I FINALLY got in contact with Tony! We spoke briefly and he gave me his email address so I could send him some information about our project. I'm hoping that he gets back to me soon. We really need more voices from community members that don't have direct business interests in the area. 

Diana and I set a time for her interview. We'll be meeting at 8:45pm on campus. The recorder and location are TBD (PNK: Would it be possible to use the studio, or do you have any suggestions?) 

Diana lived closer to Greenmount West and knows the area. She has a cousin that still lives over there so she passed my contact information to her.

I started putting together my questions for tomorrow's interview over the weekend, and will probably revise them 3 more times before the actual interview. 

I wish that I could do the interview and be there for tomorrows meeting. Can't wait to hear about it.

 Today after class I was telling my classmate more about our project and she said she was interested in being interviewed. She also said she knows some people that might be able and willing to talk to us. I can't wait to follow up with her on this because I definitely think that she would add an interesting dimension to the existing set of voices. After speaking with her and several others I think it would be beneficial to add some sort of map to the back of our "ask". The name "Station North" doesn't doesn't seem to translate or resonate with folks. Having a map to show people the area that we're talking about would be beneficial, and it could initiate some good conversation.

Interview Scheduling: 

My availability didn't work with Jude Lombardi's availability. Randi's schedule was open at the times that Lombardi suggested so I linked them up to continue scheduling process. 

Aletheia got back to me, and confirmed that she was able to be interviewed this past Saturday. I couldn't take off of work on Saturday to do the interview so I sent my questions to Harima and she was able to conduct the interview. I heard it went well, so I can't wait to listen to it. 

   

I have an interview with D Watkins Scheduled for next week and Gaby will be my recorder. 

Tony I hasn't returned my messages about being interview so I'm trying to find the balance between being persistent and being a pest. I

Events: 

I stumbled upon this while scrolling through my FB timeline and thought that I'd share.

https://www.facebook.com/events/784475708327324/

Adventure Blogs: 

I'm seriously backed logged and will post my adventures soon!

This past week I scheduled an oral history interview with Aletheia S... or so I thought. It was due to a simple miscommunication, but it definitely made my Saturday morning interesting. When she said Saturday was a good time to meet, because she'd be at Seoul Rice Cake all day. I thought and said "this Saturday" and she thought I said next Saturday. Needless to say, when I showed up to Seoul Rice Cake with Adam and his bundle of recording gear  the nice but confused owner did not know why  I was there and had no idea as to what I was talking about.  I learned (or relearned) two things from this experience. One, if you ask a potential interviewee for their contact information and they write down an email, get a number... always get a number. Two, I learned I'm a competent internet sleuth and that persistence pays off. I was able to get in touch with Alethia (via a phone call) and I'm currently working on rescheduling that interview.
Also, I got a delicious breakfast burrito and an enjoyable train ride to work out of that morning it so it wasn't a total loss.

In other "Voices" news I have two updates. The first, I'm corresponding with Jude Lombardi to schedule a time for her interview. Hopefully well be able to have someone interview her this week or next week. The second is that someone in my class today mentioned a family friend that might live in Greenmount West and I plan on following up with her about that this week. 

Idea: In terms on capturing voices on the streets maybe it would be a good idea to start talking to folks at the bus stops?

Updates

Last week I conducted an oral history interview with Jazmin S. In our pre interview I learned a lot about the way that spaces have changed in the neighborhood from the perspective of someone that lives and works in the changing area. In regard to the changing businesses and public spaces it seems that at one point in time there was a lack of communication among the business owners themselves about how they could support each other and create multiple spaces that the community could use. 

In the early days of this class one of the questions that I had and something that I still want to know is where the children and teens fit into the redevelopment plans. Somewhere between our conversation, interview, and talk in class Jazmin made an interesting point. Almost all of the spaces in SNAE are catered to older or young adults. There are a lot of spaces that sell alcohol and many spaces with age limits, but not a lot of spaces for children and families to come together. I realized that this aspect really bothers me. Jazmin mentioned some of the spaces where she knows children hang out, but the idea that there are so few of them bothers me. In the 10 years that SNAE has been working in that area has there ever been a discussion about a community center, or more a space where whole families can come together?  Are there any community centers in Station North or Greenmount West. A community center in an arts and entertainment district that possibly focused on art and entertainment activities seems like a great idea. A community centers that work to engage the community would probably be very beneficial for almost any community. I'm sure I'll have about 100 more questions once I finish transcribing Jazmin's interview. I hope to have that done by Friday or Sarurday. 

Invest, Disinvest, Reinvest, Repeat

The rise of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District (SNAE) is over ten years in the making. Our assignments this week provided me with a little more context and some insight into the relatively current climate of the discourse on SNAE. The assignment included two articles from the Baltimore City Paper-"Your Art Here" Jenson, B. (2003, July 30) and "Can Station North Save the City" Woods, B. (2013, July 3), and a July 2013 podcast from a Marc Steiner Show Discussion that was based off the "Can Station North Save the City” article. In addition to providing insight into the types of discussions that are surrounding SNAE's progress this week’s assignment served as link between the events of the Pivot in Perspective chapter in Baltimore 68 and present day SNAE. 

One point that really stood out to me in both the article and the discussion was the point made about the cycle of disinvestment and reinvestment that has existed in Baltimore for decades. Mr. Woods talks about how the city is stuck between disinvestment and investment. Where disinvestment puts people like Dwight H in troublesome positions because living next to a vacant house means your homeowners insurance gets canceled, and too much investment means that renters get priced out. Baltimore 68 illustrates how In the years before the Baltimore Riots of April 1968 took place the City was already working on redevelopment efforts that included some merchants and excluded others. The North Avenue Market went under due to blockbusting and declining property values and residents and business owners were being displaced (or scheduled to be displaced) before the riots razed area businesses. From the discussion that took place about about the "Can Station North Save the City" article it feel as if the cycle is still spinning along. The planning for SNAE began in 2011 from what I've been reading it seems like the interests of long term residents were not included or considered. 

Baltimore's minority and low income populations have continuously been left out of the conversation. In the discussion Michelle Antoinette, AKA LOVE the poet, poses a question about intentions of the city's developers and if this exclusion is intentional. I agree with what Marc Steiner's response. I would like to believe that there is no group of men twirling their mustaches whilst plotting to leave certain populations-that are already feeling disenfranchised- out of the redevelopment processes and then intentionally pushing them out. I see it as symptom of another flaw in the system where where cities and developers are so wrapped up in their bottom lines (and keeping the city afloat) that they forget that there are actual lives and livelihoods at stake. This is not a problem in Baltimore alone, post industrial cities across the US seem to be struggling with it. As the guest on Steiner's show were speaking I kept recalling the controversy surrounding NYC's Department of Housing Preservation and Development's (DHPD) approval of Extell Development Company's high rise plan that included what many were calling a "poor door". The backlash that ensued from city politicians to discourse among social media outlets and news sources makes you ask the question: who was in the decision boardroom of the NYC DHPD? And who overlooked the potential backlash that such a decision would cause? Maybe they came up with some sort of sound explanation as to why the plan was approved, but I haven't come across it. In my mind that means the boardroom must have been missing someone who thought critically about the positive and negative implications of their decisions. So while I do not think there is a room full of men plotting to disregard the needs of the city’s residents, I do think there are several rooms full of men (and maybe a few women) that are making decisions with minds are not in tune with the majority of the people that their decisions impact.

This brings me back to Baltimore and SNAE. In the discussion on the Steiner show Ben Stone essentially says that he would like to see residents becoming engaged in the process before so much time has passed that SNAE ends up like the other gentrified neighborhoods and we all end up asking “what happened?" But it seems like they weren't included at a crucial time- the beginning. So what can we do now, to include them in the planning and redevelopment process? It's been two years since this particular conversation has occurred and my biggest question is what has been done to include the community in the process. 

Project Planning: 

This week helped me shape my potential project. I really want to know what long term residents and artists are thinking about the buzz surrounding SNAE. I would love to do some oral history interviews to get more perspectives from the residents. 

Questions for Ben Stone: 

In your opinion what are some of the biggest strides that SNAE has made towards including all residents (not just artists) in the redevelopment process? 

What is the most frustrating aspect of your position as executive director of SNAE? 

If you had to boil your work down into one clause or statement, what would you want Baltimore City Residents to know about your vision for SNAE? 

(panoramo.com)

Babin, J. (2014, July 30). New York Skyscraper's Separate 'Poor Door' Called A Disgrace. In NPR.ORG News . Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/2014/07/30/336322608/new-york-skyscrapers-separate-poor-door-sparks-outrage

Elfenbein, J., Nix, E., & Hollowak, T. (2011). Baltimore ’68: Riots and Rebirth in an American City. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Jenson, B. (2003, July 30). Will the Station North Arts District Paint a Brighter Future for Midtown?”. In City Paper . Retrieved February 13, 2015, from https://web.archive.org/web/20130322013708/http://www2.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3328

Pomorski, C. (2014, August 27). The worst thing about the ‘Poor Door’ might be its Naysayers. In Observer/Real Estate: Affordable Housing or Lack Thereof . Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://observer.com/2014/08/the-worst-thing-about-the-poor-door-might-be-the-nay-sayers/

Segar, M. (2014, July 21). Tale of Two Cities: NYC approves ‘poor door’ for luxury high-rise. In Russian Times: Question More. Retrieved February 16, 2015, from http://rt.com/usa/174532-nyc-poor-door-luxury-apartments/

The Marc Steiner Show (2013). Can Station North Save Baltimore City? [Online podcast]. Baltimore : The Marc Steiner Show. Retrieved from http://www.steinershow.org/podcasts/local-and-state-politics/can-station-north-save-baltimore-city/

Woods, B. (2013, July 3). “Can Station North Save the City?”. In City Paper . Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://www.citypaper.com/news/features/2013/bcp-cms-1-1514525-migrated-story-cp-20130703-featu-20130703,0,6682549.story

Blog 1: The “G” Word.

When I began to hear the term gentrification used in academia it seemed like it was surrounded by an air of prohibition. It struck me as odd that so many people seemed to speak about it in the same hushed tone that they would normally reserve for other undesirable and uncomfortable topics like racism, as if it was too risqué to talk about publicly. It seemed that people would skirt the conversation around gentrification when it was mentioned, and I would often see terms like terms “urban development”, “neighborhood revitalization”, or “urban renewal” used synonymously for it in conversations and texts. Replacing the term "gentrification" with a term like “urban renewal” makes me uncomfortable though, because I feel that it is misleading. When I hear gentrification I think of displaced communities not revitalized communities. For our projects I am interested in learning more about the role that art can play in gentrification or community revitalization. I don't have any project ideas at the moment but I do have questions. How do public spaces change when neighborhoods are gentrified? Does gentrification reduce the amount of free public spaces? Is there a place for public/community art in gentrified neighborhoods?

Community In America: A brief Introduction

My name is Nailah. I am a Social Work and Media & Communications Studies major. Welcome to the second installment of this blog. My last post on this blog was December 5th 2012. (It's crazy how quickly time can fly!) I'm excited to get started and see how our projects grow. I'm also looking forward to reading some of the Adventure Blogs.