Jordy: Times Square Died or Alive?

Cultural Meltdown?

I felt that most interesting discussion between the two articles was the questionning of preservation and fear of the present.

In the first article, the concept of tourism was explored to question the construction of the space/time conditions. In it there is the question of what is being preserved and how by the commodification of views and places. However, in the second article it seems to be the reverse condition in that there is a fear of what a place is becoming. A section of New York is being turned into a highly commodified space by a corporate elite. In this case, the historical past is not preferred for its seedy underside if pimps and whore, but the corporate present isn't preferred either for its transformation of a place into a whorish place for tourist dollars.

Why isn’t this still the New York experience? Why isn’t this an authentic experience of New York? It seems to me that the construction of Times Square seems to be stronger representation of what is occurring is contemporary culture, then other areas of New York. Times Squar reflects the multi-media, hyper speed, and corporate culture that effects so much of our lives. Isn't this a greater representation of New York, then the serenity of Central Park? Doesn't Central Park seem more like a constructed image of New York amidst its urban chaos? Why aren't these preserved areas of cultural past questionned for their relevance?