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Cody Valdez
Professor Havey
English 114B
16 February 2014
My Perfect City
Have you ever had a dream about a perfect city? I always wondered what it would be
like to create my ideal city. I wondered how my city would function and what would make my
city so great compared to others. My city would have the physical look of New York but the
beautiful monuments of Italy. One of my citys attributes would be trust. I would want to be
able to go to the store and leave my whole house unlocked, and come back to nothing stolen or
my house being violated. There would never be any traffic and the law enforcement would
never stoop to the level of police brutality and will protect the citizens at all cost. Also my city
would not be overpopulated, but instead would be a decent size with a great night life. There
will be a lot of entertainment such as professional athletic organizations. My perfect city would
have many job opportunities with each job providing full benefits. Most cities lack certain
qualities. Some of those qualities may be job opportunities and a thriving economy. Some cities
have just fallen apart, and are no longer functioning at a level that they once were. I believe that
with my concepts of a perfect city, the world would function at a more efficient level because
there would be trust and an understanding of what a true perfect city needs.
For me the number one aspect that would make my city perfect would be trust among the
citizens. This would be the biggest aspect because living in todays society it is hard to trust
anyone. Individuals nowadays are very selfish and do things out of the pure idea that it will
benefit them. One of the main reasons why people help others is because they are getting
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something in return. If you had trust you would believe that the person helping you is doing it
for the right reasons and not for something in return. When you lack trust in others your stress
levels go up and that can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Also lack of trust can lead to anxiety
making you over think situations and eventually lead into a downward spiral of hopelessness.
Being able to trust one another would alleviate so many unhealthy lifestyles and would overall
lead to a better society. When you go for a job interview now, they always ask about past
felonies or crimes and eventually check the interviewees criminal record. The interviewer lacks
a sense of trust with the interviewee which is completely understandable, but there is already a
pre-judgment. If everyone told the truth and gained others trust, there should be a huge stress
relief. With the different types of ethnicities and races, people tend to stereotype others which
can also lead to the lack of the ability to trust. Stereotyping leads to a scared and untrustworthy
society which eventually leads the society into a downward path.
Another characteristic of my perfect city would be a better law enforcement. Most
citizens have a negative look on the police force and just want nothing to do with law
enforcement. There have been many accounts of people reporting police brutality in todays
society and it is a shame and negative perspective towards law enforcement. There was a recent
account of police brutality on November 7, 2013. In Selmer Tennessee, prosecutors say a
former police officer has been sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for violating the
civil rights of an arrestee. He pled guilty to slamming a handcuffed arrestee to the floor of a
hospital and striking him in the face (Tim Lynch). The police force also brings a load of fear
and anxiety into the lives of many people causing them to break down and lose their sense of
sanity. The law enforcement in my city will be loyal and not have a bad reputation. The police
in our society would not have a bad reputation of stereotyping individuals. For example if an
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individual in LA is an African American male walking down the street with a bandana, Raiders
jacket on, and sagging his pants the police officer would feel threatened and assume hes a gang
member or trouble seeker. In my perfect city there would not be any stereotyping and everyone
would be treated equally. By doing this the police force would regain their positive reputation
and regain the trust of the society. There have also been incidents where cops have been caught
for being dirty which means working with convicts and doing deeds for them essentially
giving the world the perspective that he is on the good side. My law enforcement in my city
would be loyal and not have anything to do with being crooked. With a perfect police force, the
crime will stay down, regain peoples trust, and will create equality within the society.
The next big aspect of my perfect city would be population control. In my urban studies
class we watched a video on cities with populated societies. What I saw shocked me and made
me want to have a smaller population for my perfect city. What we watched was what happens
when people in overly populated areas begin to become numb to society. People when in a
crowded society, tend to numb out their emotions and just worry about themselves. The only
thing people worry about in a crowded society is finishing their task at hand and they make sure
that no one gets in the way and disturbs their day. Also they tend to lose touch with society and
even themselves. They begin to think as if they are the only ones on the go in spite of the fact
that thousands of others are around them thinking the same thing. They get into depressive states
and even begin to shut off their personal life eventually leaving them a lonely individual. Being
in an overly populated area, you also begin to add levels of stress. Another quality that is
affected from overpopulation is the air quality. I was reading an article and they said in many
regions of the country, childhood asthma rates have risen dramatically in the past 20 years. The
problems are not limited to the industrialized countries with their automobiles and factories.
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Children in undeveloped countries, where people depend on burning wood and dung for their
heat and cooking, are also at risk ( Overpopulation: Environmental and Social Problems).
When you have overpopulation you tend to have more health issues due to unsanitary conditions.
It does not only effect children, but even adults tend to have respiratory issues when there is
overpopulation occurring. When you have a lower population resources are distributed more
equally amongst the population. Overpopulation is a big aspect of a city and having the right
amount of residents can be the deal breaker between a good city and a perfect city.
Entertainment is a good way to give people a way to escape their tough days and take a
step away from their everyday life. Going out is a scapegoat for most people so they can take a
step back from reality for a while. The main source of entertainment in my city would be
professional athletic organizations. According to my research, professional sports teams do have
some effect on the public. They said that sports teams are important institutions within a city or
region. They help connect people with places, and through this loyalty an important sense of
civic pride is born. Furthermore, sports are a multi-billion dollar industry which produces
revenues that can help individuals and communities prosper (Sports Stadiums + Public
Subsidies). Professional sports teams help connect people in a way to where they become
familiar with their area. They also gain a sense of pride because their city is being represented.
Not only does it benefit the residents, but it also benefits the entire city because it also brings in
income to the city. Also with these stadiums and professional sports teams coming into a city,
people need to operate and maintain the stadium which means more jobs for the public. It also
teaches the importance of team work by allowing individuals to work with others for a greater
cause for their city.
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The last major aspect of my perfect city would have to be job opportunities. When I said
before how my perfect city would have a low population, you are probably wondering why I
would need so many job opportunities. One of the reasons why I would have many job
opportunities is because not all of the residents have a great education, but they should still have
a job to work and stay in the city of their dreams. The pay would be great and they would not
need to much education. To work in a professional sports team stadium, you do not need an
education to serve someone a hot dog or sell tickets. As long as you have a great attitude and
good people skills, you can get a job and be successful at it. Not to mention, whatever job you
do get in my city, will provide full benefits. This would not only make people happy, but they
would want to get a job just so they know that their family will be taken care of.
My idea of a perfect city may be different than others, but that is why it is perfect to me.
A lot might say that I forgot about education, but not everyone can afford education, and not
everyone wants to go to school. Some just are not mentally strong enough to handle school, but
they should still have an opportunity to be successful and support their family. I believe I have a
great idea of what my perfect city would consist of and hopefully sometime in the near future
some of my aspects would combine into one city.







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Works Cited
Lynch, Tim. "PoliceMisconduct.net | The Cato Institute's National Police Misconduct Reporting
Project." PoliceMisconductnet. CATO Institute, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"Overpopulation: Environmental and Social Problems." Effects of Overpopulation on the
Environment and Society. Institute for Population Studies, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
"Sports Stadiums + Public Subsidies." Untitled Document. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.