2019年5月25日土曜日

2019年5月25日土曜日 -

Matthew: All About Davis, California


I come from a city called Davis, which is located in Northern California. Davis may not be a very famous city, and it's definitely not a big city, but I believe that it's a unique and special place.

Davis began as a farming community in the second half of the 1800s, became the home of the newly established University of California (UC) University Farm in 1908, and was incorporated as a city in 1917. That was more than a century ago, so we can imagine how much has changed, and explore what has remained the same.

Davis began as an agricultural, or farming, school, where students came only to study subjects related to agriculture. Over the years, the school has grown and expanded its focus quite a lot, truly becoming a top level university (with thirty thousand students) that excels in many different fields such as plant science, veterinary science, and medicine. So where do most of the students, professors, and staff live? They live in Davis! Universities are famous for being centers of culture, and even though Davis is a small city, it is no exception. Let me explain a couple of fun and important contributions Davis has made to California and the United States.
The 1970s was an important time in Davis, the city and university were growing, and city leaders and residents were asking some important questions about the future. Should we grow the city as big as possible? Where should we shop? How should we move around the city? Perhaps because of its beginning as a small and conservative farming community, the people of Davis (and UC Davis) chose to try and preserve their local small town atmosphere. They chose, famously, to reject growth and embrace the use of bicycles more aggressively than any other American city at the time. Davis actually installed the first bike lane in the country, and then encouraged people to move around town by bike. This was different than basically anywhere else in the country, and Davis was proud to be unique. Still today, you can see bicycles everywhere you go, and everyone in town accepts this as the local reality.

The other important contribution was connected to farming. The Davis Farmers' Market opened in the 1970s and has grown to become an extremely important part of the community. It's not only the place where many residents come together to buy local fruits and vegetables, it actually serves as a social environment where people meet, eat food, and listen to music. About ten years ago, the Davis Farmers' Market was chosen as the best farmers' market in America! Its atmosphere reminds everyone why they love Davis, and are happy that it hasn't changed that much over the years.

I think Davis is a special place, and I would encourage anyone to read more about it or even visit someday if they travel in California.
establish: 設立する
incorporate:合体させる 
explore: 探究する
remain: 残る
agricultural: 農業の
related to:　～に関係した
agriculture: 農業
excel:　～に勝る
veterinary science: 獣医学
exception: 例外
contribution: 貢献・寄付
residents: 居住者
Perhaps: もしかすると
conservative:　保守的な
preserve: 保つ