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I have lived in the wonderful city of Charlotte, North
Carolina my whole life. There are many different neighborhoods within
this big, southern city of Charlotte. The different neighborhoods that I
represented are Ballantyne, South Park, Myers Park, Dilworth, South End, Plaza
Midwood, and NoDa. All of these neighborhoods have very different
identities and many different people live within these culturally diverse
neighborhoods.
The Ballantyne area of Charlotte is a newly developed area
of town. Just recently it was farm area, now it's filled with great
shopping and lots of corporate areas. This area of town is known to have
what's called "new money." These are people who didn't grow up
with money and trust funds and have reached success on their own. Many of
the residents live in Ballantyne Country Club.
Many people recognize the name South Park because of the
mall. This is a very upscale area of town that has
a prestigious shopping mall and is also the largest business and
residential neighborhood in Charlotte.
Myers Park has the most prestigious addresses in
Charlotte. This area of town is known to have "old money."
These people grew up with money and have trust funds. The streets
of Myers Park are lined with gorgeous Oak Trees and the houses are big and
beautiful.
The Dilworth area seems like it's own little town within
the city of Charlotte. It is a historic area filled with Bungalow style
homes. There are many diverse shops and restaurants in the area.
This area is filled with many young families.
South End is another historic neighborhood right around
the corner from Dilworth. This neighborhood has a very relaxed
atmosphere. It is filled with awesome furniture and antique shops.
Many events are hosted in this very innovative part of town.
The most ethnically and socially diverse area of Charlotte
is Plaza Midwood. This neighborhood definitely has that cool-city living
feel to it. Plaza Midwood definitely has a rough and not so good area of
town but it is also the home of Charlotte Country Club, which is the
most prestigious country club in all of Charlotte.
NoDa is short for North Davidson Street. This
Bohemian chic area of town has a lot of funky galleries and performance venues.
Many people perform on the street corners and there are many artsy people
who live in this area. This area of Charlotte isn't your typical southern
neighborhood.
There are definitely parts of Charlotte that I don’t know
much about and that is because I never venture there, or outside of my comfort
zone for that matter. One of these
neighborhoods for example is West Charlotte.
Being that I’m from Charlotte, I have heard that West Charlotte isn’t
the best side of town. There is a lot of
crime that takes place in this area and I don’t want to be a part of that. People that come out of this area may be
perceived as troublemakers, but that very well may not be true. There definitely are many misconceptions
about people’s identities just because of the neighborhood that they grew up
in. Many times these identities are
falsely placed on individuals and it’s not fair to them.
Charlotte has a population of 751,087 and many of these
people don’t live in these neighborhoods.
I live in an area of south Charlotte that is in the middle of Ballantyne
and Myers Park. There are many areas
just like where I live that aren’t as affluent, yet they still fit perfectly
into the great city of Charlotte. Just
like the neighborhoods of Charlotte, many individuals don’t have the identity
of the popular cheerleader, jock, or nerd but they still seem to fit perfectly
into their environment.
Charlotte is a very large city and there are many
different types of neighborhoods that make it what it is and that build its
identity. Many people connect identity to people and who they are but I
have connected identity to neighborhoods in a big city. According to the
article Social Identity Theory and the Organization, people tend to classify
themselves and others into various social categories. These social categories
are definitely represented in Charlotte. People in Myers Park are
definitely known for having gobs and gobs of money and many of them are doctors
or they work at the big banks downtown. In this article it states that
"A person is assigned the prototypical characteristics of the category to
which he or she is classified." (Ashforth, and Mael 20-39). The people that live in these neighborhoods
are characterized based on where they live. These people maybe wealthy
bankers or guitar playing free spirits. I always wonder where these
identities came from. Who decided that one day that these neighborhoods
had a certain identity and who came up with these identities? I have
lived in Charlotte for 19 years and the identities haven't changed. People
of these identities are drawn to that specific neighborhood. I wonder
what would happen is somebody tried to disrupt and conform these neighborhoods
that have remained consistent for so long.
Ashforth, Blake, and Fred
Mael. "Social Identity Theory and the Organization." Academy of
Management Review. 14.1 (Jan., 1989): 20-39. Print.
