When reading the two readings in 4.1 and 4.2, I did notice the similarities in the way social class is discussed. Both readings show how different social classes define our lives. For example, in the reading in 4.1, it is suggested that our lives vary based on how we perceive ourselves, such as our education levels and our income. In the reading of 4.2, we can see in the illustration that the wealthier a neighborhood, the better its station. The difference is also clear. In the reading of 4.1, it describes how people identify themselves based on income and other internal measures, whilst the readings in 4.2 show surface-level information like the correlation between the wealthy and their means of transport.
I live in the Bronx in a neighborhood called Norwood, the closest station to me is the first stop on the Manhattan-bound 4 train. In accordance with the reading in 4.1, my neighborhood is lower-income. This is not surprising to me, my neighborhood is mostly people with housing assistance. The area houses loads of working people and is near hospitals, grocery stores, and multiple train lines.
While reading 4.2, I did notice a general pattern about social classes in NYC. It revolves around the public transportation of neighborhoods with higher incomes. It can be presumed that the residents of higher income have other means of transport if needed. For example, if a resident of Hudson Yards is in a true rush, it would be a safe assumption to say they could afford to call a costy cab to work or another event. In contrast, a neighborhood like Melrose is most likely going to have residents who can’t afford to do that. This means the stations in Melrose are going to be more used and busier than the stations in Hudson Yards.