Reverse Gentrification – May the Force be with You, George!

Reverse Gentrification – May the Force be with You, George!

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/04/20/george-lucas-affordable-housing-development-orig-mg.cnn

Quote from the article:

“It’s inciting class warfare,” Carolyn Lenert, then head of the North San Rafael Coalition of Residents, told The New York Times at the time.  

WOW.  JUST WOW.

Another quote:

“We got letters saying, ‘You guys are going to get what you deserve. You’re going to bring drug dealers, all this crime and lowlife in here,’ ” Carl Fricke, a board member of the Lucas Valley Estates Homeowners Association, told the Times in 2012.

I wonder if this is the overall “private” opinion of those with plenty of resources, i.e., the “elite” who live if high price gentrified areas.

The article says that George plans to fund the development himself.  Go George!!

We need more of the elite to become involved in helping to solve our social issues and influence public policy as well as federal policy to help drive a restoration of our economy that will bring entry level jobs back to America, not just to create lower price-tiered housing, which is a partial fix of the pervasive problem with the whole situation.  That’s my opinion.  You’re welcome ;-)

I have said and will keep saying that when America “sold” our manufacturing industries out of the country, it would catch up with us, and it surely has.

We have allowed big business to take over our food industry, with federal government now regulating small business out of business because of the restrictive nature of rules and regulations that are cost prohibitive to small businesses.

We have allowed manufacturers to pull their businesses out of America and plant them in other countries where they can make HUGH profits while taking advantage of their new employees as well as Americans, when they can cheaply bring their cheaply made products back here and sell them for a large profit while contributing very little to our economy.

8 Reasons Why Rent is Too High

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/06/260282186/eight-reasons-why-the-rent-is-too-damn-high

The above article for our readings did not mention this as part of the problem.  It's time to wake up America and look at the circumstances that took a significant amount of money out of our national economy in a VERY short period of time.  Our government needs to reverse the damage that has been done.

Observation:  Driving anywhere in Maine – chicken/poultry barns and other barns are either empty or being used for storage facilities, not for local food production.  This change eliminates many jobs.  You don’t need an employee on site at self-storage facilities.

Observation:  End of semester is here.  I notice the strained, distracted look on many students faces as they move around campus with LOTS on their minds.

Really Seeing the Waterfront

Powell, K. (2010). Making Sense of Place: Mapping as a Multisensory Research Method. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(7), 539-555. doi:10.1177/1077800410372600

This article explained the process of mapping very well.  I can see the value of gaining input in this way from many community representatives.  I live in the Waterville area and there is a parking lot downtown where many people who access downtown business park.  There is a very interesting large stainless steel sculpture situated in the middle of the parking lot and the driving lane was designed around it.

If they had gained insight from other community members regarding this design, the sculpture would be more pleasing to the population.  Every time I mention it to anyone who knows about it, they all say something like “yeah… that was a really stupid place to put that”.

Both traffic lanes must “circle” around where it is and it is a plowing nightmare for the work crews.  Nobody driving through that I have been with likes where it is.  They always have negative things to say about it because of where it is, not what it looks like or how they like the sculpture itself.

            If it were situated in the space where there are benches and gardens, I feel it would have garnered a much better public opinion.  I can see where utilizing various opinions in  planning stages in the way that is described in this article could help to better spend public monies for the benefit of all community members.

            The multisensory projects described gave me, the reader, a better understanding of the community used as the subject in a relatively fast time.  I particularly liked the bubble diagram of the waterfront relationships.  I think it gave a well rounded understanding of how everyone in the community utilized this area.

Observations

#1 While waiting for my teen to complete her driver’s license road test, I observed how most of the strangers freely exchanged memories of their testing experiences and their experiences of practice driving with their teens.  There was a noticeable feeling of tension and nervousness of people waiting for testing and those waiting for people being tested.  Those waiting to be tested remained quiet and visibly nervous.  Most people remained sitting while a few others paced and repeatedly looked towards the parking area.

#2 Later that day while waiting at the DMV while my daughter applied for her picture license (Yay!) I observed how solemn everyone waiting seemed.  No one interacted with people outside of the people they were with.  People watched those at the front who were at the widows taking care of their business or towards those posing for I.D. photos.  Some sat quietly reflecting on paperwork they held while others chatted or were looking at cell phones.  There were people of all ages; I noticed two sets of older adults with their adult children and observed a man and his father with a cane negotiate the paperwork process, then the photo process for a renewed driver’s license.  The older gentleman had assistance from his son to rise from the chair with his cane.