| After doing this weeks readings I have learned that communities can best be understood from the seven knowledge keys listed from the text: aspirations, civic, concerns, people, place, sources, and stereotypes. Being that I have recently moved to the Coon Rapids area I wasn't initially able to come up with many answers to the questions listed with these keys. After doing some research I found out the following information about Coon Rapids and its' community: I learned that Coon Rapids used to be an agricultural area, it took on the name Coon Creek Rapids in 1948, which was later shortened to Coon Rapids. People with older roots to this area still may hold on to these agricultural ties. Today Coon Rapids has a new outlook and values, which I believe are best described from information listed on the city website, "Our city has a strong interest in developing and preserving the amenities that make suburban living a pleasure. Coon Rapids offers a unique combination of urban excitement and small town friendliness with many opportunities for both work and play"(Coon Rapids city website). I think this can be seen just by looking at how much the city has grown over the years. Look at all the new housing developments, and large shopping centers such as Riverdale. Or even the little decorative things, such as the artwork on some of the bridges, to try and make the city look nicer. I suspect that many people who live in this area now, or move to this area, have the same aspirations and hold many of these same values. In addition to what I learned, I also realized that I could easily become more involved in my community. Currently I believe I am more in the private and incidental layers of my community. I could become more involved by joining things such as community organizations or by joining something like a neighborhood committee. Doing something like this would allow me to find out even more about my community. Sources: Coon Rapids city website. 23 Jan, 2008. www.ci.coon-rapids.mn.us/ Covering Communities. 21 Jan, 2008. http://www.coveringcommunities.org/ |
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
What I Learned About My Community
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11 comments:
Chris
This is really good. I like the honesty of it and the clarity of the writing. You took the assignment seriously and got a good start in learning about your community.
Rich
Interesting. Did you get most of your info from the city web site?
There are often email addresses posted on them that you can use to contact to find out just what's happening in your town outside of the basic description that you'll find on the website itself.
I liked the way you really used the concepts in the text. Coon Rapids is a fairly active place.
I was just curious, but do you recall an incident a few years ago in Coon Rapids? A store refused to locate itself in Coon Rapids because the word “Coon” in the title of the city?
I really liked the picture you painted of Coon Rapids with your writing.
Greetings,
Its good to hear that you also learned more about your community! Good blog, Kudos~
I have lived in the Anoka County area all of my life and have seen Coon Rapids grow right before my eyes it is a strong and vibrant community that has come a long way and will probably still continue to grow. How do you like living there? Do you right in town or more on the out skirts? There really is a lot to Coon Rapids hopefully you will get to know its community better!!
Hello..
I really like how you broke down whats going on in your community!
I like how you describe Coon Rapids.
I'm just surprised you're not involved with anything in the community. I know you said you just moved there, but CR is such a big place and has so many things going on.
Good work on the blog though.
Good job on describing and breaking down the layers of the community. I never thought of Coon Rapids as a community. It always seemed to me like pop up book of big box stores and endless urban sprawl.
Very good relations to the text! I like what you have learned about your community.
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