Reassemble the troops!

It is completely embarrassing that I have neglected this blog pretty much as soon as I started school (that might be an indication of how much work I have in school!).

This post is a warning to look out for posts soon (hopefully later today).  I will try my best to compile an archive of projects from my first year and a half in school, but will be focusing heavily on my current project, which is a response to the food desert condition in the Bronzeville neighborhood in Chicago.  As Wikipedia quotes:

A food desert is any area in the industrialized world where healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain. Food deserts are prevalent in rural as well as urban areas and are most prevalent in low-socioeconomic minority communities. They are associated with a variety of diet-related health problems. Food deserts are also linked with supermarket shortage.

The course is run by Professor Monica Chada, who is investing multiple semesters and student bodies in the Bronzeville area.  Ours is the second class to focus on bettering the area.  In addition to addressing the food desert situation, our projects are intended to integrate business incubation, to further improve the community through commerce.

I was responsible for researching the demographics of this area at the beginning of the semester, and I will share a bit of that information here:

Bronzeville area, with 60653 demographics area shaded and a star marking the site.

 

*Disclaimer: all images of my own making.  (Sorry they do not translate well to this format.)

For this project, we are assembling a book of research and project development that will eventually be available to members of the community.  Research was done in the history, climate, and area amenities (or lack there of) by my classmates.  I might look into posting some of their work at a later date. 

After our research, the class was responsible for defining a basic program from which to work, then refining that basic program to generate individual responses to the situation.

NEXT UP - PROGRAM!