Photos on Flickr

I created a flickr page for our work in Brightmoor where I uploaded the photographs i've been taking on our visits thus far. Please feel free to browse, share, and use them for anything you might need!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brightmoorprojects/sets/

College Collision Mind Map!

College Collision Course

Safety & Security

So our group got together and found a mutual interest in safety and in what makes people feel safe. We discussed the impact lighting makes on an environment and the idea of safety through being open vs. closing oneself off. We identified the gate to the Detroit Community Schools as something with potential for improvement, with its form resembling prison bars (not a true reflection of the people within the school!). Along the same lines, we discussed safety within the school such as locker security and classroom security for students. Then we moved more toward the topic of the community safety, and the snowball effect that is created through abandoned houses. When we next visit the Brightmoor Community we plan on asking many questions regarding this topic, and using those responses to better understand this need!

TEENS

Last week, our team discussed the fact that the teens in the Brightmoore area had very few places to go in their own community. They were the ones that built much of the stuff, but in the end those places really were for younger kids in their community.

We thought of ways that we could improve this while also thinking of the empty space in the school. One of the kids in my group last week said that he wished the school was bigger. Utilizing this space could be a way of expanding the school and giving teens a place to go.

Social Networking

My group and I have been further discussing the topic of college, specifically college awareness. Taking note of how eager the students are to see what college looks like - they want to see a dorm, a typical college day, and college life in general. So we are trying understand how and in which ways we can create a way for college students to inform high school students about college and the college experience. The students of the Brightmoor community should have a way to access information to answer their curiosities and inquiries. If college is not a part of ones culture, like it is perhaps ours, then how is someone supposed to know if they should attend college and/or that it could be an essential step in making their way into the real world and finding a job, or pursuing a passion. By understanding how college and the steps we have taken in our lives have become pertinent in our own micro worlds, we can try to explore and see how it may be possible to assert similar ideals into others' lives...

We have discussed some ideas of an online network where students of all ages can share information and knowledge with one another - maybe this is an after school activity.... ??

How do we maintain a fun atmosphere and make this something intriguing for all participants?

Is this universal or are there only limited subjects within?

Ideas.......designs.....mediums....?

Last Wednesday, the group I was talking with - housing - came up with a list of problems: abandoned houses being eye sores, having unused materials just sitting there, and a lack of lighting/lack of security. We came up with a couple solutions: creating some sort system using bicycle-powered lighting where kids/whoever can pedal the bike to make the sculpture and/or house and/or street(s) light up; we thought about designing a system to teach people how to take down houses and potentially use those materials towards something else; or we ourselves take down a house and turn the materials into a sculpture; we also thought about taking an abandoned house and turning it into a community center where teachers can go help students, tutoring could be available, counseling for college/careers, and other ideas in that realm. Any thoughts to add to any of these ideas? Any other problems you can think of associated with abandoned houses?