Urban Decay

Urban Decay effects many cities. Though Gainesville was awarded one of the best places to retire, live and play, it is also a city with poverty and urban decay. Walking along the streets of Gainesville, one can see many abandoned buildings, broken homes, and graffitied walls. Poverty is prevailent in many areas. There are definite defined spaces within Gainesville where professors and professionals live versus the poor.

Most travel sites show the beautiful aspects of a ciy even though poverty can be found adjacent to tourist destinations. One example is Jamaica where there are specific travel destinations. The more shabby parts of town are hidden away and often not easily accesible by tourists. Through our "website" we are exposing the urban decay that surrounds the wealthy center of the city of Gainesville, the University of Florida. Like a traditional traveler's guide website, our site shows places to eat, sleep, explore and shop. Within each category we provide information pertaining to each subject. We are promoting urban decay sites just as traditional travel sites promote their beautiful, Disney-esque areas.

The postcards also show urban decay when traditionally postcards show ideal snapshots of a site. These postcards incorporate traditional postcard phrases such as "Welcome" or "Wish you were here." The "Urban Decay Nation" and "Home of the Arts" quotes plays off of the University of Florida slogans, "the gator nation" and "home of the gators" to place the images in context.

Through the website and postcards, we hope to show that urban decay can be found in just about any city. Though gentrification is one means of solving the problem, it is not perfect as urban decay tends to be fixed up in one area but then begins in another. Urban decay cannot be hidden away as tourism websites do and should be addressed by the public as a problem that should be solved.