Examination “The Social Life of a Sidewalk”

To complete this final examination, you must watch the film, “Sidewalk” that is uploaded on Blackboard. You must also review the power point regarding Jane Jacobs and watch the associated video on blackboard as well as the ones embedded in the Power Point.

1. Why were the booksellers allowed to set up tables on the street and sell books and magazines, when it was illegal to set up a table and sell food or clothing?

2. Why did the City Council pass new laws to restrict the sale of books on the street? What did the booksellers have to do to comply with the new law?

3. Jane Jacobs wrote about “public characters” in her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961). What is a “public character”? How does the concept of “public characters” relate to the film?

4. What is the “broken windows” theory? How does it relate to what the film? What are your own thoughts about this theory?

a. Please watch this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/aNoHcUnJ2aU

b. There is an article in the Learning Web folder, “Sidewalk”, but you can find it online here: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/01/economist- explains-18

5. Cornel West believes that the filmmakers and the author of the book Sidewalk should have explored the “West Indian dimension.” In a couple of sentences, explain what he is talking about.

Note: His discussion is in a minute supplementary video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idf-IT3qlfk

6. Discuss in detail how the film Sidewalk engages core social science concepts like race, poverty, homelessness, underground economies, interactions with the police, and community support networks? How does this film relate to the concepts that we discussed in class?

7. What does the Sidewalk film tell you about homelessness and survival?

8. What was your take away from the film and also from the work of Jane Jacobs?

9. How would you define sidewalk economics? Are people who on the street a sign of a neighborhood in decay? Please reference information gathered from the film and Jane Jacobs as well.

10. Discuss the stereotypes that exist about people who work on the street? Are these stereotypes accurate or inaccurate? Please explain in detail. Is street bending characterized by immorality or is there a sense of morality among street vendors? Please explain

11. Discuss how people commonly stigmatized by and excluded from traditional society on the basis of their race and class struggle to define moral standards and to live according to those standards. Who defines and sets these moral standards?

12. Many politicians, with the support of their constituencies, believe that they can eliminate such “troublesome” people working on the sidewalk simply by enacting more and more laws that make it difficult for these individuals to earn a living. The impulse is to crack down on panhandlers, reduce sidewalk space available to vendors, and criminalize homelessness. What is your opinion of this approach? What are the weaknesses of this approach?

13. What is an “honest living”? What type of work do you believe qualifies as one making an “honest living” and why?

14. Does “street work” lead to social cohesion or does it lead a society or community that’s fundamentally hostile to street workers and thus see them as a part of the solution to social evils, not the root of the problem? Please explain your answer.

15. After taking this class, what do you believe is the key to politicians effectively addressing the symptoms of social problems discussed in this class? What are they getting wrong? If you were the advisor to lawmakers, how would you suggest that they tackle these issues? Which issues would you prioritize and why?