Ithaca to me seems like only an effervescent locality in my life, a land where after four years I will not be stepping on. In my schema, when I think of Ithaca I think of Collegetown, the gorges, and Cornell Campus. Other than that I can only think of the New England style houses. I seldom gave thought to Ithaca the city, the place where many people call home.

During this talk I learned that Ithaca is a city that draws more than commuters from more than 14 different surrounding counties. I learned that Ithaca is actually a magnet for both workers as well as people who would like to call it their permanent home. However, there is a problem for the city in terms of allocating new housing in the city, where it is already reaching its maximum capacity and has little to no room left. This makes the cost of living very high, and so naturally the percentage of people in Tompkins county who live in Ithaca has decreased from 50% to 30%. The city needs to make Ithaca an attractive place to live.

Part of the solution to attraction is to make room for housing near the plazas where Wegmans is. This would allow more people to move into Ithaca. Another factor to consider is the makeover of this plaza, transforming it from a not-so-aesthetic place to a more attractive plaza. This brings me to the point that in Collegetown, the cost of living has been rising because of high rent. This is something that affects the rest of Ithaca. This is something that shapes the landscape of Ithaca. I had not realized how much we constantly need to adjust for the changes in infrastructure.

My awareness has grown so much since I attended this event. I have realized that Ithaca is always and constantly changing. We must accommodate for all of the incomers who want to enjoy the city with the highest number of waterfalls in a ten mile radius.