Community event feedback

Before the event, I was expecting a lot more of the community residents to participate. There were many people we communicated with that lived in the neighborhood when we passed out fliers a few weeks prior that were not at the event. Those very people showed some of the most interest in seeing a change in their neighborhood, so not seeing them there was a disappointment. But there was a great turnout from those who attend churches in the neighborhood and they were very enthusiastic to help. They didn’t even hesitate when we asked them to fill out our surveys or check out our boards. Some of their primary concerns came up when I mentioned using the site for housing. They felt like housing would solve none of the deep rooted issues of the community. A grocery store on the other hand, was something that they said could really benefit the residents who don’t have reliable transportation. A recreation area for children was also mentioned as a huge need, considering there is little to no green space in the neighborhood.

                Many homeless people showed up as well, and seeing their need was really eye-opening for me. The opportunity that we have as a studio to make a difference in their lives with work force development is substantial. My favorite part of the event was just going up to people and beginning a conversation. I think that should be something that everyone in studio needs to get comfortable doing if we are going to have another community engagement event. If strangers walk toward a tent of people they don’t know and no one gets up to introduce themselves, well, chances are they’ll leave after a quick bite to eat (which did happen several times). We should be doing everything we possibly can to show them that we want to know them and care about what they care about. 

     In all honesty, it was difficult for me to invest myself into the project and in our neighborhood during the initial analysis. Part of me can blame only documenting the physical and environmental aspects of the site, while the other piece was confused on where to direct the focus of design. Who was the primary focus of all of the gathered information supposed to be aimed towards? The history team did a wonderful job of arguing and supporting the case for the surrounding neighborhood. Housing seemed to be pushing for the interests of MCRA while homelessness analyzed through the lens St. Vincent de Paul’s. And while these three groups may not have expressed keen interest in food systems, our professors guided the last programming group into the discovery of the local food deserts. In essence, there were four different groups, not contradicting, but contending for consideration in design; all of which warranted a thorough review.

     While our approach to our investigation was justified, communication between the overall group of students was extremely complicated. No one was truly aware of what each group was tasked with and as result, a lot of overlapping of responsibilities occurred. One physical instance of this problem was our presence on the site during Mid City Speaks. There were too many people vying for the attention of the residents, and consequently I am afraid that our overwhelming presence may have been intimidating. A simple solution to this for the future may be to separate the class into groups that can come to the event in waves, decreasing the total number of students at one time but increasing the possibilities for one on one interaction.

     Moving on from analysis and criticism, we are left with a question to take forward: What is important for the neighborhood and its residents? Simply put, the answers are to increase safety, create an area for children to go after school, a space for workforce development, and a grocery store. Although these answers may be simple by themselves, together they create somewhat of a conflict of interest between the neighborhood consumers and the business patrons. However, moving forward, this instills a welcome challenge of how to remedy complex desires through design.

     Before the event, I believed that the event was going to be low in attendance and we would not get enough feedback on the project and the improvements needed in the community. Despite the belief that a tropical storm/depression was going to hit Louisiana over the weekend, people showed up and we were able to get an ample amount of responses. My preconceived notions about the event did not affect my experience, because I was going into the event with the mindset that I was going to get as much information from the people in the community as I can. I planned on getting that information no matter how many people showed up to the event. If I could change anything about the event, I would have a better-organized plan. People were just sitting around waiting for something to happen and did not know how everything went. Once everything was done, we were just sitting there waiting. I would also have asked the speakers to come earlier; so, the people of the community could have heard what they would have had to say pertaining to our project and Mid City in general. Overall, Mid City Speaks was a successful event and the city loved that we were out their trying to improve the hardships and miscommunication that is Mid City.
     Overall, I learned that the neighborhood is focused on the children and the miscommunications of the community. They need a place to gather and figure out the problems of the community. They also need a place for the children to gather; somewhat like an aftercare program that teaches the children certain skill sets:  art, sports, life in general, etc. The primary concerns of the people of the community are drawn towards the amount of crime and drug use in the community. They would like a safe place, where they can freely walk the streets and their children can safely play in the yard outside. I feel that the most important lesson for the community is that they need to put focus on building their morals and the community interaction in general. There they will be able to face the problems the community faces everyday together. Then, the community will become whole and will be able to grow to its full potential. Overall, the community needs to improve on the communication/interaction between them, but on the other hand, they seem like they are willing to improve and voice their opinion on any topic at hand.

     In the future, I would like to see more work in the community and less work on the blog. The two schools seem like they are the only people using the blog (except for that one person that responded to the history’s questions). More interaction would allow for more feedback and maybe more problems could be addressed or even solved. 

There was a lot of work that went in to the Mid City Speaks community event. Weeks of preparation that organized research topics, program layout, and event activities. On multiple occasions, groups of students went into the community and interacted with the residents, getting information from them as well as inviting them to the community event. However, with all of these preparations, I was still afraid that we would not get the turn out we were originally hoping for. Fortunately, our studio’s hard work and motivation surprised me and I can now say that the Mid City Speaks event was a success.

Nothing ever turns out exactly how you plan it. That was proven when we arrived at the site and had to change the program to accommodate for the stormy weather. Many would think that since we were already disorganized before the event even started, the event itself wasn’t going to be much better. That was again proven wrong with the rush of people who join us after Sunday church. It was originally thought that a majority of the community would come to the event from New Sunlight Baptist, but that also did not go according to plan. It was great to see people come out to the community and socialize while also helping us collect research. I was happy that they were interested in the work we have been doing and they want to see the community improve. That was the purpose of the community event and that is why it was a success.

Although Mid City Speaks was a great event, there is always room for improvement. At one point, the event became just a buffet, which was okay because everyone was having fun, but we could have been better at directing people to interact with the community boards. We also could have interacted with people more at the tables and held conversations with them. I feel like this would have been better than just giving them a paper to fill out. Still, we learned what the neighborhood really wanted: workforce development, community garden and non housing developments. We also heard the stress in the need to stop crime in the area. The community was very interested in their future in the area and wanted to work with us to make their hopes into reality. I would say that the event was a success and exceeded my expectation.

studentperspective midcityspeaks

          The community engagement event this past weekend was surprisingly a success.  For the past few weeks we have been in the community and meeting members that live there just trying to find out more about the culture and the history of the area.  Up until the event I have to say that I was not too confident as to what the event would turn out to be.  We had gotten a few confirmed guests to say they were coming but I did not know what word had gotten out in the community.  On the day of the event, we set up at the site, moved the boards, and got ready for the people that we thought were not going to come.  Around 12:30 people got out of church and stopped by for some of the free food that was offered.  The food was gone in about twenty minutes.  They were all gone in about an hour but it was still interesting to see the different people that were there.

            I learned a god bit about the community during the past few weeks.   Learned about the people there, the houses, and the community itself.  We learned about the concerns that they had as well as what they liked about the area.   Some of the concerns that they had were definitely worth listening to.  The one thing that stuck out amongst all of the members of the area was a safe place for the children to play.  The children do not have any place to go to after school and the parents can not find any place to take them where they can keep an eye out for their kids. 

            I think that safety and community are the most important things for the area.  The more people feel unsafe about the area the less people will want to live there and respect the neighborhood.  I think that more events and more parks in the area would greatly benefit the community and their involvement.

MID-CITY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE- Reflection

    When first approaching the event, I was quite skeptical on the amount of people that would show up. Also, I was hesitant to think that the people would really be there for the community rather than just free food. I imagined a few residents of the community coming for food, and the rest living on with their life probably watching the Saints game. After the event, my perspective has changed. This is a community ridden by unfortunate surroundings, as some do not want to change many others do. Many are striving to make Mid City and safer, better place for their kids and their community as a whole.    My thoughts and beliefs about this community did not affect this experience to a high degree. If it did, it was just the general impression that not that many people cared for change. I think we missed out on a lot of Mid-City residents due to just the Saints game. The Saints represent not just New Orleans but Louisiana as a whole. The Saints show how a struggling city can strive around a team which gives hope and belief that great things can be achieved against all odds. If we could of incorporated the Saints into the event I think the turnout would of been larger. Although, I think the location, how we attacked this problem, and the overall representation of the event was a success.    In this successful event there was much to be taken from it. I believe there is many concerned citizens of Mid-City. Many want a change, many want improvement, but don't have the resources to change it on their own. I think the most important need for the community is work force development. Work force development will help create opportunity for those who haven't been given much opportunity in their life. Most of us fortunate people have had plenty of opportunities surrounded by wonderful outside influences which we have been raised in encouraging us to succeeded. Plenty of these residents haven't had the amount of opportunities the fortunate have had; not mentioning all the terrible outside influences they face every day making success that much harder. Work force development gives them that extra opportunity, that extra chance after all else has failed. Creating better/positive opportunities allows more residents to change creating a better environment. I believe another positive changed would be extracurricular activities for the children. The children now are who shall affect the community in years to come. It makes sense to have extracurricular activities/sports that keeps children off the streets. These streets are filled with crime, drugs, and bad decisions that usually lead to jail or death. Teach the kids the importance of production/productivity. It is them who shall lead their community to a better place in the future.     In conclusion, this is a place that has residents who care and some who don't. Some looking to build a better community, some who look to tear it down on a regular basis. Its outside influences like ourselves that must create the opportunity. The opportunity of change, the presentation of a choice, a choice to make Mid City a better place, a chance to create a strong successful community. As we work forward to a better community we keep in mind this event, we keep in mind the people, and we keep in mind the opportunity for a better place.   

     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.

Mid City Speaks relfection

Before the event, I was anxious about the turnout we would get (especially with the weather conditions); however, a good number of people showed up and appeared to really enjoy the event. I think once people started showing up, my preconceived notions evolved and didn't really affect my experience of the event itself. I'm not sure I would change anything about the event except having the speakers come sooner, so more people would have heard them speak.
I learned that there are a lot more children than i anticipated. I also learned that the majority of the people who showed up to the event were very religious. I think the neighborhood could really benefit from an increase in positive and constructive activities for kids to participate in. This would relieve some of the stress on parents and improve the futures of their children. The community seemed to be rather well socialized, lots of people interacting on sidewalks and porches. One of the negative aspects would be the lack of awareness and education in the community, making it more difficult logically convince residents to be on board with changes to the neighborhoods fabric. I think in the future it will be important to gather more information on the needs of the youth population as well as parenting practices.

      Overall, the Mid City Speaks event was a success.  Our boards got more feedback and attention from the residents and we also had the opportunity to speak to people in various stages of life.  Though the event did not last as long as planned, I enjoyed talking to the residents and seeing my classmates interact with the community.  This studio has been a great experience to research and interact with the people that will be affected by our designs for the area.  This experience has been a great learning opportunity for everyone mostly in regards to enlisting real feedback to incorporate into the design phase.
     Prior to Mid City Speaks, I hoped that many of the residents that we interacted with would come to the event.  Planning and advertising the event was a huge learning experience for everyone and I think my classmates have learned a lot about engaging people effectively.  The event could have benefitted from more interaction in the community, prior to the event, especially right before the event.  Had we focused more on fun aspects like music and entertainment, I think that more people may have come and stayed longer.
      During my visits to the site to interview residents I learned that the people have many concerns.  Most of the concerns center around the safety and future of the community, especially in regards to the children.  Many residents expressed a need for recreational spaces and programs for children, to promote a safe and happy upbringing.  I think that a community engagement center is the most important thing for the neighborhood so that they can help each other and encourage each other.  I truly believe that for this neighborhood to bring in more businesses and residents, the community needs to establish a bond that supports one another as well as the community.  I learned that the residents are very accepting of change and positive additions to the community.  The people are very passionate about their children and hope that Mid City will be a better environment to raise kids.  I think that instead of individual community engagement events, the area needs monthly or annual community events to effectively engage the community.     

The community engagement event held this past Sunday was a huge success in my eyes. Seeing the community come out and support our cause was a great way of interacting and communicating with the locals that live in the neighborhood. Through this we now have a better understanding of their thoughts and opinions about their community and what problems they think should be addressed. Visiting the site multiple times before, I knew this neighborhood was a close community of local residents that engaged each other, but I was not sure if and how the community would react to our event in a supporting manor or not. Thankfully, the community seemed to embrace our ideas and was very supportive in the cause by providing their input and feedback for us. It really seemed like the public really enjoyed the idea of bringing a grocery store back to the area, but not so much behind the housing aspect, skeptical of the people it would bring to the area.

Leading up to the event, four community engagement boards were put out to the public for community input around the area. I don’t know if I would keep the same idea of the chalk boards because most of the comments were not serious, but a lot of writing nothing to do with the boards that we worked hard to create for the residents. I think a more efficient way of informing the community and getting their feedback could be employed in the future. But in all, I applaud all the hard work for all the student groups that it took to make the event the huge success that it was, and the result was a rewarding experience that taught me about this great community in Mid-City.

The community engagement event was a beneficial experience for myself, my studio, and hopefully the community in the area as well.  In the weeks leading up to the event, I had high expectations for a good turnout; but as the date approached, I worried that the weather would sabotage our plans.  Much to my surprise, although the event got off to a slow start, everything started to kick off whenever the adjacent church’s service was over and patrons came to see what was happening on at our event. The thoughts that I brought into the experience made me appreciate the turnout even more. 

After speaking with locals, I learned quite a few things about the area, and some of our investigations’ conclusions were verified.  There seemed to be a common concern for a grocery store, which is great news, as it is a large portion of the scope of our project. Other residents seemed to be more concerned with crime in the area, and exhibited a desire to minimize the amount of burglaries and drug-related activity that they see in their neighborhood.  I think it is important to have these concerns voiced, as the people who live in the neighborhood see it every day, and will likely have the most relevant idea of what could make the neighborhood better.Mid City, as a whole, is definitely seeing a resurgence.  

Although it is happening slowly, most permanent change comes about in this way.  The residents that came to our event definitely showed a concern for their community, and were happy to see a group of students care so much about their needs.  The information that we gathered from the residents will be beneficial in our goal to break every chain that the community is facing and create a change for the better.

We worked very hard in preparation for the event and advertised throughout the neighborhood over several weeks. Even on the day of the event, we walked door to door and knocked on every door in Mid City Gardens to personally invite residents. However, most of the participants were people leaving a church service next door to our site. We did have some residents walk up from the neighborhood, but not as many as I had hoped after we received their confirmation just half an hour earlier.

We were very lucky that the weather did not stop our event but I think that we should have rescheduled around the Saints’ game or advertised that we would have a grand showing of the game, maybe on a projector.

I was disappointed that some of our speakers from the city did not show up to the event. They showed great support leading up to the event and I think they would have benefited from meeting with the community to show their concern for the neighborhood.

I had a great time talking to some of the kids about their interests and school activities. One of the girls talked about all the clubs that she is involved in at DUFRAQ. She was enthusiastic about having more recreational space on our site, but I think that her needs were met at her school as well. Overall, there was mostly positive feedback and interest in our work.

Community Engagement Event Reflection

Prior to the Mid City Studio Community Engagement Event I was not sure how well the event would go over. The feedback we got from putting the boards up the week prior to the event was not exactly what we had been hoping for. This led me to question how seriously the community took our project and how many people would actually be in attendance at the event.  

                The actual event however surprised me because we really had a very good turnout and received some valuable feedback pertaining to our project. I am very pleased with the Community Engagement Event and the reaction we received from the community.  I think the fact that I was not expecting such a pleasant community reaction was part of the reason I am even more now excited for the project because I now more than ever understand the needs of the community.

 If I were doing this event, I would have brought different food. I understand that we were on a budget but a big portion of this project is food based and a lot of the feedback we got back pertained to the things these people ate. If we had brought food more attuned to the diet of the community we could have gotten an even bigger turnout and they would probably be more thankful and willing to be more open about their thoughts on the project.

I learned that the neighborhood can be dangerous, but is also a strong community of people who are aware of each other and the concerns and hardships in their life. I heard about the community’s need for such a project and how it could better the area. The grocery store is a great addition to the community based on the feedback I received; also the sort of things the grocery store sells is important to keeping the grocery store prosperous.  People also really seemed to have a need for a program such as our workforce development initiative.

capella- reflection

What did you believe it would be like before the event?  What do you think about the experience now? Do you think any of the thoughts or beliefs you brought into it affected your experience? If so, how?  What would you change about the event or how it was organized if you had to do it over?  

What did you learn about the neighborhood in which we are working?  What are some of the primary concerns of the residents and church members?  What do you think is important for the neighborhood?  For the residents?  What are some of the positive things about the neighborhood that you learned?  Negative?  In the future what additional community engagement aspects can be introduced to encourage more community input/feedback?

Before the event took place, I was under the impression that it would be unsuccessful after seeing the state that the boards were in. I was pretty sure people had made it clear that they didn't care about the project. However, it turned out to be successful, many people attended and there was a feeling of dedication to change, and the community. Many of the feelings I had initially brought to the event were that of ambivalence, that notion that if the community didn't care, why should I? But I was wrong, they do care, and I have to admit I was positively surprised. Even though I thought the event was done very well, I would have possibly made the board interface more lasting, maybe given the people something to take home with them. I also would have had more food. Additionally, I think we could have done a better job of advertising the event, maybe through avenues that are more direct, such as going door to door or approaching people at church, grocery etc. Even though some things could have been improved, the event made an impact, and that was our intention all along.
Observing that people were engaged and interested, my first impressions of the neighborhood were wrong. It is a working, some would say downtrodden, area dominated by the all powerful single family house, with a few apartment blocks mixed in. Many of the primary concerns expressed by the residents pertained to safety. Many people said that they had witnessed violence and crime regularly, and were concerned with the security of their families and loved ones. Another issue was the general state of the neighborhood as it hasn't seen consistent maintenance or upkeep. Establishing a sense of security in the community is paramount. If the residents don't feel safe, they will not be inclined to invest their time and money into an area that does not care for them in return. They have to feel like they are getting out what they put into it, as they are the people who are going to be living there permanently. Efforts should be made to make the community safe for children especially, as I saw many of them wandering around during the event. Deterring crime is easier said than done, however, and cannot be accomplished by a visual gentrification of the neighborhood alone. The people of mid city are open to change, they are ready to make they're community what it can be and are willing to cooperate. However, many people that live there simply don't care about the efforts of students and there is a general sense of contempt for outsiders among a few people. I think using mediums which people are already familiar with could encourage more input/feedback, such as internet sources or direct communication.

Before the event, I was seriously concerned about the turnout: little to no people equaled a failed event. There were several factors seemingly working against us such as the weather and the Saints game. The day dawned ominously, with gray skies and a cold wind. Rain was inevitable. So I approached the event with a touch of cynicism. My feelings did not affect my performance at the event. I was still happy to talk to anyone about my team’s board.

That feeling of cynicism was short-lived as the event continued on. We had a great turnout, much better than I had hoped. I had hoped to see more residents, however. The majority of people appeared to come from the nearby congregations as they let out. There appeared to be little in the way of foot traffic from inside the neighborhood itself. If we had to do it all over again, I would advocate trying even harder to be a presence in the community, to really get people invested in our event and our work. Perhaps if our site cleanup had taken place in stages across multiple weeks, we could have been a stronger symbol of community involvement; what better way to send a message that we care by being out there on site every week to do our part to combat blight and neglect?

I learned that the neighborhood is filled with many caring people. Many of the residents we talked to cared deeply about their community and the direction it was headed in. Their primary concern was the children; their welfare was top priority. Many people believe in recreational programs for children, in an attempt to teach them skills and keep them occupied, away from the negativity. I believe this goal is a primary concern for our design, something we can and must deliver on. I liked seeing people care about the future generations. Their care can make a difference for the future, hopefully dampening crime in the community.

As the event approached, it seemed like we would never be finished in time.  The event would be some tables and chairs in an empty lot with only the studio present.  No one would show up; a tropical storm was passing through and the Saints game started at the same time as our event.  It seemed that was going to be true at first, we had set everything up and noon rolled around.  We had our programs and surveys ready to give out and to interact with people from the neighborhood, but no one stopped by.  Then church let out and there was a huge wave of people coming to the site, eating sandwiches and filling out surveys and asking questions.  So many people came that we ran out of food and had to get more.  It was a hundred times more popular than I had expected and more than I dared hope.  My expectations made me critical of how the event might turn out and less than willing to do more when there were so many idle hands, but I was very pleasantly surprised when we had to rush to get more food for all the people.  If I had to do the event over again, I would not put it on a day that the Saints were playing unless we had a TV or projector to show it.  I would also prepare twice as much food from the start.

I learned that the people in the neighborhood are more or at least want to be more involved in their community.  They are interested in a grocery store and especially in after school programs for their children and work force development, but they do not want housing projects. They feel that new housing pushes the residents out of the area and alienates them from their neighborhood and only serves as a temporary fix for the low income and homeless people of the area.  Many of the answers to the "what does the community need" question concerned sports, but there is a sports center right on the other side of the overpass.  That place either needs to be publicized more so that the children in the neighborhood would go to it, or there needs to be one on the other side of the overpass as well because parents probably do not want their children to go past a major road like that, even if they do not have to physically cross the road.  Maybe having a private drop-box type of input option like our original idea available to those who want to share their input without publicly writing on the chalkboard.  It might not have any different input, but at least there will be the option.

I thought the community engagement event was a great, informative, and revealing time for us to absorb the community and the community to learn about our mission.  Before the event, I thought that it would be difficult to get a community to open up the first time, but I realized that we've been in contact with many people and they were more than open to share their stories and voices.  After people voluntarily started to share opinions, it definitely made it easier for me to understand what Mid City is really like.  If we had to do it over, I think it would have been fun to provide more activities for the kids because they seemed to enjoy it and that made the families stay longer at the event.  I also think that having something interactive like the building blocks would have been an interesting activity for everyone to see how they would design their homes and community.

The neighborhood taught me that they do want to be involved in the design process and that they do want to heard. Although I talked mostly to kids...I think that it's important to also include their voices.  They want to be active and stay busy and the boards are proof of that.  This is a positive about the neighborhood.  It shows that these families are willing to be part of the community.  The lack of awareness of surrounding amenities is a negative about the neighborhood.  I think in the future, an open Q & A session at the end of the event with the residents might be helpful for community feedback. 

Reflection Prompt

The 'Mid City Speaks' event I believe went well, I did expect more residents of the community to be there, but the people that did were insightful. At times it felt like we were such a big group that when someone came to the event it seemed we crowded the individual with questions. I think having an event inside of a church cafeteria would have been more inviting at least to those who attended that church.

The residents that I spoke to did have a different perspective for the site and were more concerned with workforce development. My view of workforce development was to be the base of ones career, to help them start. Some residents were concerned about how would workforce development continue to help him afterwards. One mentioned a clinic of some sort that could tie with the workforce development, in terms of skills he felt that a cafe won't provide enough experience to an individual to go higher up in society. A few were open to the idea of a grocery store (not a corner store), but not so much on the garden. As for the idea of the homes, it was not popular with the residents, they felt like the area had enough homes and need to focus on workforce development.

The Food Systems board was not successful at the One Stop Grocery location. There were very little constructive answers written on the board. So for the next engagement event, maybe there is another way to implement survey answers, like going around town with a clipboard and directly asking questions and writing down answers. There was a better response at the actual event, when talking to the residents and being able to write down their thoughts for them.