Bicycling & Google Maps

After last night's presentation one of the ideas the Jeremy brought up to me, was to look at the Bicycle layer of transportation. Being that it is my main form of transportation is it very easy for me to do this, but it may be harder for those who don't ride in the area.

Well now Google Maps now has a bicycle filter for directions. I just tried it and it seems to work well.

Here is the link:
http://maps.google.com/biking

sk

Very Soft Analysis

The soft analysis that I focused on last week came to fruition from multiple visits to the site. The data I collected was very soft because it came from conversations with people and my own interpretations of feeling in and around the site.

While sitting in from of site one for a couple hours (in front of Halal Meat & Grocery Store). I noticed that there was a lot of activity in and out of the residential portion of the building. The people entering were between 20 – 45 years old. The people that entered the building were a bit “sketchy” mainly because they spent about one to two minutes inside. It leads me to believe that there might be some drug deals going down inside. It may have been something else, but that activity opened up my eyes a bit.

I then spoke with a woman that worked inside the nick nack store called Ladies Handbags, Electronics, Ornaments and Fashion Wear. I asked her several questions but the highlight of the conversation was that she wishes the area was a little safer. She said that people were poor in the area and that she had been broken into several times. The store had absolutely no activity when I sat in front for two hours and she said that is pretty much the busiest it ever gets. It is a surprise to me how a store like this stays open. Another item that I found intriguing in our conversation was that this store used to be located in Davis Square. She said that the rent became too expensive in that area and they were forced to move to Union Square.

Along with this interview are the simple diagrams of my feelings around the site. The images are the highlights of my diagrams.

I actually just found this crime report website. Maybe it could be helpful moving forward with analysis:

http://www.crimereports.com/map/index/?search=400somervilleave+Somerville+MA

Design as Social Activism

I meant to tell you guys about the Friday, March 5, talk and discussion on "Design as Social Activism" at 955 Boylston. The topic is identical to our posted reading "Design as Activism".

Community Organiztions & Affordable Opportunities

The City of Somerville Site had a great deal of good information on the Affordable Housing front.
http://www.somervillema.gov/Division.cfm?orgunit=HOUSING

Some of the main pages that have good information were:
MA Affordable Housing Lotteries Site: http://www.massaffordablehomes.org/homeownershipu.aspx
City of Somerville Affordable Housing Page:
http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=housing&page=894
Beacon St. Home Lottery: http://www.somervillema.gov/cos_content/documents/221BeaconStreet.pdf
Endicott Ave Home Lottery: http://www.somervillema.gov/cos_content/documents/EndicottAveNotice.pdf
List of Somerville Housing Organizations:
http://www.somervillema.gov/Section.cfm?org=OSPCD&page=1490


The Union Square Main Street Site http://www.unionsquaremain.org/ that is already linked to the blog, had some of the best information about Union Square itself: business, art, events, history, etc. Some of the history and architectural links:
http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Content/documents/ProspectHillTourWalkingTour.pdf
http://www.somervillema.gov/CoS_Content/documents/UnionSquareSelf-GuidedTour.pdf
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/19046717/A18-Union-Square-Tour-2
http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/CoS_Content/documents/Union%20Square%20Revisited.pdf


Because of the art/design influence of the local community in Union Square, The Arts Council, http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/index.html is another source for what is going in the area. Fringe, http://thefringemovement.com/ is a group of artist and designers that currently work and live in the Union Square area. (I had a chance to talk with some of these people Monday night after the City Meeting). The main issue that I found in research and talking to people, is the abilty to keep the artistic and creative people in Union Square once the Green Line comes in 2014.


See everyone tonight.
sk

UNION SQUARE DESIGN PLAN MEETING

UNION SQUARE DESIGN PLAN MEETING, MON. 3/1, 6:30-8:30PM, ARGENZIANO SCHOOL: The City's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) will hold a community meeting to present and get feedback on options to improve Union Square. The meeting will provide an opportunity for residents to voice opinions on how to enhance Union Square. Based on the comments received in meetings in October, the City is now ready to announce the locally preferred alternative plan. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact: Rob May, Director of Economic Development, OSPCD, RMay@somervillema.gov, (617) 625-6600 ext. 2500. For background more information click Union Square redevelopment