For our second walkabout, we chose to visit the edges of the city. On Thursday, October 27, we went up to the Bonneville Shoreline trail, which is on the foothills of the mountains.
(Group members from left to right: Lisa Homel, Kaitie Jowers, Kristan Farnsworth, Hailey Hanson, and Alysa Masquelier)
This is a very defined edge of Salt Lake City because it is the last manmade thing before the mountains. After this trail, there is nothing but wilderness. The Bonneville Shoreline trail is the edge between wilderness and the city, making it a very effective edge. It is a definitive ending of the city and beginning of wilderness. Also, this edge is linear with the city, and follows both the lines of the mountains and the lines of the city. As "Image of the City" by Kevin Lynch discusses, this edge is a barrier of the city which "[closes] one region off from another" (Lynch 47).
As also discussed in "Image of the City," the Bonneville Shoreline trail functions not only as an edge, but also as a path. It is used for a variety of activities, such as biking, hiking, running, etc. I also have often seen people walking their dogs on the trail. It is a well-kept trail with many signs, including trailmarkers, warning signs, etc. According to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail's website (http://www.bonnevilleshorelinetrail.org/), this trail is constantly being added on and improved, and it is expected to expand to 280 miles of trail. It is a great place to exercise and especially to see amazing views of the city.
We walked along the trail until we got to the Block U on the mountain. It is a very scenic trail and you can clearly see the rest of the city. Like we did on the first day of class when we went to Rice Eccles Stadium and looked at the layout of the city, on the trail it is very easy to examine the city and its layout. You can see landmarks, like the Capitol and the LDS Temple, paths, such as the grid pattern that Salt Lake City follows, etc. Also, from this edge of the city, you can see the other edges of the city. While the Bonneville Shoreline trail is the most prominent edge of Salt Lake City, there are other edges that are not hard to find.
Alysa Masquelier went to the Bonneville Shoreline trail at night, and loved the views of the city. She reported to us that seeing the city at night with all the lights was an incredible site. As showed by the picture below, you can see other edges of the city even easier at night.
While a case can easily be made for each walkabout from "Image of the City," we feel that edges are the most important. Without clear edges, like Salt Lake City has, we believe that the city will not feel connected. If the city just expands without limits, it will be harder for the people of the city to feel that they are part of a whole and it will be harder to build a strong community. Also, we feel that the mountains mean a lot to those living in Salt Lake City, and makes people feel at home and like they understand the area. Edges are a very important part of a cohesive city.
We loved getting to go on a beautiful hike for our walkabout and see some incredible views of the city. We enjoyed learning more about and discussing edges, and we understand a lot more about edges and their importance now.
