Testing my Hypothesis

I have a meeting on Monday December 7 with a construction company to discuss the possibility of testing my theory that public art installments will deter Urban Blight. And with the location on the heavily vandalized industrial neighborhood of Bayshore it would serve as a true test. Above is the proposal...

Lets Get Involved, Longterm!

Throughout my survey design the main objective was to find out if people are involved with the community. As you can see in this snapshot of the response received from SFSU students, nearly 70% said admitted not being active in the community. The students I mentor at Thurgood Marshall High School typically respond with similar proportions. I hypothesize that educating students about a heightened sense of community, that is belonging to, participating in, and the cultivating of will result in the decline of Blight. Possible in a snowball effect whereas solutions today are are more of the snail effect.

The Team

Currently I'm finalizing an exciting research driven holistic solution to Blight with the guidance of Marty Linder (Industrial Design Outreach), Steve Gipson (Mission High School), and Steve and Debbie Dells (Residents) among many other contributors... It's going to be great!

Neighborhood Survey Redesign

It is hypothesized that the better the design of a survey the more likely it is to be thoughtfully filled out and promptly returned. With that in mind I'm much more confident this survey will be filled out and returned to me.

Zero Graffiti for a Beautiful City

SFDPW video production...

New Resident Survey Design

Here's my first draft of the survey I plan to distribute among the residents living along the track... what do you guys think?

Resident Survey Inspiration

Came across this survey last night at dinner, It's a brilliant template to redesign. I'll use this to create a survey to distribute to the residents of the neighbor and attach a stamp so they can easily mail it back to me. For 50 surveys it will cost perhaps $30 total... well worth the data!

Online Survey

Please follow this link:

Click Here to take survey

And take a quick survey for me, thanks!

Waste of Money?

"Stimulus money", "It costs us a lot... each and every year... over 10 million dollars", and "Conquer the LA river" - yikes!

On the bright side (sarcastic), graffiti artists now have 52 miles of fresh canvas!

Teacher Survey

Here's another survey, this one is meant for teachers. I'm going to drop them off, hopefully 10, to Thurgood Marshal High School in San Francisco.

All the surveys follow the same visual hierarchy and share similar prompts for establishing whether or not public art, transportation, and education have a relationship and if so what it is. The section on bottom for additional thoughts is a gamble in it's unorthodoxness but I believe it's a gamble well worth taking!

Transport Survey

Here's an example of a possible survey to be handed out at MUNI bus stops and/or on MUNI. Let me know what you think!

Wet Paint

Here's an example of a current SF Bureau of Street Environmental Service "Wet Paint" sign. It really shows the lack of thought that goes into there brand. As annotated it has glaring deficiencies such as font, layout, and message. One would think with the amount of time and money and effort that goes into cleaning the city that the city would not waste such a great opportunity like a "wet paint" sign... but alas they do!

Time to get crackin'!

Video Evidence: 22nd to 18th

This is the passenger view facing West and going from South to North.

A Solution

Through my research I discovered this Grant being offered by San Francisco. It's the perfect opportunity to test my hypothesis, very exciting! My research is also proving both the importance of art education leading to a better understanding of community humanity and society but that an installation in the suggested location would be both interesting and beneficial to the general public!

This Grant calls for an organization to receive the $15,000, Industrial Design Outreach (IDO) is the perfect recipient. Through my experience with IDO this semester I'll develop a complete lesson plan that will take place over an appropriate segment of time at an appropriate venue.

Time to get cracking!

Video Evidence: 18th to 22nd

This is the passenger perspective, looking East on a train moving North to South.

Sample Neighborhood Survey

What do you guys think about this survey? It's designed to establish the users level of familiarity with the space and issue. It should high light the level of need and the therefore the overall relevance of a solution.

Bird Eye View of Location

Take a look at all the section of track in question both whole and parted...

The yellow bit of track is 1000 feet long and runs through Dolores Park. This stretch of track is the most littered, dark, and vandalized because it unlike the other bits of track, has public assess. It also has vegetation, wall space, a walk path, and skywalks which are all nice design opportunities.

The Blue bit of track is 500 feet and has a heavily painted red fence in front of a bit of a view of the north east bay area on one side and a tall wall I'd say goes 6-7 feet up with paint. Both the fence and the walls present nice design opportunities.

The Green bit of track has vine covering most of the right side of track which is a nice solution integrating nature. The other side of track is mostly chain link fence. It also has a unique bus stop that needs some tlc.

The Purposed Section of Track

Here is a close up of the section of track in question. It's around 2000 feet long and weaves through backyards into Dolores Park. I believe the space presents the opportunity for 3 public art installations designed to reduce mental and physical pollution, cost to San Francisco, and increase community health.

Panel of Experts

Take a look at the experts I'll be pursuing interviews with...

PERT Chart the Print Out

The primary difference here is the addition of a space to add ideas or tasks that may come up in the process. This is a nice feature because the document could be printed out and distributed amongst a team and reviewed fluidly along the design process.

PERT Chart

This is how I will be gladly spending my time over the next three months of my life.

Project Timeline

Here are the dates that I expect to have the different aspects of this research project completed on. There are also a few very important appointment dates included. Even though there is no direct link from the "line" to the "events" I feel the ticks along the line which essentially mimics the mapping of a stop light and the dates in the event boxes which are in english left to right reading format convey the feel of time passing well, what do you think?

Problem & Purpose Statement

Problem Statement:

The J Church Light Rail line in San Francisco has 19,000 riders a day. A portion of its route starting at 22nd & Church ending at Church & 18th is baron, littered, and a target for graffiti.

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this study is to identify why the space is in this state, examine the effect on local ethnography, and develop a solution.