Non-digital Element / Map of neighborhood

Elsie, Eduardo and I are tracking the energyshed along Islais Creek. We have decided to hone in on a slice of Islais creek that is the Glen Park neighborhood. For the print portion of our project, we will create a two-sided, full-color 11x17 map of the neighborhood. This is roughly the area we are focusing on.


And this is the style of map we will be creating. We will be tracking social/cultural activity, capital/business activity, sound and architecture.

Social / Cultural / Spiritual Life in Glen Park

Last week I went to Glen Park to interview people on the street about the neighborhood. I had seven questions I asked and I definitely noticed some trends. I will go out again tonight, my goal is to get a sample of 20 people at least, from all walks of life. I've listed a few of the interviews here.

The seven questions are as follows:

1. What impression do you get of the ways people practice spirituality/faith in this neighborhood?
2. Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? If so, what faith?
3. What is your impression of ethnic diversity in this neighborhood? In your immediate vicinity?
4. What kind of social activities are most common in this neighborhood? In the park?
5. What kind of cultural activities are most common in this neighborhood? In the park?
6. How long have you lived here?
7. What impression do you get of community here?
   

Interview #1
Jim and Anna O'Keefe
Filipino couple, late 50s to early 60s

1. Mostly a variety of Christian faiths
2. Catholic
3. Mostly white, but more Asian in the last few years
4. Sports, block party, Halloween (trick or treating), holiday events, events at St. Johns, crabfest. Residents volunteer to clean park, dog walking.
5. Not so many cultural activities
6. Since 1964
7. Strong community feeling, Glen Park Assoc very active, meetings in immediate neighborhood for Neighborhood Watch other issues related to immediate neighborhood

Interview #2
Ian
31 years old, British

1. No idea
2. Agnostic
3. Not many African Americans, mostly white/Asian
4. He is outside social circles in this neighborhood. Visits the park occasionally to take a walk, but says it's generally quite sparse, not much activity.
5. Didn't know of anything
6. 1+ year
7. People are out and about a lot, at restaurants and cafes

Interview #3
Ralph
Caucasian, 60s, homeless

1. Middle of the road Christian (religious but not too invasive)
2. Considers himself the same ("laid back Christian")
3. Pretty diverse, but white middle class is most prominant
4. Social activities including eating and drinking out (La Corneta, Glen Park Station)
5. Live music
6. 10+ years
7. He likes the neighborhood

Interview #4
Linda
Filipina/Chinese/White, 50s

1. Catholic
2. Christian
3. Latin, Filipino, Caucasian, African American, Asian - It's a mix, but less African American
4. People gather to watch sports (baseball, soccer, basketball)
5. Filipino, Asian, Latin activities, church bingo, bus trips to other places, park
6. 30 years in this neighborhood, SF native
7. Good community, people watch out for each other

Buried Waters - Midterm Proposal

Group 4:

Alisa Highfill
Elsie Tozier
Eduardo Ribeiro

For our midterm project, our group plans to focus on the many ways that Islais Creek provides to move through space. From the very intimate ways of moving along the creek, such as the walking and biking paths, to the very distant and disconnected ways, like Alemany Road and Hwy 280, this creek has provided a pathway for all different types of transportation.

The modes of transport along Islais Creek that we will be exploring are as follows:
- Walking and biking paths
- Alemany Blvd.
- Hwy 280
- Muni bus route 44
- Bart

We will explore the varied ways that people use these different modes of transport and what effect these have on the Glen Park Canyon environment. We plan to explore these through personal use, sound and photo studies, comparisons of today's landscape with the original landscape, GPS mapping, and whatever other tools we can think of.

This project will use methods from both the studies of physical and human geography. Psychogeography may also come into play, as well as some aspect of spirituality and how people connect with their surroundings.

The depths of our beings are not all sunlit; to see clearly we must be able to dive into the dark, inner abyss and Acknowledge the creatures we may find there.
- Miriam Starhawk