¶ … college sophomore student, U.S.A. I taking SOC100 (Introduce sociology) semester. I writing assignment called 'Reflection' Below guides write reflection: Reflections: Reflections textbook chapter due fulfilling requirements: -2-page, typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. Reflection paper:

Maintaining the momentum behind New York City's sustainability initiatives

According to Steven Cohen's article "Maintaining the momentum behind New York City's sustainability initiatives," as one of the dominant global cities of the developed world, New York is striving to set an example for other cities (including less developed cities and nations) by emphasizing sustainability in terms of its new constructions. Mayor Bloomberg was concerned that his successor might be swayed on the course he had set as mayor to create a sustainable New York. Thus, "Local Law 17 of 2008, enacted by the City Council with the Mayor's support, requires that PlaNYC be updated every four years... The Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, created in 2006 and charged with developing and implanting PlaNYC, will lead the effort to update the plan" (Cohen, 2013). Creating a more sustainable New York is now written into law.

This acknowledged need for sustainability in one of the major financial...

In previous eras, cities were relatively enclosed entities. However, today we have seen the creation of supremely interconnected global cities: cities are major hubs of commerce, transportation, and technology. Modern, global cities like New York, London, and Tokyo house financial services firms and are places where financial instruments are "bought, sold, or otherwise disposed of" (Giddens et al. 445). This is in contrast to primarily manufacturing-based city economies such as Detroit, which have grown less important over the years. This new emphasis on financial services and technologies has created greater asymmetries of income: manufacturing, service, and traditional blue-collar jobs pay less well than they did in previous eras while financial service jobs pay more. With wealth has come a shrinking public space as the rich want to isolate themselves from the poor (Giddens et al. 446). The amount of affordable housing is decreasing, too, as there is greater pandering in the housing market to the well-off.
Application

Until recently, urbanization was largely a phenomenon of the developed world, while the developing world was largely characterized as rural. However, there has been a population shift and an explosion of the urbanization in the developing world. By 2025, an estimated 70% of the world…