Bushwick, Leadership, and Democracy

   In my city the laws are made by the people for the people because who knows what we want better than ourselves.  The simple fact is that we never get a say in what happens in our city or country so there are always bills being passed without us and without the people having a say in what goes on.  With laws or rights of Latin Americans as an example I and others from “Make the road by walking” had a protest for a lady who is Latin American and was being kicked out of her house for no good reason at all and because of our help she is able to be at peace in her warm home.

   We as people have the right to say what we want as long as it doesn’t cause a threat to a group of people or a person.We also have the right to believe in any god we want.We as people also have the right to an education because you’ll be nothing in life without an education.

   If anyone was to tell me that we don’t have rights then I’ll respond by telling them that since we don’t have rights he/she cant say anything cause he/she doesn’t have the right to speak at all.

Plato (427-347 BC)

John Locke (1632-1704 AD)

1. In ancient Athens in 400 BC, participation in the government was mandatory. All male citizens had to serve on a jury. In your government, will all citizens, male and female have to serve on the jury? Will the government pay them for their time?

2. In ancient Athens, there were no professional judges as we have today. As a result, there was more DIRECT participation in the government. Do you think this was a good idea…Why or why not?

3. In ancient Athens, people could vote for someone to be banished (permanently sent away) from the city. Will you allow this process in your government, why or why not?

4. Plato, one of the greatest philosophers in ancient Athens in 400 BC was concerned that in a direct democracy, decisions about right and wrong are decided by whatever the majority thinks. Do you think that laws should always be made based on what the majority thinks?

5. As a philosopher, Plato was concerned that issues of right and wrong should be determined based on more than a popular vote. He thought that justice was an ideal that was absolute and unchanging thoughout time. What do you think? Will what is considered right and just in one generation in your city-state, completely change in the next generation?

6. Plato thought that a just city should reflect that same characteristics of a just person, or a just soul. He thought that a soul consisted of three parts: a part that did the thinking(the head), a part that was full of emotion and spirit(chest), and a part that sought pleasure, sex, and to satisfy its appetite(the stomach). A soul that is just would operate in complete balance and harmony. The head(the rational part) would rule, the spirited part would enforce the thoughts of the head with conviction and feeling, the appetite and the soul’s desire for pleasure would obey the head. All desires would follow the rational desire for truth and goodness. Do you believe in a soul? Do you think this type of harmony exists in a person who you would consider just, fair, or good?

7. Plato thought that an ideal or just city should function like a just soul. In order for a city to operate in harmony, people must specialize in what they do best. Some people who are more rational and better educated should be the HEAD and rule. These people he described as enlightened guardians he called philosopher-kings. Other people should work directly with the philosopher-kings to help in the administration of the city(the CHEST). Finally another class of people was best suited to being laborers (the abdomen). People had the opportunity to advance from one class to the other with proper education and training. Do you agree with Plato? Is this your concept of a just city? How would you debate Plato if you do not agree with him?

8. John Locke thought like Plato that there were ideals in the form of rights that did not change from generation to generation. He thought that every person had the ability to discover these absolute rights using their own reason. How would you prove that people had rights–that natural rights existed. How would you debate someone who told you that people really didn’t have any rights.

All parts of the following assignment will be due at the end of the week.

In your five person teams you must create your own City State. How will the government be structured? Will it be a democracy, a monarchy, or a dictatorship? Why?

1. In a previous assignment, you created an idealized model of Bushwick. In this assignment, you will create an exact model of the Academy of Urban Planning, the subway station and the surrounding streets.

a. Refer to the zoning maps in your binder to make sure that you make the zoning exactly the same as what currently exists. There are three types of zoning in SimCity, Residential, Commercial, and Industrial. For each zoning type, there are various heights: low, medium, and high. Most of the lots in Bushwick are small and have a low building height.

b. Make sure all intersections including that of Palmetto, Myrtle, and Wyckoff are exactly the same.

c. Make sure the elevated train (J,M,Z) and if possible, the underground L train is exactly the same.

2. Create your own form of government.

a. Will it be a direct democracy like in Athens, or will it be more like the representative form of government that we have here?

b. Will everyone own property?

c. Will there be a constitution? Will there be a declaration of rights of the people?

d. Who will make the laws?

e. Will there be professional judges? Will everyone have to serve on a jury?

John Barros: Executive Director of DSNI

During the last few days we have been learning about practical tools that help us understand issues related to home ownership and gentrification.

Please answer the following questions about a community based organization in Boston that did some amazing work in their community to address these important issues:

http://www.dsni.org/

Answer each question in your own words with at least 2 or 3 sentences:

1. What is the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative(DSNI)? What is its mission?
2. Describe the community served by the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative.

3. What were some of the barriers (political, stereotypical, economic, racial) that DSNI had to overcome to be successful?

4. What important work did the DSNI do in its community related to real estate development and home ownership?

5. What would it take to form an organization like this in Bushwick?

6. What are the email addresses and phone numbers of people that we could contact from the DSNI who may be able to speak to our class or help us set up a trip to Boston to visit their organization?

Hello Senior Seminar Students and Future Leaders of Bushwick: 

In a previous assignment, you tried to recreate our school and the surrounding streets of Bushwick in SimCity.  You changed the zoning, built additional community ammenities such as new parks, and playgrounds and added new public transportation services.

1. Please research and describe the best strategy for building and managing a successful SimCity.  Look on other SimCity blogs such as:

http://www.simtropolis.com/forum/

You can also look on SimCity’s main website:

http://simcity.ea.com/

Students whose comments describe the most thorough and logical strategies will be well rewarded.

Hint: Mention City Management topics like: Balancing the Budget, Controlling Traffic, Providing Power, Controlling Crime, Providing the Best Education, Why Sims like Parks, Providing Public Transportation,Controlling Pollution, Effective Zoning (mixed-use or industry clustering?)