Neighborhood Mapping by

Library

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 03:17:05 UTC

The most concerning thing I found while exploring this neighborhood was actually outside a public city library. There is a river that runs through the surrounding area of this library, and there is no barrier that prevents access to the river. Now this might not seem like a huge deal, but there are bound to be plenty of children at libraries, including young ones who don't know how to swim. This to me seems like a huge safety risk and makes me fear that something unfortunate is bound to happen.

Street Lighting

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 03:28:00 UTC

This street specifically, and a couple of other surrounding ones, had no streetlamps. I had decided that I wanted to see how this neighborhood was both during the day and night, which is how I came upon this realization. There was nothing to help traverse the uneven and broken sidewalks, making it almost impossible to not roll an ankle. As someone who doesn't have access to a car and has to utilize public walkways to get around the city, I find this completely unacceptable and ridiculous.

Unkempt Parking Lots

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 03:42:46 UTC

The parking lots around here were completely in disarray. Almost all of them had no lights, needed to be repainted or repaired, and were just littered with trash. In one of the parking lots by a restaurant, there was actually an old, broken water heater just lying about. I was truly shocked to see such a blatant disrespect to the community and its inhabitants.

Parking Lots: Maintenance Needed

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 03:46:31 UTC

This is just another example of poor parking lots. The lines are completely gone and there are no lights making it an absolutely terrifying place during the night.

Sidewalks: Tripping Hazard

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 03:54:42 UTC

All the sidewalks, besides on 2100 East, were actual monstrosities. There were several instances where the sidewalks became tripping hazards, due to roots growing underneath or just some movement of the cement, making it a struggle to walk on them.

Sidewalks: Foliage

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 03:55:17 UTC

Another example of sidewalks being unmaintained. The foliage by this sidewalk has grown so dense it's almost like walking through a forest to walk here. I had to duck under several branches throughout this neighborhood, making it like an obstacle course to successfully use these sidewalks.

Reflection

u1434361 — 2024-09-09 04:11:02 UTC

At first, I thought this assignment was gonna be much more of a challenge than it turned out to be. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find defects, since professionals had helped design these areas. But as I started this project I began to realize that though professionals had created these places, they hadn't stayed around to ensure the proper uptake and maintenance of their creations. As a future aspiring engineer, I want to learn from their mistakes; I want to keep up with my creations and ensure that they function properly from the start to the end of their life.