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 very newly developed area of town. Just recently it was just 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 young families.
South End is another historic neighborhood right around the corner from Dilworth. This neighborhood is 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.
Charlotte is a very large city and their 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 is states that "A person is assigned the prototypical characteristics of the category to which he or she is classified." The people that live in these neighborhoods are characterized based on where they live. These 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 cam up with these identities. I have lived in Charlotte for 19 years and the identities haven't changed. People of those 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.
Social Identity Theory and the Organization
The Academy of Management Review , Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan., 1989), pp. 20-39
Tanner, this was a very creative idea, I like how you used each individual area to explain the differences in the people that live there.
ReplyDeleteI like how you broke one city into its various communities. This definitely shows how diverse something can be, despite how it is categorized.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in south charlotte since I was 13. I think that these were all very good descriptions of the areas that you listed. Very interesting idea to go through all of these different areas and give your own views on what you thought of them.
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