Brookside Park a biography of a suburban place
Date
2011
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This study was a landscape biography of Brookside Park, a suburban
community in New Castle County, Delaware. The primary objective of this study was
to document the changes to the landscape of Brookside Park over six decades and to
create a biographical account of both the neighborhood and its residents. The second
objective of this study was to draw attention to the importance of individual
perceptions and misconceptions in the decision-making processes of landscape actors.
The biography of Brookside Park focused upon qualitative interviews with
residents of Brookside who had lived or did live in the neighborhood at the time of
study. The work was executed in the theoretical framework of vernacular landscape
study and most importantly the biographical approach to landscape. The study
revealed that the landscape of Brookside Park, including the homes, recreational
spaces and social scene had all changed considerably. Many changes to the landscape
were found to be linked into a pattern of resident apathy sparked by an initial retreat
from neighborhood. When comparing the primary sources and the accounts of the
interviewees, this study found that resident perceptions of their neighbors and the
nature Brookside Park were the largest influence on their decision-making.