An updated version of our annotated bibliography will be finalized by next Wednesday.
An updated version of our annotated bibliography will be finalized by next Wednesday.
What three questions do you have about researching, writing, and editing Wikipedia articles? Or, what three things do you most need to know before you begin to research, write, and edit?
What a resourceful site visit yesterday! Cyriaca Decaille, the property manager of the Farragut Housing complex was generous enough to take time out of her busy schedule to show us around the complex as well as answer any questions we had.
A couple interesting questions/discoveries that sprung up included:
Professor Leonard brought up a crucial question which we were not able to get an answer to –
“What happens to the rooms that are no longer usable because of deterioration?”
“On an average, how long does it take for maintenance to recover these rooms?”
Inside the lobby of the management office, I noticed plenty of flyers offering services and help for the residents, children and adults alike. Specifically for youth (since that is my focus), just this past weekend, there was a Halloween festival in Fort Greene Park which offered hay rides, face painting, games, and more. Hanging on the walls are multiple black and white posters showcasing the El Museo Del Barrio, New York City’s only Latino museum, located on 1230 5th avenue.These are only some of the examples of the efforts taken to create a better environment and living space for the Farragut residents. The process and changes are rather delayed, however, measures such as the resident watch program and the construction hiring requirement, it is this sense of community they are trying to build in the property that can impact the quality of life positively.
It will be exciting and eye-opening if tomorrow during our site visit to the Farragut Housing, we are able to get a tour of the buildings itself. I wonder what kind of art work or murals do they have inside their community center, if any at all.
After our last class meeting, the discussion about potentially having a gallery dedicated to the research we conduct on this project up at the Grace gallery got me thinking: what if we could have our work displayed or presented at the Farragut Housing project itself? Work displayed showing the history of the site, pre-Farragut Housing to the building of it.
Many of the residents are happy and content with where they live, but are they aware of what it used to be? It cold also be a controversial topic that might spark any heated discussions.
1. Redefine your topic as narrowly as possible.
I will look into the different schools/recreation programs available to children during the years between 1920’s to 1950’s and current schools now. I will also research and examine the funding the Department of Education receives from the city and how much of the funding goes directly to school programs.
2. What have you learned about the topic? Be sure you can document & cite sources.
There are little funding that goes into creating extracurricular activity programs for children.
3. What do you want to say about the topic?
How have the DOT system- rules and regulations affect the conditions of these public schools? What sort of funding goes into improving the performance of students? What measures are taken to do so, if any funding at all?
4. What do you still need to do/know/research to accomplish #3?
-Specific schools and their specifc location, demographic, and the programs offered
-DOT funding
-P.S. 307 & P.S 8 special programs
5. What is your game plan?
Monday and Tuesday I plan on revisiting the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Room. I will redraw a copy of the Sanborn 1898, 1929, and 1941 maps of our area (Vinegar Hill) to document the different schools, recreation centers/churches.
It was fascinating to see the meticulous work that went into marking each detail of the Sanborn fire insurance maps. A typical person looking at the maps would not be able to effectively dissect the different components. Myself included has only scratched the surface of each map, from the maps dating back to 1800’s to 1929 to the most recent maps presented, 1950’s.
One of the most significant piece of document that stuck out to me was the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Study by the Mayor’s Committee on Property Improvement. The text and maps shown throughout the book studies the current conditions in the 1940’s when the study was conducted to the potential and outlook the mayor committee had on the area. There were four areas of focus that were adaptable to re-planning and reconstruction under the urban redevelopment corporation act.
Aside from educational purposes, The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map is a valuable source of information readily available for anyone for personal interest- as long as we are willing to look, information is there.
It will be an exciting visit to the NYPL Map Room- to be able to physical touch the maps is fascinating. Prior to this, I never knew this was open to the public nor did I know of this at all.
A cuple questions I would like to answer post site-visit are:
1. What was the demographic like pre-1940s and post-1940s in the Vinegar Hill/Navy ard area?
2. First sign of public schools in the area?
3. population density
4. conditions of the area?
5. Green space. Any parks visible on the maps?
6. Walking/pedestrian friendly? How wide/narrow were the streets pre-1940s and post-1940s?
Monday’s class visit to the 4th year architecture studio was insightful and impactful It was a great to have the two classes come together to share different projects within a similar topic. I would love to have more opportunities for co-learning environments like this.
A couple interesting pointers:
Professor Duddy pointed out a brilliant idea for additional future collaborations between the two sets of students. What if all the research the students from the ‘Learning places’ course collected of the history to the demographic to the real estate factors of the Farragut Housing from this semester with is shared with next semester’s architecture students who will work on creating a master plan for the area around Farragut Housing, wouldn’t the exchange of information there be extremely helpful in adding to the architecture students’ designs.
Another interesting finding were the solar sun path diagrams one group included in their master plan. They included the Sun’s path it travels from East to West throughout the day and how that factors into where specific buildings are positioned and the type of design to the type of material used for the design. This ties back to what we learned about in our site-visit: sun patterns was one of the reasons behind the architects’ intent when designing the Farragut Housing complex’s star-like shape.
What is most rewarding about interactive learning is regardless of what disciplinary study anyone may be in- how similar or different, we can all take away something new each time when information and ideas are shared. I have definitely gained new perspectives since day one and now I am starting to “see” what seems as everyday objects in an more analytical manner.
Our ever-changing world of technological advancements puts Wikipedia in a difficult situation. It is hard to picture a world without Wikipedia, “it’s by far one of the most referenced websites.” When it comes to the preliminary research, Wiki is the first that comes to mind. Many organizations and institutions have teamed up with Wimipedia’s that started volunteers to improve thaccuracy and the reliable of research sources.
This movement that started back in 2010 should continue to grow. Essentially Wikipedia can utilize their traffic, as the British Museum has done so, to develop future collaborations. This can give room for Wiki to evolve into a platform not only for research but also a collection of archives from libraries and museums the public don’t normally have access to. Furthermore, majority of the general public may my be aware of the type of material they can get a hold of and Wiki being the trustworthy and generally accepted website, can be the place people go to for these special documents.
I am deeply impressed at Wiki’s reliability for users for the past 14 years . It is truly a remarkable website everyone should use, despite all the negative reputations Wiki may receive.