History classes paint a picture of great architecture, monuments, and greenery in the Washington D.C. area. It is home to the President, and all of America's other leaders work and are centralized there. We hear of the War of 1812 where the British burned down the White House, and we hear of all the military functions that the Pentagon serves. Even in the news, all the public get's to see is the political aspect on D.C., but there is a lot more to the area than the news and history classes want us to believe. On RadicalCartography.com, Bill Rankin published seven maps that illustrate a clear border between two major areas in D.C. It doesn't take all seven for him to illustrate his point, so I picked three. They all show different metrics, but inevitably show the same border.
The first map shows the dispersion of income between the different neighborhoods in the D.C. area. It is easy to make assumptions about who lives where without knowing the geography of the area. If you are anything like me, you'd think that the White House and all of the important building must be in that north-western area. Politicians and their advisers have a lot of money, so it only makes sense that they would be centralized to in the area where there is the most money.
The second map shows the dispersion of education in the D.C. area. This map shows a similar theme. Naturally, the politicians and important people of the area are going to be well educated. The pockets of higher percentages of education account for the different universities around the area. Just like in the first map, there is a higher concentration to the north-west.
The last map shows the concentration of violent crimes in the different areas of D.C. Where the educated and well-to-do people live and work, there is hardly any crime. Well, let me say that my assumptions about the different areas were pretty wrong. I assumed that the White House would be located in the safer, more educated, and wealthier area to the north-west, but in reality, it was located almost in the dead center of the map. The center of our government is surrounded by poverty, poor education, and violence.
These maps all show a common border cutting the the north-west from the rest of the area, but they also show the border between our government and the people. In the news, we hear about everything that the President, Senators, or whoever is going to do to fix the problems in America. However, how can they be trusted to fix the national problems, when they conveniently overlook the local problems that surround them on a daily basis. There is always going to be a divide between the upper and lower class, but it doesn't have to be so extremely divided, especially right on our government's front door step.
SOURCES:
http://www.radicalcartography.net/
As James pointed out, these maps helped me gain insight into our nation's capital in a way that newspapers and books don't typically portray. It certainly seems ironic to me that the leader of the United States resides in area filled with crime and violence. With such fantastic aspirations for the country, shouldn't it be standard that our President initially work to reduce poverty/violence and improve education in his own neighborhood as a model for America?
ReplyDeleteAnother thought this post provoked in me was that no matter how many walls we put up, or how many guards and guns we employ, people will still succeed in crossing our man-made borders, especially those motivated by money and power, as presented by "It Came From Del Rio." But this initial success does not always prevail in the end. The most crime-infested areas in D.C. are also those areas home to the least-educated members of the district. Without proper education and guidance, many of these people resort to crime in order to support themselves or their families because this begins as an easy means to an end. However, the outcome is most often times worst for those crossing the border from legality into illegality because it is constantly patrolled- first by conscience, then by law enforcement.
I had never previously thought of how the distribution of these factors were directly related to the placement of our nation's capital. It seems almost contradictor to have the very things the President seeks to change right at his own doorstep. I agree with Grace when she states how the President should use his own neighborhood as a model for the rest of the country. Additionally, these maps make me think of how a cognitive border of social classes can arise. One person living in a "poorer" area may feel awkward meeting and having friends with someone from a more "elite" area. This touches upon the subject of how a individual can cross over this social identity border. In class, we have observed this when John Grady, who is not wealthy, falls in love with someone who is on a high status in Mexico, Alejandra in the book ATPH. He gives a valiant effort to transcend this boundary yet falls short in the end as it proves too difficult for both characters.
ReplyDeleteMy initial thoughts about this posting were very similar to Grace and Shawn's. How ironic is it that the capitol of our nation still suffers from poverty and violence. Seems a little bit backwards. How close these areas are to the center of all government doesn't make sense. We can see from this map that even the areas closest to our government are still affected by poverty and crime just as much as other city areas.
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