Over time, my neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn appears practically identical now to what it was in the 1920s. Since the ’20s, it has remained a dense area with small closely packed residential and commercial buildings. The only notable difference I observe is the demolition of a building to build Rappaport Park near the Fort Hamilton Parkway. This change occurred sometime after the 1950s and before the 1990s. However, my old neighborhood of Dongan Hills, Staten Island tells a very different story. In the 1920s, the land in my immediate neighborhood seems completely untouched. A bit to the left on the map, I observe triangular and square-shaped borders, likely the division of farmland, as the wetlands of Staten Island make it very fertile for agriculture. As I move into the 1950s, more rectangular borders appear, resembling the current streets in Staten Island. However, unlike today there is a large absence of buildings, so perhaps at this point, this land was still being used agriculturally rather than residentially. In the 90s, the map then appears practically identical to today, with rows of houses appearing perhaps in response to growing populations in New York causing the need to move into Staten Island, but without the wetlands fully disappearing. Unlike in my Brooklyn neighborhood, where there is basically no trace of the natural environment, large areas of wetlands still remain today in Staten Island, as they are nature conservation. I have walked by these preserved wetland areas before, and while they are not used for agriculture, they are very dense with natural landscapes such as ponds, rivers, tall grasses, and animals such as ducks. I have researched these areas in the past, and have found that these areas are important for preventing flooding to residential and commercial areas in case of storms, which is likely why they still remain.

In comparing my partner and I’s maps, we found them both to be extremely different despite them both including close-by parts of Brooklyn. My map started off similar to hers, with clear geometric, sharp borders outlining our streets and the stores and areas around it. However, the difference stems from my realization having just moved a week ago that I do not know my new neighborhood very well and from my want to include my old neighborhood in Staten Island to counter this issue. While my partner’s map remained rigid and detailed, my map became more abstract and fluid. I showed the route to Staten Island very vaguely and loosely outlined my neighborhood and surrounding areas. This difference can also be attributed to the fact that Staten Island is not as strictly graphically mapped out as Brooklyn is due to the previously mentioned wetland’s presence.