How can we ensure development is beneficial for everyone and not just select groups?
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Community Tools
Curbside Conference
This project emerged as a response to the rapid development and gentrification happening in Gainesville, FL, where the University of Florida is located. It's not a unique phenomenon; many towns with large-scale universities are experiencing a similar pressure to develop quickly to accommodate their growing student populations.
The project focuses on one neighborhood in particular: Porters Community. Porters is a historically black neighborhood especially threatened by displacement due to the gentrification Gainesville is experiencing because it located in what has become a very desirable spot, between UF and the heart of downtown Gainesville.
Curbside Conference is an initiative to start local dialogue about development. Preserve Porters is one human-centered tool that Curbside Conference could use to begin a holistic dialogue by surveying two groups: residents living within Porters and residents/students living elsewhere in Gainesville that may be unaware of the effects of gentrification. Pre-stamped postcards with questions regarding equitable development would be delivered to Porters residents; custom-printed coffee sleeves with information about the history of Porters Community and the situation it faces today would be used at local cafes.
The survey questions for the two groups are very similar, but the intent is different. For Porters residents, the intent is to offer a friendly platform to be heard, acknowledged, and taken seriously. For those living outside of Porters, the intent is to educate and to consider the ramifications of inequitable development.
This project was featured in Ligature 27, the 2018 juried exhibition of graphic design student work at University of Florida.
Role /
Designer
Researcher
Year /
2016
Methods /
Mind Mapping
Systems Thinking
Place Mapping
Rapid Prototyping
Final Logo
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The Curbside Conference name refers to informal communal gatherings that happen in the streets. The stylized heart shape surrounding the name is constructed with bent "sidewalks."
Preserve Porters is one human-centered tool that Curbside Conference could use to begin a holistic dialogue by surveying two groups: residents living within Porters and residents/students living elsewhere in Gainesville that may be unaware of the effects of gentrification.
Final Postcard: Tetris
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Visually representing rapid development in Gainesville as tetris, causing the density of the city to increase. How can we ensure this development is beneficial for everyone and not just one group?
5.5" x 6.5" cardstock, pre-stamped and distributed to residents within Porters
Final Postcard: Rising Rent
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Rising rent can displace older residents to rural areas on the outskirts of the city where resources are less readily available. When rent is rising out of reach, how can residents hold onto stability?
5.5" x 6.5" cardstock, pre-stamped and distributed to residents within Porters
Final Postcard: Beyond the Grid
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The Porters Community Center, the building on the right, is a main gathering place in the neighborhood. Residents receiving the pre-stamped postcard survey might be more willing to respond because the postcard is personalized for their neighborhood.
5.5" x 6.5" cardstock, pre-stamped and distributed to residents within Porters
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backside of the postcards to be distributed to Porters residents, pre-paid stamps would be applied
Final Coffee Sleeve
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as it would look on-cup; as it would look unrolled to be written on (below)
2.25" x 11", pre-stamped to be used at local cafes
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outside of sleeve
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inside of sleeve, pre-paid stamps would be applied
Mockup: Local Display
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Responses could be displayed at bus stops and other locations accessible to both Porters residents and those living elsewhere. This would be a place where passersby could see mailed-in responses from both groups.
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Selected Research & Process
UF MAIN
CAMPUS
DOWNTOWN
GAINESVILLE
historically black Porters Community as defined by a resident
historically black Porters Community as defined by a resident
historically black Pleasant Street neighborhood as defined by Google maps
historically black Pleasant Street neighborhood as defined by Google maps
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very rough mapping of University of Florida's expansion east toward downtown Gainesville...it's messy...
38%
below fed.
poverty level
39%
below fed.
poverty level
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concentrated poverty: areas defined by those with 40% of the tract population living below the federal poverty threshold
Just beyond the northwestern edge of this map, the median income is $90,000, according to 2015 census data.
areas that remain 100% black
according to 2015 census data
UF
areas that remain 100% black
according to 2015 census data
DOWNTOWN
GAINESVILLE
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mapping change over time, it seems that in the parts of the neighborhoods that abut downtown many residents may have already left (many residents in this area rent, so when demand goes up their rents are likely to rise accordingly)
First Iteration: Flip Book
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A two-sided flip book, that when flipped through one way tells a story of rapid change, and when flipped through from the other side tells a story of stagnation.
"You may only be passing though Gainesville but it is home to many who are being displaced by the growing student population."
Beginning to think about opening up a dialogue between two groups: long-term resident and transient student.
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Sketches of the Curbside Conference logo. CC is an initiative to start local dialogue about development.
Prototype: Coffee Sleeve
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quickly assessing limited space available on the sleeve and how it should be used
Prototype: Coffee Sleeve
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The outside of the sleeve is used to educate residents living elsewhere in Gainesville about Porters history and its vulnerable position due to effects of gentrification. The inside of the sleeve is used to survey this audience about topics related to development.
