A.P. Classport

A Trip to Baldwin Park

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Twas a beautiful Sunday morning when Judi Legler and Devon Arcuri traveled out to Baldwin Park to investigate the reasoning behind this mystery we call urbanization.

Some observations that caught my eye were the closeness of the houses. These poor people barely had yards in effort to make room for other homes in this community. The yards were very well maintained, every one trimmed and mowed to perfection! The people walking by were mostly families. A beautiful lake marks the edge of one side of Baldwin Park. However, right next to the location of the lake, a whole shopping center lays! People live in walking distance to restaurants, pharmacies, and even a martial arts school. Most of the community consisted of townhouses. The driveways were behind the houses! (Shown to the right) This was a surprise but then Devon and I realized that, just like we'll do anything it takes to look beautiful, these houses will do anything. Even put driveways behind their homes in effort to increase the beauty! However, I noticed there was no hospital or clinic in case of emergency. There was only one place to worship, a Baptist church that was having its grand opening the day we arrived. Where did the citizens go to worship before? Where do other religions go? This was unfair to me. It seemed like a place with a variety of people. considering there were all sorts of homes here, from old-southern styled to grand Victorian. I just don't understand why only a Baptist church is present. Besides that, Baldwin Park seemed very nice.

While trying to decipher why this community was here, instead of any other places in Florida, some ideas I came up with were that not only was it close to some of the best schools in Florida (i.e. Glenridge Middle School, Winter Park High) but it was also a short and simple drive to downtown Orlando. This is convenient for those hard workers out there.

Looking at my interview with Ms. Denise D. Rapp, a relater and owner of a large section of Baldwin Park, I can analyze that this is a safer place than the city, it is very family oriented and the jobs are close. It's close to the city, but not in the city, which makes it safe and easy to work and live here. The layout of the community has many city homes and has shops. Baldwin Park is known as "A City within a City".

Baldwin park is located here because of its safe location, easy traveling distance to the city, and great schools. According to the Baldwin Park Neighborhood Guide, the neighborhood is less than 10 minutes from downtown Orlando, Winter Park, museums, theaters, sports events, and medical centers. The Neighborhood Guide also explains that there are over 1700 homes and 1000 apartments built. Over 6000 people live in this beautiful community and there are so many different kinds of businesses right in the neighborhood that people could work at. The guide says that there are over 75 businesses right in the neighborhood!

Comparing this neighborhood to my own, I found that there are no shops anywhere in walking distance to my neighborhood. The houses in my neighborhood are a lot smaller, and a whole lot cheaper. However, the yards are huge here and there is a larger portion of space between the homes. Mostly, in my neighborhood, people keep to themselves, while in Baldwin Park everyone is like a big family. The roads here are wider and garages are in the front of the homes. The houses in my neighborhood were built 1960s style, while in Baldwin Park, the houses are brand new. Personally, I'd much rather live in Baldwin! It's a beautiful and friendly place to live.

So together, on our journey, Devon and I discovered that Baldwin Park is a place for everyone! It's a short distance from "everything you may ever need" (Denise D. Rapp). And it is constantly growing. That's urbanization for you: a never-ending growth of working people together in one community.

A house being built: