All About Cities

May 9th, 2015

Boise and Hartford are not much different from each other and I can easily navigate both cities. It's my experiences in college in other cities and my urban studies courses that have introduced me to life in the bigger cities. On this page, I share my thoughts on why I enjoyed being in Hartford. I also talk about  public transportation, art and parks. I have so much more I could share about the urban life.

On Hartford

I came to Hartford without having done much research about the city.  I am leaving four years later knowing so much more and being comfortable in what comes next because of my experiences here. In writing this, I am not forgetting the problems that exist within Hartford like poverty, failing schools and everything else I learned about. I am simply saying that I feel comfortable in Hartford. I run my errands and feel safe doing so. Other students would disagree with me and you’ll hear things about the neighborhoods around our campus not being safe. There are definitely parts of the city that should be avoided and I was warned of this.  From my experiences, I have always felt safe around the city and have appreciated being in Hartford.

Here are some reasons why Hartford has been a perfect fit for me as a city:

Size

Boise and Hartford are about the same size. This has definitely been helpful in navigating the city. I couldn’t imagine living in New York City or Boston at the beginning of my first year. It would have been overwhelming for me. I have also realized that I couldn’t have gone to college in the middle of the woods. I enjoy getting off-campus and going into the city.

Public transportation

If you look at “All about cities” page, you’ll see my argument for public transportation. I know how to drive and having a car makes life easier. I have appreciated the bus system and the free pass to use the buses. I have generally found that I can get around without any problems.

Location

Without realizing it at first, Hartford ended up being a great location because of its proximity to New York and Boston. I have visited friends and taken other trips to these places using the bus. Other people take months and years to plan for a trip to these cities and I was blessed to have easy access to them.

Cuisine

 I love food. I believe that the best way to get to know other people’s cultures is through food. I have had my share of Peruvian, Brazilian, Chinese, Ethiopian, etc. Whether it was food on campus delivered from one of the local restaurants or going out to eat with friends, I haven’t been disappointed with the options for food.

The Value of Public Transportation

Yesterday I took the bus from my apartment to downtown to run some errands. I was reminded of the beauty of public transportation and why I want to live in a place with a good one. Back in Boise, I used the bus to get around but there were limits to where I could go and what times the busses ran. I learned how to drive and got my license, but I have never fallen in love with driving. It is something that I do, but if I didn’t need to do it, I would be more than happy to.

In my four years here, I have learned a lot about the value of public transportation and its importance. Imagine this, I had more mobility in Dakar than I did in Boise. In Dakar, I ran around the city on the transport en commun, the buses run by the public entreprise and the Dakar Dem Dikk. I used taxes occasionally, but my main way of getting around was the bus.

In Paris, I was introduced to a city with a metro system. I became a pro; taking walks around the city and getting on different lines just to transfer to my ligne 4. I loved how convenient the metro was. I was spoiled by the 2 or 3 minute waits. There was something about being able to get where I wanted without having to drive. In the travel that I did, I was confused by the metro in Belgium that ran two  different lines on the same track; I loved the metro in Berlin, it was efficient, I could understand everything without speaking German and I understood the difference between the suburban trains and the metro; I couldn’t stand the one in Prague, it was hard to get change and I was targeted by the random stops because I was definitely a foreigner. Although the New York system confuses me, I have been told that it is possible to learn it without problems. The DC metro also runs but I felt like it was limited and lacking in certain areas. Their way of charging by distance wasn’t cool and the wait times were extensive. Since I was with my friend in London, I didn’t have to navigate much the metro on my own, but it didn’t seem too confusing to understand.

Lastly, the metro in Shanghai seemed impressive and even though my Chinese was lacking. It was interesting for sure. In Laos, there wasn’t really a public transportation system to deal with.

Getting back to Hartford, I have used the bus repeatedly while I have been here. I have a upass allowing me to get around for free. The bus wait time when it’s not rush hour or Sundays is short. The buses run all the way to the suburbs and there’s even a system being put into place.

Maybe one day I will look at driving as something enjoyable and relaxing. I have also realized from my time here that not having a car is not a disadvantaged as long as you have a good public transportation system. Having a good public transportation system is key to any area that wants to attract people and do well. As one student presented in our senior thesis seminar, I think that the US could benefit from a high speed rail that connected cities around the country and made getting around much easier.

Photo: Car rapides waiting to leave from "Bounty Pikine"

Art in the City

Graffiti is cool. I don’t know enough about it to tell anyone else about it, but I do know what it is when I see it. Part of my journey abroad included noticing graffiti in cities and trying to make sense of what I was seeing. From Paris, to Dakar to Pikine, these are the photos of graffiti that I collected and should have shared all along. There’s something to be said about the way mark up their cities and what they hope these messages will convey.

Parks 

At one of my appointments, the lady at the welcome desk wanted me to know that in everything you do, you have to take some time for yourself to relax, to do what you enjoy and to otherwise have a good time. She hit on an important point since often it’s easy to get caught up in the work and to forget that taking time off too is just as important as working. This conversation brings me back memories of the ways I was able to relax in the cities I visited and how public spaces like parks are great places for this.   

I am what you consider not the average teenager or young person and my ideas of fun, even when I was abroad were different from others. One of the things I enjoyed doing in Paris was visiting different parks just for the fun of it and seeing what there was to enjoy about it. I visited a beautiful park in the 10^th arrondissement and really fell in love with the view of Sacre Coeur and the waterfall.  There were times I would take a book and go read at the park as I watched men play boules. One park I visited in the middle of the day and there were people jogging as if they had taken a break from their work to work out and would be heading back. 

In China, one of the first places we visited was a park where we saw older people playing games in the park, women were doing tai chi or meditation and other people just seemed to be relaxing. For us, it was a chance to cut across Shanghai as we were  heading from one place to another and an opportunity to just be, a little bit less crazy that the city life in Shanghai. I remember being impressed and wondering how such a big city could offer the space that it did for the public parks so that people could enjoy themselves. 

We also visited parks in Kunming which was also interesting since the view was absolutely beautiful. In this space, you could forget that you were in a bustling city with no outlet to nature.

In these few examples, I have realized that parks are places for kids to play and to enjoy themselves like my sisters do back home. Parks are a great creation because in cities, in places where it seems like all you see is skyscrapers and buildings, people need a space where they can gather to play games, relax and take a break from their busy lives. Parks have the possibilities of doing just that.