Mens et Manus

As the semester draws to a close, I look back on the last few months and wonder where the time went. It seemed that just yesterday, my classmates and I were being introduced to New Orleans. It's amazing to see what we've all learned in just a few short months time.

When I talk about this class to my family and friends, I stress the way in which we were all encouraged to apply what we learned in class to our project. MIT prides itself on urging its students to participate in a hands-on education. We are told from day one never to be satisfied with a theoretical lesson when it can be applied somewhere and benefit the world. This class was a prime example and something I truly appreciate as I approach my final year at MIT.

In the last semester, all of us were able to travel to a city far away, talk to real people, and discuss real solutions to various problems faced by New Orleans. This is not an opportunity given to many others, and I am reminded every day of how lucky we are to go to such an amazing institution. I truly loved this past semester in 11.027 and hope to take what I've learned with me in the future. Hopefully, I can return one day and see how our beloved Federal City has fared. 

An Engineer versus a Planner

While working on our final projects and posters recently, we've been talking about effective design and aesthetics. Coming from an engineering background, this kind of thinking is very new to me. I think it's so interesting to compare the way an engineer designs to the way a planner does. (I'm making broad generalizations here, so take these with a grain of salt.)

A planner considers their product--either a report, poster, powerpoint, portfolio, etc.-- a visual object meant to entertain and inform the viewer. It is not enough for the product to convey the information; it has to do so in a way that is "visually appealing." Suddenly, there are other aspects that are just as important as the data or information, aspects such as the color scheme, even the font! An engineer couldn't care less about the font; as long as the diagrams are legible and the information is present and conveyed, they're happy.

This distinction came to mind when I walked through the civil engineering labs on the third floor of building 1. On a chalk board in the hallway, a professor had scrawled "PhD defense for student xyz Thursday 1pm". There was no punctuation, no emphasis, no color; just a basic description spelled out in the clearest way possible. The theses themselves are similar, formed by a combination of plain font and direct language that results in a somewhat lackluster visual, in my opinion.

I wonder if there is a way to blend both styles, the direct and clean approach of engineers with the more aesthetically focused and lively approach of the planners. I think that the negatives of each style are balanced the positives of the other. I'd hope to reach some kind of middle ground, perhaps in this class but also in others and after MIT. I think this blend is a really valuable point of view to use, and I'm glad that I've come into this class with an engineering background because it's helped me see the strengths and weaknesses of both. 

My favorite parts of the Algiers Project

Working on our project for the Councilmember's office has been an amazing experience so far. While conducting the research and interviews over the phone have provided us with interesting information, my favorite parts of this project are those where we interacted with true New Orleanians first-hand. Of all the meetings Emma and I had in our short visit to the city, I enjoyed the initial meeting with Councilmember Palmer and her team the most. This meeting, while only about an hour long, gave me incredible insight into a few components of work in politics.

When Councilmember Palmer showed up in running clothes and out of breath, it was a reminder that politicians are still people; they live their own lives and have their own priorities to consider. I think that too often Americans lose sight of that fact and expect their city councilor or their senator to do exactly what they want, when they want. It was refreshing to see the Councilmember crack jokes and be a "real person," not just a robotic figurehead spouting stump speeches and talking points.

Sasha and Malia Obama, being normal teenagers (Us Magazine, 1/22/2013).

Another aspect of the job that I noticed was that the campaign is never over. Even if you've won the election, you have to ensure sure that your constituents are continuously happy and that you're holding on to their votes. Tia struck up a conversation with a few different people in the course of our meeting, and each time she made sure to listen to what they thought about Algiers and the current state of the city. Her job is to make sure that the community feels heard and included, and that doesn't stop once the votes are in.

The final realization I had didn't hit me fully until after speaking with Jeff Schwartz at the alumni dinner party. He warned Emma and I about the potential dangers of approaching the community with open-ended questions, since the average person may not know what is feasible and what is not. While at the coffeeshop with Tia, an Algiers resident suggested making a section of New Orleans (I forget which neighborhood) pedestrian-only and outlawing all car traffic. I have little knowledge of these things, but I would assume that the process of such a transition is not an easy one. From the look on Tia's face, it didn't seem like the suggestion was high on the Councilmember's priority list; but regardless, she sat there and listened to the man. That is her job year round.

These small examples of politicking gave me a really interesting background on what the interface between political organizations and everyday citizens can be like. I'm glad that not only am I getting planning experience through this project, but also an inside look at what it can be like working in local government. 

A Reflection on Sandy: Part Two

I've had some trouble thinking of what to write about on this blog, so please forgive my absence on the site. I thought going back to the comments made on earlier blogs would help. 

On my earlier post about Hurricane Sandy, the following comment was made: 

I think it is very interesting that you bring up the comparison of Sandy. I too felt a chilling connection between the two Hurricanes. What I find particularly interesting is the difference in response on the part of the federal government. While New York was almost back to running after a few days, New Orleans took years (and is still struggling) to repair a lot of the damage caused by Katrina. What do you think about this? Why did this happen? What didn't work in New Orleans?

From my perspective, there are a few major differences between New Orleans and New York City that allowed for a faster response after Hurricane Sandy. Firstly, I think that the political organizations in NY/NJ acted more efficiently than those of New Orleans in 2005. One of example of this is involved Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. 

Acting against strong pressure from the GOP, Governor Christie worked closely and quickly with President Obama to bring relief to the Jersey Shore. The Governor got a lot of heat for his praise of the President's response (people are still talking about it), but many lauded him for choosing to help his constituents over his own party. Based on what we've learned about New Orleans, this type of action on the part of government officials did not occur post-Katrina. 

I doubt that this faster response can be solely attributed to the political makeup of NY/NJ; the nation saw what happened post-Katrina and knew that history repeating itself was not something we could afford. As devastating as Hurricane Katrina was to the population and physical components of New Orleans, Americans now have a better idea of what can happen if the government does not respond as it should. Steps have been taken in the years since Katrina so that our response system can be faster and more efficient than it was in 2005. 

Now that we're back...

With all the craziness happening in Boston last week, I haven't had much time to digest everything from the trip. One of the first things that I've realized since our return is how many "transplants" we met while in New Orleans. Besides Seth and the Councilmember, many of the people that Emma and I talked to were not native to New Orleans. Rather, they moved there at some point in their careers in an attempt to improve the city. 

That fact brings me back to a conversation we had in class one day; Cherie asked the class the following question: given the option, would you go back to your hometown and plan for them? I said I would rather plan for another city, but that brought up the question of identity and the idea of "outsiders" coming in and trying to suggest solutions to a city that is not their own. 

For me, it was comforting to see Tia, Jeff, Lekedra, and others from places other than New Orleans come in and make the city their own. As Lekedra mentioned on the tour, you can't walk in and assume that you own the place; instead, it's a long and time-intensive process. You have earn the trust of the community before you can start recommending changes. I hope that if I decide to work as a planner one day, I can remember the lessons learned from the professionals we met on our trip. 

And away we go!

We leave for New Orleans tomorrow, and I have to admit that I'm a little bit nervous... not just to see how my hair will fare in the heat/humidity (poorly, I expect), but also to see how my personal view of New Orleans stacks up against the real thing.

As I pack my bags and look over our baseline analysis one more time, I'm excited to experience the famous New Orleans for myself. I can't wait to taste the food, hear the music, and see the sights for myself, and I'm sure that this first-hand view will help Emma and I with our project even more than the extensive background we've received in class so far.

I'm especially excited for our with tour with Rich Campanella. Of everything on his website, the thing that I found the most interesting was the extent of his CV; he's so accomplished and will clearly be an amazing source of knowledge, not only for our general knowledge of NOLA, but four our projects as well. 

Magazine Beach Project: A Glimpse into Client Work

I see the Magazine Beach project as a learning experience designed to prepare us for client work in New Orleans. As part of a student group called Four Consulting, I've worked with student groups and administrative groups at MIT to help them solve some of their problems, most of which amounted to publicity campaigns or exec board structures. The scope of these projects spread mostly around campus, sometimes stretching into the outer community but not often.

In that sense, the Magazine Beach was kind of a challenge for me. Magazine Beach has a long history and involves many players in the Cambridgeport, Greater Boston, and State communities. Many people have invested their time and money to see this project moved forward.

My biggest challenge so far has been to accept the larger scope of this project and rather than shrink away at the intimidating size of it, come up to meet it. The bar has been set high, but I think our class as a team can meet it and raise if even higher.

In short, we have to step it up!

My goal for this project, beyond pleasing the client and learning from our individual groups, is to feel more confident in my abilities and perspectives. I think it's often easy to feel small at MIT, but working with outside groups reminds me of how much potential we all have! We can truly accomplish a lot if we work together and apply ourselves, and I'm hoping to bring that attitude and confidence to New Orleans in April. 

NOLA as seen through "Treme"

It's no secret that watching television is my favorite thing to do in my free time. I've been known to wax poetic about my favorite program with a friend in lieu of doing a p-set now and again... so, imagine my joy at watching part of the HBO series Treme in class!

As I've mentioned before, most of my prior knowledge of New Orleans came from the stereotypes of the city: mardi gras, gumbo, jazz music. What else I knew of the city came through video footage of Hurricane Katrina. Because of this, I saw the city as both one with a rich history and cultural traditions, as well as one with an inefficient political system and precarious geographical location. My perception of the city has been augmented and made more realistic through the course of the class so far, especially since I now know more of the city's history.

Before starting Treme, I had one question in mind: is this show a realistic view of the Treme neighborhood and how was it perceived by New Orleanians? In my limited research so far, I found that the city's residents had generally positive responses to the show. The Times-Picayune even has a weekly column called "Treme Explained," decoding all the NOLA-specific references to non-locals. From what I saw in the pilot episode, Treme could prove a great introduction to the city, beyond what most people have seen on CNN.

One thing I realized when watching the rest of the pilot is that I often missed a lot of the conversation unless I had the closed captioning on. This acts as a reminder of how removed I am from life in Treme or New Orleans in general. I needed captions to understand what people were saying-- how will I do in NOLA once we're actually there in person?

Images worth a thousand words

When seeing images or video of natural disasters occurring, two kinds of thoughts run through my mind. Of course, my first reaction is one of sympathy; my thoughts go to those affected by the disaster, those whose homes were destroyed or whose families were displaced. Sympathy in times like that is the natural response, dictated by human nature. In addition to that though, I am made explicitly aware of my good fortune in life. I have never had to move homes after a tornado or fire, and I have never lost a loved one in a flood or hurricane. Until very recently, my only exposure to natural disasters of this kind was through news articles and televised reports, but my ability to empathize was limited.

When Hurricane Sandy hit, my reaction was different, deepened by a proximity to the disaster both literal and figurative. Of the areas hit by the storm, the New York City metropolitan area and the Jersey Shore were some of the worst affected. Images of the destroyed Seaside Boardwalk (where I celebrated my high school graduation) and the flooding of the Hoboken PATH train terminal (from where I commuted to work this summer) made the storm much more of a reality for me.

Again, I am lucky that none of my friends or family were injured or hurt, but having a personal connection to the situation has now made it easier for me to put myself in the shoes of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. While watching "When the Levees Broke," I could better understand the fear New Orleanians were feeling and the frustration they aimed at the political system and its inefficient handlings of the situation in the days after.

The major players in the relief efforts were the President, FEMA Director Michael Brown, Governor Kathleen Blanco, and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. 

NOLA's Superdome: From Devastation to Recovery

As I was telling my dad about 11.027 and what's in store for this semester, he was reminded of this video from CBS news. It aired just a few hours before the Super Bowl, showing how important the Superdome is to the city and what it represents.

The report was made before the game--and thus before the blackout of half the stadium--but I still think it makes an interesting point; that buildings and structures are often much more than just a physical part of the landscape. They become part of the culture and can often act as symbols of the city and the community. 

One week in...

I had little-to-no exposure to New Orleans before registering for this class. Besides seeing video footage of Mardi Gras parades and news coverage of Hurricane Katrina, I didn't know what a complex city New Orleans has evolved into since its founding.

I mentioned this a little bit in class, but the moment of New Orleans' history that strikes me the most is the period of time when New Orleans went from being one of the wealthiest cities in the nation -- a sort of cultural and economic mecca -- to a city plagued with political corruption, inefficient infrastructure, and racial tensions. Obviously there isn't one specific moment in time to which this change can be attributed, but it begs the question: how do some cities avoid this seemingly inevitable fall from grace?

I'm eager to learn more about New Orleans and how its history plays a role in planning today. I consider myself an optimist in that I'd like to believe that whatever caused New Orleans to lose its status as a center of the nation can be reversed. History is cyclical, and I am confident that New Orleans will soon come upon the next upward trend. 

Yo soy boricua, pa' que tu lo sepas!

As the title of this post suggests, I am a proud Puerto Rican. My parents were born on the island, grew up there, and then made the familiar migration north to New York. Once there, my brothers and I were born. At a young age, we moved to suburban New Jersey where we were raised.

Despite my upbringing in a largely white, upper-middle class area, I was constantly reminded of my Puerto Rican roots. My family took frequent visits to relatives on the island, and my childhood was filled with Puerto Rican food, music, culture, and values.

It is with this blend of both the American suburban and Puerto Rican experiences that I approach this class. I've been lucky to witness many different parts of the urban landscape, both the well-to-do establishments of NJ and the seemingly forgotten hill communities of Puerto Rico. I've seen people with large manor-like properties, and people who built their homes with their own hands. I understand the concept of a city tied to its history and unwilling to sacrifice that in the name of creation and innovation.

My goal for this class is to bring my own double-sided perspective to the planning contexts of New Orleans. While my educational background is in engineering and not planning, I hope my personal background from both Suburban NJ and Puerto Rico will help bridge the gap.

Calle San Sebastian, Old San Juan, PR