so close during this experience. It's important to have these relationships so your mentor will not only be your mentor during this class; they can be your mentor for life.

Yasamin, 5/3

Assignment 25: Abstract

My name is Yasamin Khorashahi. For the past year I have had a mentorship with Michael Woodman, the Senior Planner for the City of Alpharetta. Alongside my mentorship, I have compiled a year's worth of research. My research focused on the origin of mixed use developments, and the new challenges they introduce to the American suburb. One of those challenges was a new form of gentrification, one spurred by expensive development in traditionally affordable middle-income neighborhoods. As a researcher, I ask the Essential Question: How can up and coming planners like me design and develop mixed use developments without having to restructure existing living spaces or facilitate gentrification?

The research is divided into subcategories titled What I Need to Know, What I Know or Assume, The Story of My Hunt, and What I Discovered. The first two components of my research focus heavily on determining the roots of expensive mixed use development and how it caused new wave gentrification. The Story of My Hunt explores a variety of research methods I employed to answer my Essential Question, including scientific journals, an interview with a contemporary planner, and a book on planning.

In What I Discovered, I detailed the conclusions of my research. Mixed use developments are a consumer-friendly response to suburban sprawl stemming from the post World War II automobile boom. Their steep prices come from expensive building material and an emphasis on luxury homes, which leads to gentrification. There is not a specific way to stop this, but emphases on workforce housing and government intervention in planning have served as stepping stones for up and coming planners like me to find a permanent solution to the problem. 

Yasamin 4/15

Assignment 24: Relevant Group Presentation Reflection

For this assignment, I reflected on my relevant presentation which can be found here.
I used this video from WellCast to help me with my presentation.

The video from WellCast helped by providing some last minute notes for successful public speaking. It felt very much like a crash course in public speaking, and it was memorable enough that I was able to incorporate some of its information into my presentation. Reflecting on my presentation, I made sure to maintain my posture by standing tall and straight, and engaged the audience with eye contact and hand gestures. Additionally, I included a short story (not an anecdote, but rather a little history lesson) in my presentation, explaining the origins of suburban sprawl and mixed use planning. Finally, I had plenty of water at hand and made sure that I was articulating my research presentation in a clear and concise manner, so as to engage with and appeal to my audience. Ultimately, I think I had a relatively successful and engaging presentation thanks to the application of the tips present in the video.

Yasamin 3/30

Assignment 23: Annotated Bib 3

For this assignment, I wrote my third annotated bibliography. Click here for a properly formatted version on Google Drive.

Howell, K. L. (2016). Planning for empowerment: Upending the traditional approach to planning for affordable housing in the face of gentrification. Planning Theory & Practice, 17(2), 210-226. doi:10.1080/14649357.2016.1156729

Howell’s article explores the correlation between gentrification and representation in local government, particularly residents in Washington, DC’s poorer areas. The article explains several legislative measures that were put in place, such as the Tenant opportunity to Purchase Act (ToPA) in 1980, and how legislators have managed to evolve their policies over time to meet local demand. Another program, CNHED, allows members to “receive city council funds to develop affordable housing, administer programs, organize tenants, provide wrap-around services to extremely low-income households, and provide job training and housing counseling,” important resources that residents can use to break the cycle of poverty and avoid gentrification-driven confrontation (Howell 215-216). I can use this source in my research as it is a very thorough case study about local government driven gentrification. Within the context of Washington DC, Howell also explores the neighborhood of Columbia Heights, which “In 2010, almost 19% of households earned more than $100,000, compared to less than 6% in 2000” (Howell 217). Additionally, Howell discusses the power of group and public advocacy, pro-bono attorneys, and making connections between tenants and the government as the driving forces against gentrification in a city like Washington, DC. Howell is a reputable expert in the field of planning, as she is an urban and regional planning professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and holds a PhD in the field. She cites a significant number of interviews in her bibliography, mostly people and agencies directly involved in the happenings of her case study. This article is a good source to site as part of my research because it shows how modern legislation has a direct impact on gentrification-prone communities. Ultimately, the article represents just one small example in the entire country, but the progress made in Washington, DC  is enough to be feasible on a nationwide scale.

Assignment 20: Capstone Updates

For this assignment, I'm just giving a quick update on my capstone project. Currently, I have been watching many videos about urban planning and future issues like gentrification and walkability. Additionally, I have been talking with people at my mentorship and brainstorming ideas for good presentation visuals or props or interactive exhibits. Finally, I plan on reaching out to one of the professors at a local university (GA Tech) to ask her about her research in city planning, as well as talk about my essential question. I am still unsure of how I will use the information she may provide me with; maybe I can create a video interview or a presentation that integrates her knowledge. My biggest priority at the moment is just making sure that I have thoroughly researched and provided enough information to accurately answer my essential question.

Yasamin 2/10

Assignment 19: Annotated Bibliography 2

For this assignment, I turned the graphic organizer from my last post into a formatted annotated bibliography. Because Blogger does not allow me to format it exactly how I need it, click here to access a Google Doc where the format is correct.

Kunstler, J. H. (1993). The geography of nowhere: The rise and decline of America's man-made landscape. New York: Simon & Schuster.

This book gives relatively detailed accounts of the history of the American landscape. Each chapter is structured like a case study for a single topic. It emphasizes that “the two elements of the suburban pattern that cause the greatest problems are the extreme separation of uses and the vast distances between things” (Kunstler 117). Mostly, the work focuses on the effect of suburban sprawl on the American landscape, and the negative repercussions that the population has faced since the end of World War 2, especially the production of “two separate classes of citizens: those who can fully use their everyday environment, and those who cannot” (Kunstler 115) . While this is not a scientific article or journal, the book is still highly credible, as pages 277-284 include detailed footnotes and a bibliography of a wide number of sources. Additionally, the author, James Howard Kunstler, has a reputation as an American journalist, writing for the Rolling Stone and New York Times, as well as a blogger. I can use this book as it provides personal testimony to the effects of suburban sprawl, and the necessity of redevelopment in the American landscape. It is well researched, so even if I do not cite it directly, I have the bibliography at the end at my disposal to retrieve even more sources on planning. It can also be used as a comparison of what planning focused on 25 years ago and what it is doing today. They are both very similar, as the novel emphasizes the need for walkable communities and the introduction of a mix of uses to revitalize the then dying American landscape.

Yasamin, 2/3

Assignment 18: Graphic Organizer 2

For this week's assignment, I filled out a graphic organizer for a source that i would be using on my capstone project.

Source #__1__ Bibliography (MLA or APA) 10 pts	Kunstler, J. H. (1993). The geography of nowhere: The rise and decline of America's man-made landscape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Annotation: (Describe ALL info. that might be important for your paper. Explain to the reader and/or summarize what might be found in this source) 35 pts	This book gives relatively detailed accounts of the history of the American landscape. Each chapter is structured like a case study for a single topic. Despite the age of the novel, it covers issues such as autocentricism and suburban sprawl which still resonate within the contemporary planning landscape. Additionally, the book includes several personal testimonies and well researched historical narratives which could supplement further research in specific areas, such as the effect the Robert Moses had on public transportation in America. Mostly, the work focuses on the effect of suburban sprawl on the American landscape, and the negative repercussions that the population has faced since the end of World War 2.
Potential Quotes: (Are there any significant quotes you can use or paraphrase from this source?) 15 pts	“We built so many terrible communities since 1945, and destroyed so much that was good, that there is very little to refer to.” (138) “In almost all communities designed since 1950, it is a practical impossibility to go about the ordinary business of living without a car. This at once disables children under the legal driving age, some elderly people, and those who cannot afford the several thousand dollars a year that it costs to keep a car… This produces two separate classes of citizens: those who can fully use their everyday environment, and those who cannot.” (115) “The two elements of the suburban pattern that cause the greatest problems are the extreme separation of uses and the vast distances between things… The separation of uses is also the reason why there are no apartments over the stores in the thousands of big shopping centers built since 1945, though our society desperately needs cheap, decent housing for those who are not rich” (117)
Assessment: (Analyze and explain why this source is credible)  15 pts	While this is not a scientific article or journal, this source is able to provide a more lax and casual approach to the study of planning. The book is still highly credible, as pages 277-284 include detailed footnotes and a bibliography of a wide number of sources. Additionally, the author, James Howard Kunstler, has a reputation as an American journalist, writing for the Rolling Stone and New York Times, as well as a blogger. He had also published eight novels. This book, however, was published in 1993, so it is 25 years old. Despite this, it still retains applicable information an ideas to the contemporary field of planning.
Reflection: (How will you potentially use it?) 25 pts	I can use this book as it provides personal testimony to the effects of suburban sprawl, and the necessity of redevelopment in the American landscape. It is well researched, so even if I do not cite it directly, I have the bibliography at the end at my disposal to retrieve even more sources on planning. This book can also be used as a comparison of what planning focused on 25 years ago and what it is doing today. Surprisingly, they are both very similar, as the novel emphasizes the need for walkable communities and the introduction of a mix of uses to revitalize the then dying American landscape.

 Yasamin, 1/27