Benedetti, In-Class Mapping the Local

1) D.I.Y New York City
This project evaluates the effects of DIY on New York City, stating that without the DIY project, counter culture movements would be impossible. DIY is thought to change the way New York works all together, and the author makes it seem like New York would be dysfunctional without it. Since New York has such a high population, according to the author of this project, DIY events create a central basis for the way New Yorkers behave. There is a map provided, with multiple “push pin” links to several events around New York, which are easily accessed. Each event has interviews and personal reviews and includes descriptions and directions for each. Each push-pin event link focuses more on the event that occurred at that place, rather than the place itself.

2) Final Project
The objective of this project is unclear, but the information provided is still well-organized. This project focuses more on the place itself, rather than the event that happened there. There are various random places in the Final Project. Each push pin provides a background history for each of the places and reasons why a tourist would want to visit there. If I had to guess, I would say that the objective of this project was to gather several locations in which a tourist would like to visit, and why. The information provided for each location is very in-depth and thorough.

3) Come Together NYC
This is another project that took place in New York City in which several events around the city are described and a lot of information is given about each location. The reviews of the actual events are very intense and detailed. Instead of having multiple different events like DIY New York City, there were only a few events, but had very good detail and information about the event. Each article about the event is descriptive and convincing. Each event or location described in this project has a different category (such as art, music and restaurants). No two locations fall under the same category, which is an interesting tactic that allows the reader to get a little taste of every category. This can be beneficial when speaking to a general audience, because something that may be interesting to one person may not be interesting to another. This takes this variable out of the equation, because all of the main topics are covered in this project.

4) Modern Gomorrah
This project was much more unofficial and more unprofessional than all of the other projects, because instead of just general information and facts about each event and location, that author of Modern Gomorrah uses more emotion and personal experiences to explain the location. The author of this project speaks in such an unprofessional, relaxed tone, as if the reader was a friend. Using the personal experiences to explain the event, the author succeeds in relating to the reader and convincing them to share the same experiences. The places in which the author talks about are seemingly random, such as the Broadway Loft and Panna II Indian Restaurant. These places seem random and unknown. To me, this says that the author of this project was trying to broaden the reader’s horizons, and trying to get them to go to a place where they have never been before.