biking down royal st.

One of the most ironic features of the city of New Orleans, yet unique, is the mix of different cultures in a single cluster, neighborhood, or street. This feature gives me a sense of being in different societies by just riding my bike down one single route- Royal Street - that cuts from the Bywater area through Faubourg Marigny to the French Quarter. According to Greenbie, in his article Village Space: Fences and Neighborhoods, he states, “…my hypothesis is that the most clearly bounded areas will tend to attract people who actively seek homogeneity, who are already disposed toward small communities, such as ethnic groups, to the degree that their desire for cultural cohesion overrides other needs and objectives.” I find this theory is valid and embedded in my journey through Royal Street. Personally, it is the interaction with the people in these three neighborhoods that gives me the sense of being in different places.

I start my journey by packing a camera and a notebook, and riding my bike through Royal Street. Actually before I start my journey I ask my neighbor the street or boundaries that separate these three neighborhoods. I am told that the boundary of the Bywater area starts from Poland Avenue and ends at Press Street, and so I ride my bike to the corner of Royal Street and Poland Avenue. Riding from Poland Avenue to Piety Street, I notice that the buildings have the same external physical look. Some of them share the characters of being old and not well maintained. Others share the same building type like “shot-gun” houses. Furthermore, some share an extreme color on the outside walls, like blue, red, purple, etc. According to the Bywater Neighborhood Association most of the buildings are single story but are raised well above grade, and therefore I find that they share approximately the same height. I also find that the fences that surround the houses in this area are pretty high. Some houses place a pin-like trim on top and around their fences. As a result, I think that the people do not feel totally secure. Even though, it is a negative thing, I find it architecturally intriguing. It gives the fences a three dimensional depth and also it provides the fences with more texture.

I stop by Frady’s, a local market on Piety Street, to get a Po-Boy. While waiting for my food, I talk to a couple people who are also waiting for their food. And I figure out that the most fascinating thing I find about this neighborhood is its people. They are family to each other. They are family to strangers, like me. I base this statement on real experience with those people. For instance, when I walk in Frady’s the owner, Kark Frady, always asks me about my day. He also asks me what kind of food I like, so he would cook it for me. He says, “You are new here in New Orleans, and I want to make you feel home.” He makes me feel like I am member of this neighborhood or rather a member of a big family in this neighborhood. Once I finish eating my food, I head back to Royal Street. I notice a number of people walking their dog along me in the same direction. When I got to the corner of Royal and Piety Street, I see a park to my left. It is a dog park. People use this park as a social center to walk their dog, and also as a space to hold different events ranging from food to art to music.

Next, I continue riding my bike towards Faubourg Marigny. I was told that it starts from Press Street and ends on Esplanade. When I got closer to the rail road, the buildings on both my sides begin to recede. It seems like I am entering a new space, and yes indeed I just pass Press Street entering Faubourg Marigny. The buildings in this area are more likely the same in the Bywater. The different that I noticed is the height of the fence. It wasn’t as high, so I figure the people here feel more secure. Unlike the Bywater fences, people here decorate their fences with Mardi Grass beads. There are also more local businesses in this area, and so it seems more active and therefore nosier. There are more people walking on the side walks as well as more automobiles passing by the road.

Before crossing Elysian Fields Avenue, I see a ceramic art store to the left. The back yard of this store carries a set of beautiful ceramic works. It also has a number of wood ponds that contains elephant ears leaves and white lilies. The mixture of ceramic works and natural plants in this back yard brings a new setting to the area. It brightens up the area with natural plants. And when I cross Elysian Fields Avenue, I see another park called Washington Square. This time, I take a seat on the bench and rest my bike to my left. I look around the park; the paths are cleaner, and the grass is mowed. It seems that the government maintains this park more as supposed to Markey in the Bywater

After that, I go on towards Esplanade. As soon as I merge left on Royal Street, I see the towers at the end of the street. Again, I figure that I am entering the Vieux Carre or the French Quarter. The buildings in this area appear to be more significant because they are well decorated. The balconies are trimmed with an artwork of iron. Another noticeable feature in this area is the plantings on the balconies. It looks as if the people here are restricted to not plant on the street, and therefore they decide to plant on their balconies. The streets are packed with cars and trucks. In fact I have a difficult time maneuvering with my bike in the French Quarter. It is the most active zone within the three neighborhoods that I cross.

Riding furthermore into the French Quarter, I notice that this street is filled with art galleries. In fact I refer to these few blocks as the Art Blocks. It has a wide range of different art types: glass, ceramic, paint, etc. I also notice that the people in this area are of two types: the tourists visiting the city of New Orleans and the locals running their businesses. For that reason I feel that I am an outsider because everyone is trying to mind his or her own business and there is no sense of connectivity.

Despite the fact that people define boundaries by the physical look of the buildings, I find that it is just a minor part of it. In the words of Greenbie, “I will consider the formation of cultural groups as the human social expression of the universal tendency of things in nature to form clusters of like entities, which are thereby distinguishable from different entities.” In my view, the big part of defining a neighborhood is its people. It is the cluster of these different groups in one area that gives them unique characteristics of their own and defines their zone within the community.