Sustainable Cities is a service-learning course offered through the Program on Urban Studies and Earth Systems Program. Students learn and work collaboratively with Bay Area government agencies and community organizations to support their sustainability goals. Now in its seventh year, the class attracts undergraduate and graduate students from a multitude of disciplines, ranging from urban studies to civil and environmental engineering to law and public policy majors, to support clients on meaningful fieldwork-based projects. To see more information about the class, please visit: urbanst164.stanford.edu
The Winter 2016 class worked with four community partners on the following projects: 1) assessing equitable access to transit in San Mateo County (Partner: Friends of Caltrain); 2) conducting a community-serving retail analysis of the Tenderloin and Central Market Area in San Francisco (Partner: Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation); 3) developing economic drivers and development strategies for the City of Los Altos (Partner: Los Altos Economic Development); and 4) addressing local business displacement in the City of San Mateo (Partner: Urban Habitat). The final presentations took place on March 9, 2016 at Stanford University (Video). Update on Project Activities
It’s crunch time! This week we focused most of our energy towards divvying up parts of the final presentation and report, making sure that we were on track for the runthrough on Monday. Casey and Sonja worked on creating a map for CartoDB, which will serve as part of the database of proposed developments in the Tenderloin. Jenai and Paul have been working on other aspects of the deliverables for the TNDC, including compiling interview data and filling in the literature review. On Monday morning we plan to have our final check-in with Lorenzo via phone in order to make sure everything is looking good on our end. We also plan to meet with Dave from the Geospatial Lab to get some final editing help on our map. What We Observed and Learned In our continuance of our literature review, we’ve found a couple interesting things. One of the resources that we’ve explored is an article discussing state initiatives that support healthier food retail. The article helped discuss the importance of needs of such programs such as reducing obesity rates and disease prevention. However, what was most striking was the overall number of states that have launched similar food retail programs the and the various steps they took to enact a change. A Lot of other articles we’ve read have focused more on the effects and the reasoning but this article also gave very clear steps that can be taken by public health practitioners, organizations, and various partners. For example, it discusses preparing reports, fact sheets, and health data to demonstrate a need, identifying communities that lack access to food retail venues, and even consulting with subject matter experts with experience with HFR research and policy development. This article will help us to formulate a course of action for our partner in the future. In addition to the data we collected both on the ground and online about potential developments, it was also important to survey and hear from community members. Closer to the beginning of the quarter, we had the chance to meet with a diverse group of community leaders intimately involved with making the Tenderloin a better place. It is very important in any kind of community-based work to humanize the data/demographics through storytelling and listening. In this way, it was important to root our studies in community members’ actual lives as well as to balance the defining of community needs while also figuring out economic feasibility. Speaking with community members, it was clear that food justice services (grocery stores, communal kitchens, healthy/affordable restaurants) were an emphasis although not a sole emphasis. However, these and other potential retail (notaries, copy machine centers, laundromats, salons, etc.) as well as community spaces (for group meetings, study, and job preparation, etc.) are potentially viable additions to the ground floors of new housing developments. The thoughts and contributions from the TL’s community leaders/members will also play a role in the part of our deliverable where we help craft a list of criteria to judge new developments and their potential to serve (or harm) the community). Critical Analysis / Moving Forward As we prepare for our final presentation and draft our final report/deliverables, we’ll take this chance to briefly reflect on this quarter’s project as a whole. Our project was divided into two main efforts--field research and production of deliverables. The field research was conducted in three outings in the Tenderloin, and was ultimately fairly productive. Our first visit, we interviewed five community leaders working with the TNDC on various projects and on our second visit, Casey sat in on a Tenderloin Healthy Corner Store Coalition meeting. During our third visit, we visited twelve proposed mixed-use developments in the Tenderloin. The first two visits allowed us a context in which to place our efforts, and the third allowed us to gather the specific data we needed to complete our deliverables. While we were ultimately able to gather all of the information we needed, it would have been more productive if we had had more specific goals for our first two visits. As it was, we didn’t have our deliverables in mind for the majority of the quarter and instead were gathering more general information through our field research and literature review. If we were to continue this project after the end of the quarter, we would need to lay out at the beginning our final goals for the project. Update on Project Activities
This week we focused our efforts on the database portion of our final deliverable. This includes a list of upcoming retail developments in the Tenderloin area which will impact the community. We arrived at the Tenderloin area with a list of 12 known projects and we spent a couple hours walking around the area observing the sites. We took notes on the surrounding businesses and area also to see what needs and services are already offered and what this retail development might contribute to the community. What We Observed and Learned While walking to and surveying all 12 of the developments in our database, we took pictures and notes on their surroundings. Some of our notes confirmed what we already knew - for instance, that there are many deli’s/corner stores with a limited selection of food within the Tenderloin. One surprising finding, however, was the vast number of private hotels in the neighborhood. We did find that most spots for proposed developments had at least 1 or 2 restaurants within a one block radius or less. Going into our fieldwork, we expected most of the developments to be either empty lots or in early stages of construction. We were surprised to find that many of the sites had existing ground floor retail - some restaurants and some small shops. We are unsure whether these businesses will remain or be completely displaced when it comes time to build the new developments. Whether retail spaces were already occupied or not, in general it was important to get a sense of which developments in our database are planned to be housing (apartments) above potential retail space or retail space in itself and whether the existing businesses can remain / should be preserved. In general, it was interesting to find a variety of retail businesses (excluding any kind of large grocery store) and it was inspiring to see the work of TNDC in action (e.g. fruits & vegetables occupying shelves in corner stores). It seems, however that there needs to be more because although there’s a salon or laundry mat, community center or deli here and there there is certainly a lack in numbers throughout the neighborhood (especially for those for whom it’s not as easy to walk a few blocks). It seems perhaps that in addition to looking to other models throughout different parts of the city and other cities it might just be important to expand the positive types of developments already existing in the TL and increase their numbers. Critical Analysis / Moving Forward We were unable to meet with our community partners during our visit to the Tenderloin today since it was not during the work week, but we have delivered the parking permit and will have a call with Lorenzo and Ryan early next week, once we’ve had more time to discuss our visit today amongst ourselves. At this point, we have completed most, if not all, of our field research and will work to use the data we have collected and been provided with by our community partners or the developers to completeour project. The next step is to create a map with the information collected on the new developements in the Tenderloin. Once we have this, combined with our notes on existing retail from today’s visit, we will be able to identify which types of businesses are lacking new these new developments and with form our recommendations for specific spaces from there. Update on Project Activities
This week we made more headway on our development database, filling in info that we got from the San Francisco Property Information Map on the specific development sites. Now that we have solid, physical details for most of the developments, we are laying the groundwork to create a map. With this map, we hope to show the developments in relation to each other as well as possibilities for various community serving retail within those developments. What We Observed and Learned This week we’ve been more active in collecting literature articles and sources to begin analyzing how other communities around the United States have enacted health retail initiatives and whether or not their successes are appropriate to the Tenderloin area. Hopefully past examples can allow us to build a better plan. One of the literary pieces focused on the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. It was a statewide program that hoped to bring supermarkets to urban and rural communities that were underserved with respect to food needs. The goals listed for the program align very well with the objectives set out for the Tenderloin project. These goals included reducing diseases related to consumption of unhealthy foods, promoting financial investments in lower-wealth communities, granting even access to healthy foods, and creating local job opportunities. The unique aspect about this program was that it was the United States’ first statewide program which hoped to produce supermarket development. The fact that it was statewide also means that funding for this program was readily available. Therefore, it might be out of scope for the Tenderloin project. However, it’s important to examine how funding (which was mainly from the government and then matching donations from private companies) was used to establish supermarket growth. The grants considered eligible uses as “early costs associated with project feasibility including professional fees, market studies, etc, land assembly and capital for relocation...soft costs..and construction for general conditions”. One example of a successful fresh food market is the Boyer’s family markets. The funds were used to purchase energy-efficient equipment for the markets, support employee training, and improve furniture. Therefore, an important part of this program wasn’t the fact that money was spent to create more stores but support local ones and give access to healthier food options. The corner stores that are existing in the Philadelphia region weren’t originally able to provide fresh product due to limited space and infrastructure. The funds helped over 29 stores expand space and carry fresh produce which might be an interesting goal for the Tenderloin project--targeting local grocery and corner stores. Another source examined the Renaissance Community Co-op. The RCC’s mission statement is to “create a democratically owned and controlled grocery store in Northeast Greensboro that provides all of Greensboro with healthy foods at affordable prices and has a commitment to locally sources foods, community education, and dignified jobs.” The interesting part of this source was that the community members were the one to recognize a problem adn initiate a change. In the summer of 2012, community members and staff from the Fund for Democratic Communities asked for a community-owned grocery store. This group formed into the RCC and began the process such as education themselves about the responsibilities and pathway to creating a grocery store. This is important to examine further because the community now has a cooperative business which is another possible route the Tenderloin area could take instead of having a large supermarket just settle in. This would unite the community and allow for widespread ownership and responsiblity. Critical Analysis / Moving Forward We are excited to make our way back to the Tenderloin next week to delve into a little more on-the-ground field work in the community. We will be figuring out what other information we need about specific new developments in addition to what we have in our information database that we can collect while we are there. Additionally, we’ll stop in to different retail stores in the neighborhood and speak with retailers and residents about ways in which retail is working well in the neighborhood as well as areas they feel could be improved. Update on Project Activities
This week we heard back from one of the developers we reached out to who gave us specific information on the development that his company is proposing in the Tenderloin. Additionally, he pointed us in the direction of a an incredibly useful resource - San Francisco Property Information Map. On this website, one can plug in the address for any property in San Francisco and get public information on ownership and site specifics. We plan on using this resource as a means to fill in holes in our proposed development database, given that not all developers are keen on offering up details on their developments. In our weekly meeting we discussed our progress on our literature review, figuring out how to make it most comprehensive by identifying subject areas that we had not yet read up on. Since most of our sources on community serving retail are focused on food, we plan on shifting toward research of other possible forms of community serving retail. What We Observed and Learned In addition to receiving and beginning to analyze the information/data we received from the developers (from which we will continue to glean valuable knowledge), we are continuing to find and review articles related to community-serving retail. In particular this week we looked at some descriptions of projects in the context of providing potential ideas and models for use of commercial space in the Tenderloin. One such project is the Kitchener Oakland which is a fully-operating commercial kitchen for fledgling food entrepreneurs. The Kitchener Oakland rents out a clean, communal space for startup food businesses to cook/bake and store food at affordable rates as they build their businesses. In the Tenderloin, this model could also work to provide cooking space for residents with limited access to these facilities. However, we would potentially need to find funding or help subsidize rates for people not selling their goods, as the food justice organization Phat Beets Produce does in Oakland for their Farmers’ Market business incubator program. Another such example is Third Place Books in Seattle, WA. This bookstore is much more than just that, providing a community space for everything from family game nights and exercise classes to health screenings and school plays. The Project for Public Spaces analyzes this project on their website, drawing important connections to sociological theory around community such as those from Ray Oldenburg as well as lays out helpful and practical description and analysis of making businesses that intentionally serve residents into not only beneficial but also financially feasible additions to communities like the Tenderloin. Critical Analysis / Moving Forward On Friday, February 26th, we will be going as a group to the Tenderloin to see in person some of the new mixed-use projects in the Tenderloin, as well as to speak with current corner store owners and customers. When visiting the mixed-use projects, we hope to fill in any gaps we can’t gather from the data we have already been given. Many of these mixed-use projects plan to use the ground floor space for retail, and we are unsure at this point how much of this data we will be able to gather remotely. We also hope to get a better idea about what other retail options are available in the Tenderloin. Most of our research and field work to date has been about food justice issues focusing on the corner stores, but we need to start thinking about other kinds of community serving retail that might be missing from the Tenderloin. During our first visit to the Tenderloin, the community leaders we met with shared a few things that are missing--dry cleaners, shoemakers, notaries, printing services, salons--but we would also like to explore existing community centers with access to computers and career services. |
Archives
November 2020
Categories
All
|