Project Plan

Deliverables: I will be analyzing a summary of the street I have selected from 1920-1940 which I may present as a PowerPoint or as a documentation report. I will decide on the most appropriate choice once my project is in the final stage. I will consult with my classmate since we have a focus on a similar aspects of the project.

Report/Summary Construction Process:  Most of the information I accumulated was from my classmate and others were from resources such as books, articles, websites, archives and historical maps/documents. I will use most of the information from my reports and bibliography. I will be combing all information and focus mostly on the changes of Hudson Avenue over a period of time.

Research Gaps: My time period gap is from 1920-1940 because I was trying to keep it within a 20-year gap. There is limited information relating to the causes for the changes of the Hudson Avenue.

Project Plan…

I plan on producing a project which consist of literal as well as visual through the use of technology. In order for me to create this visual aspect I will attempt to use the software sketch Up. In Sketch Up I will do my best to compare and contrast the various alley’s throughout Vinegar Hill, I will also try my very best to collect information on each alley. Each alley will have a description which would include both its length and width as well as the purpose in which each alley served. I will also determine the possible changes that occurred within about a hundred year time span; between 1855 and 1955. I understand that this project could be a group effort however, I plan on completing this project individually.

Project Plan

Deliverables: I will be constructing a report/summary (Presentation Material) of the information from my research of the demographics, politics, and urban renewal of the 1920s thru the 1960s (Scope), which may be presented as a PowerPoint/Prezi Presentation, and/or documentation report, and/or project, and/or technological media on a consolidated platform such as OpenLab, CartoDb, SketchUp, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. I will be able to determine the most appropriate platform once my project is in the final stages. I will also coordinate my research with a classmate since we are focusing on similar aspects of my research project. His consolidation platform would be my main consideration towards my research contribution.

Report/Summary Construction Process: I will be using and consolidating the information from the resources from my research, such as libraries (books), web searches (“dot-gov” and articles), archives (historical maps/documents). The main consolidation of information will be taken from my previous reports and bibliography. I will combine and focus information regarding demographics, politics, and urban renewal to produce a final project geared towards a sociological (social sciences) approach.

Research Gaps: Although there is information regarding the demographics, politics, and urban renewal of the 1920s thru the 1960s, there has been limited information about the causes for the landscape cutoff point at Hudson Avenue and York Street.

Evolution of My Project: My project has changed/morphed from a focus of the cause of a physical aspect (landscape) of a street (Hudson Avenue) into a more sociological focus of the demographics and politics involved in the urban renewal of the 1920s thru the 1960s.

Final Project Deliverables

Throughout the semester the focus of my research has been on how the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge affected the vitality of Vinegar Hill. After my research at the libraries, archives, and online, I have obtained a lot of information regarding the Brooklyn Bridge. However, I have not found a lot of information on how the Manhattan Bridge changed Vinegar Hill. Because of this, I think that the focus of my final will be predominantly on the Brooklyn Bridge. My scope is wide in the sense that I am focusing on multiple factors that involves the Brooklyn Bridge. Some factors include but are not limited to the following: population change, public perception, why the Brooklyn Bridge was built, its effects on transportation, and how the bridge changed the ferry industry, if at all. In addition, I am toying with the idea of delving into the actual construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

I think that the best way to produce my research in a final project is in written form. I would like to post my final project on OpenLab as a page dedicated to the Brooklyn Bridge. As of now I am researching and writing independently. Even though my work is independent, I want to contribute to the project page that is being set up by a fellow classmate for the entire class to post on.

 

Academic Research

Academic research is a privilege because only the few, usually institutions, who can afford to pay for access to it are able to use the most up-to-date research findings and information. Academic and research institutions are more likely to have access to research and peer review journals due to the high yearly costs, normally ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, that would prevent most individuals from being able to afford to pay for access to the journals. If academic research were a right, then there would be significantly less to no cost for access to the most up-to-date journals. (Today, there are financial cost even on things that we consider to be within our rights; for example, we have the right to a trial, but lawyers need to be paid and there are court fees. Usually the tax payers “flip the bill.”)

We can leverage the academic research privilege by contributing to public resources like Wikipedia, which will provide free and easy access to information that someone has obtained from using an “out-of-reach” academic research journal (properly cited of course). This would allow a large number of individuals, who are unable to obtain that academic research, to be able to have access to these priceless/invaluable research resources. Resources like Wikipedia, would facilitate a way to avoid huge fees and be a way, a “loop hole,” around the money barrier that would grant free and unlimited access to any researcher.