Ivanhoe Prototyping Progress Presentation

Ivanhoe Prototyping from Kelsey Anderson on Vimeo.

Ivanhoe: Process + Interview

Walter May Interview:

We began the informal meeting with Walter May by reviewing our project idea with him and telling him a little more about what we had in mind for the empty lots in Ivanhoe. Dina Newman also sat in on the meeting.

Questions we asked:
What lots would be available and safe for setup?
How many total lots does the Ivanhoe Foundation own?
Is there a map we could get a hold of?
Which block leaders would be available and want to get involved?
Do you have lawn equipment we could use to clean up the chosen lot for the prototype?
Is there any organization in particular that we should get involved with?




What We Found Out:
The Ivanhoe Foundation owns most of the empty lots on Woodlawn and many in back of the center on Highland St. It is difficult to get past the loitering issue in using the empty lots. That’s why basketball courts aren’t put up. They have a project going on right now with a local artist, “Shane” who works on “Ugly Houses” by putting art on the boarded up buildings using painters and graffiti artists. There is one at 31st and Holmes. There would be a lot available for us to use at 3703 Highland St., which is right behind the Nutter-Ivanhoe Center. The organization is tearing down the house beside the lot as well as taking down the chain-link fence that surrounds it. This demolition should happen within the month. This lot would be safe for us to use for setup and prototyping. We have their permission to use it for the project just as long as we let the foundation know when we will be there so that they know it isn’t someone “dumping” on it. We considered using the wood from the house being torn down next to the lot, but Walter told us that all of the good wood from the houses is given to Habitat for Humanity and the rest is demolished. He also put us in contact with Douglas Bowl who keeps maps of Ivanhoe. He ensured us that Douglas would have detailed information on every part of Ivanhoe, including a map of specific blocks (information we would like to use in the project). Also, we learned the block leader for our given lot is Pam Sweeney and we were also given contact information to speak with her about helping out or becoming more acquainted with the neighborhood.

We met with Lee Griggs from the sculpture department at KCAI to talk about building our objects to put in the lots. Although he said he could not help us out this semester, he did give us a few more people to contact at KCAI as well as some locations we could find and re-purpose materials (i.e. KC Steel, Asners Junk Yard, Liberty Wood, Make in Wesport, or using old wooden palettes). This step did not necessarily help with the interest in collaboration so we are continuing to look on craigslist for objects we could use in our prototype.

From here, our plan is to pursue the new contacts and prepare for an actual prototype. This means construction and planning of the lot objects. In addition to that, we have begun designing a new map, survey for residents of the area, as well as sketching out our prototype ideas.

What we are looking at:

Sketches via Kelsey!

Questions for Local Residents of Lot:

Plan for the Past Week 9/26-9/30

Things to be Accomplished:
Sketches
Secondary Research
Survey
Rent video camera to document process/setup
Yolanda—talk about girl scouts
Vector map
Pick location and photograph “before”
Meet and discuss lots with Walter May
Continue framing pesentation

Collaborate:
Sculpture Department
Urban Youth Center
Churches

Planned Prototype:
Grill
Benches
Picnic Table

Ivanhoe: Initial Proposal

A few of us from Visual Advocacy volunteered at the P.A.C.E. event on Saturday and got to hang out with kids, play games and get to know the community in a different way. This was a great opportunity to think about how we are framing our projects.

Initial Ivanhoe Proposal

Ivanhoe: Clarify Problem

Taylor, Kelsey and I have decided to combine the idea of establishing a community center for the youth that all ages have the opportunity of using + forming a pop-up. Because we will have a large group, we wanted to tackle a large problem which will include; promoting training programs, youth activities, etc...

Community Center (for the Youth)

I found a few different plans for establishing a new community center:

1. "Can-do" attitude
2. Business Plan
3. Identify those in community that support the goal
4. Establish relationships with officials in the local government
5. Create a network. Contact existing non-profits that serve multiple socioeconomic purposes (jobs, health, housing, etc.) in community
6. Secure private sector sources of funding (federal, state and private patrons/corporations)

• Form a board of directors
• Sell the purpose of the mission
• Choose a great facility (house?)
• Find volunteers
• Establish hours + staff + restrictions
• Activities (Ex/ training programs, community service)
• Insurance
• Support Letters

1. Apply for non-profit status
2. Develop a mission statement
3. Set long-term goals
4. Establish structure and membership criteria
5. Adopt by-laws
6. Produce and distribute information
7. Get initial contributions
8. Set fund-raising strategies
9. Plan project campaigns, targeted solicitations, and mail campaigns

Possible Activities:

Training programs

Youth activities

Coffeeshop

Ivanhoe: Problem Finding

I am still trying to figure out which idea to go with so I am clarifying the problem with each, researching and doing my best to establish contacts.

Define Challenges

Creating pride among the residents

Communication to residents

Narrow Directions

UMB Bank

I would really like to find a way to get the community excited enough about their new branch that they open in a new location (new building).

Community Communication Forms

This would include finding alternative methods of communication to residents about programs, block leaders, etc.

Empowering and exciting the youth (Use scout, sports, music, PACE programs)

In multiple conversations, the community representatives have talked about the difficulty of exciting the kids in Ivanhoe. This would include working with the programs that already exist as well as the possibility of creating new programs.

Community Garden

This is a great program for any neighborhood but Ivanhoe benefits on multiple levels (i.e. no grocery in neighborhood, life skills, community bonding, etc.)

UMB Bank PromotionThe new UMB branch just opened in Ivanhoe, but they are still having difficulty persuading many to understand the benefits of joining and understanding how to manage their money.

Why is good to join a bank?

Buying a home (or restoring one)

Planning for college

Planning for retirement

Online banking (could be done at the library)

Loans, credit, mortgages

Insurance

Savings (!)

Possible Methods of Promotion:

Initiate request for new, full location (at Community Center?)

Training programs for both adult and youth

Talk to Who?

Contact (neighborhood+)

How to do research

Methods to test assumptions

Reading Response: Design Agitation + Visualizing a Revolution + Design of Dissent

Design Agitation

Social and political propaganda is not a new idea. It began to resonate with the public through the invention of the printing press continued to spread as print technology developed and as new visual languages are introduced to the public. One of the greatest examples of this is through the constructivist movement where politics and revolution were expressed through art and design. This informed the movement that later spread to other creative outlets such as industrial design, textiles, film, and architecture. The poster was considered a "highly persuasive" tool in advertising and is exemplified through movements like Suffrage and WWI posters. Some graphic artists exposed and fought issues such as economic crisis and fascism by exposing the world around them with such reality that they were banned from exhibiting or distribution. But propaganda and visual language can be used for good and evil as seen through Hitler's design identity in the Third Reich and later in post-war consumerism.

Visualizing a Revolution

Described as the Norman Rockwell of the ghetto, Douglas was responsible for creating and maintaining the identity of The Black Panther. How great would it be to become know as the most prolific and persistent graphic agitator of a movement? Douglas embodied this by exposing the struggles of the people while maintaining their dignity. He recognized the effective ability of imagery, graphic communication of ideas, and the use of semiotics, even in black and white, to empower a community.

Design of Dissent

Design's function, although similar to art, provides a strategic, time-conscious ability to transform silent truth into public truth, then collective truth. Great political movements have been marked by this process.

"So great is our knowledge, in the early years of the 21st Century, of all that has come before us, so vast is our experience of both human success and also staggering, holocaustic failure, and so sophisticated is our understanding of how little we understand, how vaguely we understand, that a toxic cynicism pervades our spirit, shutting down our capacity for faith, for hope, for imagining change--and consequently shutting down our passion, our imagination. These posters, these works of art have a restorative power." Tony Kushner

Glaser argues that dissent is the desire for human equality, but that it can have positive and negative implications. Dissent protects democracy. This is seen in belief systems such as religion and politics as well as other social forms of organized opinion. This is a form of activism where designers should resolve to become conscious of their ability to communicate (for good and evil). According to Glaser, protecting democracy in this way is the only hope we have.

Ivanhoe: Research Summary

Mission

To be a truly thriving community. Building a clean, beautiful and safe neighborhood. To revitalize a depressed community by cleanliness, beauty, capacity building, housing, economic development, jobs, and enrichment programs for families, youth and senior citizens.

Addressing the Problem

Poverty concentration, foreclosure/vacancies, high mortality rate, single-parent households, education attendance/completion/opportunity, crime, traffic, drug activity

"We didn't feel safe with our kids playing in the street with the drug activity, traffic up and down the street and it kind of hit me that...this was not a good place to raise kids."

Need Ivanhoe residents to take back the neighborhood.

How to inspire them?

How do you make people feel like they are a part of something?

About the Neighborhood + Residents

Questions for Friday

1. What are the top 5 values that are most likely shared by the residents of Ivanhoe
2. Would adults or youth benefit more from organized community services?
3. Would adults or youth be more responsive to organized community services?
4. Are there sub-neighborhoods found within Ivanhoe (rivalries?)
5. Give an example of the daily life of a resident in Ivanhoe (Male, Female, Child)
6. What are some of the biggest challenges with setting up positive services within the community?

A Few of the Solutions Already in Place

Healthy Kids Initiative

Quality of Life Plan

House Rehab

Public Art Workshop

Deconstruction and Demolition of Single Family Residential Properties

Ivanhoe Land Bank

Block Contact Program

Sporting, Scouting, Music, Restorative Justice Program, Special Community Events

Assessing Community Needs

Volunteers Needed To:

Mentor children and youth

Assist with clerical tasks

Organize special projects

Recruit volunteers

Here are some goals set up by the Green Impact Zone for Ivanhoe:

· Innovative strategies to address weatherization of homes within the zone.

· A coordinated community policing and community services center.

· A multi-pronged housing improvement program for current homeowners and residents.

· An employment and training program coordinated both with zone activities and business interests outside of the zone.

· Development and implementation of a sustainability strategy for the zone, including energy efficiency and renewable energy sources and green solutions to water and waste water issues

· Installation of a smart grid by Kansas City Power and Light, and integration with other energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.

· Development and implementation of an economic development strategy.

· An integrated strategy to address abandoned and foreclosed properties and vacant lots.

Their Solution = the zone has assembled a core team of leaders within the neighborhood and community development organizations in the zone, as well as the programmatic, nonprofit, private, and civic leadership necessary to support a comprehensive strategy that will transform the entire zone.