Research Questions

Over the past few weeks, I have been searching for resources to use in my upcoming research paper.  Do you know the feeling when you have that perfect article in your mind, but no one has written it yet or maybe you just can’t find it?  Well welcome to my world! I have spent hours trying to find scholarly journal articles that pertain to my research topic and are current, not written in the 70s or 80s.  So far, I have about 10 articles, which is a good number, so it is time to expand my research to blogs and public opinion articles.  I want to how the public feels!  Why do people drive cars if they are only traveling a few blocks?  How come people will ride their bikes to class, but hop in a car when they are getting dinner?  What form of transportation do college students prefer?  Do safety, time of day, weather, and convenience have an influence on what mode a student chooses in a given day?  Or do students change their modes throughout the day as a result of these factors?  Are there any other factors that influence a certain mode of transit?  Why don’t students ride public transit that often?  I feel that this information is eminent; especially since many schools in California have been designing master transportation plans in order to accommodate cars, pedestrians and bicycles in the same area and decrease conflicts amongst these modes. 

I would love to have as much feedback as possible and your opinions on whether these questions would make a great research paper.  I am in the works of creating a survey, so keep an eye out for the link in an upcoming post.  Constructive criticism would be valuable because I want to work out the kinks now before I get too far along in my research and survey and then have to backtrack.  Hope to hear from you soon!

Urban Sprawl and Public Health Annotation

As every college student knows, it is impossible to have a second to breathe, yet alone be able to sit down and read a book for pleasure.  Therefore, all of the reading I do is for one of my classes.  But every once in a while, a teacher will ask their students to read something that changes the way people look at the world and sparks something inside of them;  an undeniable urge that grows stronger with time and creates advocates for a specific cause or helps dictate a career path. My inspiration for this blog stems from the book Urban Sprawl and Public Health, which has completely transformed the way I see the urban landscape today and view planning issues. 

Would you believe that sprawl is one of the leading factors contributing to the poor air quality in Los Angeles?  Los Angeles’ major downfall is its “sprawled-out” nature that developed our automobile-dependent and suburban seclusion mindsets.  Without a car, you might as well be stranded because there is no way to get around by foot safely in LA suburbs (I suppose you could always share the road with the cars and parade down the middle of the street, but that sort of thing doesn’t tickle my fancy).  Has anyone heard of sidewalks?  Literally, I have been forced to walk on horse trails, woodchips, and plants (I still feel bad about this one!), which all could have been avoided with a few slabs of concrete.  What about a decent public transportation route that doesn’t just run 2 or 3 times a day, but actually has a routine schedule that actually drops you off near your location and doesn’t force you to walk over a mile?  It all has to deal with privacy and trying to keep other people out of their secluded, exclusive areas that feel these added elements will be aesthetically unpleasing.  (I am sorry about my little rant; now let’s go back on topic.)

The mix of sprawl and our automobile driven mentality in society has resulted in numerous health concerns such as obesity, lung cancer, asthma and even death.  Frank and Jackson educate their readers about the origins of urban sprawl and explain the causes of air pollution in great scientific detail as well as other urban problems such as water quality, mental health, and physical activity.  Demographics, social economic status, gender and age are all taken into account in the various studies referenced in the book.   But Frank and Jackson conclude the book with the idea of smart growth with is supposed to act as the solution to many of these health problems.  By utilizing better transportation modes and mix-use planning, which are the basic ideas of smart growth, a healthier living environment for all will develop.    

All you have to do is read pages 22-25 to figure out what chapters might be of interest to you.  Each chapter has a conclusion at the end, which summarizes the main points of the chapter and makes it easy to find valuable studies and information.  Urban Sprawl and Public Health is a great research tool especially for topics like air pollution, land-use, transportation, water quality, sprawl, health concerns associated with these topics and many more.  Frank and Jackson force their readers to see these issues in a new light, while still providing an immense amount of detail, making it a valuable educational guide and reference tool.  Whether you are writing a research paper or want to learn more about the health effects of sprawl, I recommend reading this book or at least skimming the conclusions at the end of each chapter because I have used this information numerous times in conversations or class discussions throughout the last 2 years. 

Works Cited:

Frumkin, H., Frank, L. D., & Jackson, R. (2004). Urban sprawl and public health: designing, planning, and building for healthy communities. Island Press.

Fru

Pothole Laziness

What is black, cracked, and might actually cause damage to your car?  All of you public transit advocates might be cheering at the fact that the villainous car might have a weakness, a form of kryptonite.  Well if you didn’t already guess, the hero in all of this is a pothole.  But if a car is your transportation preference, then you are in trouble because the roadways in Los Angeles are lined with potholes. 

Probably every person in Los Angeles has experienced the inconvenience of a pothole at least once in their lifetime.  (Realistically, probably more than one since I remember at least 3 distinctively.)  But in all of my pothole encounters, nothing tops the cluster of potholes in the intersection of Aviation Boulevard and Imperial Highway, right under the 105 freeway.  It is not just your average; run of the mill, foot wide hole in the ground, but literally the left lane (heading North up Aviation towards LAX) is so uneven and bumpy that you would think a bunch of groundhogs were nesting under the pavement.  Cars are forced to either drive straight across the pothole collection and risk damage to their car or swerve to the left, into the line of oncoming traffic.  (Wow, what great options! Either I damage my car or die!)  For over a year now, the street has remained in this condition, which is ridiculous.  I can’t believe that the potholes have still not been fixed.  How hard is it to fix a pothole? 

The culprit here is not the city, but the Los Angeles car drivers.  Hundreds of cars cross this intersection on a daily basis and I am guessing that not one of them has ever tried to alert the city to the street damage.  The City of Los Angeles is not a mind-reader and cannot keep an eye on every road in order to fix the damage within a moment’s notice, which is why they rely on the citizens of Los Angeles to keep them informed.  But if we don’t tell them about bring these potholes to their attention, then we as drivers cannot complain because we are responsible.  I admit that I have been driving down Aviation on a regular basis for over a year now, and I never once picked up the phone to put in a request.  Part of the reason was that I had no idea who to contact or what steps I needed to take in order to fix this problem.  I also have been so busy that I hardly have time to relax anymore.  I guess I assumed that one day someone would call it in and it would be fixed, since other potholes in my area have been fixed in a timely fashion.  But a year has past and no one has come to repave the road.  Instead of changing my route to school, I have decided to take a stand! 

Ironically, it is super easy to put in a request to have a pothole fixed.  You just have to call the Bureau of Street Services at (800) 996-CITY (2489) or fill out the service request form online.  Make sure that you know the cross streets of the pothole location and preferably the address of a nearby building.  Now no one can say they didn’t know what steps to take and will have to put in a service request.  Please help our roads stay in good condition and not deteriorate, since it is very expensive for the city to repave our roadways especially in lieu of the current California budget crisis.  I guarantee that the cluster of potholes on Aviation started out as a single pothole, which could have been avoided with a single phone call.

That is all for now, but I will keep you posted on what happens to the potholes.   

Trio

The Transportation Mind of Los Angeles (Hello World)

Greetings loved ones,

Let’s take a journey through the LA roadways!

1, 2, 3 BOOM!!!!  3 seconds.  It took me 3 seconds to realize that I was not going to stop in time.  3 seconds before my car rear-ended the SUV in front of me.  Don’t underestimate the Christmas rush-hour traffic near the local shopping malls or else your car will end up like Toyo (my poor little 98’ Toyota Corolla that will always hold a place in my heart).  All I wanted was a burger from Happy Burger, but instead I got a totaled car, 2 nice cops, and muscle relaxers for my aching back (Ironically, to this day I have never tasted their burgers because I am afraid they are jinxed).  It’s been over 2 years since the accident and I still have an inability to drive with any of my friends because I flinch whenever they get too close to the car in front of them.  My subconscious has blocked the chilling event from my head, so I cannot exactly remember what happened.  But I do know one thing; the day I got in a car accident changed my life forever.   

But the world has continued to turn and now I am a student studying real estate development at one of the best universities in the world.  Urban planning has become a passion of mine as I have been introduced to it by my professors and see a need for CHANGE!!  I was born and raised in Southern California and have lived here my entire life. I love living in Los Angeles.  But the Los Angeles that I know has traffic that rules our roadways, as thousands of people commute to work every day.  Traffic has gotten so bad that stopped rush hour traffic on the freeway has turned into a regular pastime. Often, it seems we wait an eternity to get to our final destination.  I will admit that I am that woman who puts on make-up in the car when the traffic slows my car to a halt.

I did not always used to drive cars, and instead got around using public transportation.  Growing up in Manhattan Beach, I was able to walk anywhere or take the bus to the neighboring cities.  I have some of the best stories from my adventures on the Metro bus, but you will have to continue reading my future posts in order to read them because I don’t have enough time now to tell you.  But through all of my experience, I have found that people will only ride the Metro bus for 3 reasons:

1. People don’t know how to drive or have no driver’s license
2. People have a driver’s license, but no car to drive
3. People enjoy taking the bus and this is their preferred method of transportation

Isn’t it crazy to think that some people actually ride the bus everyday for the pure pleasure of riding the bus?  Who would ever want to ride the bus for fun?  I wish that the public transit system in Los Angeles was more efficient and did not require lots of time and patience just to get from point A to point B.  Riders are usually forced to transfer a few times from bus to bus or even from bus to train or light rail just to reach their final destination. 

Therefore, my goal is to address these inefficiencies that have resulted in the major transit problems in Los Angeles and try to figure out a way to solve them.  I want all of the transportation enthusiasts out there to give me their opinions and ideas and participate in an active discussion about what is happening within the realm of transportation in Los Angeles.

But I really want to get people to leave their cars at home and encourage them to hop on a bus and experience public transit for what it really is.  I know it can be scary to leave the comfort of your car (because that is all you know), but I promise that you will survive.  Most people keep to themselves, so the buses are usually quiet, which gives you plenty of time to partake in my favorite pastime: people watching.  It’s perfect, because everyone is focused on their next stop than on the people around them.  So I challenge everyone to take a chance and step outside of their comfort zone and experience the Los Angeles public transit system and create some stories of your own!

That is all for now, but I look forward to taking a wild ride with you through these issues and relaying personal experience with a pinch of academic research and interviews to address these problems.  I want to see what LA can do to become more pedestrian, bike, and public transit friendly and hit on issues such as race, class, gender, etc.  This is a new era where cars need to stop ruling the roadways!

Way to Go, I Finally Found a Blog! (Profile Blog)

I hate reading.  It is my least favorite thing to do, so the fact that I actually read the last sentence of the post says something about this blog and its authors.  Way2Go-Transporation for the 21^st Century is sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund and consists of a group of bloggers: Peter Ashcroft, who is an automotive focused policy analyst, John Mimikakis, who is a senior policy manager, and Kathryn Phillips, who is the director of the California Transportation and Air Initiative.  It is ideal that the bloggers appear to specialize in public policy, since the mission of the EDF is to unite community, business and government in order to find realistic solutions to the looming environmental issues that society seems to ignore.

I love how out of all of the posts, (each blogger seems to post at least once every 2 weeks, which adds up quickly) I was attracted to Carrie Denning, a blogger who will no longer be writing for the blog. 

California has long been considered a car-culture. Images of iconic drives along Big Sur and through redwood forests are as ubiquitous as surf boards and the Golden Gate. Meanwhile, the East Coast is often synonymous with fast and sleek metro systems packed full of commuters.

How ironic is it that Carrie is heading to the East Coast and is forced to drive, when the East Coast has some of the leading public transit systems in the world?  It is refreshing to hear that Los Angeles is not the only city that is in dire need of an updated public transit system.  Her writing style personifies what I want my blog to represent. Carrie’s strong voice doesn’t overpower or force ideas onto her readers like the Jesus-freak protesters that picket at nearby community colleges or at the end of the Rose Parade.  She wants her readers to develop their own opinions.  Instead of coinciding with emotional reactions (which as we learned from the Gulf, does not help things), people can think about them differently and develop well-thought out, viable solutions.  I can’t believe that this blog doesn’t have a huge fan base, which is evident from the lack of comments and the fact that technorati.com has never heard of this site. 

Kathryn Phillips caught my attention as she also writes with a similar captivating style.  “Stimulus Plan? Taking Transit Can Save You $10,000” begins with her co-workers explaining how they are going to spend their mad money.  Saving $10,000 is a huge incentive for people to utilize public transit more often and fight against the general public’s misconceptions.  But how does using public transportation turn into $10,000?  I had to finish reading in order to find the answer and see what the catch was, because this seemed too good to be true.  By the end of the post, I knew the answer and became an advocate for a Senate bill that fights for the addition of funds to our public transit systems.       

Way2Go’s blog grabs its audience’s attention and tries to reach out to the American public for support and help.  They have great topics, which will help me start thinking about posts for my blog; however, I want to interview actual people in the field and not just use literary articles as my main source of information. Instead, I want to get input from students, faculty, and experts in the transportation field and begin a discussion about how to improve Los Angeles’ public transit.  I am so excited to connect with my readers and inform them about what issues Los Angeles is facing right in their backyards.



Seemingly Friendly (My Voice Post) 

Here are four tips to make you seem “friendly” over the internet (examples from Erinwdesign’s blog “Living in Los Angeles without a Car”, LILAWAC!):

1.  Don’t be afraid to share your calluses with the world.  Erin (for short) did this in two ways that instilled trust in her readers as she confided in us with personal information.  “I am ashamed…I have been coveting other bikes lately.”  “I am ashamed” makes Erin seem like a victim and get the sympathy of her readers, but at the same time a sense of trust has developed, since she appears to be letting her readers in on a little personal secret of hers.  The ellipsis inserts a break in the sentence, which increases the reader’s anticipation of her secret, since the reader wants to know why she is ashamed.    
   
   Later in the same “The Urban Machine: Handlebar Tape” post, Erin shares detailed information with her audience that people don’t tell just anyone, because they don’t want to be judged or evoke a bad response.  Clearly, Erin didn’t care. “The callouses (sic) developing on the palms of my hands…” Erin lets her readers know that she is open and wants her readers to get to know her on a personal level.  (Calluses is spelled wrong in Erin’s post, but that lets us know that she isn’t perfect and I don’t judge because I am one of the worst spellers ever.) Sharing personal information with your audience (information that you would only tell your best friend) is key to developing that strong fan base. 
 
2. Buy a bike and name it Ruby.  I had so much fun and even chuckled a few times after reading about Ruby.  You would think Ruby was a red bike, but surprise surprise, Ruby is blue as shown in the picture. Not red, but blue, which is odd in my eyes. I am sure she has a reason for naming her bike Ruby. I just wish she explained because now I’m curious. Ruby is not just any normal bike, but is the love of Erin’s life. Why else would Erin bother taking a picture of her bike? (Craigslist? But she would never sell her best friend!)  It is nice of Erin to introduce us visually to Ruby, which helped to spice up her blog and break up the endless stream of black on the page.  Erin explains that “buying Ruby was an easy decision, one ride and I decided I HAD to have this bike, it was THE ONE.”  Capitalization screams drama and excitement, letting her audience know how special Ruby is to her.  When Erin called Ruby “THE ONE”, I sensed the love between her and her bike and how in Erin’s eyes, Ruby is priceless.  When you reach a point when you care what your bike thinks of you and feel that you are cheating by looking at another inanimate object; the bike has transformed into its human form.  Her passion about being car-free just jumps off the page, but not in an overwhelming way, since she explains her adventures with Ruby in “A car when you need it”. 

Anyway, I wanted to share with you how I make [zip-cars] work: I have to ride my bike up to UCLA, then stuff it in the back of the car and drive it away. I guess I could also park the bike nearby... but I would spend the entire day worried about whether or not it would be there when I got back. So behold, Ruby getting a ride in a Honda Insight.

Would anyone worry about something they didn’t care about?  Of course not. this further emphasizes my point that Ruby is human, since Erin spends all her time with Ruby.  Erin comes off as a down-to-earth person just trying to make a difference, which is a hard thing to convey over writing.  I feel like if we met we would be friends, because I also talk to inanimate objects, like my splendid stuffed animals.  My advice for you is if you want to be relatable, make inanimate objects appear human.
Who cares about formatting? Insert a picture in the middle of the page! Make your blog appear more informal and close your eyes and randomly insert a picture into the text.  Walla, from a visual perspective, it looks like you don’t care about the display of your blog and that your main focus is the written word.  (Now you appear to be super deep and a real artist, even if it wasn’t your intention.)  I truly believe that Erin did not have a clue on how to format her blog, but it doesn’t matter because her uncaring nature to take the effort to figure it out shows how insignificant appearance is to her.   
Channel Yoda and teach your fellow Jedi! If you are going to use language that is specific to your field of study, please place a link to what it means so that your audience has a clue to what you are talking about.  If it’s not common knowledge, attach a link.  I have no knowledge about bikes or why there is tape on the bike etc, so it was nice that Erin attached a link to what “MKS half clips” are or the bike store “Palms cycle”. Your reader will admire you because you just taught them something new. 

Above all, BE TRUE TO YOURSELF and your blog will ROCK!

My Voice Post

Here are four tips to make you seem “friendly” over the internet (examples from Erinwdesign’s blog “Living in Los Angeles without a Car”, LILAWAC!):

1. Don’t be afraid to share your calluses with the world. Erin(for short) did this in two ways that instilled trust in her readers as she confided in us with personal information. “I am ashamed…I have been coveting other bikes lately.” “I am ashamed” makes Erin seem like a victim and get the sympathy of her readers, but at the same time a sense of trust has developed, since she appears to be letting her readers in on a little personal secret of hers. The ellipsis inserts a break in the sentence, which increases the reader’s anticipation of her secret,since the reader wants to know why she is ashamed.
Later in the same “The Urban Machine: Handlebar Tape” post,Erin shares detailed information with her audience that people don’t tell just anyone, because they don’t want to bejudged or evoke a bad response. Clearly,Erin didn’t care. “The callouses (sic) developing on the palms of my hands…” Erinlets her readers know that she is open and wants her readers to get to know heron a personal level. (Calluses isspelled wrong in Erin’s post, but that lets us know that she isn’t perfect andI don’t judge because I am one of the worst spellers ever.) Sharing personalinformation with your audience (information that you would only tell your best friend) is key to developing that strong fanbase.
2. Buy a bike and name it Ruby. I had so much fun and evenchuckled a few times after reading about Ruby. You would think Ruby was a red bike, but surprise surprise, Ruby is blue as shown in the picture. Not red,but blue, which is odd in my eyes. I am sure she has a reason for naming herbike Ruby. I just wish she explained because now I’m curious. Ruby is not just any normal bike, but is the love of Erin’s life. Why else would Erin bothertaking a picture of her bike? (Craigslist? But she would never sell her bestfriend!) It is nice of Erin to introduceus visually to Ruby, which helped to spice up her blog and break up the endlessstream of black on the page. Erinexplains that “buying Ruby was an easy decision, one ride and I decided I HADto have this bike, it was THE ONE.” Capitalization screams drama and excitement, letting her audience knowhow special Ruby is to her. When Erincalled Ruby “THE ONE”, I sensed the love between her and her bike and how inErin’s eyes, Ruby is priceless. When you reach a point when you care whatyour bike thinks of you and feel that you are cheating by looking at anotherinanimate object; the bike has transformed into its human form. Her passion about being car-free just jumps off the page, but not in an overwhelming way,since she explains her adventures with Ruby in “A car when you need it”.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you how I make [zip-cars]work: I have to ride my bike up to UCLA, then stuff it in the back of the carand drive it away. I guess I could also park the bike nearby... but I would spend the entire day worried about whether or not it would be there when I gotback. So behold, Ruby getting a ride in a Honda Insight.

Would anyone worry about something they didn’t care about? Of course not. this further emphasizes my point that Ruby is human, since Erin spends all her time with Ruby. Erin comes off as a down-to-earth person just trying to make a difference, which is a hard thing to convey overwriting. I feel like if we met we wouldbe friends, because I also talk to inanimate objects, like my splendid stuffed animals. My advice for you is if you want to be relatable, make inanimate objects appear human.
Who cares about formatting? Insert a picture in the middle of the page! Make your blog appear more informal and close your eyes and randomly insert a picture into the text. Walla, from a visual perspective, itlooks like you don’t care about the display of your blog and that your main focus is the written word. (Now you appear tobe super deep and a real artist, evenif it wasn’t your intention.) I trulybelieve that Erin did not have a clue on how to format her blog, but it doesn’t matter because her uncaring nature to take the effort to figure it out showshow insignificant appearance is to her.  
Channel Yoda and teachyour fellow Jedi! If you are going to use language that is specific to yourfield of study, please place a link to what it means so that your audience hasa clue to what you are talking about. Ifit’s not common knowledge, attach a link. I have no knowledge about bikes or why there is tape on the bike etc, soit was nice that Erin attached a link to what “MKS half clips” are or the bikestore “Palms cycle”. Your reader willadmire you because you just taught them something new.

Above all, BE TRUE TO YOURSELF and your blog will ROCK!

Profile Post

Today, I spent hours trying to find a blog that did not translate the newest federal and state transit policy initiatives into plain English (like a knock-off news reporter) or read the criticisms that “green” activists had about these policies without providing actual statistics or realistic solutions to improve the policy. But just as I was about to give up my search, I found Way2Go-Transportation for the 21^st Century, which is sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund and consists of a group of bloggers that are actually trying to provide realistic solutions to make our communities greener. What I love about this blog is that the writers talk about their own personal experiences with these problems and then provide statistics and opinions from other literary sources in order to inform their audience, but in an interesting way that is easy to understand.

I hate reading. It is my least favorite thing to do, so the fact that I actually read the last sentence of the post says something about this blog and its authors. The blogging team consists of Peter Ashcroft, who is an automotive focused policy analyst, John Mimikakis, who is a senior policy manager, and Kathryn Phillips, who is the director of the California Transportation and Air Initiative. However, it was one of their old bloggers, Carrie Denning, whose writing style personifies what I want my blog to represent. Each blogger probably posts at least once every 2 weeks, but I feel like each blogger might post on a more frequent basis. The bloggers appear to specialize in public policy, which is ideal since the mission of EDF is to unite community, business and government in order to find realistic solutions to the looming environment issues that society seems to ignore and pretends don’t exist.

As soon as I read the first line of “Back to the Car”, I knew that I had to share this blog because of its relevance to my own personal feelings about public transit and because of Carrie’s strong hook.

California has long been considered a car-culture. Images of iconic drives along Big Sur and through redwood forests are as ubiquitous as surf boards and the Golden Gate. Meanwhile, the East Coast is often synonymous with fast and sleek metro systems packed full of commuters.

How ironic is it that Carrie is heading to the East Coast and is forced to drive, when the East Coast has some of the leading public transit systems in the world? It is refreshing to hear that Los Angeles is not the only city that is in dire need of an updated public transit system. Carrie writes with a strong voice, but not one that is overpowering and forces ideas onto people. She always concludes with her personal feelings towards a topic after providing actual evidence. Her audience has the freedom to think about these issues critically and generate their own ideas on their own, which creates an academic learning environment and allows for people to see these problems in a new light. Consequently, they think about them differently, which later leads to more well-though out ideas that are actual viable solutions instead of an emotional reaction. I can’t believe that the one blog that I found interesting does not seem to have a huge fan base, which is apparent from the lack of comments on this post and the fact that the blog is not ranked on technorati.com. But Carrie does have a fan base, based on the comments on her other posts.

Kathryn Phillips also caught my attention as she also writes with a similar style that is captivating. “Stimulus Plan? Taking Transit Can Save You $10,000” begins with her co-workers remarks about how to spend all this extra money, which in turn promotes public transit by putting it in a new light and fights against the general public’s misconceptions. Her catchy intro allows for people to get attached to her post and then continue reading on learning about how a bill is going through the Senate that would add funds towards transit and fight against the current funding cuts. 

Way2Go’s blog grasps its audience’s attention and tries to reach out to the American public for support and help. They have great topics, which will help me start thinking about posts for my blog; however, I want to interview actual people in the field and not just grab my sources from news articles or other online sources. Instead, I want to get input from students, faculty, and experts in the transportation field and begin a discussion about how to improve Los Angeles’ public transit. I am so excited to connect with my readers and inform them about what issues Los Angeles is facing right in their backyards.