Americana at Brand: A Public Space in a Public Park within a Private Property - Essay Example

Full with courtesy if applicable] 8 May Americana at Brand: A Public Space in a Public Park within a Private Property Executive Summary Americana at Brand is an extensive alfresco recreational and shopping district located in Glendale, California. The district contains seventy-five (75) retail outlets and encloses more than one hundred (100) condominiums and two hundred thirty eight (238) apartments. Aside from being a prime destination for shopping and leisure, it is also home to a 2-acre (8,100 m2) park that is an entirely public area; however, it is sited at the front yard of Americana at Brand, which is a private property, causing the border to become rather indistinct. The core and emphasis of this particular piece of research is bent on the 2-acre public park situated within the Americana at Brand grounds. Various methods were utilized in carrying out this research that includes first-hand interviews of the visitors at the park – comprised of parents, teenagers and couples – actual observations of the park and photographs of kids with their parents, couples, teenagers, men and the private businesses encompassing the area. The main objective of this research is to determine the satisfaction level of the visitors and at the same time to glean information regarding their impressions and their recommendations for the park, specifically in matters of convenience, safety, and facility improvement. [Student’s Last Name] 2 Introduction A public space is a very important facet for societal involvement and community development. By and large, almost all countries around the world are paying more than enough attention on how to improve social interaction within its people that would bolster unity among them; hence, nearly all forms of government are appropriating funds not just on infrastructure projects but similarly on public spaces. “A public space may be a gathering spot or part of a neighbourhood, downtown, special district, waterfront or other area within the public realm that helps promote social interaction and a sense of community. Possible examples may include such spaces as plazas, town squares, parks, marketplaces, public commons and malls, public greens, piers, special areas within convention centers or grounds, sites within public buildings, lobbies, concourses, or public spaces within private buildings.” (American Planning Association, “Public Spaces”). Public spaces open up opportunities for people to socialize on seemingly impartial grounds wherein they get to meet not just their common friends but they also get the prospect of establishing new alliances. Seen this way, the people will be exposed into a much more dynamic environment and will gain them proficiency and appreciation of the real gist of communal involvement. Since public spaces, particularly parks, are used for social gatherings and meetings, this enriches the consistency within a society. Nevertheless, communities should not be construed as perfect and free from flaws. A community can also play as means for prejudice, stereotype and discrimination seeing that public spaces are literally "public" and it is nearly impossible to restrict someone from going in, thus, setting up a public space packed with a variety of descent and ethnicities, inevitably goading for a possible racial conflict. [Student’s Last Name] 3 Americana at Brand is a famous, huge shopping district in Glendale, California wherein thousands of people gather together for recreation and shopping intents. It does not only hold shopping outlets and condominiums but at the same time it contains a scenic park wherein most of its visitors spend time with their family and friends for amusement and leisure. Although Americana at Brand is a private shopping zone, the park positioned within its grounds is purely public. Moreover, the management of the area is somewhat conferred to Americana at Brand as manifested by the shopping district’s imposition of policies in the park. Many have projected that this type of land setting could trigger conflict between the local government of Glendale and the Americana at Brand due to possible disputing rights over the supervision of the area. Taking this issue into account, this research will cultivate on the feasibility of arguments to arise that may be set off by tessellating and entangling public opinions, strong demands for legal rights and liberty and a likely protest which will set sight on which party should gain the rightful upper hand in executing policies within the park. Furthermore, this research aims to elaborate the importance of convenience, facility condition, and safety of public spaces in accordance with the people’s opinions, sentiments and suggestions. This also works toward an immediate response from the people on the subject of their personal experiences in the park. The extent of this research will be directed on the 2-acre park located somewhere within the area of Americana at Brand shopping district. After reading this research paper, the reader shall recognize the significance of public spaces and the factors affecting them; the reader shall be informed about the underlying conflict on the establishment of policies in the park; lastly, the reader will gain discernment on the benefits that the park is recompensing Glendale and its residents, the visitors and shoppers of Americana at Brand and the Americana at Brand itself. [Student’s Last Name] 4 Literature Review Numerous studies and investigations were conducted in the past which concentrated on improving the conditions of public spaces. One of the most critical points of these investigations is on how possible it is to create a public space that is not merely a place to be wandered around, but a place for enjoyable recreational activities and therefore brings more advantages to the people. Many critical points can be taken into consideration if we deliberate on the current situation encompassing this particular park. First, the park is a public space; however, it is within the grounds of Americana at Brand, which is a private property. Second, some people have complaints concerning the facilities of the park, specifically the deficient number of benches and seats. Third, some people are raising their concerns about young children who are rather too animated and have the tendency to be quite a disturbance to young couples who are dating. Nevertheless, it is not all negative feedback there is. Parents, however, are satisfied with how the way the park is conditioned momentarily. One of the most apparent reasons why many people are opting not to engage in social meetings or even a “walk-in-the-park” in public spaces is because of safety issues. Crimes have tremendously risen recently and on the whole, these crime incidents took place in public spaces like parks and streets. Nonetheless, safety is not a matter to consider for Americana at Brand and the park that is situated within its grounds. The place is geared with intense security and everyone can come, shop and roam around with ease. Going back to the points laid down earlier, there is a potential conflict that can arise between the people and the Americana at Brand due to some legal matters. Again, the park is a public space which means that it is not owned by the shopping district but is owned by the local [Student’s Last Name] 5 government. Ironically, the policies that are being enforced in the park are actually carried out by the Americana at Brand and some of these policies are rather personally taking no notice of the people’s right. Take for example, people are neither allowed to take pictures in the park nor can they bring certain sizes of dogs in the mall and even in the park which is a public space. In the long run, it is projected that a dispute might take place between the Americana at Brand and the people who are casting doubt on the policies that the shopping community has enacted, taking their rights into account and that they would demand for dissolution of these policies. Changing gears, the cluster of visitors is made up of those who constantly visit public spaces and even depend on it for reflexive and operational gatherings. When the progressions of these public spaces are performed and fulfilled, they are infrequently included but their opinions are not even recognized at the same time. A fact that needs to be considered is that when this particular scenario happens, it affects the social experiences that can be achieved in public spaces. It brings out suggestion to create public spaces that are more conducive for socialization and that an ideal pattern for creating it must be drawn on in erecting them in the future. Unfortunately, even though these situations have rather turned out to be apparent in the past, builders of public spaces are frigid about incorporating better concepts which in return, deteriorates the whole development. Builders, contractors and managers of parks and some other forms of public spaces should be held responsible in carrying out a more conducive type of public spaces, particularly parks wherein most socialization occurs. These people are the ones who are designating people - engineers, designers, and architects - that will build public spaces. First things first, the government should be able to provide ample funds for public spaces and provide right people who are capable of consolidating conduciveness and availability in public spaces. [Student’s Last Name] 6 Methods and Methodology Public spaces are areas wherein people are directly involved in different situations, first-hand encounters and diverse, personal opinions. Therefore, by and large, the approaches being employed on this research were directed to them. The methods that were drawn on are dependent on the level of contingency of public participation through which we base our responses to the focus of this research. In order to come up with an accurate result, it was made sure that the employed means of investigation should be applicable to the common people, specifically the visitors of the Americana at Brand and of the park. This research draws on three prime methods: first-hand interviews, photographic documentation of the area and the people surrounding it, and direct observations of the site. First-hand interviews are considered as means for investigation to provide precise data reflecting the people’s impressions of the park. For the reason that they are the immediate partakers, they can be regarded as leading testimonies to bear witness for issues related to convenience, safety and facility conditions of the park. Correspondingly, photographic documentations were also used in order to create a still representation of the area needed for an in-depth examination of the subject. In addition, photographic documentations will serve as a consolidating expedient in order to create a visual representation of the entire area, merging the different portions of the district and the park into a single image that is essential for general observations. Finally, in order to bring the cumulative findings in line, a parallel and substantiating method was employed in the form of direct observations to finally satisfy the results of the investigations and to obtain actual view of the area and its existing conditions. [Student’s Last Name] 7 A portion of this research contains a short discussion of the policy conditions in the park as well as the probable occurrences of disputes in the future. While it is a discussion that pertains to legal matters, it does not and should not be admitted as expert opinions to resolve policy concerns and conflicts of land supervision. It should not replace a professional investigation. The purpose of incorporating it to this research is to gain knowledge of the people’s feelings towards these policies and their personal take on the subject matter. The observation took place on April 07, 2012 at Americana at Brand in Glendale, California. It was proposed to be a one-day surveillance activity of the entire area and of the people visiting the park. The observation was pre-arranged on three discrete and chronologically-ordered steps. The first phase was a direct observation of the area – visiting the main sites of the shopping district and of the park, observing the on-going activities in the area. This was initially performed in order to gain a general impression of the site. Second phase was the informal/direct interviews. To ensure a comprehensive demographic representation, three clusters were considered for interview: couples, teenagers and parents. These three clusters were selected to cover various categories of age and sex. The questions that were asked seek to gather responses that are interrelated to the convenience, safety, facility improvement and their overall impression of the park. The last phase of the observation was a series of photographic documentation. The goal is to produce a still representation of the area that will be used for further investigation. The focus of this photographic documentation is centred on five different clusters: kids with their parents, couples, teenagers, men and the private businesses surrounding the park. [Student’s Last Name] 8 Analysis and Findings This research recognizes that a direct identification of the causative factors affecting convenience, safety and facility condition of a public space does not suffice to render a complete analysis of the existing puzzle; hence, a comprehensive solution cannot be expected. Therefore, a well-rounded analysis of the location was conducted in order to examine the many factors affecting convenience, safety, and facility condition of the park situated inside the Americana at Brand shopping community. In this research, factors like the size and the population of the host city, its tourism and the Americana at Brand directory sketch were taken into consideration. Glendale, although considered to be the 22nd largest city in the state of California, can still be considered as small. According to the United States 2010 Census, Glendale has a population of 191, 719. It has a varied population composed of different races and descents; however, Whites and Asians are most in number comprising almost 90% of the total population. (U.S. Census Bureau, “Glendale City”). The overwhelming number of visitors of the park is constituted not merely on the population of the city. Most of the visitors of Americana at Brand are not residents of Glendale City but are from the neighbouring and remote locations, from east to west, coming in to visit the shopping district. An executed close reference to the photographic documentation, the park is packed with visitors of different descent, age groups and gender clusters. Due to the large number of visitors, an apparent mixture of races is seen – Blacks, Whites, Asians, Latino, et.al. The park, when compared to other theme parks, is relatively small. This raises queries as to whether it could be the reason why there is a deficiency on the number of seats or benches in the [Student’s Last Name] 9 area thereby questioning which party should respond to this shortage. Americana at Brand is a famous shopping community, thus, it is expected to rake a large number of visitors and the park obviously needs more seats as it is the go-to place of the visitors after shopping sprees and this is aside from those who visit for park visit alone. An architectural sketch showed that the park is located at the centre of Americana at Brand, blurring the demarcation line between the privately organized Americana at Brand and the public park. What does make a park ideal? An ideal park should comprise the following elements: accessibility, environmental conditions and facilities, public utilization and sociability. (Hong Kong Public Space Initiative, “The Ideal Public Space”). According to Hong Kong Public Space Initiative, an ideal public space is a place where every person, regardless of ethnicity or orientation, is given the right to access for visit. The space should be environmentally pleasing and safe at the same time for this will serve as a second site for people’s daily activities. “Features such as seating, lighting, running paths, shading and water are all good examples of what would make a public space allure people to visit.” (Hong Kong Public Space Initiative, “The Ideal Public Space”. Public utilization talks about the cordiality of a public space. It should be a welcoming community where opinions and personal sentiments are respected. In Americana at Brand, the people are observed to be relishing their time in the park. The kids are happily playing with their parents while some are lying on the green grass, laughing and taking pleasures in. Teenagers are taking seats on the grass with their knot of friends. Most of them are having lively conversations, cracking jokes and laughing. On the other side, there are couples dating and giggling. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their visit in the park. However, there is not much segregation with respect to age groups. Kids are combined with teens and couples. [Student’s Last Name] 10 Unfortunately, this has raised several concerns from other visitors, especially dating couples who are complaining about kids animatingly running around the park, rather disturbing those who are doing solemn activities. As per the interview conducted, teenagers complained about the deficient number of benches and seats. The park is in fact loaded with people and it is very evident that there are only few seats available for everyone. Consequently, a large number of people are opting to take seats on grasses rather than benches. Teenagers are raising their thoughts about the shortage of seats thereby saying that more benches and seats should be placed inside the park to accommodate more people. The same sentiment comes from couples. The park is actually a good place for dating because of its pleasing environment and safety condition. However, couples are also whining on the lack of seats and benches. Nevertheless, parents said that they would not change anything. They even added that they love the way the park is conditioned momentarily. By and large, the only criticism that most visitors have for the park, especially teenagers and couples, is the lacking number of benches and seats. As park enclosed in a private shopping community, it is surrounded with private businesses: shopping centres, cinemas and restaurants. Despite the towering appreciation of the accessibility and safety of the park, albeit it is slightly criticized in terms of its facility condition, another critical point that should be addressed is the policy condition of the park. As aforesaid, the park is a public space but it is enclosed in a private shopping community. What made this issue more thought-provoking is that based on the directory sketch of Americana at Brand it is sited at the centre of the shopping district. It obscures the margin of the park from the shopping district. Ironically, the policies are imposed [Student’s Last Name] 11 by Americana at Brand and not by the local government of Glendale City. Two of the most intriguing policies are the following: people cannot bring in certain sizes of dogs and they cannot take pictures. For someone who retains his/her recognition of the park as a “public” property would not submit to the policies enacted by the park which in return might provoke rant for both the shopping district and the visitors. An article of the Los Angeles Times reads that pet owners are barking against that pet policy of Americana at Brand. One visitor was intercepted by the guard from walking in her pet dog further saying that if she cannot carry the dog, “she cannot bring the dog in” (Los Angeles Times, “L.A. Now”). Americana at Brand defended its part by saying that it only protects its facilities, especially lanes which are purely private. This has even raised more complexities as the public space has become more private in nature. Moreover, “….narrow lanes may resemble public streets but are really private property. Making it more complicated: The two-acre park in the heart of the mall actually is public property.” (Los Angeles Times, “L.A. Now”). In general, the park is a great place to spend weekends and holiday treats. Nonetheless, perfection cannot be achieved even by the most sophisticated people and organizations. The park inside the Americana at Brand presents more concerns that need to be addressed as soon as possible: first, the park lack of seats and benches which are very imperative for people’s need for utility and convenience; second is the entangled policy condition of the park. An immediate installation of seats and benches is needed in order to serve the people’s utility preference. Also, while there is a policy banning people from bringing in certain sizes of dogs, well-thought and square policies should revamp the current policy condition of the park as it destroys the gist of public utilization. These are essential cues to achieve convenience, safety and better facility. References “Characteristics and Guidelines of Great Public Spaces”. American Planning Association, 2012. Web. 11 May 2012 Discover Los Angeles. The Americana at Brand, 2012. Web. 9 May 2012 “Glendale City”. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010. Web. 9 May 2012 Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Trans. D. Nicholson-Smith. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1991. Sanchez, J. “Owners of Big Dogs Growl over Pet Policy at Glendale Mall”. Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2008. Web. 10 May 2012 “The Americana at Brand Store Directory”. The Americana at Brand, 2012. Web 10 May 2012 “The Ideal Public Space”. Hong Kong Public Space Initiative, n.d. Web. 10 May 2012 Read More