Our studio spent the entire Spring 2023 semester doing research, making observations, and engaging with the community in order to make our final recommendations to Bernalillo County. Studio members made visits to the site over the course of the project to take photos and analyze conditions. Throughout the semester we also met with professionals in various sectors who are experts in topics relating to our project as well as individuals who have experience working in the International District. Below is a summary of what we accomplished and descriptive information about the major events.
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Community Meeting: We hosted our community meeting on April 2nd, 2023 at Van Buren Middle School. The meeting was held in tandem with an Urban Ag Project work day. We were able to assist the community in working on the community garden as well as collect input about our project. We used the World Cafe Model for our meeting, meaning that we set up multiple stations based on the topic areas we identified. Community members filtered through each station at their own pace and had conversations with students at each station. The topic areas we chose to examine were transportation, community spaces/alleyways, and services for individuals who are unhoused or experiencing substance abuse/behavioral health issues. At each station, we collected data about topic areas and the related concerns through having conversations around interactive materials.
In summary, we learned that the community is overall in favor of doing a project in the alleyways to create a multi-use public space. The residents at the meeting advocated for creating a transportation corridor that could also function as a space to host community events. They also expressed that they would love to see these spaces populated with murals, local plants/pollinator gardens, book exchange shelves, and other things to create a welcoming environment where people want to spend time. Community members also advocated for the alleyways to have some basic services for the unhoused, such as access to potable water, a food pantry, and restrooms.
Community members also expressed safety and security concerns surrounding people who are unhoused or experiencing behavioral health or substance abuse issues. Residents often feel afraid to go outside, and are frustrated with people who are unhoused sleeping and using the restroom in the alleyways as well as things being stolen out of their backyard. To help address these concerns, they strongly advocated for lighting and mobile surveillance units. There are also safety concerns surrounding pedestrian, bicycle, and wheelchair transportation in the area. Many residents expressed that the neighborhood is not walkable, bikeable, or accommodating to wheelchairs, and due to this it is dangerous for those who don’t have access to a car.
Pop-up:
The pop-up event was located in an alleyway on the cross streets of Marble Ave and Alvarado Dr. The event was scheduled to begin at 11am, but students arrived early to set up the structures, maps, games and to begin the mural painting preparation. Many people from within the community and outside the neighborhood stopped by to check out everything the guerilla urbanism event had to offer. Children enjoyed the games and the alleyway community embraced the liveliness of the space by interacting and networking with all of the visitors. During the event, three murals were created and beds of native, low maintenance cacti were established. Everyone who was part of the neighborhood association was very excited to keep everything that was built for the alleyway, especially after seeing how much life it brought to a space that had otherwise been forgotten and neglected. This space not only serves as a value to the community, but as an inspiration and example of the great potential of uses for the many alleyways throughout Albuquerque.
