In the class, we have been taught that urban
planning is a complex process that involves the development and design of
lands. In simple words, we can say that it is meant to clarify how the physical
layouts of human settlements should be. One of the core concerns is the welfare
of people, which consists of considerations regarding sanitation, efficiency,
protection and the use of the environment along with the effects on economic
and social activities. It’s safe to say that urban planning is an
interdisciplinary field that includes science, social studies, and engineering.
It can closely be linked to things like designing streets, buildings, parks,
and other urban areas.
Situated in Syracuse, NY, the Erie Canal
Museum is dedicated to the 1850 National Register Weighlock Building, which is
an excellent structure of its kind. Some time ago, I planned to visit this
museum along with a couple of friends. We reached there by the set time and
began exploring the museum as well as its artworks instantly. Basically, the
Erie Canal Museum tells the incredible story of the Erie Canal. We enjoyed a
puppet show there and had a great time together. What attracted my friends and
me the most toward this museum was its Weighlock Gallery.
An exhibition titled The Mohawk Valley
through the Lens was being held there on that day. It attracted a large number
of Europeans and Canadians to New York and had numerous artifacts and images in
its display. It mainly showcased the works belonging to the 19th and 20th
centuries and had a lot to get amazed with. The concept of urban planning was
evident here, as we could see how people used to establish and maintain their
settlements in the past and what types of things they used to buy to facilitate
themselves as well as their family members. While exploring the museum and its
art galleries, I was brought back to the time when the Erie Canal opened the
Midwest to settlement. Before the construction of the Erie Canal, various
Americans were pinned between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.
The canal provided them with direct water and triggered large-scale emigration
to the sparsely populated frontiers of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and
New York.
Before the opening of this museum, it was
challenging for people to know what the history of Eric Canal is. In its
display centers, especially in the Museum Exhibit area, a large number of
paintings and artworks have been placed that tell us about the relationship
between globalization and urban development. I got a chance to click some
photographs there, but the following photos are among my favorites.
The pictures make me understand that before
the opening of the Erie Canal, New Orleans was the only port city with a single
water route to the interior of America. A handful of settlers reached from the
South to the Midwest. The new immigrants of New York, Europe, and New England
were said to be bringing their abolitionist views with them to the Midwest
states. In one way or the other, they contributed to the progress and wellbeing
of these newly developed states. Instead of opting for ordinary or old ways of
living their lives, they tried new techniques and came up with unique ideas of
how to be globalized in a short time.
These days, urban planners can be found
working closely with architects, public administrators, and civil engineers.
However, the situation was not the same in the past, when things used to be
simple yet more decent than what we see around us nowadays. Today, urban
planning has become an independent, separate professional discipline with a lot
of methods and techniques being introduced to the world. Some of its sub-fields
are land-use planning, economic development, transportation planning, zoning,
and environmental planning.
During my time in this museum, I found that
most of the things belonging to ancient times were replaced by better and
advanced things, and this is how the urban areas transformed and how the
Midwest states started flourishing. It is the Erie Canal that transformed New
York City into the commercial capital of the United States. Various such
stories have been told in the form of paintings and artworks displayed in
different sections of the Erie Canal Museum. Some of the technical aspects of
urban planning that were clear from the artworks present in this museum were
urban designs, natural resources, infrastructure, and transportation. We were
given an idea of how to predict population growth, how to map a geographical
location, how to analyze the space of a park, how to identify different
transpiration patterns, and how to survey the water supply.
In conclusion, I learned a lot from the
museum, especially how New York City’s environment was transformed and
digitalized with time. Today, New Yorkers have access to a large number of
facilities and comforts, and this city has become the main port of entry for
European immigrants. By the evening, we returned home, and I would never forget
the time spent at the Erie Canal Museum.
