Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 9

Trip to the Fork in the Road(location I have never visited)/Simply Maps

     Over my Thanksgiving break, with more time and access to my car back home, I decided to take a trip to a location I had never been to. I first heard about the Fork in the Road in Pasadena back in 2011 and since then I have desired to make a trip to this location. This new tourist attraction is located in Pasadena, California where Pasadena and St. John Avenues divide. It is so amazing and creative because this fork is located right where two of Pasadena's main roads divide. This concrete fork was built and installed by a conceptual artist by the name of Bob Stane. He thought that an actual fork in the road where two roads diverged would be humorous and ironic piece of art the city of Pasadena needed. 

    After getting lost for about 10 minutes on the one way streets, my friend and I finally approached the Fork in the Road. There are two busy streets on both sides of the fork and there is no sidewalk surrounding the fork which made it very difficult to get close to this piece of art. On the island that the there were lots of trees and shrubs; however, there was a flat dirt section in the shape of a ring with rocks around the fork. Surrounding the Fork in the Road, there were many small streets with small, old fashioned homes built at least 40-50 years ago. Throughout the city of Pasadena, I noticed lots of greenery, trees, flower bushes, smooth roads and many one way streets. The city of Pasadena is rich with museums, botanical gardens and the famous Old Town Pasadena shopping district. The fork was is a very unique landmark because it embodies the artistic influence the city of Pasadena has from their residents and museums. 

Here is a photograph of the Fork in the Road

     When the fork was first installed, there was much controversy surrounding the placement of this piece of art. Many of the elderly Pasadena residents felt that this new landmark would bring down the value and class of the city of Pasadena. The elderly residents were also very opposed to the idea of a concrete fork in a city that is rich in art and culture. The younger residents of the city loved the idea of this new landmark. They felt that this fork brought an ironic and modern twist to the traditional city. Because of these two differences in opinions I decided to use SimplyMap.com which is a UCLA database website that students and faculty to explore different geographical regions using demographic, marketing and business data. There is a variety of data to explore i.e. race, gender, age and income. 

     To show the two differences of opinions regarding the Fork in the Road, I decided to create a map based on the different age groups in the city. In my first map I found the percent of the population between the ages of 25-34 years old. I found that in the heart of Pasadena the population of people aged 25-34 is from 16-100%. 

    

 On the contrary in the map above, I found that in the heart of the city, the percent population over 65 years old was mostly from 8% to 14%. 

     The perception of different art forms varies and this was visible when the different age groups had different opinions about the art in the form of a fork. Simply maps was a very interesting source to use to learn more about various data in different cities. The center of the city has the busy city lifestyle that many younger age groups desire. The only reason that I could come up with as to why the older residents tend to live farther from the center is because these locations are less busy and hectic.

     The Fork in the Road and the city of Pasadena reflect the idea of nature and social difference. Pasadena has a variety of large homes that are located on high hills with beautiful views. Not only are these homes far away from the center of production (Los Angeles), these homes are also far from the busy lifestyle that is in the heart of Pasadena. The city is also home to many parks, recreation areas and it is nestled in San Gabriel Mountains. From a visitors eye, in Pasadena there are no nature-degrading sites i.e. oil refineries and waste storage locations. The city of Pasadena is the perfect site for nature, consumption and the 'perfect' suburb lifestyle.