Underberger_Mapping the Local, In-Class

D.I.Y New York City
This project is about the DIY counterculture movement that is taking place in New York. The author does a good job at explaining how New York would not be the place it is today without this culture, and then proceeds to map out some of the biggest locations and events in which the movement is taking place. The author took the time to include festivals, bookstores, music venues, and even restaurants. I feel that this project is more of an exploration, and simply using a map to highlight the physical places that support the topic. This is a very helpful example as it is very straightforward and easy to follow.

Final Project
This project is not as clearcut as the DIY New York City one. Although all the landmarks are mapped, and there is a brief description of each, I cannot tell what the author was observing around the city. There appears to be a common theme of architecture, but that is not directly stated. I feel that this is not the best example of a project to help a student create one on their own.


Come Together NYC
Just like “Final Project”, there is no brief overview before any of the landmarks were listed. As a result, it makes it much more difficult to see what links everything together. If I had to guess a common trait in all of the listed places, I would say it emphasizes on art or décor in New York. This is an effective model as the author goes into great detail describing the places he has selected.

Modern Gomorrah
Modern Gomorrah is all about the arts. It highlights film, music, art (more specifically paintings), and even the art in the creation of food. The author has long descriptive passages for each and every location, and even went as far as to make specific symbols relating to each location and where it exists on the map. The author made this very easy to follow, and because of that this is a great example of this project.