2. The video “Before Central Park there was Seneca Village” gives an example of just how much of the past is covered up and how full towns and the peoples that lived in those towns are made to be nonexistent and inconsequential to this country’s history, when in fact, they are some of the beginning examples of successful town structures and systems. Seneca Village is a place that has been covered up by history and practically erased so that Central Park could have the praise of being a center for connection in New York. There was so much work put into erasing it that it will probably take 10x that amount of work just to find a descendant from one of the villagers. This, like many other original stories in the US, has been forcibly pushed into the shadows so that we may never know the progress these people made or appreciate how advanced their systems truly were. All that we are meant to know is the progress of New York, and in this case, Central Park without giving a second thought to Seneca Village or the other villages that made their mark beforehand. It is important to understand that this is a constant theme in history that is worth diving into in order to give these stories much needed attention and respect so that they may never go unnoticed again. This problem continues on and it is up to us to keep the progress of Seneca Village alive in the minds of today’s populous.

San Juan Hill was a community full of Black and Puerto Rican residents demolished to build two campuses with a makeup of majority white students (FLC 49.2%, Juilliard 33.6%). Many people are unaware of the existence of San Juan Hill at all. The blame for this erasure of living environments for the minorities of New York can almost all be put on Robert Moses. This man’s blatant disregard for authority and entitlement allowed him to essentially let no law, no matter how menial, to apply to him. Most notably, illegally taking grass from Long Island beaches and summer homes in order to obtain the supplies he needed for a project. His deafness from his community’s needs became symbolic when Moses began to actually lose his hearing, as it further deteriorated he was unable to connect with the modern world at all. Another example of a community of color being erased was Seneca Village. Once again, many native new yorkers are blissfully unaware that this even existed even as many of them frequent Central Park, the cemetery of Seneca Village, daily. The rapid urbanization of the city called for a place for peace and quiet and since Seneca Village was regarded as quite unextraordinary, it became the perfect place to be torn down and replaced with a park.
The two differing opinions on Americans coming to foreign countries to help the less fortunate show opposing sides to the same story. One argued that it is disrespectful to impose yourself on a culture and community to which you do not belong and justify it by volunteering to help those living in poverty. Illich explained that those “do gooders” come to Mexico to clear their conscience and think of themselves as better people but really all they are doing is taking resources that could be put towards genuinely helping communities like his and inserting themselves into a situation they do not be;ong in. On the other hand, Hussein Safa was so impressed by Doctors Without Borders that he set out to become a doctor and be just like them. These doctors came to help citizens in much need of help after a war broke out in Lebanon in 2006, Safa stating “When I learned about [Doctors Without Borders], I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do. That’s how I want to give back at some point.”

Urbanization has caused some minority Manhattan communities to cease existing. Urban planners often decided to build on minority land when creating urban areas. This causes these groups of people to be without housing and eradicates the culture that encompasses these communities. Moses was a contributor as he would buy land and move out residents to make room for his builds. It also seems he showed no remorse to others when doing so. Some communities are working within themselves to rebuild what has been taken. Some give time and resources to creating a better environment for those in their community so that others do not have to struggle with the same issues they did. I want to engage with my community to uplift everyone around me. Seeing masses of people feel empowered through shared efforts is motivation to me. It’s important to keep the history and reasoning for why you engage in mind when you do so. It’s easy— especially if you’re removed from the community you’re working with— to overlook the root of the issue you’re combating. You must remember that fixing an issue is beautiful work, but combatting the cause is a preventative measure that can do much more.


1. Robert Moses had an enormous impact on the city. Moses used his power to do favors for the church, which in turn secured votes for his projects. Moses was behind the urban renewal project to build Lincoln Center and responsible for the displacement of around 7,000 families and 800 businesses at San Juan Hill. Moses also used his power to oust residents living where Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus is now, and gave the land to the university as a gift.

2. Urban renewal displaced thousands of residents, razing entire communities to the ground “in the name of progress”. Communities are revitalizing what has been lost through art and history. One example of this is a group of archaeologists and historians called the Seneca Village Project. This group has been working to study the site of Seneca Village to learn more about the identities of its residents. At Lincoln Center, artists are working to tell the history and legacy of San Juan Hill that once stood where Lincoln Center is now.

3. I feel empowered to engage with my community when there is an opportunity to approach the root of an issue. Throughout my life I have been a part of multiple community service organizations, but was frustrated that much of our efforts seemed like a band aid on a deeper issue. I am grateful for the opportunity to be at Fordham where there is an emphasis on not just community service but also social justice. It is important to keep in mind that our efforts are only possible because of the community members that came before us. We need to remember that we are not here to have a “fix it” or savior attitude, we are here to listen to and work alongside the members of the community.

1. Urbanization has been detrimental to Manhattan communities, erasing culture and communities. Robert Moses spearheaded most of this urbanization. He also contributed to the view of slums as a disease or areas that need to be isolated.
2. Urban renewal led predominately black communities to be razed in favor of public spaces. Today, communities are working to bring awareness to places like Seneca Village and San Juan Hill through archeological projects and music performances that bring back elements of these communities and pay homage to them.
3. The opportunity to impact my community and create a lasting change in people’s lives motivates me to engage with my community. Something to keep in mind is to avoid approaching community change with a paternalistic or dogooder attitude.

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Manhattan communities? What role did Robert Moses play in this impact?
Urbanization has divided the levels of socioeconomic status further. Robert Moses used Manhattan communities to build profitable yet dysfunctional infrastructure that only harmed the communities.
2. How did urban renewal contribute to community erasure? What are communities doing to revitalize what has been erased?
Urban renewal erased the valuable and thriving elements of Black communities including businesses and homes. Communities are attempting to prioritize significant cultural elements of the city.
3. What makes you feel empowered to engage with your community? What is important to keep in mind while you engage?
I feel empowered to engage with my community when I see people that inspire or fascinate me. It is important to keep my own privilege in mind and focus on listening and learning from new experiences.

I found “Before there was Lincoln Center, there was San Juan Hill” so moving. Many of us are going to live on top of this history and have never been taught about it. I was honestly quite sad that I had never heard of this district before now. This shows just how strong history erasure is in this country. As someone who wants to become a historian, it is distressing to me how many stories are lost due to intentional negligence, many of the stories of lost communities being such.

3. The opportunity to help people and contribute to creating lasting change makes me excited for the opportunity to get involved with Urban Plunge. However, just as Illich expressed in his speech to the volunteers going to Mexico, it’s important to not treat those you are helping with a paternalistic attitude. It is also important to interact with everyone, and not just a small subsection of those living in the Bronx to understand what the average life of those who live there is like. I hope Urban Plunge will open my eyes to many of the issues the Bronx faces and help me find opportunities to get involved with my new community.

In the name of urban renewal, city planners were able to completely uproot New York communities. Communities that were full of live and were prosperous were destroyed, these communities were diverse in both ethnicity and occupation. With singers and performers as well as families as well as blue collar workers, people were forced to move in the name of progress. Today, so long after those communities were torn down, the history of these neighborhoods is being investigated and displayed. Things like the Seneca Village Project and the Legacies of San Juan Hill website allow us to learn so much about the communities that once thrived. While urban progress is important, it is more important that it is done correctly and respectfully. It is great that the history of these neighborhoods is being preserved today, but hopefully America can learn from it’s mistakes and not repeat this history.

1 – People like Robert Moses who seem to have good intentions but tend to neglect what their actions consequences will be are the reason why so many communities get erased by urbanization. So much history in NYC was erased, so many people forced out of their homes, and more walls are put up to prevent minorities from getting better lives.

2 – Seneca Village was a beautiful and important place filled with the history of free black people. However, the city decided it had no value any more and completely whipped it from the map and almost completely erased its history. It’s heartbreaking to see a community that was thriving get whipped because people wanted a park.

3 – Connecting back to the 2nd video in this section, instead of what Central Park did by just whipping the communities off of the map and letting them slowly get erased from history, it’s good to see that the Lincoln Center instead is fighting to keep their history alive.

4 – Connecting back to the Building section that mainly spoke about art and its connection to the Bronx, the song San Juan Hill: A New York Story by Etienne Charles and his band was born from a love for a community. Sadly though, that community no longer exists, but the song still honors and acknowledges its existence and is a way to keep its memory alive.

5 and 6 – Reading both of these articles along with the rest of these readings across all sections made me further realize just how important social justice work on top of community service is. Instead of just helping out at soup kitchens, we need to stop and look deeper at the issues and fighter harder to solve the issues causing people to need soup kitchen in the first place.

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Manhattan communities? What role did Robert Moses play in this impact?
Urbanization has both positive and negative contributions to our society. Creating new businesses, roads, highways, and other urban structures allows for more housing, jobs, and better transportation. But the positives of urbanization can be a mask for what’s really happening: gentrification. Adding a new business catered toward more wealthy people in a city that has a higher poverty rate can displace the current residents and make their way of life more difficult. Bridges, roads, public parks, and universities are created in an effort to increase NYS revenue and the quality of life of New Yorkers. Certain groups found public parks to be destructive to their current cities and villages and the construction of college campuses was seen more as a bulldoze to people’s homes. And, in some cases, the people whose lives were upended to make these changes cannot even reap the benefits of these new structures.
2. How did urban renewal contribute to community erasure? What are communities doing to revitalize what has been erased?
Urban renewal practically erased communities with so much culture and history, pushing aside ethnic groups to make room for urbanization and developments in the city. There is no way to get their cities and villages back, but the community instead educates on the past to prevent it from happening again.
3. What makes you feel empowered to engage with your community? What is important to keep in mind while you engage?
I feel empowered in knowing that my work can make a difference in the lives of others, and by engaging with my community, I can see exactly who I am helping. It’s important to remember that a problem is bigger than one person, and a solution is too, and to be respectful of other people.

1. The impact of urbanization has only gone and stretched the socio-economic gaps between the residents of Manhattan’s many communities and Robert Moses played the lead role in ensured this happened. Low income areas were masked by housing projects and hidden beneath ramps, highways, and bridges. Robert Moses threw millions of dollars towards his construction projects, treating the areas he altered as if they were in a standstill and hadn’t changed. Moses’ deafness is a symbolic connection between Manhattan’s urbanization and his ignorance. As Moses’ influence grew, as his projects plagued Manhattan, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and Moses completely transformed the way Manhattan operated.
2. Urban renewal quite simply erased parts of New York and with it, it’s history. Historically black neighborhoods that were home to flourishing, vibrant musicians, artists, and families were bulldozed and renewed with many businesses, skyscrapers, and even the Lincoln Center. By doing so, this renewal has eradicated many families from their homes and contribution to the erasure of entire communities that once existed. Many of these communities are now raising awareness to the renewal process and revitalizing the history that once existed by created a space for it to be expressed and taught about. This awareness is nice and many are finding connections to older New York communities, but it still does not do justice for the hundreds that were basically erased out of their own homes.
3. After engaging with all of these articles and videos, I feel I have only seen a glimpse to the many sided stories and mysteries in New York. Seeing how present communities that were once renewed have little to no knowledge of their backgrounds, the ways that the Bronx and other poor-immigrant areas have been completely gentrified and burned down, and the urbanization of Moses have all intrigued me to really uncover the history and stories of New York. While I engage, and also with my own communities, I will always keep in mind that there is so much that is not being told, that there should be an emphasis on justice and problem solving rather than symptom covering, and that I should approach the world around me with an open mind.

The 1900s, especially after each world war, were seen as a time of progress and expansion for the US. Urbanization was an ideology spawned from the economic boom fanfare, yet its roots can be seen in our country’s founding. In the early 1800s, expansion to the West was backed by the early settler’s sense of self-righteousness and innovation, dubbed manifest destiny. However, similar to the Trail of Tears that systematically displaced and killed Native American communities, Robert Moses’ Urbanization systemically segregated, destroyed, and paved over minority neighborhoods.
The facts presented by the “Begin” sources have left me sad and conflicted. As a mixed Black and White individual, it kills me to see well-off integrated Black and minority communities like San Juan Hill smoothed over and erased. However, without the presence of the Lincoln Center, New York City may not have become the bastian of art and music it is today, a factor that drew me to attend Fordham. After reading the articles, I wished that Robert Moses, with all his genius and immense action, had not been so wrought with prejudice and an unwillingness to see through a lens besides his own. Maybe New York City could have fulfilled the narrative of a utopian city of opportunity for all. Sadly, the story has become an opportunity for some and, unfortunately, continues today. Gentrification is the urbanization of the 21st century, and it seems that despite history’s warnings, we may not learn from the past. Today we see rising house prices that evict residents from their homes and make way for the well-off to “reconstruct”. Instead of a Central Park, we get a new Whole Foods.
As depressing as these prospects seem, they motivate me to engage with Urban Plunge. New York is about to become my new home, and as much as I enjoyed the tranquility of my first walk through central park, I must also understand how the construction hurt New York’s communities. Urban Plunge will allow me to help heal a wound while also learning my role as a resident of New York. At the same time, my actions must be taken with the community in mind rather than becoming what Ivan Illich dubs “middle-class college students on a summer assignment.”

1. Robert Moses had a tremendous impact on the urbanization of Manhattan. Seneca Village and San Juan Hill fell victim to some of this Urbanization. People living in San Juan Hill before Lincoln Center existed tell us in this video the richness of culture and diversity in this area. However, to make way for Lincoln center they destroyed this community, displacing 7000 families and 800 businesses. People who realize and know the scale of the community erasure and cultural destruction, know that they must get it back. Lincoln center is now starting a project in order to restore what was lost with the construction of Lincoln Center. In the case of Seneca Village, the same idea exists. They wanted to build new things and decided that the places most valuable to African American New Yorkers were not important to them and were disposable in order to build what they wanted. Now, the Seneca Village Project is working to “discover the identities of Seneca Village residents.
2. I think engaging with my community is a way to broaden your horizons and take on different perspectives that are completely different from yours. By engaging with new people and new communities, you are able to gain different perspectives that would otherwise not notice. It is important to keep in mind the extreme differences in people and how they are raised/nurtured. People won’t always share the same opinions as t always share the same opinions or experiences as you and when you are only around people who you have those commonalities with, you will never see the true beauty in the differences of the world.

Seneca Village sounds like an important community, and I am surprised I had not heard of it before since it was close to where we live. It is so terrible that NYC displaced this community to create Central Park, which was likely a profit-motivated decision since Central Park attracts so many tourists. I am noticing a pattern of how many landmarks were created by displacing people.
All of these articles and videos make it clear how NYC, as well as other cities, experienced extremely harmful policies and urban planning decisions. Another common theme of these materials is power– who holds it and what they do with it. It is important to learn about NYC’s history as we become members of the big NYC community. This section helped me gain a deeper understanding about the places I pass by so frequently, like Lincoln Center and Central Park. Now I know more about the San Juan Hill mural on Lincoln Center that I see so often. Acknowledging that these places, and Fordham LC itself, were created by destroying communities is a lot to take in. I feel it is important that we know this about where we live. I think the next step after reading this information is letting it sit and letting it inform my future actions. This information allows me to keep the memories of San Juan Hill and Seneca Village alive by sharing them with my friends at Fordham Lincoln Center and my family when they come to visit.

1. Robert Moses’ obsession with achievement and power contributed greatly to urbanization. Many communities were moved to continue construction on projects. Seneca falls fell victim to urbanization due to New York wanting a central area where everyone from each neighborhood in Manhattan can spend time in since the city was growing rapidly. Although this seems like a great cause as an open space for many people, Seneca Falls disrupted their growth entirely and the area was erased.
Moses’ inhibition to listen to other ideas that weren’t his silenced people as he relentlessly worked on new projects.
2. Urban renewal caused communities and neighborhoods to be erased. Neighborhoods such as Seneca Falls and San Juan Hill were displaced as their homes were turned into other things such as Central Park and Lincoln Center. Communities now are making sure that the stories of those neighborhoods before are being told and not ignored.

The stories of the destruction of past New York City communities shows us just how dehumanizing and severe the effects were, and the importance of reviewing and learning from past failures. Robert Moses’s idealized visions of New York City, through hyper-capitalism that valued growth above anything else, led to a distanced, inaccurate pipe dream of New York City’s future that did little to help residents. The destruction of Seneca Village and San Juan Hill also shows the human side to this ‘reconstruction,’ and the painful ramifications these developments had on the many people who had previously lived there. It was quite surprising to see just how little knowledge we even have of Seneca Village. The fact that the destruction of the village was so effective, to the extent that even the history of the residents who lived there not too long ago is as mysterious as ancient history, seems incredible to me. I think these examples show how important it is to both understand the history of our Fordham campus and make concrete steps to reverse the destruction caused in the past.

The excerpts under the Engagement section reveal the contrast between a savior complex and true altruism. In Ivan Illich’s incendiary speech, he calls out the hypocrisy and alienated idealism of White American-led missions in his country. He blasts the Americans’ ‘good intentions’ without grounds in reality, and he laments the ways in which the foreigners’ indelicate visions of ‘fixing’ the impoverished communities they find. His speech shows the importance of actually understanding the communities we seek to work within. To these ends, the altruistic efforts of Hussein Safa, a medical doctor, show how proper social justice work should be pursued. Hussein’s efforts to recognize what he calls the ‘whole person’ in his medical care are what really help him better assist those who are underprivileged. These two excerpts show the importance of treating Urban Plunge as an opportunity to actually grow and better understand the community around ourselves, rather than as an opportunity to explore and make over-idealized assumptions about the world around us.

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Manhattan communities? What role did Robert Moses play in this impact?
Based on “Before Central Park there was Seneca Village” by Secrets of the Dead PBS, “Before Lincoln Center, There Was San Juan Hill” by NBC New York, and “Revisiting San Juan Hill, the Neighborhood Destroyed to Make Way for Lincoln Center” by Anastasia Tsioulcas Npr. The urbanization of Manhattan communities caused the murder of many people such as in the Seneca village and the urbanization of Manhattan communities has also impacted the moving of people to different places from San Juan Hill in Manhattan to build for instance Lincoln center. Moreover, many communities alone with their history and culture have been determined. And Robert Moses was responsible for moving people from San Juan Hill to different areas and also for moving 800 businesses out of San Juan Hill, so these projects could be built.
2. How did urban renewal contribute to community erasure? What are communities doing to revitalize what has been erased?
The urban renewal contributed to community erasure by replacing people out of a community where for instance the government is interested and wants to renew that location with new buildings and constructions . In order to make this plan come into reality the people who are interested and want this urban renewal ended up destroying everything in a community where they want the urban renewal. For instance, examples of these communities are San Juan Hill which got destroyed and eliminated to build Lincoln center and Seneca Village got destroyed and eliminated to create Central park. Additionally, these urban renewal constructions have also eliminated the rich history of communities such as San Juan Hill and Seneca Village in New York. Communities are using music and art such as painting in buildings to revitalize the history of that community. And those communities who are using art and music are usually the areas where communities got eliminated.
3. What makes you feel empowered to engage with your community? What is important to keep in mind while you engage?
Since the Bronx is my community. The diversity of culture, music, and art makes me feel empowered to get involved. Being respectful and open-minded is important to keep in mind when people engage in the Bronx community because each culture in the Bronx is unique and different from each other.

What comes to mind immediately when thinking of urbanization within Manhattan is of course, gentrification, something that has had a dual impact on Manhattan communities. While there are some positives touted by officials, such as rejuvenated infrastructure and economic growth, this process can also lead to the displacement of long-standing residents, fundamentally altering the social structure of communities. As others have already stated, portions of Central Park had replaced the primarily African American community of Seneca Village. Further, the area in which Fordham occupies, formally known as Little San Juan, which maintained Latin communities and businesses that were forced to vacate the area.

Urbanization and Erasure: As was discussed in the Build section, urbanization is more than progress and building a city. There are many negative effects of urbanization that are often ignored. Though people like Robert Moses did erect many buildings and places that pushed the community forward, they did so at the expense of the already existing communities— people that lost their homes or things they valued due to urbanization. For example, the creation of Central Park and Lincoln Center displaced entire communities, something that many enjoyers of the park and Lincoln Center probably have no idea has even happened. We must educate ourselves more on the history of the city and its people.

Engagement: When we do any form of social justice work, we must keep in mind the reason we are doing this work, as well as the identities and stories of the communities we are serving. We should not be serving others to make ourselves feel good or for some other personal benefit, but because we truly care about the work we are doing. We must approach this work with an understanding and care for the culture of the places and people that w are serving. We must understand that we are now a part of this community and, instead of just serving to serve, we should serve because we truly care about the people that live in our community— the people that surround us.

2. Urban renewal contributed to community erasure in several ways. An example is the destruction of San Juan Hill that made way for Lincoln Center. It was a very diverse neighborhood where music was prominent, but it was destroyed in 1959 for urban renewal which harmed over 800 businesses and thousands of families. For the most part the stories of San Juan Hills are unheard of because it was erased from history. I lived in New York for most of my life and never heard of San Juan Hill, it’s odd considering it made major contributions to music. I assumed that Lincolin was built over unoccupied land which shows how the community and it’s history was erased.

2.
The creation of central park overtook one of the most prospering African American neighborhoods in New York, Seneca Village. This tight-knit area was one of the first free black communities and housed one of the only schools open to African American children. Regrettably, only faint remnants endure today of the inhabitants of Seneca Village, prompting archaeologists and historians to work towards uncovering the narrative of the locals. Similarly, San Juan was another largely black-populated area that was later dismantled to make way for Lincoln Center. Vibrant communities and small-town businesses were forced to vacate the area. Now, in an effort to pay homage to this displaced community, Lincoln Center has released a website that unveils historical pieces from the San Juan era and plans to work towards creating a more inclusive, diverse environment.

I just wanted to hop on here to comment on Ivan Illich’s speech. As students attending Fordham, of which a certainly sizeable chunk must come from middle to upper-middle families, there’s so much noise surrounding the idea of “volunteering.” “Doing good” in some developing country. “Giving up time” to help the helpless. We send teenagers off to Thailand, or Zambia, or Indonesia to do volunteer work in rural villages, armed with PDF files that constitute “wear modest clothing if female” and “carry own toilet paper.” Zero regard for culture, zero regard for understanding. The benefit? Coming home and adding a bullet point to our college resumes, accepting a clap on the back from our relatives for doing something other than watching Netflix that summer. “To hell with good intentions” is so starkly accurate. We could be addressing the social framework of injustices happening right in our own communities, but there’s something deliciously, adventurously “enlightened” about doing it far from home (however useless we are for those two months spent beneath a mosquito net) that leads to the general outpour of young volunteers in developing nations we’re seeing. There’s so much more to the world than “America, the Land of Dreams, and then everyone else who’s got it pretty bad.” There’s more, and it’s just incorrect.

1) While Robert Moses can be attributed to planning many iconic New York landmarks like Lincoln Center, the UN Building, and Shea Stadium (former home of the Mets) these projects came at a great cost to the community. Many of the projects were poorly planned as he didn’t listen to or see the complaints of the community which led to flaws in the New York infrastructure that can be seen today.
2) Urban renewal got rid of vibrant communities like San Juan Hill and Seneca Village which were mostly black communities in order to build these projects, which stunted the growth of the black communities leading them to move to overcrowded communities which effects are still seen today. Seeing the mistakes of the past places like Lincoln Center or Central Park which replaced these former communities are now raising awareness of the past and remembering what came before them. While this recognition didn’t fix the problem, it does help to fix the problems of today by providing resources to the new black communities to correct the problems of the past.
3) Seeing the unique history and people who inhabit the communities of the Bronx and New York empowers me to go out there and help to make the community better and preserve it. An important thing I want to remember while doing this is to hear others and give people in these communities the time of day and listen to their stories as others don’t let them tell their stories which seen by these readings is a very interesting history.

In the United States, progress is nearly sacred. We tend to place immense cultural importance on growth, expansion, improvement, and optimization- New York City’s monumental and ever-growing skyline is a prime example of this national inclination. Browsing these sources, however, made me wonder who “progress” is really for. Who benefits from urban renewal? Who’s left behind?
Robert Moses’ impact on the city is reminiscent of gentrification, an especially relevant specter in NYC. Gentrification, ostensibly, brings certain amenities to a community- cleaner streets, increased access to public parks, revitalized businesses, and more. However, these benefits come with oftentimes prohibitive expenses. The new Starbucks on the street corner might fill a local need for study space and mediocre coffee, but many locals can’t afford a $7 (!!!) latte, nor the increased rent that comes with the presence of a new, desirable business. As such, residents that may have lived in the gentrifying community for generations prior often find themselves priced out of their homes, unable to enjoy the progress that their neighborhood is experiencing. Robert Moses’ impact on New York is representative of a similar process. Bridges and roads, public parks, and universities are undeniable boons to New York City- they increase both revenue and quality of life for residents. They’re examples of progress and growth! However, not every resident is able to reap the rewards of such amenities. Seneca Village residents didn’t experience Central Park as a valuable center of outdoor recreation, they experienced it as weapon of destruction against their community and culture. To San Juan Hill residents, the Lincoln Center campus wasn’t a place to educate an ambitious young workforce, it was a place which their homes were razed to build. Furthermore, most of them would likely not have been able to afford the ridiculous tuition prices necessary to send their children there. Both of these diverse communities were, ultimately, sacrificed on the alter of progress.
However, amenities like public parks and university campuses are necessary to create a healthy and thriving city. Central Park, for example, gets millions of visitors per year- it’s an undeniable asset to the city! The question then becomes: How can a city implement progress without leaving ANY residents behind? Honestly, I don’t know the answer. I’d be surprised if anyone really does. These sources do, however, highlight a number of methods for striving towards the goal of universal progress. Documentation and remembrance, for example, are key. Excavating the remnants of the Seneca Village community helps the world remember and honor the unique culture that once existed there, and makes it more likely that the city will try to preserve similar cultures in the future. Advocating for currently existing communities, too, is important to ensure that they aren’t razed and then forgotten about. Outreach to city officials can help make sure that they understand the importance of different city neighborhoods, and to try and make sure they preserve them as much as possible. As for other methods- I’m not quite sure yet! Hopefully, Urban Plunge will help me learn more.

A) Robert Moses played an immense role not only in building the city, but in carving it up. His designs and intentions broke up communities full of culture, not just in one area of the city, but in all of them. Many other projects have also had an impact on the city’s established residents, and have buried their stories in history. Unearthing those stories, such as the ones of Seneca Village and San Juan Hill, is a service to the people not only of the past but of the present, who deserve to connect to the roots of their communities.

B) Two quotes in particular stuck out to me in Ivan Illich’s speech, the first of which is “[s]oon you would be made aware of your irrelevance among the poor, of your status as middle-class college students on a summer assignment. You would be roundly rejected, no matter if your skin is white-as most of your faces here are-or brown or black, as a few exceptions who got in here somehow”. It is a poignant reminder of the importance of integrating with and understanding the community, as Professor Jost asserted in the Day One article, of working with people instead of for them. Another of Illich’s quotes that stood out to me was “[t]he damage which volunteers do willy-nilly is too high a price for the belated insight that they shouldn’t have been volunteers in the first place,” which is a testmant to how vital it is that we as students understand the work that we do and how it should be shaped to best work with the community, not what an outside source deems a community needs. We have to understand that our place is to work with others to implement infrastructure that the people who will utilize it recognize as being beneficial.

After you engage with the content for Urban Plunge Day 3, we invite you to give your own reflection or respond to any of the questions below:

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Manhattan communities? What role did Robert Moses play in this impact?
2. How did urban renewal contribute to community erasure? What are communities doing to revitalize what has been erased?
3. What makes you feel empowered to engage with your community? What is important to keep in mind while you engage?