Urban Landscape Juxtaposition

Urban landscape juxtapositions can vary greatly in size and impact. They can range from a lack of ramps on sidewalks to houses being far too close to nuclear power plants to the gentrification of neighborhoods. Urban landscapes are filled with juxtapositions everywhere you turn.

The urban landscape juxtapositions that I noticed while walking around the city were minor problems found in urban environments. My first example is something that I have noticed a few times before while riding my bike on 11th Street from South Philadelphia to Temple University. One or two of the schools that I passed had children playing on small playgrounds that were crowded with teachers' parked cars. This is a problem of not having enough open space. It seems quite unfair that the only time children have during the school day to play outside has to be a game of avoiding teachers' cars for fear of getting in trouble. The schools were in neighborhoods where there would not be a problem of street parking, but safety might be an issue, I assume. There have been a few documented cases in New York, including the East Village and Brooklyn where schoolyards had been taken over as parking lots and after protest were turned back into schoolyards. There is definitely room for adjustment in these situations. Children in urban schools should not be subject to confinement. Looking around the city there are examples of solutions to this problem. Many schools have rooftop playgrounds, which is a great alternative to a lack of open space. Rooftop playgrounds utilize unused space.

My second example follows along the same lines of the horse and carriage controversy, but on a much smaller scale. I have noticed many city dwellers that own very large or high-activity dogs. This is definitely an urban landscape juxtaposition because of the combination of high-density living, little open space, small living quarters, large dogs that need large amounts of exercise, and people with tight schedules in most cases. I believe that if a person living in a city is going to have a dog for companionship then the life of the dog must also be taken into consideration. Most large and high energy dogs need much more exercise than can be offered in an urban environment. Ideally, they should have large yards and open spaces to run and play. Most dogs that live in urban areas only get to utilize pocket parks, dog runs, but most likely just walks on the sidewalk. This also brings up the problem of sanitation and waste. Not all dog owners clean up after their dogs, which can lead to the spread of disease. A possible resolution to this problem would be to require dog owners to register their pets with the city, which would involve a documentation of home size and health record. I believe this could help to make dog owners a little more aware of the conditions they are forcing upon their pets. Quite a few websites offer advice about which dogs to adopt for certain living conditions, including the ASPCA and Canis Major.