The first half of the semester coursework and lessons for the Social Issues in Urban and Regional Development class here at UNM have focused on many topics. Including the development of social identities and structures, the emergence of urban societies, as well as the framework for urban spaces within the United States. Within the first couple weeks of the course, we were introduced to topics such as the theory of environmental and social affordances, which Webster defines as, “the quality or property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used.” This tied into the development of societies as a structural and social value to people and sequentially led to the progression of individual and social identity.

 

Once we established the fundamental scope of organized communities, we were introduced to the history of planning through the origin of urban societies. Through the introduction of urban planning, people were able to create effective and cohesive living communities that helped propel the rapid expansion of urban societies because of the prospective opportunities they provided that were otherwise uncommon among the majority-rural communities of the time. However, with opportunity and growth comes consistent change and expectation and this is the common denominator seen and addressed through the lens of the urban planner all the way from the 18th century to today. We have evaluated historical efforts to create the ideal urban space and are now discussing what our planning should seek to address today and the issues it could resolve tomorrow.

 

Another topic that impacted me the most was the idea of a social construct created through urbanization. A social construct, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is defined as, “an idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society.” For example, class distinctions are a type of social construct as well as norms, law, and race – to name a few. In regard to planning, the city itself is identified as a social construct because it is defined as a city based on the population size and the shared understanding of the social structures within the given area. This could also be attributed to the amount of ‘affordances’ or opportunities an urban environment might provide, culturally, artistically, recreationally, etc. Another interesting concept associated with the social construct of a city is the expectation of convenience. Convenience is when individuals are able to live with little effort based on ease of consumption and waste production and is an evolving framework organized through urbanization and urban planning. Though it might seem like an inherent expectation in U.S. cities, it seems like some individuals are willing to consider the trade-off being made between convenience and quality, as well as the social and environmental implications.

 

The reason this topic impacted me personally was that social constructs, historically, have had the ability to gain such momentum through organized groups of people. The city itself is in many ways an organized group of people, and as urban planners, I see it is our responsibility to lay the physical outlines of this organization. As ideas, desires, and needs continue to evolve, I believe the social constructs of the urban environment should too. For example, my classmates and I discussed the current stages of infancy that our emergency planning is in, as cities and beyond, and understand that what we have in place today will not meet the expectations of a population as we continue to face more cases of natural devastation as a result of the looming climate change.

 

Additionally, when I and my classmates discussed issues such as urban sprawl and the complexities of environmental planning; many of these topics contribute to our current social constructs (and vice versa) and have the ability to develop simultaneously as we look to overcome matters of culture, environment, and technology that we never have before. In my perspective, as important as it is to adopt new ways of thinking and methods for living, it is equally vital that we assess the practices that no longer serve us and integrate the need for those concepts, or lack thereof, into our planning and processes to create lasting and effective urban spaces.