Mott Haven Community Teaching Kitchen

Seeing the a local non-profit tackle such a great initiative for improving food security in the South Bronx is a very relieving and heartwarming feat to witness. Considering the multi-layered issues that the South Bronx faces, food insecurity is definitely a major factor that prevents faster growth and prosperity of the South Bronx. With the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the work of local non-profits in Urban Plunge, I’m definitely aiming to have service be a regular part of my time at Fordham!

1. Urbanization has displaced thousands of people, with 60,000 people being displaced by the Cross Bronx Expressway alone. The Cross Bronx Expressway caused property values to diminish, leading to racial divides in communities that were at one point some of the most integrated in the country. Urbanization has also led to environmental and health impacts on Bronx communities. Higher rates of pollution have led to respiratory illnesses and higher COVID deaths.

2. I admire the initiative of the Bronx residents. The Bronx rebuilt through its residents creating a culture of staying and fighting for the changes they wanted to see in their community. Residents refurbished buildings and built homes for themselves. While rebuilding, members of the community taught each other and created carpentry shops for residents to learn skills. They also started after school programs and created art such as hip hop. Because of pressure from the community, the fire department started an arson investigation unit. The efforts of the community were what ultimately stopped the fires.

3. My favorite artistic movement is graffiti. I would love to visit some of the locations listed in the article and see what local artists have created. Art and culture are the product of a community’s experiences. The art a community creates is a reflection of that community’s views and how they process the world around them. Art and culture help to create unity and a sense of identity within a community.

The commonality between videos and articles in this section is creative expression and its ability to act as a coping mechanism for people when hope seems lost or when life gets difficult. The birth of hip-hop in the 70’s is a prime example of using just the things around you to make something beautiful, and more importantly, something that has a meaning. In the “Birth of Hip-Hop” video, they may have said that they were bored and so they started to toy around with the music because there was nothing else for them to do, but it ultimately came from their need to create something when life threw challenges at them. The need to create is something that each one of us has inside and it comes from a place of finding meaning in the things that you do. The creation of hip-hop is beyond the music, it is expression. People creating a community to help each other and connect to one another, and that is what everyone needs, a community where they can express themselves and give their lives a sense of joy and meaning even during the hardest challenges.

The Cross Bronx Expressway brings to mind a very similar issue that arose in my city. In San Diego, The Coronado Bay Bridge was built through Barrio Logan causing severe property loss and displacement, much like The Bronx. This was met with unwavering resistance by the community but was built nonetheless. However, in a very beautiful turn of events, Chicano Park was born. This park was fashioned directly under the freeway but many members of the community overtook the park and adorned the pillars of the roadway with colorful, stunning, cultural murals representing the cultural background of many families of Barrio Logan. The park still stands today and has become an integral part of the community despite the loss many had to endure to get there. Although the outcome of The Cross Bronx Expressway was not as community oriented as that of The Coronado Bay Bridge, they still face the same issues regarding noise pollution and air pollution as well as many losing their homes to the construction. On the topic of air pollution, the excessive air pollution caused by the Expressway may have caused The Bronx to rank “worst for COVID-19 death rates and respiratory hazards of the more than 3,100 other counties in the country.” The particles emitted from cars, trucks and motorcycles can damage lung tissue and lead to not only respiratory but cardiovascular health issues as well. These health problems created a health epidemic within an actual pandemic. The Bronx Rebuild exemplifies how an accumulation of events can lead to disaster. A combination of redlining, New York City’s fiscal crisis causing South Bronx fire companies to shut down, and the government blaming the citizens led to a burning Bronx with no help. However, the valiant community efforts they began to rebuild the Bronx themselves, “They knew the city wasn’t gonna come to help them, that nobody was gonna come to help people, and so they had to figure it out and take responsibility” stated a former Bronx resident. The birth of Hip Hop in The Bronx was a new form of self expression for kids often living in lower class or immigrant families. The four pillars of Hip Hop break dancing, Graffiti art, rapping and, the most classic, DJing together accounted for the quintessential epitome of Hip Hop itself. It was really impactful to see the globalization of Hip Hop in Berlin, Paris, Havana, Rio De Janeiro, Rome, Tokyo and Hanoi after learning how it all began. Delving further into one of the four pillars of Hip Hop, the graffiti spread around New York is so incredibly culturally rich, sharing tributes, emotional expression, and symbolic artwork throughout the city.

1. Urbanization has greatly disrupted Bronx communities; for example, the construction of the Cross Bronx destroyed neighborhoods and caused many to move away from the Bronx. The expressway still affects Bronx residents today as they are at higher risk for diseases like asthma and COVID-19.
2. Bronx residents fought against redlining and accusations of arson by taking charge to rebuild homes that were being burned down in an attempt to drive them out of the area. “Decade of Fire” displays how a community banded together in the face of prejudice and racism.
3. It was interesting to learn about how hip hop originated in the Bronx and how it was partially born out of tragedy. Art and culture serve as a means to unite communities and bring them together in times of hardship.

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Bronx communities?
Urbanization resulted in the vast diversity of the Bronx, and eventually it’s downfall. The Bronx was a place that lacked the segregation of other parts of the US. Black people, Italians, Irish, South Americans, and Jewish people all lived and thrived in the Bronx. Unfortunately, redlining resulted in many White people leaving the Bronx and moving to suburbs and a lack of funding for the Bronx. Resultantly, the people left were forced into cramped and poor living conditions and had lost a significant portion of their economy.
2. How did the Bronx rebuild? What is your reaction to how Bronx residents activated their power as changemakers?
The Bronx rebuilt through community efforts. Strong individuals from within the Bronx decided that they wanted to fight for their neighborhoods. They began cleaning and building buildings which created new industry and provided infrastructure. The birth of hip hop music even had an impact as it uplifted spirits and created job opportunities.
3. What is your favorite artistic piece from our section on art and culture? What role do art and culture play in communities?
My favorite is the Bronx wall of fame. Art and culture can uplift communities by inspiring creativity and beautifying the area.

- Urbanization has resulted in the loss of residential land and an increase of environmental issues in the Bronx. Both issues disproportionately impact people of color and those in low income households.
- To rebuild, Bronx residents started countering the narrative that the burning buildings were started by those in the area. They also started reconstructing and repurposing empty lots to revive their homes. I think it’s very powerful that residents to take matters into their own hands especially after realizing the government wouldn’t step up to provide homes and resources for the residents. It shows the importance of unity within a community.
- I liked the history of hip hop section because of how music intersects with fashion, art, and social movements. Art is a way of cultural expression. It is an easy way to bring people together to celebrate the shared uniqueness of their lives. It’s important to recognize art within a community because it is form of self expression that can be used to find out a lot about the experiences of a group of people.

1. Urban planning has historically been a very discriminatory practice. Tactics like redlining, redistricting, and legal barriers, segregated cities like New York. The cross Bronx expressway being an example. Perpetuating “White Flight” to the suburbs and destroying integrated communities.
2. These poor, racist, and immoral practices were what led up to the Bronx fire, which hurt the borough for years. It burned down many people’s homes, and the media tried to push accountability onto the victims: leaving the perpetrators (the cooperations who mapped out fire control and the government who neglected the Bronx) continue scrape-free. The locals saved the Bronx. Not the officials in power.
3. Though the 70s were a rough time to be in the city, people made art in response to the lack of things to do. Deciding to make their home a better, happier place on their own.

• Urbanization via the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway was detrimental to Bronx communities, specifically densely populated communities of minority residents. Evidently this created enormous hardships for immigrants who had found solace and a home in the Bronx, as they were left displaced and having to deal with the additional problems of racist housing policies. These hardships continued, but more issues were introduced in the modern day in a post Covid-19 world, as pollution has become a major issue plaguing community members.
• This being said, it was incredibly inspiring to see how the Bronx residents tapped into their changemaking power in order to rebuild their beloved borough after the devastation faced in the 70’s. It was both fascinating and informative watching the documentary and reading the article about Vivian Vazquez’s experience and perspective. It’s interesting too to see how big of a role redlining plays in major problems surrounding the Bronx and the hardships residents face due to this. However, this makes it all the more empowering to see the formation of the grassroots organizations that fought to rebuild homes in the Bronx.

2. The Bronx was able to rebuild itself through its community taking action and starting efforts to revitalize its area. People saw that there town was actively declining and that the government was not doing much of anything to help save the Bronx. Soon enough, people decided to work together to work towards restoring the Bronx through initiatives that helped the members of the community, refurbished buildings, and involved protesting against the groups working against the people of the Bronx for profit.

All the articles contribute to a common theme: community and art can birth from devastation. It is important to note that another theme is that urbanization can be catastrophic. Urbanization not only evicts many from their homes, but can fundamentally change morale and living conditions of the communities who suffer the change. It is important to understand how the Bronx community rebuilt itself. It instills a deeper admiration for the Bronx in me. I also think it is important to learn about because it can help serve as a lesson that the community must be more supported in the future. The community received little help and history should not repeat itself.

Art and culture as a whole play a giant role in bringing communities together and connecting people. The article on the creation of hiphop in the bronx was fascinating because it all started as dance parties where people could go and have fun and forget about all their worries. As time went on and hiphop evolved it became a way to tell stories and express oneself. It is important to remember how the creation of different styles of art are what allow art to have so much meaning and power. I think that my favorite artistic piece is Banksy’s Hammer boy. The point of Banksy’s art has always been to make a commentary on society and while this is not one of his more controversial pieces, there is a lot of irony in the fact that the owner had to put up plexiglass to protect it. Banksy’s art is always stripped off walls and sold, part of the beauty of graffiti is that it belongs to everyone and that in can be seen by anyone. I have a lot of admiration for the owner of the store, leaving up and protecting such an important work instead of just making a quick buck.

During the 1970s “fires ravaged much of the Bornx.” During this time, policies were passed which neglected the well being or existence of the South Bronx and the people that lived there. In order to cut costs and save money fire companies were closed which contributed greatly to the horrors of the “Decade of Fire.” Landlords and property owners burned down their own buildings for profit. The residents however decided to reconstruct burned down buildings amidst the chaos. Bronx residents knew that the city wasn’t going to help them so they “took the power, and activated that power for themselves to try to change something.” This initiative and this desire to create change is what truly inspires others to do the same and creates long-term and long lasting differences in a community for the better. Art and culture within communities help to define the community as a whole. Every place on earth has its own reputation and culture that is associated with it. Along with this, it creates a connection between different people and with the place around them. Personally my favorite street art within the article is the First Street Green Art Park. All of the different pieces however have different backstories that bring meaning to the otherwise dull streets and alleys.

1 – Reading articles like this makes me realize just how powerful and damaging urbanization really is to communities. One expressway pushed hundreds of people out of their homes, further separating white and black and brown residents in the city, and almost completely destroying a beautiful community.

2 – On top of urbanization hurting communities in a sort of immediate sense like pushing people out of their homes and separating races, urbanization slowly kills those who are forced to stay in the now rattled community.

3 – In this documentary, hearing the narrator in the beginning talk about how much the Bronx meant to her and how the Bronx held all of her young memories like her first kiss and her first home run made the fact that people still think the people in the Bronx were to blame for those fires in the 70s hurt more. Connecting this back to the TED talk in the previous section about stereotypes, the stereotype of the Bronx was and still is hurting people and altering a significant part of its history.

4 – Filmmakers and educators like Vivian Vázquez and Julia Allen sparked my fascination for documentaries. Even though they originally weren’t planning on making Decade of Fire and were instead planning on teaching a class about the history of the boroughs, they saw a new and more truthful version of the story of the fires and knew they needed to answer the question “how did this narrative become that the people in the Bronx wanted to destroy our new chance of success, our new chance of opportunity?”

5 – Street art is always so beautiful to me. It’s not only aesthetically pleasing to look at and adds a personality to wherever it is, but it also is imbued with the history of where the piece is. Even though most pieces tend to not last long due to tagging or being painted over, the pieces still show important people or ideas in the community, in our world, or in the artists life.

6 – Much like graffiti art in NYC, Hip-Hop is a very important part of NYC’s history. Much like graffiti, Hip-Hop was an art form that brought people together and was born from a love of their communities.

7 – Reading this whole section on Art really makes it clear to me that the Bronx has way more artistic history than I originally thought of. It’s fascinating to me about how all of these art forms like break dancing, graffiti art, rapping, and so on, were all born out of a love for a community and a want to self express in a time when there wasn’t a lot to do due to an almost bankrupt NYC. Its beautiful.

The Cross Bronx Expressway
1. Seeing the effects that the Cross Bronx Expressway has had on local infrastructure and communities is extremely saddening. The racially integrated neighborhood became unjust victims of displacement and segregation due to other unjust policies. It is hard to understand what benefits the government saw in this project that made it worth the negative impact on so many Bronx residents.
2. It was saddening to read about how the Cross Bronx Expressway, which is responsible for so much displacement, is doing to people’s health. Communities in areas with more affordable housing are suffering a noticeable increase in health issues. With the Covid-19 pandemic, these areas suffered so much because of their already weakened health. This road has caused a lot of problems for a variety of citizens; who had opposed its creation from the beginning.

The Bronx Rebuilds
1. What happened to the Bronx community as a result of the series of fires, racism, and unfair housing practices was sad to see. The way that the government treated so many of the people in the Bronx and how they dealt with many of the region’s issues, was very, very poor. It demonstrated many of the complex issues that can lead to the decline of a community or a city. However, seeing the passion that many felt for their communities, and the different ways that they chose to rebuild and make a difference was very inspiring. The people of the Bronx chose to open after-school programs, become advocates, and rebuilt their neighborhoods. It is a story of perseverance.
2. The staggering amount of buildings and homes that were lost to fires in the Bronx during the 1970s was hard to read about. The area becoming neglected by the government, and the racism experiences by many residents was a difficult time in the city’s history. However, many of the people in the Bronx chose to fight against injustice and help the area become a community again. Their passion to rebuild their neighborhoods, how hard they worked, and the differences they made, are incredibly inspiring.

Art and Culture
1. Graffiti and similar styles of street art are often perceived with negative connotations. However, this article highlights the skill, complexity, and beauty that many of these pieces can have. Pieces can become iconic landmarks, and provide color and beauty to the communities that it is displayed in.
2. Hip-Hop is a unique form of music, and it has the power to bring people together. Figures like DJ Kool helped to create a musical movement that is still relevant to so many people. It was so interesting to see how he and his sister’s efforts have made such an impact on the genre of Hip-Hop. I have always loved music, and I liked being able to hear from one of the major figures in the Hip-Hop genre about its origins and what it has done to the industry.
3. Throughout the 1970’s the Bronx experienced so much tragedy regarding racism, fires, and government failure. However, the Bronx has always had a rich culture and history, that could not be taken away. The people of the Bronx worked hard to improve and make changes within their communities. These struggles were also what provided a basis for the hip-hop movement to grow. Despite enormous difficulties in daily life, people were able to create art and music that made massive impacts; which is a very beautiful thing.

1. This article highlights the heartbreaking impact of urbanization. It is quite shocking that the government is willing to channel so much money, labor, and resources into road projects such as this one with the “intentions” of urbanizing and bettering the lives of commuters, but do so much damage in the process. So many Bronx residents, particularly post WWII immigrants searching for a better life were permanently displaced and left to recover with little to nothing. It makes me wonder how much consideration and research is genuinely put into projects like this.
2. The residents of the Bronx were rightfully triggered by the purposeful gentrification, displacing urbanization, and intentional burning down of their community and home. It is extremely inspiring to have seen the determination of the Bronx residents, their fuel and connection to their area, and the way that even though it is quite obviously an extremely uncomfortable and difficult situation to live in, they choose to commit, live like that anyways, and take every and any necessary effort to give and pour their love and dedication into their community. I am glad that this piece covered the untold stories of the Bronx residents and allowed for their power and activism to be highlighted and handed back to them.
3. Personally, I loved seeing the way a party was advertised amongst school-kids in Berlin. Hip Hop emerged from the Bronx in 4 different forms of art and expression, one of them being illegal graffiti and seeing how it is widely regarded as a sort of barbaric form of self-expression in New York but an artistic, revolutionary form of expression and marketing in Berlin is quite beautiful and shows the individuality and heart that spread around the world along with Hip Hop. Art and culture play so many special roles in our world and society, and prove time and time again as highly surreal, emotional, and expressive forms of speech and cultural revolution.

-the Cross-Bronx Expressway: It’s heartbreaking to learn just how detrimental urbanization can be to a community. What stumps me the most is that the government will invest so much money into these projects with the intention of improving the city but then end up creating bigger problems that directly affect residents, such as the displacement of 60,000 Bronx residents or increased air pollution. Is there no consideration of these potential outcomes when designing such an expensive project?
-I find it so powerful that an entire community rallied together and rebuilt the neighborhood they call home when no other aid was provided. While it’s devastating that the city did very little to help a suffering community after such a traumatic event, hearing the passion in the voices of the people on the front lines of the rebuild effort was truly inspiring. This documentary and article gave the power back to the community and allowed the right story to be told.
-Art and culture: The art and culture of the Bronx is what excites me most for moving out there. I enjoyed reading about the blossoming of street art and hip-hop, and how these forms of expression impacted the neighborhood for the better. My favorite work from the street art article is the “Crack is Wack” mural by Keith Haring, the message behind the piece really moved me. Prior to reading the lecture on the origin of hip-hop in the Bronx, I was completely unaware of just how complex the art form can be. It was fascinating to read about the four different expressions of hip-hop, the factors that made it possible for hip-hop to arise, and how it spread across the world.

1.) Post-WWII unveiled a new America. After engineering a nuclear weapon and victories throughout Japan and Europe, the US established itself as an economic and military superpower. Urbanization seemed like a rational next step in the spirit of growth and progress. Unfortunately, the promise of economic expansion by urban planners like Robert Moses was accessible only to a few and locked away from minorities and the financially disadvantaged. Projects such as the Cross Bronx Expressway began a domino effect that hurt Bronx residents in the past and continues to wreak havoc in the present. Initially, residents were displaced, fires billowed due to neglect from the state and local governments, and a wedge was pushed between people of differing races and backgrounds in the Bronx community. Today heavy pollution has led to abysmal air quality and higher death rates from COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. The improvements promised to the privileged helped blanket the segregation, economic disenfranchisement, and destruction left in the wake of projects such as the Cross Bronx Expressway.

2.) The display of resilience and reconstruction by the Bronx community is as inspiring as it is upsetting. On the one hand, we see residents rightfully frustrated with their leaders taking it upon themselves to rebuild the Bronx into something new and wonderful. On the other hand, it’s saddening that the community needed to go to such lengths in the first place. Had they not been abandoned or gutted by racist policies, many of the issues seen in the past and present may not have existed. Either way, the ability of the Bronx residents to step up and build back is uplifting. Unified by the love for the neighborhood and a common struggle, the Bronx rebuilt itself physically and culturally. They did so much more than survive; they flourished. From reconstruction emerged a vibrant art scene, most notably the expansion of Hip-Hop. While the Bronx is still in recovery, it has rarely lacked the willingness to push through and grow, and I’m excited to become a part of that process.

3.) While it’s a popular answer, I find graffiti to be the most compelling art form that emerged from the Bronx. I’m fascinated by the messages each piece communicates and the time and effort that goes into each one. Grafitti artists need to consider how much paint will be used, how much it will cost, will the weather ruin the piece before it dries, and so much more I have yet to understand. Additionally, I’m awe-struck by the scale of street art. On one street, you have a simple yet powerful piece by artists like Banksy and, on the next, a vivid mural that surrounds an entire building. Art forms like graffiti are tools for communities to communicate their culture or a message that may not be accurately portrayed in writing or spoken word. For example, a large mural could depict a neighborhood’s history and struggles for any passerby to view and digest easily. It also looks really cool.

Build: How can asking critical questions about the single stories that we encounter help us build meaningful relationships with our neighbors?
-The Cross Bronx Expressway
*The Cross Bronx Expressway: Segregation by Design
•The article highlights the immense impact of the Cross Bronx Expressway on the history of The Bronx as the first major urban freeway in the US, that tore communities apart. The highway construction through once-integrated neighborhoods caused racial shifts, as white residents left for the suburbs, contributing to subsequent fall of property value to show the consequences of urban planning decisions on local communities.
For Some Near the Cross Bronx Expressway, COVID-19 is an Environmental Justice Issue
Overall air pollution is significantly higher in areas where the cross expressway formerly created a racial divide and economic disparity to the point where it’s citizens living there were disproportionately effected by COVID 19.
-The Bronx Rebuilds
*Decade of Fire documentary and article “In the 1970s, the Bronx was Burning but Some Residents Were Rebuilding”
•The documentary delves into the complex factors that led to a series of devastating fires that destroyed a significant portion of the history in the 70s of how the Bronx fell victim to series of fires and how the city government failed to help these people based on prejudices or politics. It exposes the connected issues of systemic neglect, disinvestment, redlining, and racial dynamics that contributed to the community’s struggles. It helps keep a powerful reminder of the broader social and political issues that can lead to urban decay and displacement, while also highlighting the resilience and grassroots efforts of residents striving to rebuild their neighborhoods.
-Art and culture
*the Top Spots to See Graffiti and Street Art in NYC, DJ Kool Herc and the Birth of Hip-Hop , Why Hip Hop Began in The Bronx
•These articles explore the origins and global impact of Hip Hop, tracing its roots back to The Bronx and highlighting the factors that contributed to its emergence. It emphasizes the multifaceted nature of Hip Hop, including DJing, beat making, breakdancing, graffiti art, and rapping. The unique cultural mix, tragic circumstances, and Bronx’s accessibility to other cultural hubs play pivotal roles in the rise of Hip Hop. The narrative underscores how the artistic resilience born from adversity became a global movement that resonated with marginalized youth worldwide, making The Bronx a significant and cherished location in the history of cultural innovation.

I’ve already spent lots of time driving through the Cross-Bronx Expressway to get to and from Fordham’s campus, and I anticipate doing so much more over the next four years! Every time I’ve merged onto the highway, even before knowing its history, I’ve thought: “this can’t be good for the community”. Clouds of smog from cars and nearby manufacturing centers, heat radiating off of the vast swathes of pavement, trash and rubber flung from the hundreds of thousands of vehicles passing through each day- it’s pretty bleak. The first two sources here confirm my initial assumptions. From its very inception, the expressway has devastated local communities and caused massive displacement. It continues doing so today. Houses near the highway are undesirable, both for the air quality issues mentioned in the first article and for the noise, litter, danger, and general ugliness associated with living near a major road. This means that, in general, those living near the highway are often those too poor to afford houses in less polluted areas. If a family begins to make more money, they’re likely to move to a cleaner and more desirable area, meaning that highwayside communities remain poor, disadvantaged, and struggling to attract new development. I notice this process every time I drive down the expressway- the houses I see are often dilapidated or even vacant, with few nearby green spaces for residents to enjoy. These communities have never fully recovered from the initial shock of the expressway’s 1941 construction because the expressway has continued to cripple their physical, social, and economic health. The second group of sources indicate that Bronx residents are great at rebuilding from crises, but it’s difficult to fully rebuild from a piece of infrastructure that amounts to a constant, slow-burning fire, causing air pollution, noise, and traffic deaths for the better part of a century.

Though the Cross-Bronx Expressway is certainly convenient for certain forms of travel- and again, how I get from home to campus and back again!- the third group of sources reminds me of the many benefits of local transportation. Highways remove you from a community. They elevate you via bridges and overpasses, or otherwise place walls between you and the nearby houses, and besides the high travel speeds make it difficult for you to pick out more than a few choice details about the region. Walking, biking, taking public transit, or even driving on local roads allows you to spend more intimate time with the community in question. By walking through side streets, you can see iconic and historic pieces of street art! The subway is the birthplace of break dancing, and you can still see displays (of varying quality) today. While biking through the streets you can catch snippets of music, dance, and conversation that introduce you to the local flavor of an area. Overall, where highways separate communities, smaller-scale forms of transportation can help bring them together, with oftentimes amazing results.

1. A major effect of urbanization in The Bronx has been displacement. When the Cross Bronx Expressway was built thousands of local residents were forced out of their homes to make room for the infrastructure and were given no aid to find new housing and try to rebuild their lives. Urbanization has also led to rising rent prices across The Bronx and the other boroughs. This causes many people to be forced out of their homes and forces them to either move to places with worse living conditions or farther into the outskirts, which can cause issues when trying to get to work. Also with urbanization comes more people and more pollution. This increase in pollution can cause people to develop asthma and can make people have a harder time overcoming illness.
2. The Bronx rebuilt itself by the hard work and the coming together of its residents. The people of The Bronx didn’t give up and they banded together to rebuild the buildings that had burned down or had been abandoned. They then were allowed to reap the benefits of their work through coops and actually own parts of the building which they built. This would allow them to not be subject to a landlord and constantly rising rents, allowing them and their families to stay in their homes for longer periods.
3. My favorite piece of art from the article is the Big Pun Memorial Mural. I like it so much because it shows how the idea of community works in the Bronx. Big Pun was born in The Bronx and went on to become a quite famous rapper but he never forgot that The Bronx was home and that its people were his family. It shows how connected a lot of the people in The Bronx are and shows that they won’t forget one of their own.

1. The Cross Bronx Expressway and the destruction it caused is a clear example of people in power being out of touch with what its community needs. This project hurt so many people in the Bronx, yet the New York government invested so much money into it. It is shocking and upsetting how clear it is that the project was an attempt to diminish some of the most diverse and integrated communities.
2. I am grateful for the opportunity to return to this article because I gained a different and deeper understanding of it. I pictured my neighborhood in detail, and then imagined that the city decided to build a highway through it. I then gained a deeper understanding of what the communities of the Bronx suffered. This article makes me want to pursue environmental science even more because I want to contribute what I can to solving these problems, like the negative effects of pollution on communities. I notice a huge difference in air quality when I am at Fordham and when am at home in Nebraska, and that says something because I live in Upper West Side Manhattan.
3. This documentary makes me want to pursue a career and life in helping my community even more. It reminded me how much I am inspired by and love the culture of cities. They, especially NYC, are so diverse and so beautiful, and they care about each other and their communities. This documentary also showed me how the way that most people are affected are through policies. It showed me how much those laws can hurt or help people and the environment. One thing that stood out to me was how the government in this case did not protect its people, so it was not doing its job. A job in government requires empathy. In that case, your sole responsibility is to protect your people. If you don’t care about them, you can’t protect them. An example of this is how redlining caused the Bronx to burn in the 70s because it allowed the buildings to fall into disrepair, and it allowed the landlords to scam their residents. It is incredibly moving how the Bronx communities rebuilt the Bronx themselves in the 80’s. That is where hip hop came from – pride in your community. One of the things that moved me the most was how the residents who were fighting for the health of their community stayed instead of left.
4. The stories of the residents of The Bronx deciding to stay and rebuild their communities and have pride in them is so moving. It is terrifying to me how buildings in The Bronx were allowed to fall into neglect due to racist policies for so long. The government failed its people. I am so grateful that Vasquez did so much research and worked to retell the story of The Bronx in the 70’s so that we can know the true story. This article is a helpful summary of the documentary, especially when it explains terms like redlining.
5. These pieces of art look really cool, and I would love to go see them. An artist I am really inspired by is Banksy, and I would love to learn more about him.
6. I loved getting to hear from the creators of hip hop how it was started. It almost feels like something too large and beautiful to be created by a single person, so getting to hear from DJ Kool Herc and his sister makes it so real. It is so important to learn the history behind something you love so much and interact with on a regular basis. I really want to learn more about the founding of hip hop. I am beginning to learn more about different street styles of dance. For example, I learned about House dance that came from hip hop when I learned a House piece from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago this summer, choreographed by one of the biggest names in House, Rennie Harris. House is special because it has distinct flavors based on its location, like NYC, Philadelphia and Chicago. It is one of the best things that has come from the US.
7. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn how something I love so much was created. The essay was very clear in how the waves of immigrants to the Bronx created a lot of cultural capital for new music that came out of blending the music of these different cultures. It was also very clear how the disinvestment and cuts to public services The Bronx experienced created conditions that allowed hip hop to spread. It is so interesting how Naison pointed out that a brand new genre of art was created at the same time arts education programs were closed. Something that also stood out to me was how hip hop spread to different cities around the world because they were experiencing similar disinvestment as factories were closing.

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Bronx communities?
According to the article “For Some Near the Cross Bronx Expressway, COVID-19 is an Environmental Justice Issue, Too” by Ese Olumhense, the impact of urbanization on Bronx communities is that it has created a high level of air pollution due mostly to the cross Bronx expressway which has caused people to have health issues. The urbanization of the Bronx communities have affected the price of the apartments that are located very near the cross Bronx Expressway by making the price of the rent affordable for low-income and middle people, affecting the health of mostly people who are low-income or middle income. And having this health issue due to air pollution from this freeway makes Covid-19 worse for a person who gets Covid-19 and having Covid-19 potentially spreads Covid-19 easier to other individuals who this person interacted with. As a result, more people have died in the Bronx than any other borough in New York due to Covid-19.
2. How did the Bronx rebuild? What is your reaction to how Bronx residents activated their power as changemakers?
After watching the documentary, “Decade of Fire” by Vivian Vazquez, I concluded that during this difficult time, people from the Bronx community did not give up in rebuilding their community, they took care of each other, and they worked together to repair buildings. Vivian Vázquez played a fundamental role in rebuilding the Bronx because she was encouraging many students to get a degree in the Bronx when she was a college student. I felt very empowered and very motivated because of the connection and the ambition they had to rebuild the Bronx. I have lived in the Bronx for about five years and I have never heard of this story of the Bronx and it breaks my heart that this happened and at the same time it made me very happy and emotional that this beautiful community didn’t let the South Bronx break into little pieces.
3. What is your favorite artistic piece from our section on art and culture?
What role do art and culture play in communities?
My favorite artistic piece is definitely Banksy Hammer Boy because I love when people use a physical item and do creative art. In this case, this arctic piece shows a little boy hitting a water pump which was made with graffiti. And I also love when people make drawings that include an item to make it part of the drawing, just like Banksy Hammer Boy. The role art and culture play in communities is that material culture such as clothes, food, and art of communities shows non-material culture such as beliefs, norms, values, and rules. Moreover, art and culture in general play the role of uniting the community more. And art and culture shows and represents the history of the community.

1. The first point I noticed about this article was the fact that even though the Cross Bronx Expressway was the most disruptive construction in terms of people displaced, it was still used as a model for cities across the United States. This automatically goes to show the lack of emphasis we place on the issue of displacement in our government. The subsequent article points out another issue connecting this expressway to Covid-19. Research found that the Bronx ranked the worst for Covid-19 death rates and respiratory hazards, and points out that those who lived in this area were exposed to a great amount of air pollution. With the highway right there, people are at higher risk of illness due to the gas emissions and pollutants filling the air.

2. The 1970s Bronx was taken over by fires. Vivian Vazquez wanted to change the narrative about these fires, retelling the story in her documentary, Decade of Fire. On the outside, people learn that the people of the Bronx burnt it down; that is false. The film brings our awareness to the discriminatory government of the South Bronx, which led to conditions of neglect and landlords to abandon and burn their property. Practices like redlining and cutting down on the amount of fire companies available in the Bronx and some of the reasons why the fires happened. Despite the disadvantages, residents of the community decided to persevere and rebuild. Rather than escaping, people stayed. They changed the narrative. Instead, they had collective street cleanups and block parties, keeping eachother’s spirits lifted. This really goes to show the sense of community and commitment that exists in the Bronx. With their spirits high, they rebuilt. Knowing they would have little to no government assistance, they took it upon themselves to make change and rebuild.

3. NYC street art and graffiti began as an illegal activity kids, mainly from the Bronx and Brooklyn, participated in. Nowadays, this style of art can be found in high-end NYC galleries and museums. I look forward to going and looking at some of these works of art this year, specifically Banksy’s “Hammer Boy”, as it is so close to the Fordham LC campus. I also look forward to seeing The Bushwick Collective and Coney Art Walls.

Hip Hop began in the Bronx in the 1970s. DJ Kool Herc’s sister hosted the first Hip Hop party, and DJ Kool Herc played the music. It was music people had never heard before, and it made them dance. Hip Hop is now a global genre of music, and its legacy began in the Bronx. Hip Hop is not only a style of music, it is a movement made up of many components. There is DJing and beat making, B-Boying or Break Dancing, Graffiti art, and MC’ing, or rapping. These various art forms combined created Hip Hop, which began in the South Bronx. Hip Hop is now being spread all over the world, giving appreciation and respect to it having started in the Bronx.Cindy and Clive Campbell, or DJ Kool Herc, first started hosting hip hop parties at their community center, and then they took it outside into public parks. From there, other DJs decided to participate, and by 1976 these parties were taking place all over the Bronx, and then people from other parts of the city started to notice.

1. The Bronx community faced disturbances such as the Cross Bronx highway which contributes to the poor air quality of the Bronx. The Urbanization and construction of the highway negatively affects the lives of many living in the borough. People were forced to leave their homes and were displaced in 1948 during the construction. Around 60,000 people were displaced. Racial discrimination also occurred during this mega project. White residents moved to the suburbs while receiving assistance from the government with backed mortgages. Colored residents on the other hand, stayed in the borough while struggling with housing due to red-lining and racism. Covid-19 along with the highways constant contribution to pollution causes around 2000 deaths and 6000 emergency visits each year. Due to this urbanization, the Bronx has the worst Covid-19 death rates in the country as of 2020.
2. The People of the Bronx accumulated power when they came to realize that the Bronx was their home and they needed to protect it. By rebuilding those homes, they overcome the struggles that have been put against them. I felt empowered for them and the motivation they gained to save their homes and neighborhoods inspired me because they knew that the city wasn’t going to do anything about it, that it was up to the people.
3. My favorite piece of art from the section isn’t a singular piece but the technique that Campbell would use. The crashing percussion stood out to me because it mimicked the circumstances of the Bronx when crime and violence was rampant. The borough that experienced horrible fires that would destroy their homes, and where police sirens were very common and glass of windows to houses or cars being smashed poured into the music. When Campbell began using this in his music, the Bronx was unique for the crime, but eventually other cities and countries around the world began experiencing it and it became a relatable form of art. Art in communities brings people of different backgrounds and cultures together as the Bronx demonstrated. Hip-hop is know all around the world and it started in the Bronx. There is a mix of different cultures and traditions in the Bronx but it didn’t hold them back from creating a genre of art that is known globally and new generations are being taught it with love and respect.

1. What has been the impact of urbanization on Bronx communities?
Urbanization divides and displaces groups of people with similar lifestyles, backgrounds and identities, disconnecting them from each other, and in some cases have led to the destruction or loss of different cultures and communities. The urban construction of highways replaces places of living, contributing to more people being displaced and left without shelter, and for resources people may need to live to become more sparse. We should build to improve, yes, but we should also be conscious about who and what building may hurt.
2. How did the Bronx rebuild? What is your reaction to how Bronx residents activated their power as changemakers?
The Bronx rebuilt through one of the most beautiful forms of connection: community. They worked together, past the neglectful eye of their local law enforcement and government, and took back the city that was theirs all along, rebuilding homes and buildings back to the way they were before the fires. By being proactive instead of reactive, we can incite change on our community, all while having a seat at the table to make the decisions for ourselves, hands on.
3. What is your favorite artistic piece from our section on art and culture? What role do art and culture play in communities?
I love street art, as it’s something that is found everywhere. Walking the streets of the Bronx, my hometown just 20 minutes away from campus, or even on a different continent in Italy where my family grew up, street art is found everywhere. There are so many different art forms and ways for people to express themselves, but public art is always a constant and is found wherever you go. They make a place feel like home and let the people living there make their mark and speak their mind.

The impact of urbanization on Bronx communities has reshaped the social, economic, and cultural landscape of the borough. As the increase in population has brought about a demand for space, the construction and development that came about to meet this demand altered the skyline, distribution of resources and accessibility for all residents in the community. The expansion of transportation networks, while improving borough mobility, came at the cost of lower-income and minority communities being left to deal with the effects that the pollution (noise and emissions) emitted in their primary neighborhoods. In this context, figures like Robert Moses and his initiatives, such as the Cross Bronx Expressway, often led to the displacement of residents and the disruption of established neighborhoods. it is such a shame that in our efforts to expand we often forget those who are most vulnerable.

The painful history of the Cross Bronx Expressway shows just how severe the effects of implicit racial bias can be on communities. While the Cross Bronx Expressway was simply promoted for its benefits to city transit, it covertly segregated and hurt the most diverse, underprivileged areas of the Bronx. The highway’s construction immediately led to the displacement of thousands, and even long after its construction, the Cross Bronx Expressway continues to hurt the most disadvantaged of the Bronx through air pollution and separation.

The story of the Bronx fires reveals the self-perpetuating ramifications of a lack of community-oriented policing. While police certainly did have a presence in the Bronx at the time, the police offered little sympathy to the plights of the Bronx community and often actually worked at the Bronx’s expense. This lack of faith in the Bronx community by the police, and vice versa, allowed the borough to fall into turmoil despite the efforts of rebuilders, who themselves were often residents of the Bronx.

Often, graffiti art is overshadowed by accusations that romanticizing this form of art is the promotion of vandalism. To the contrary, the best forms of graffiti art are those which uplift and brighten community sights, not those that vandalize. I view murals in graffiti in a particularly positive light, as they often decorate and brighten areas which are bland or otherwise overlooked. My own state capital has a very similar mural to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg mural shown in this article. Graffiti can bring communities together through beautiful art.

Hip hop today is a symbol of the culture of the Bronx, and how it brought together many of the poorest, most racially diverse communities in the borough and around the nation. As Cindy Campell stated, hip hop is proof that the Bronx has, and can, introduce something new and positive into the world. Hip hop is an international sensation today because of its roots in the Bronx community.

The Cross Bronx Expressway: Urbanization can often be a single story. Some see it as a sign of progress, but it also has a vast variety of negative impacts. For example, the Cross Bronx displaced a large amount of people from their homes and destroyed the racially-integrated community that had been created there. The Cross Bronx also has drastic environmental effects, notably the production of mass amounts of air pollution that are harming the surrounding communities. Though the single story that many people know is one of progress, the negative effects of urbanization on communities are often not discussed, or at least not nearly as much as they should be.

The Bronx Rebuilds: The single story many people heard of the Bronx fires was that residents and landlords had started the fires themselves, but in reality this was far from the truth. The real story, one that many ignore, is that the people of the Bronx love their community and would never burn the place they love to the ground. In fact, these are the very same people that stayed and rebuilt their community after the fires destroyed it. The documentary and article offer a heartwarming story of people who love their home, but they also leave us with another message: things are not always as they appear. This reminds us of the danger of a single story, and why we must pay attention to the nuanced history and real stories of the communities we serve.

Art and Culture: I have always appreciated graffiti as an art form; I myself have memories of visiting the city and seeing works of graffiti as I walked the streets. I think it is a beautiful form of expression and can be a powerful tool for social justice, as seen in Audubon Mural Project. This art form ties into the Hip=Hop culture that began in the Bronx and then spread across the world. This culture speaks to the young people of the Bronx and brings people together through various art forms, which I find truly inspiring. Hip-Hop culture is much mire that people think— it is a beautiful combination of many different art forms and elements that has created a culture that unifies people.