Agglomeration
is a loaded term I found out today in class. A rather simple definition on
my Mac dashboard says, “[to] collect or form in to a mass group.”
As discussed in class the major theme that arose for me is
the question of WHO?
Who collects? Who forms? Who is the
mass group?
Across the readings of Harvey Molotch’s, “City as a Growth
Machine,” to Philip McCann’s, “Spatial Distribution of Activities,” prescribed
models of urban growth or agglomerations have perceived assumptions that these
spatial groupings are believed to be the best economic output for growth of
development. The collector and form-giver is designed by developers, planners
and top-down decision makers but the mass group who is collected to live or
work in these agglomerations have little or no participation in what their space
and time will become.
Sudeshna Mitra, our instructor mentioned the concept of
discretionary budgeting or giving the people power to vote in hopes of a more
inclusive community. I believe this is an opportunity to involve people that
would not normally have any representation in these processes. In the US, this is especially
important now with the growing elderly population and their need to be
represented in time, space and access to the environment for elderly living with
disabilities.
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