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Times Square Research
INTRODUCTION
The topic that I have selected for my treasure hunt project is the revitalization of downtown New York City in recent years, especially the Times Square area. As recently as five or 10 years ago, New York had the reputation for being one of the dirtiest, least safe cities in America. Times Square was known as an area that no one would ever want to go to alone at night, populated by drug dealers, scam artists, prostitutes and muggers. Crime was rising exponentially every year, certain areas of the city, especially in upper Manhattan, were falling into total disrepair, and seedy sex shops outnumbered classy businesses even in midtown Manhattan. Although New York maintained its standing as a vibrant melting pot of culture and activity, it also became a shorthand for all the problems and plights of modern cities in the United States.
However, things have changed rapidly in the last few years, or at least so it appeared to me when I arrived in New York in May to spend the summer working there. I was working on 43rd Street, right off of Times Square, and was immediately struck by the unpolluted appearance of the area. Although it is still glitzy and tacky, covered with ads and corporate signage, it was clean, well patrolled by police and had an organized traffic flow. I always felt safe walking there -- or almost anywhere else in New York -- at night. In fact, the entire summer I was there, very few crimes of any severity occurred, and I was struck by the feeling of safety and the competence I sensed in the management of the city. I have no idea when these changes occurred, and I am interested to find out how and why. I know former Mayor Rudy Giuliani prioritized crime reduction as a major item on his agenda, but I am curious as to whether he was responsible for the sweeping reforms that have taken place; I'd also like to confirm that things were indeed as bad as I perceived a few years ago. Finally, I would like to understand the context in which downtown revitalization took place: what was the impetus for these reforms, and how will they continue into the future now that a new mayor has taken over in New York?
As the city of New York is one of the cities of most widespread interest to the average American citizen, I think this topic could be applicable to nearly any audience. New York's character certainly received national and international attention after Sept. 11 -- it is truly a unique American city with a distinctive feel and personality, and I think anyone who has ever visited it or wishes to visit would be interested in learning how it gained its current characteristics and qualities. Therefore, I would target my findings to a national newspaper or magazine, or possibly a local paper or magazine that is publishing travel-related articles for readers who might be visiting places around the nation. The research could also be useful to city and regional planners who are looking to compare the downtown revitalization efforts in New York to other, similar projects: for example, a major urban revitalization plan is currently being formulated down the road in Durham. Local readers might be interested in comparing for themselves the two cities and their plans for betterment.
Section II: WEB SOURCES
Title of Web page: Times Square New York City home page
Web address: http://www.timessquarebid.org/
This page provides a variety of information about Times Square, ranging from history to current events and theater to shopping. The most relevant part of the site as far as revitalization of the Times Square area is the tab entitled "The BID," which provides lots of information about the Times Square Business Improvement District, including the members of the committee charged with improving the area and two lengthy timelines of clean-up efforts in the district. The site lists specifics for the last seven years about how many police patrol the area, how traffic and crime are controlled and what sanitation efforts are in place. It is a colorful, simply written and easy to navigate site, full of useful information and facts.
Source of Web site: Times Square Business Improvement District2. Title of Web page: International Downtown Association Knowledge Management
Web address: http://ida-downtown.org/
This organization is a coalition of the managers of downtown revitalization efforts from across the country, providing analytical and policy strategies for similar projects in currently rundown urban areas. Members are committed to establishing business improvement districts, cleaning up crime, pollution and waste, and making downtown areas accessible and livable. A main feature on the site is a lengthy discussion of what BIDs are and why they are important, using Times Square as a case study, and there are links to many scholarly publications, although they unfortunately cost a fee. This site is far more technical and less easy to use than some others and seems geared to a professional audience rather than a casual reader, but there is lots of good information if you can wade through the details.
Source of Web site: International Downtown Association.3. Title of Web page: The Unexpected Lessons of Times Square's Comeback
Web address: http://www.city-journal.org/html/9_4_the_unexpected.html
This site contains an article from the publication City Journal, an urban policy evaluation magazine based in New York. Written in fall 1999, it evaluates the success of the improvement plan and provides history about its inception and origin from a policy standpoint. The article also focuses on what broader lessons can be learned from the Times Square project, including the right and wrong ways for the government to spur economic investment in rundown areas and the best ways to create coherent, politically popular plans. This article is clear, well organized and well researched and should be an essential source for anyone interested in the rebirth of Times Square.
Source of Web site: City Journal4. Title of Web page: Boston Online Travel - New York
Web address:
http://www.boston.com/globe/search/stories/travel/new_york_city_new_york5.htm
This page is geared toward Boston residents interested in traveling to different locations across the country, but it provides a lengthy and comprehensive history of the way Times Square has changed in appearance in the last 10 years or so. Because it is geared toward normal travelers, it is very readable and, rather than dwelling on technical details, is written from a consumer or visitor-centered viewpoint. It is based on a number of articles from the Boston Globe, a well-respected newspaper, so it is credible as well as being interesting and written in a well-sourced journalistic fashion.
Source of Web site: Boston Online and The Boston Globe5. Title of Web page: Report on the Secondary Effects of the Concentration of Adult Use Establishments in the Times Square Area
Web address: http://hellskitchen.net/issues/tsbidsex/title.html
This site contains a report from the Times Square Business Improvement District commisssion on the concentration of businesses in the area - specifically, the sex and pornography shops in the area - and their contributions to the economic and social decline of the area. This was one of the primary studies done to assess initial progress in revitalizing Times Square and to set priorities for future improvement, as well as one of the reports that first raised the issue of the possible costs of improving Times Square. Specifically, it brings up a point I had not seen considered elsewhere: it asserts that moving crime and adult entertainment from the 42nd Street area will only push it elsewhere, into other residential areas. It comes from the primary source in this area and, although written in a scientific and technical manner, raised many interesting and critical issues about the objectives and effects of cleaning up Times Square.
Source of Web site: Times Square Business Improvement District
Section III: OTHER MULTIMEDIA SOURCES FROM UNC-CHAPEL HILL LIBRARIES
Print:
Bright, Elise M. Reviving America's forgotten neighborhoods : an investigation of inner city revitalization efforts. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000. HT175 .B73 2000.Reichl, Alexander M. Reconstructing Times Square: politics and culture in urban development. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 1999. HT168.N5 R45 1999
Non-print:
Kretzman, John P. and John L. McKnight. Mobilizing community assets. Dir. by Ryan Schnare. 211 min. ACTA Publications, 1996. 2 videocassettes.Database articles:
Siegel, Fred. (2002, Summer). The death and life of America's cities. The Public Interest [Online], 7,219 words. Available: Expanded Academic ASAP [2002, September 15].
Garvin, Alexander. (2000, March). How the planning game works in the Big Apple. Planning [Online], 3,397 words. Available: Expanded Academic ASAP [2002, September 15].
Stewart, Doug. (1998, February). Times Square reborn. Smithsonian [Online], 3,236 words. Available: Expanded Academic ASAP [2002, September 15.]
Handy, Bruce. (1997, April 7). Miracle on 42nd St. Time [Online], 1,895 words. Available: Expanded Academic ASAP [2002, September 15.]
Ockman, J. (1999). From Sin City to sign city. Architecture and Urbanism. [Online], 6 pages. Available: Social Sciences Citation Index [2002, September 15].
Grunwald, Michael. (2001, January 15). Cruel to be kind: Rudolph Giuliani's means and ends. The New Republic, [Online], 4,912 words. Available: Lexis-Nexis Academic [2002, September 15]
Section IV: INTERNET ESSAY
TITLE: Let's Hear it for the Blog: The Growth of Internet Weblogs
(TOPIC AREA: Net Trends and Trivia)The Internet has allowed many new forms of communication to spring up, ranging from e-mail to instant messaging to bulletin boards. One of the newest and hottest Web communication trends, however, is the explosion of Weblogs, popularly known as "blogs." Weblogs are essentially personal Web sites structured like journals, of which there are roughly 500,000 estimated to be on the Internet at the moment (1). There are two types of blogs: personal blogs, which are written by a single person, and portal blogs, which aggregate several people's personal interests or writings and provide links to other discussion boards or articles (2). Blogs serve as ways for Internet users to share their thoughts on any issue they feel is interesting or relevant, covering a wide variety of topics ranging from TV shows and movies to arcane trivia and bloggers' personal lives.
The blog trend truly gained teeth in 1999, when a small software company called Pyra started using the blog format, creating a software program to make their work easier. Once they released their program, the number of blogs went from mere tens to thousands, and new estimates are that a new blog is created every 40 seconds (1). The Weblog format has many potential applications, such as allowing bloggers' friends and families to learn about their interests and activities or letting people with common interests find each other on the Internet. Blogs can even have business uses; because they provide a time/date stamped format and are easy to use, they are a simple method for intra-office communication (2). In general, the format allows everyday people with little knowledge of HTML and Web publishing the ability to express an opinion, connect with others and get their hand into the Internet (3). Although the word may sound strange and the tightly knit community might be intimidating, it is clear that blogging has become the trend of the minute in the rapidly expanding world of the Net.NOTES
(1) Levy, Steven, "Living in the Blog-osphere," Newsweek, 26 August 2002, p 42. Available Online: Lexis-Nexis Academic [Accessed 15 September 2002].(2) Foley, John, "Are you blogging yet? Web journals could have business value." Information Week, 22 July 2002, p 28. Available Online: Lexis-Nexis Academic [Accessed 15 September 2002.]
(3) Gilmour, Kim. "Blogging along," Internet Magazine, Sept.-Oct. 2002, p 48. Available Online: Expanded Academic ASAP [Accessed 15 September 2002].
1. Title of Web page: Globe of Blogs
Web address: http://www.globeofblogs.com
This Web site serves as a type of directory for Weblogs all over the Internet, indexed by title, topic, author's name, author's gender, author's age or author's birthday. Although the site does not provide reference information about the concept of blogs per se, it is an extremely useful site for anyone trying to get an idea of what type of blogs are out there on the Internet. Since it is indexed by a central authority, there is someone serving a type of "gatekeeper" function on this site, and there is an official deciding the index terms and keywords to use for user searches. The "extras" section of the site also provides a useful guide to blog and Internet terminology and providing links to blog publishing tools, making it accessible to even the most casual user.
Source of Web site: Globe of Blogs2. Title of Web page: Blogroots
Web address: http://www.blogroots.com
This Web site digests news about blogs across the Internet, maintains a resource center to help new bloggers, and contains an online book tracing the origins of the blog phenomenon. It includes both original content and articles from outside media publications dealing with blogs, in addition to the book, which has not yet been published outside this Web site. The Web site is slightly difficult to navigate, but I expect that anyone familiar with a blog would probably be able to get around it, and there is a lot of useful information from a variety of sources to be found by poking around.
Source of Web site: Meg Hourihan, Matt Haughey and Paul Bausch for Blogroots, plus a variety of other articles3. Title of Web page: Google Blogs: How Weblogs Influence A Billion Google Searches A Week
Web address: http://www.microcontentnews.com/articles/googleblogs.htm
This is an online-only article in a magazine about blogs and webzines, focusing specifically on whether blogs are just a passing fad and how blogs have a significant impact on Google Web searches. It explains how blogs are archived as well as giving a glimpse into the way the Google search engine works, thus giving an indication of why the two interact the way they do, how many search queries end in blog-related results and the way that the widespread popularity of blogs can be used. This article tends to get bogged down in technical terms, assuming that its readers are familiar with intricate Net and blog terminology, but would probably be very interesting for that audience. It also raises some issues that I had not seen addressed elsewhere.
Source of Web site: Microcontent News
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Last updated on Nov. 13, 2002