Category Archives: Industry City 2018

Waterfront walk

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What resources did you use while participating in this activity?

sunset park walk

Quantified walk in Sunset Park

I used the walking app on my phone to track our walk in time and space. Quantifying my progress shows only where I went and when. It does not show the human resources of my colleagues, who continued to share their very thoughtful observations about the conditions of the buildings, street and sidewalk surfaces, transportation routes, and speculations on the need for such ample parking, as we made slow progress out to the feral cat colony at the end of 39th Street, and hasty progress back to meet other groups on time. Their thoughts contributed to my reconsidering my position on the feasibility of the greenway.

Have you changed any ideas you used to have on creating recreational open space?
We could see water from every point on our walk to the waterfront, but access to the water eluded us, even though it appears very close to our route. High chain-link fences separating a broken sidewalk from vast, empty paved areas kept us from getting close to the waterfront. Too close for comfort, however, was the rush of heavy truck traffic. Some vehicles sped along Second Avenue, while many made nearly blind turns onto or off of side streets. When I set off on the waterfront walk, I imagined a bi-directional protected bike lane on the west side of Second Avenue filled with cyclists harmoniously pedaling alongside motorized vehicle traffic. By the end of the experience, I began to doubt the feasibility of the greenway until truck traffic is calmed and rerouted and pedestrian- and bike-friendly crosswalks are established. For the greenway to succeed, it must serve all nonmotorized modes, abilities, and ages.

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative Group Reflection

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Brooklyn Greenway Initiative

Sarah Ruth Jacobs, Ruth Marsiliani, Tracy Zimmerman

Community Centered Benefits

  • The community will be able to access the waterfront and have a space they can enjoy and congregate. Currently the space is not benefiting the community, and children will have a new outdoor area.
  • Picnic tables and fencing will ensure families can gather safely.
  • Community centers and community-based programs will be put into place.
  • The area will be beautified, and the community can enjoy the beautiful space.
  • Maintaining and securing the space may create jobs for residents of the community.
  • Our plans will be developed with the assistance of community partners and will be presented for feedback to different stakeholders, from local businesses to community organizations.

Business Centered Benefits

  • Beautifying the area will make it more attractive to prospective investors and business owners.
  • Incentives will be offered for business opportunities for the community-based businesses, such as food truck spaces.

Loss

We know that developing the waterfront poses a possible loss of the sense of community, as new businesses and residents potentially seek to move in. Historically, Sunset Park has had very strong community engagement and planning, and we think that with the continued involvement of different stakeholders, the development of the waterfront does not have to threaten local businesses and residents.

Place-based Learning Reflection

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Your participation during Friday’s seminar contributed to a vibrant learning environment, one I hope will inspire you to take your own students out of your traditional classroom setting. As stated by Gregory Smith in Place-Based Education: Learning to Be Where We Are,

“teachers in such settings act as experienced guides, co-learners, and brokers of community resources and learning possibilities. Their expertise lies not so much in their stored knowledge – although this is important – as in their capacity to help students acquire the skills and dispositions of effective learners. (2002, p. 593).

To me this quote exemplifies how faculty can and should challenge their own teaching practices and venture outside of the classroom with students and seek to develop their student’s knowledge and desire to learn. To complete our place-based learning activity, reflection is most beneficial, and some, including me, argue necessary. To practice reflection, I ask that you provide two forms of reflection for Friday’s activity. First, one person from each group should post your stakeholder’s position on the proposed waterfront greenway along Second Avenue near Industry City, connecting Red Hook to Sunset Park and second, post your own personal reflection.

For the group reflection, log into the OpenLab and create a new post on our OpenLab site, choose the category “Industry City 2018” and provide the information that was asked during the activity (see below).

The name of the people in your group.

Your stakeholder.

Who benefits, who loses, what is won, what is lost, what is the cost?

State your stakeholder’s position.

For your own personal reflection, review Edutopia’s 40 Reflection Questions for the Classroom and choose two reflective questions. Log into the OpenLab and create a new post on our OpenLab site. Write the question you chose and then write your response. It would also be a beneficial practice to respond to another person’s post.

For more information about PBL in general or about the specific requirement to leave the classroom with City Tech students, take a look through the PBL page on the our OpenLab Site as well as the PBL page on the Faculty Commons Site.

I look forward to reading your reflections.

BWRC Conference, April 20, 9:00-4:00

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If you were intrigued about the Brooklyn Waterfront during our last session you would value the BWRC conference, see the information below.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center presents
its Annual Spring Conference

Brooklyn Waters:
Sea Level Rise, Sustainability, and Resilience along the Brooklyn Waterfront

Friday, April 20th
9:00am – 4:00pm
Brooklyn Borough Hall 

Click here for conference information & registration.
Free admission; registration required.