Entry #9: Field Trip to Downtown Ft. Myers

       For our third field trip, my class took a trip to Downtown Fort. Myers.  It was very exciting to be learning the history of Ft. Myers and to see pictures of areas we were currently in from many years beforehand.  I loved walking up and down the city streets, and viewing the water in the Calusahatchee was the perfect ending to the day, even though it had started out a little wet when we started the trip.  The place in the city that made me feel most comfortable and energized was by the water.  It was very beautiful to see the buildings highlighted by the setting sun as well as the looking out into the distance over the river.  It is peaceful there, but also lively as there are many boats in the marina and people riding by on their bicycles next to the dock.  The urban landscape that we witnessed on this field trip was very exciting, and not calming at all.
          Everywhere you look, you see people moving and walking all the time, as though everyone has somewhere important to be.  It almost makes you feel as if you need to get going to places and doing different things as well.  The areas in the city that are without plants and greenery definitely feel much harsher than the areas with plants.  The green that stands out among the concrete buildings is comforting and soothing to the eye, and it adds a feeling of peace.  However, when walking around downtown, I noticed that there were not a lot of parks in the urban environment.  There was a very small park filled with palm trees that was quite lovely, but even though there may be more wildlife in this one area, overall I did not really see evidence of wildlife in the urban spaces.  I really feel a connection to the city as it has such an energizing feeling to it.  I do enjoy to be in open spaces, with only nature as far as the eye can see, but there is just a powerful and awe-inspiring feeling to city life and the hustle and bustle of it all.  It is as if it has its own persona and character.

       A large amount of city space is actually devoted to vehicles.  There are several parking garages where one can leave their vehicles, as well as lots and streets in which people will park along.  Garages cost the most to park as it is one dollar per hour to park there (with a limit of five dollars per day), and the cheapest is that in some area parking lots you can park for free, but only for a couple of hours.  The largest generator of parking need would be for the many people who commute and work in the area as there are many law offices, and large corporate buildings.  Certain businesses will arrange to share parking as there is a limited amount of space and it it easier to do this.  For example, a government building might use a certain parking lot for its employees during the week, and then on Sundays, that lot may be used by a nearby church for its members. 

       The most convenient mass transit in the area would likely be the bus system.  In all likelihood, I would probably not use it as it would take more time than it would to use a car. I would definitely use a mass transit system, however, if it were in a place where it would be advantageous to take mass transit over the use of a personal vehicle.  There are different shopping malls and strip developments that have appeared along the highways that bypass the city, and these take a lot of potential business away from the cities.  With more opportunities to go to mega-chain stores, people don't need to go into the city to buy what they need from local businesses.  Therefore, a lot of money that could be put into the city and local business is being used elsewhere, and this hurts the city's economic lifeblood.  Before mega-stores, most people in cities would go down to their local grocery store, but now that huge chains have opened up nearby, there is less money being spent in local businesses.  This is a problem that doesn't occur just in Fort Myers, but everywhere, as people are attracted to the discounted prices (even though this may mean discounted value as well) and ease of access to strip developments and chain stores.

       Overall, this field trip was a wonderful experience and I had a great time during it.  I hope that I will be able to go back downtown soon for any upcoming events that are occurring in the area.  It was interesting to have learned how downtown Ft. Myers has changed so much from long ago up until now, and yet some buildings look like they haven't changed at all.

All of the pictures in this blog post are from http://www.picturesfrom.com/fort-myers/

Some of the information that was included in this post was learned from http://www.cityftmyers.com/