Seaside Community Scan
1. Walk through the neighborhood In this neighborhood, there are mostly small family homes and apartments. There are some trailer parks and a homeless man or woman can often be found at the highway exit or on sidewalks outside of the shopping centers. The income levels seem to be lower class, blue-collar workers, and mainly lower middle class. a. There is evidence of access to technology. There are Cable TVs and Satellite Dishes on most of the homes. Most of the residents seem to own cell phones. There are at least three cafés that have Wi-Fi for their customers. Seaside also has a library that has about 10 computers for the public to use. b. The residents’ ethnicities/culture seems to be mainly Hispanic because I saw a couple houses and people displaying symbols of Mexico. There are also many African Americans and Asians. There are many Asian restaurants and African Americans working the local businesses. Many of these Asian restaurants have the names in special characters. c. There are a few local churches nearby including: Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Adventist, Buddhist, and Christian. The Islamic Society of Monterey County is also located nearby. d. The 2 closest businesses to the PRC are also located in the Anderson Building. To the right is Seaside Yoga Sanctuary, which offers a wide variety of yoga classes. To the left is a local floral shop. e. There are a few people waiting for public transportation and there are many people using public transportation. The neighborhood seems very integrated in regards to race, but not as much in regards to class. The lower income families tend to live closer to Fremont Blvd. and as you drive further up the hill, the residents’ class seems to progress. The houses are nicer and bigger the farther you drive from Fremont Blvd. 2. Determine invisible boundaries Physical boundaries: freeways, distance, and sand dunes Social situations: gang violence, gated communities and drugs Parts of the community are inaccessible to community members due to the freeway, distance, and the huge sand dunes. There is also occasional gang violence and drugs. Due to the gangs, violence, and drugs, Seaside has some gated communities, which creates segregated communities. 3. Interview 2 residents of the community a. Do they interact with technology? When I asked this question, both parties stated that they have a smartphone and a laptop. b. Ask them who they think has power in this neighborhood? When we asked them this question, both parties agreed that the community as a whole has the power in their neighborhood. c. What are some important issues facing their community? In Seaside, with the majority of the population being immigrants from other countries, there is high poverty in this community. d. How has the community changed in the last 5, 10, 20 years? Both residents have seen a dramatic change / increase in the Asian and Hispanic population in the community. e. What is their vision/dream for the community? They would both like to see a clean up in the community, so that is doesn't look as run down as Seaside currently does. 4. Visit a local community organization I decided to talk with Jose Moran at the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey. One big observation I noticed was that a majority of the children at the Boys and Girls Club were Hispanic. Besides this major observation, the club seemed to display the attributes of a normal after-school club for kids. 5. Visit 2 local businesses: market, and/or another type of business a. & b. For each visit: Identify who/what is was you observed I observed two local businesses in seaside. These two businesses were a Hispanic market called Super Market and a local sporting goods store called Compass. c. During each observation at each visit, make note of and describe at least two assets and two challenges you see in the community. Asset #1 Compass: Wide Selection of Disc golf equipment, which is rare to find and a very popular sport in Monterey. Super Market: The cashiers spoke Spanish, which is a huge asset in this community. Challenge #1 Compass: Very small store, which may pose to be a challenge if more people start coming. Super Market: The cashiers spoke little English and had a heavy accent, which might pose a problem to all the Caucasian people in the community. Asset #2: Compass: I think another asset the Compass has is that the owner is the only person who works there. This allows him to focus on the store’s needs and wants of the community. Super Market: The Super Market is a Wic provider, which because of the poverty in Seaside, is a very huge asset to this company. Challenge #2. The owner only speaks English, which may pose a problem in this community. Super Market: The store seemed to not stock very many necessities, which is a must for a supermarket and might pose a challenge for them. |