After this I began to look deeper and learned that I needed to narrow my topic down. After analyzing all my potential options, I realized that Washington, D.C. was the best place to analyze because there is always a lot going on. Most of my potential topic points and ideas were focused within our nations capital. Still this was very broad so I determined to look at the National Mall and its immediate surrounding areas. This land in the heart of Washington, D.C. is one of the most memorable places and has millions of visitors every year. Beginning to look at how this area shapes public behavior is something that really began to fascinate me.

Washington, D.C. is a city with a very rich history that spans multiple centuries. This city is always vibrant and full of life. It is also a city that has been meticulously planned and established. Every new building must be analyzed and investigated before even the first brick can be laid. The city wants to know how it will change its flow and ultimately change the public’s behavior.

Based upon the research that I have done so far I have learned a great deal about the National Mall. I have learned that the National Mall is only a small stretch of land, however it has truly shaped our great nation. I have learned that all of the buildings around the National Mall still follow an original plan. This plan was established by Pierre L’fant back when it was decided to move the Nations Capital to this stretch of land given by Maryland. This new inquiry has changed how I think about this area because I did not know that it still follows this plan. Over the centuries, our government has slightly motified this plan, but they have always stayed true to the orginal designs. This careful planning by the city has keep it beautiful and appealing to everyone.

I still want to learn more about L’fant’s original plan and why he choose this design. I know that he wanted to have the city radiate from one central point and focus out, but why the way that it was. Having the National Mall in the center of the city helps to establish its dominance, but there were probably a lot of other buildings that wanted to go there at the time. I want to look at this and see how the public has changed because of it. I want to look more into the Roman architecture that the city has established and ask why. Many people suspect this because Rome was a very powerful city and thus they want to mimic that style, but how has that helped shape the public’s behavior in the why that it has? It is going to be hard to understand the why, but hopefully I can make very educated assumptions about things.

There are probably a few gaps in my research that are open to potential research but I only can notice a few. I have noticed that most sources do not seem to actually analyze the National Mall, but give more of a history to it. This ultimately leaves a lot open to interpretation by me alone. I am trying to find as much research as I can to back this but this can always potentially be a problem. I have not seemed to find that my research contradicts itself because most people have seemed to take different approached to research or they have not fully analyzed what I am trying to look at.

At this point I am trying to look more into the why and the actual shaping of public behavior. I have become very intrigued by L’fant and the original Washington, D.C. plan and have learned a great deal of history about this cities planning. I hope to use some of this in my research and try to tie this in with the why. Every idea has a reason and I hope to establish why. Tying together past information with present research might also give me a great way of looking at a very historical city.

Thesis:

The National Mall in Washington, D.C. is a great iconic landmark of this nation. Its design has held strong for generations and has helped to shape public behavior in extraordinary ways.

Sibley model’s how to use sources very well. Something that I can learn from his writing is that he makes everything flow. Sometimes students, as well as I, will try to force a quotation into a place in a paragraph where it doesn’t necessarily flow. This makes your writing very ‘choppy’ and hard to follow. Sibley integrates his quotes so well that sometimes you may not even realize that he is quoting someone else. He establishes the quote, integrates it, and than continues with his analysis all in a very graceful manner.

Another thing that Sibley does very well is only use what he needs. When he quotes Raul Rabinow he splices the quotes that he plans to use and only uses that part. This manner keeps the topic on point and doesn’t let the readers mind wander. All he does is give you the taste of someone else and then gets right into the analysis of the quote. He however also does not feel bad to use longer quotes which can help significantly move your paper along.

Part B:

Source #1

Knox, Paul L. “The Restless Urban Landscape: Economic and Sociocultural Change and the Transformation of Metropolitan Washington, DC.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 81.2 (1991): 181-209. JSTOR. Web. 25 July 2009. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563300>.

“The central premise is that the built environment is both the product of, and the mediator between, social relations” (182).

I think this is very true because it is discussing the role of the National Mall and how it has changed our world. I believe this is true because it has helped shape the world in which we live. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a Dream” Speech would not have the implications that it did if it had not happened on the National Mall. This doesn’t necessarily raise questions but more that it shows the importance of the space.

Source #2

Field, Cynthia R., and Jeffrey T. Tilman. “Creating a Model for the National Mall: The Design of the National Museum of Natural History.” The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 63.1 (2004): 52-73. JSTOR. Web. 25 July 2009. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4127992>.

“The Smithsonian Institution’s new National Museum became the first building to be designed in accordance with Roosevelt’s directive. To the authors and sponsors of the new plan for the Mall, it was clear that the building’s design would set the aesthetic tone for the entire monumental core of the city” (55).

This is important to me because it helped to shape the actual buildings within the National Mall. Their layout has helped to create an overall scheme for the entire area. If the National Museum was not built the way that it was, the Baroque architecture that we have today would not exist. It gives the building the power and appeal that it has. This is going to be interesting to my paper because the National Mall wouldn’t have the importance that it does today without following the previous plans.

“The commissioners assumed that these buildings would be replaced with structures that would better harmonize with the new concept. In fact, the famous 1902 model of the Mall area prepared under McKim’s direction documents this intention; all the nineteenth-century buildings on the Mall have disappeared” (55).

This quote helps to elaborate the importance of the plan. Everyone was not thinking about the overall plan at the time but had they deviated from that, these buildings would not exist today. They have helped shape not only the immediate area but also the remainder of Washington, D.C. Many buildings follow the style that was first established in the original plans.

Part C:

Washington, D.C. is a remarkable city unto itself. It is the capital of this free country and is where every national law is passed. However, this city would not have this national appeal if certain plans had not been carried out. The city centers on many great national landmarks, but one of the keys is the National Mall. This small stretch of land has helped to shape public behavior and even change the course of history. In Paul Knox’s “The Restless Urban Landscape: Economic and Sociocultural Change and the Transformation of Metropolitan Washington, DC,” he begins to establish what the National Mall has been used for. “The central premise is that the built environment is both the product of, and the mediator between, social relations” (182). Many of this nations great events would not be what they are today without this open land in the heart of Washington, D.C. Imagine Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech in a local parking lot. If the National Mall had not existed with the Lincoln Memorial in the background and the Washington Monument exploding towards the sky in the front, this speech might not have had the impact that it did. Those few moments in history have changed the course of time forever.

These life-changing events would not have occurred had it not been for a simple plan and its execution. Up until 1905, this plan was starting to become blurred and distorted until one man changed that. During President Theodore Roosevelt’s term, he wanted to make sure that every building posses “a carefully thought-out plan adopted long before, and that it should be not only beautiful in itself, but fitting in its relations to the whole scheme of the public building, the parks, and drives of the District” (54).  In Cynthia Field’s “Creating a Model for the National Mall: The Design of the National Museum of Natural History” we learn that this is “the first time in thirty years the development of the District was guided by a cohesive concept that was endorsed by powerful members of Congress and the Executive branch, who came to recognize that the whole composition was more important than any individual building” (54). This one powerful step has helped to shape the layout for this city. Roosevelt knew that buildings around the National Mall were not going to change over night. They need to find the right time to “be replaced with structures that would better harmonize with the new concept” (55). By following this, the public’s behavior was shaped into a manner that was cohesive with the city as well as appealing to the public. In 1902, Charles McKim had created a cohesive model for the National Mall and since than buildings have been replaced to follow this design.

A. Paul L. Knox is the author. He is distinguished professor at Virginia Tech and has served as the dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. He teaches classes on urban and regional development. I feel he has a slight bias because he lives close to Washington, D.C. This article was published in a Geographers journal.

B. The intended audience is public planners and architects designing in and around the Washington, D.C. area. I know this is aimed at this audience because it is analyzing what is already there not describing where the city is going.

C. The purpose is academic because it has formally been published in a National Journal.

D. I feel that most/all of Paul Krux’s writtings are very reliable and credible. It seems to be very valid and relevant to what I am looking at researching.

Source #2

A. This book is written by Nathan Glazer and Cynthia Field. Cynthia Field has written other publications about the National Mall and design. She seems to have a very extensive background about design and knows what she is talking about.

B. The intended audience are architects looking at Washington, D.C. People in the field who are looking to learn from D.C. or even build there.

C. The purpose is educational because it is informing the public of Washington, D.C.’s past and how they got here today.

D. I feel that this book is credible because the author has written multiple different documents about this topic. I feel this information to be current because it was written realatively recently. I sense a slight bias in the writing but nothing extreme because she is more enlightening us rather than just analyzing.

Washington, D.C. is a city that can bring a different thought to mind for different people. However, everyone seems to have a thought about it in some way. Most citizens would also not jump to the thought of ‘How was the city designed?’ This is one of the feats that make Washington, D.C. what it is today. The National Mall was an idea with roots dating back multiple centuries. In Nathan Glazer and Cylthia Field’s book, The National Mall, they say, “It has its origins in Thomas Jefferson’s own clever sketch plan for the city, which he made the last week of March 1791, at the very moment L’Enfant was beginning his preliminary survey of the city’s site” (13). This careful planning has made the National Mall an international icon and a staple of this nations capital. It is a place where people can come together and feel support for something that they believe in. In Paul Knox’s “The Restless Urban Landscape: Economic and Sociocultural Change and the Transformation of Metropolitan Washington, DC,” he begins to establish what the National Mall has been used for. “The central premise is that the built environment is both the product of, and the mediator between, social relations” (182). To different people the National Mall means something different, however, to most people it is the connector between government and its people. This small piece of open land in the nations capital shapes the behavior of an entire culture. Without the mall such tremendous events would not have had the impact that they still posses today.

           I want to discover how personal behavior is affected by the surrounding area of the National Mall. I want to look at why certain things are placed in the orientation that they are. This style can change the overall feeling and look of a location.

·       How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research methods or methodology)

I plan to discover this by researching architecture and how it can influence mood and thought. I want to try and interview someone that is personally involved with developing and maintaining the National Mall and its surrounding areas.

·       Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are called your subjects or participants)

I want to talk with someone that is personally involved with the development of Washington, D.C and how the national monuments can influence behavior.

·       How am I going to be able gain access to these groups or individuals?

I am going to gain access by looking though public documents and networking with potential people. Living within a short distance to Washington, D.C. means that a lot of these potential people could possibly live close to me. I will look online and try and circulate my questions around to possibly find the right person/people.

·       What are my biases about this topic?

I feel that I do not have many biases. I live in the D.C. area so having the ‘tourist’ feeling that everything is great because I saw it once is gone. I have been there multiple times and have had a wide array of feelings about this area. I also would not personally feel offended if someone was to critique the area poorly because I do not have a great personal tie to the mall.

·       How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my research methods?

I will make sure that I word my questions in a fair manner as to not sway a response in a certain direction. I also plan to use more open ended responses to allow the interviewee to respond how they feel comfortable.

·       What do I expect to discover?

I expect to discover a personal connection to the area. I plan to get a deeper understanding to the why of why things were laid out in a certain manner.

Many people tend not to notice the small details around them but someone else obviously did. When they designed public park benches in a certain way they thought about why it should be like that. Should the seat be made of wood or plastic? How about the seat be cushioned? There are hundreds of reasons for why they choose a certain design. When McDonald’s designs a restaurant they think about certain things. One example is the traffic pattern of patrons coming in and out. They want to make sure that the front counter is easily accessible for any one to get to once they walk in. The chairs that you sit on and the location of tables have been thought threw. There’s a reason that the chairs are plastic and not made of plush leather. They are shaping the behavior of their patrons. They want people to come in, eat, and leave. They don’t need people to sit there for hours because then people might think this McDonald’s is to crowded. They want everyone to have a seat and then move on with their life.

Amusement parks are a great place to notice how architecture shapes behavior. There’s a reason that an entrance to a ride is easy to get to but once you turn the corner you realized there is a gigantic line that you couldn’t see until you were already in line. They want to get you in and keep you there. Museums also shape behavior. Whenever you walk around you can notice that there is a sense of a ‘flow’ that is created. This is not accidental but more thought threw than some people might realize. In Mitchell’s “The End of Public Space,” they look at how public space is shaped and evaluated. I want to investigate this and dig deeper into why certain government properties are as they are. They deem certain things ‘Public Property’ but still they tend to shape public behavior and mood.

To me this a very interesting topic because ever since I started to take classing at school in design it has changed the way that I start to look at certain things. Things are never just arbitrary. There are hours of thought and research that goes into why something is the way it is. Sometimes the answer simply just comes down to this is cheaper than the other option, but still someone had to sit there and determine that that option was out of reach. This is fascinating to me and I feel I can learn a lot from researching this. I plan to pull research from online and books to help further my discussion on this topic. Using Flusty’s essay “Building Paranoia,” will also help to give me terminology and a basis for discussing why something is shaped and designed in the way that it is.

This would be considered a slippery space because there is not an easy access route to this lighthouse. There is no roadway or path available to use. It could also be argued that this might be a prickly space because there are alot of trees and shrubs blocking the route you might take but I feel that it is still more of a slippery space. This is attempting to shape the social interaction by limiting access to this lighthouse. Most people do not need to go here on a normal basis and they want to try and deter people from making their way out here. There usually is not someone in the lighthouse and they want to keep people away that should not be here. I think the lighthouse was built by the government and it just happened that these trees surrounded it. It turned out to be a natural barrier and deterrent and it also means that they did not have to destroy more trees. I think this is very appropriate because it keeps nature in tact and keeps the look very subtle with the environment. I do not think this affirms Flusty’s argument any further because I do not think security and deterring visitors was their highest concern when building this lighthouse. It just happened to have a lot of trees and wildlife surrounding it and they did not want to destroy it.

This stealthy space is a very interesting one to me. A whole staircase rises up to reveal a lower level floor beyond it. It almost seems to be a ‘hidden office’ that only the owners would know about. When the staircase is down it seems to fit perfectly and nothing is out of the ordinary until it is in its raised position. This shapes the social interaction of people because if you do not know how to access beyond this staircase, you would not be able to have access to the room beyond it. I feel the homeowners built this as a way to have a private room or office away from others. I think this is appropriate because it is not even public space. It is someone’s private residence. This would affirm Flusty’s argument because even within someone’s own home they feel paranoid enough that they need to be more secure about their own space. This picture makes me wonder why you would need this and what do you really have to hide.

This would be defined as crusty space because they have a gate blocking this area off to the general public. The gate closes off the parking lot to people and cars that do not belong here. This space is attempting to shape social interaction because people who are not authorized to be here will not be granted admittance. This parking lot was probably made for an office building or apartment complex and they do not want other people taking their spaces. It was probably built by the owners of the complex when they built the adjoining building. I think this is appropriate because this is not publicly owned space and people who do not belong here should not be here. It helps to limit the amount of crime possible to these cars and helps owners feel safer knowing that their car is less likely to be broken into and that when they come home at night there will always be a space available for them. My observations would affirm Flusty’s argument because it can give owners a false sense of security by being within these walls. Owners feel they are safer parking within this lot however it could be that anyone could walk into this lot and steal a car because an owner was ignorant and felt that nothing could happen to them because they are behind this gate.

I happened to come across this billboard while looking online. This billboard was hung on the side of a building in Amsterdam. This billboard is announcing and promoting Sony’s new PSP White. Up until now Sony has only made a black version and this would be the first revamp in years. I feel it happens to be very transgressive because it evaluates the black vs. white stereotype. The ad has a white women, all dressed in white controlling a black man who happens to be wearing all black. This really is pushing the social norms and some people could find this to be offensive to them. The fight to have blacks viewed as always being the same as whites and receiving the same treatment has been happening for years. Blacks have endured punishment, torture and abuse to try and receive the same rights as whites. Some people might consider this ad to be putting them back and reinstalling the thought that whites are better than blacks. The control that the woman is possessing over the man also introduces the idea of a women’s control over a man. This may offend some very strong traditional thinkers because it is not following the traditional patriarchal style of thinking. The thought that men should be in control and women should be submissive to them.

The people in society that look at the sign are the people that determine if it is transgressive or not. After researching about this ad I have found some postings about this ‘racially charged PSP ad.’ They question why Sony and their advertising company would choose an ad even hinting at the difference in race. Still in our society many people find race to be a very sensitive subject and can be a very heated argument amongst certain people.