Chapter 1

It seems to me that cities try to associate themselves with things that attract tourists. There could be more to a city that locals know, but to the rest of the world, they try to associate themselves with one particular thing. As if that is the only thing that makes that city great. It's like, when people hear San Francisco, they think the Golden Gate Bridge or New York and Central Park. I've personally never been to either places but I'm sure there are a lot more things that make those cities great. It reminds me of an episode from the show How I Met Your Mother. The main character, Ted who lives in New York, has a friend visit him from his hometown in Ohio. All the friend wants to do is go to Times Square. Even after they are done visiting Times Square he wants to go again. after being annoyed with this, Ted reminds him that there is more to New York than Times Square. 


I think culture is what makes a city unique and gives it it's vibe. A city can fall victim to an economic crisis but I think that the culture will still stand. Some parts of cities alone are identified by their culture. Take East L.A. for example, it is associated with great Hispanic culture. It is also a shame that many downtown areas of cities are stereotyped and associated with negative connotations. Some of those areas are rich with art, history and culture. Some of it gets washed away when city officials try to renovate the downtown areas.