An Urban Renewal Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

An Urban Renewal Project - Research Paper Example These steps are taken in order to use privately-owned property for development projects such as urban renewal project (Grogon and Proscio, 2001). The process of urban renewal is seen in both positive and negative ways by various people. To most of people, it acts as a symbol of economic development and positive reforms and for some it acts as a means of establishing control. It is a good way of recreating communities that exist and make them seem better but at the cost of demolishing certain neighborhoods. However, with the passage of time a change has occurred in the way people think about urban renewal projects which is seen now as more oriented toward investment and renovation and less toward destruction (Jones, 2004). The paper will highlight the local project at Los Angeles that had been named as Bunker Hill project and will discuss the circumstances that led to this decision of accomplishing an urban renewal project in Los Angeles. The role of power elite, pluralism, mobility, economic competition and government regime has also been discussed in the paper throughout. Bunker Hill is the Los Angeles’ oldest plan of redevelopment that spreads over the area of 133 acres. The project adopted in 1959 by the city council of Los Angeles got transformed into a project of area redevelopment in 1968. The project area considered to be bounded by Hill Street (east), First Street (north), Fifth Street (south) and Harbour Freeway (west) (Dawson, 2008). The area had been relocated to include twenty-five developmental sites of large mass. The developmental plan also included the construction of a new street system in order to control the steepness of hill and to connect the steep area with nearby flatlands. The four sites out of the twenty-five major developmental sites were under the ownership of CRA/LA whereas two were owned by County. The project of Bunker Hill had been the result of continuous struggle against the lawsuits by City Council that won its case in f avor of urban renewal project in 1964. The funds raised for the completion of project were initially $33 million and few complaints were submitted against the plan. However, in 1968 the project was renamed as Bunker Hill Redevelopment project which previously was known as urban renewal project (Fante, 2002). It is worth-mentioning that the area had been remained unattended for the period from 1800’s to 1920’ due to the lack of water system and other services that had not reached that place at the time. The Bunker Hill due to the steep topography had been the difficult project to accomplish and it was the necessary to reconstruct it in order to provide room for neighborhoods that were becoming overcrowded (Fante, 2002). The Great Depression had also contributed in the negligence of this hilly area in terms of renovating the site. Therefore, in 1940’s it was almost impossible to think of reconstructing the area and investing a lot of money in doing so at the time when the country was facing economic crisis and crime acts at the peak. In the past the site had been the place of Victorian mansions which now became urban decay. Extensive surveys and researches were conducted to measure the physical, economic and social impacts. The results of the surveys identified the

Make up a topic for me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Make up a topic for me - Essay Example Before the Han dynasty, there were very few sculptures and painting in China. Sculptures were introduced after the arrival of Buddhism in China. Decorations were mainly in two dimensions. At first, the curving of sculptures was restricted to animal figures. Sculptures of human were made after the 1 century and were at first limited to sculptures of Buddha and ceremonies related to Buddhism (Bushell, 154). This paper looks at how Buddhism influenced the development of art in China by using a few examples. There are several paintings that have been drawn by Chinese artists of Buddha and various monks. Moreover, there is painting that tells stories adopted from the Buddhist religion. An example is the drawing of Buddha on the wall of the temple meant for Jiankang by the famous Chinese artist of the Jin dynasty Gu Kaizhi (Williams & Barrow, 54). Buddhism led to the development of the painting of the human figure. The led to the development of a new genre called â€Å"Renwu†: the h uman figure genre which is one of the 4 disciplines in Chinese art. This led to the development of great painters of portrait who gained their fame status by painting Buddhist figure, Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Some of these great artists include Wie Xie of the 4th century, Gu Kaizhi (346-405 AD) and Sengyao (6th century AD) among other contemporary artists (Williams & Terence, 320). Painting of portraits wee guided by the 6 principles developed by Xie He  which he codified by following the Indian rules of painting. â€Å"Lohan seated in a tree† is an example of a painting from the Ming dynasty is an example of a painting that has been greatly influenced by Buddhism. It was painted by Ding Ynpeng and is one of the earliest Chinese paintings showing a Buddhist monk in a tree. This painting is different from other Chinese paintings of the 13th century as it is displayed in bright color showing vitality and liveliness. This is because Lohan means enlightened being and the painte r clearly shows this theme. An important thing to observe about these painting is that although the dead were originally from India, the Chinese artists have made their own modifications and innovations that make the images to be more authentic (Kieschnick, 140). From the 1st century to the 18th century, Chinese artists have continued to depart from the original Indian principles of painting to a new style that is unique to china. Studying of the Chinese sculpture of Liao dynasty (907-1125) is important because they are the type that is mostly found in international museums around the world such as America, British and Asian museums. The art from this era were predominantly Buddhist. In the western Capital of Liao, there are three monuments made of sculptures of the rules of this generation. Observing the sculpture closely one can observe that the artists borrowed a lot from the sculptures of Bodhisattvas who are people who endeavor to become Buddha (Williams & Terence, 378). For in stance, there is a halo surrounding the head of the sculptures. Moreover, the sculptures have other features that were common in the representation of the Buddhist deities and include jewelry, costumes and crowns. The 292 Dunhuang caves are the perfect representation of Buddhist influence on Chinese art. The first Dunhuang cave was developed by a Buddhist monk in the third century and it was called â€Å"