MID CITY STUDIO

     I think the community engagement event was very beneficial for the community and for our studio. We received positive feedback and many people seemed to be pleasantly surprised to see an effort for improvement brought to their community. Although mid-city has many problems, one problem is not a lack of community. To these people mid-city is not just where they live, it is their home and they care about it’s future. The community wants to see their children flourish and for mid-city to develop into an area with more resources for the people that live there. 

      The event turned out differently than I expected. Prior to the event and for the first hour, I was a little skeptical that we would have a good turn out. The boards did not receive the best feedback and I was concerned that the people did not care to share their opinions. After the church let out the event populated which attracted others to join in. The people seemed to enjoy what we were doing and very openly shared their opinions. I think most of the speculations we had about what the community desired was accurate with the exception of the housing aspect. I found it interesting that they saw a program with housing as a negative influence because it would drive out the low income residents of the community and they would feel unwelcome around new housing communities. There was also a huge concern for safety in the area and the community responded well to an event that they could attend with their children without feeling at risk.