Downtown Austin Scavenger Hunt - Introduction to Urban Studies | GRG 307C, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Geography

Download Downtown Austin Scavenger Hunt - Introduction to Urban Studies | GRG 307C and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Geography in PDF only on Docsity! PROJECT 2: DOWNTOWN AUSTIN SCAVENGER HUNT GRG-307C Introduction to Urban Studies Prof. Adams Purpose: To develop skills in reading indications of history in the urban landscape and to learn how to access and read online Sanborn maps. Method: 1. You may work with a partner to get downtown, pick a site, find things, and take pictures, but the written portion must be entirely your own  2. Read Chapter 6 in Kaplan, Wheeler & Holloway 3. Buy or download a map of Austin with the CBD clearly shown. 4. Go downtown alone or with your partner and walk around for at least half an hour just getting your bearings and looking carefully at the architecture and landuses. 5. Pick a block between Colorado and Brazos, South of the state Capitol and north of the Town Lake (make it a block that interests you for some reason) and on this block (all 4 sides) CAREFULLY DOCUMENT THE FOLLOWING THINGS: A. current uses which you can identify by the list below i. industrial ii. wholesale commerce (e.g. bulk goods, office furniture, machine tools, etc.) iii. retail commerce (e.g. clothing stores, gift stores) iv. services (e.g. restaurants, bars, copy shops, barbers) v. offices vi. residential (houses, apartments, condos) vii. municipal & government (e.g. planning office, jail, utilities office, etc.) viii. industrial (e.g. furniture maker, t-shirt printer, recycling operation) ix. warehouses & storage facilities x. public services (e.g. power plants and sewage treatment facilities) xi. open space (e.g. parks, vacant lots, greenspaces) xii. mixed use (e.g. offices and services) xiii. other (e.g. churches) B. buildings from the following periods (if some categories don’t seem to be present on your block, look around you to see if they may be visible nearby): i. industrial era (1800s through 1910s) ii. inter-war (1920s) iii. modern (1950s through mid 1980s) iv. postmodern (mid 1980s to present) C. indications of change of use: i. abandonment and urban decay ii. renovation & remodeling iii. change in landuse (building purpose) 6. Submit 4 (four) well-chosen, thoughtfully composed photographs (film or digital) to illustrate your findings 7. Access the Digital Sanborn Maps from the following site: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/historic_tex_cities.html. 8. On this site, click on “Texas Digital Sanborn Maps.” This takes you to a new page where you should be able to access the historic maps of Texas cities. You will need to do this on a campus computer, for example in one of the labs, because UT has a subscription to the service. 9. Pick “browse maps” (be patient, this takes a moment), then pick “Texas,” “Austin,” and the date 1885. 10. You should now see several maps in thumbnail format. Select the largest viewing size that works on your screen and do your best to decipher the codes on the map and obtain a list of the buildings on your block in 1885/1889 classified by landuse. Hint: to get the very best view select “maximize (560%)” in the menu bar at the top 11. Write a 4 page description of what you saw at your selected study site and what was there in the 1880s, addressing the following points: A. How has the mix of landuses on your block changed between the 1880s and today? B. What (if anything) remains of the buildings from that era and are they being used for different or similar purposes today? C. How do the changes in landuse reflect more widespread changes in the city of Austin and in the US during the 20th century? D. How do the changes in architecture reflect changing aesthetics and technology, and changing ideas of power and authority? E. What would be your ideal vision of Austin’s CBD in 20 years? Due Date: Thursday Oct. 4, in class, everything stapled or bound as a single packet.  Maps & Photos (OK to share with your partner, but mark everything with both names)  4 pg. written assignment (must be your own and must consist of your own ideas and words) ____________________________________________________________________ example of work well-done