Probably not an exact look of the picture being an addition to Ralston in terms of geographical structure but I thought where a park with a particular scenery happening every once of a season would be a nice addition to Ralston.Because the sakura (cherry blossom)only bloom during the spring season, I thought itwould entice people or at least families to gather together and enjoy the view. Again it doesn’t have to be an exact replica to the picture but at least a small portion of the geographical area could be dedicated to have this scenery.
Ward Vitality- 2 “Not Much Happen”
WardNeighborliness- 2 “Respected for Personal Space”
Having a festival or fair in one of the bigger public parks in Ralston with only local business owners as vendors could generate a ton of business and social capital! The tickets for this fair should be very affordable, somewhere around $5, and the majority of the money will be made via a raffle where the local business owners create a basket or coupons that can be raffled off. Creating a business can be hard, so I believe the city should focus on supporting the local businesses already in the city. Making them the only vendors allowed will significantly increase their chances of making a profit. Social capital is definitely the weakest in Ward 1 so advertising there should be drastically increased so that they will come and hopefully meet other people from Ward 1 and form connections with them.
The Ralston Sustainability Project is proposing a public community garden for citizen use in Ralston. We believe that a community garden would provide multiple benefits to the community of Ralston, which we’ve outlined below:
● Healthier source of food: There is no way to obtain healthier food than growing it yourself. A community garden would provide Ralston citizens an opportunity to grow their own food. The garden would not be designed for families and individuals to rely completely on it; however, the community would be able to use the garden as an additional source of food.
● Providing for those in need: There are members of our community who, for various reasons, do not receive enough food, or do not receive enough healthy food. This garden would allow these community members to have access to healthy food.
● A greener option: Growing our own food and plants will help reduce our carbon footprint. Not only will the plants help lower carbon dioxide emissions, but the garden as a food source will limit how much is spent on gas to drive to the grocery store, and emissions created to prepare the products sold in the grocery store. The garden’s location in Ward 2 will make it within walking distance for a large portion of Ralston residents.
● Learning opportunity: The garden could serve as an educational ground for students to learn about plant growth and sustainability. We can raise the children in Ralston to understand the importance and benefits of sustainability.
● A bright spot: The colorful garden can become a symbol of hope and joy for our community. Simply being in the presence of nature can increase one’s serotonin.
Funds: We plan to request funds for this project from the Ralston City Council. Should they see this project as a suitable use for city funds, they will provide the costs for construction of the garden. The estimated startup cost is currently $4,200. Upkeep will cost about $1,200 a month. Should the City Council propose to include these costs in residential taxes, the tax would be proposed as a vote to the community before anything was decided.
About the Ralston Sustainability Project: The Ralston Sustainability Project is a non-profit organization whose main goal is to make Ralston a cleaner and healthier community through means of sustainability. This includes methods such as research, studies, community projects, and community structures that encourage a litter free, green energy community. The Project was founded by horticulturist Rosalin Page.
A good way to help the residents of Ward 2 would be to raise Ralston’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. Housing costs have been steadily rising in Ward 2 without an increase in pay that reflects the higher cost of living: homes that used to be affordable for blue collar workers are now far too expensive. Ward 2 also has very little affordable housing, making it difficult for anyone working a minimum wage job to be able to pay their rent. Increasing the minimum wage would not only help people afford their rent and be able to buy homes: it would also reduce the number of people receiving government assistance and the amount that they are receiving, so that money could be redistributed. Because of the history in Ralston, the built environment in Ward 2 is not designed to accommodate people that are living on a low income, and this built environment is not changing fast enough to meet the residents’ needs. Rather than doing a total upheaval of the housing in Ward 2, an increase in the minimum wage would help to make sure that people that are working full-time will be able to pay their rent and continue to live in Ward 2.
Ward 3 of Ralston is undergoing a project that will convert unused industrial space west of Meadow Park Road, and east of Industrial Avenue, into affordable housing. The first part of my contribution today is to plot out the space.
There doesn’t seem to be a space between Meadow Park Road and Industrial Avenue, as Industrial Avenue is right above Meadow Park Road, but it can be assumed that the area for construction is in this spot (circled in red). It is okay to cut into the Ward 4 area a bit if the people there allow it, but this is unlikely according to Ward 4’s history. Ward 4 makes use of the natural environment, using the wetlands as a place for birdwatching. Ward 4 has worked around the wetland issues partially, as the bridges built were for the purpose of seeing these birds better. Ward 4 opposed two housing proposals for municipal development of public tiny housing, which is why this new building area will probably be halted at the border between wards. Still this contribution will be helpful to the people of Ward 3 because it makes good use of the space around the Animal Hospital building.
The second thing to be taken into consideration for my contribution is where the roads will be built to connect this new housing development to the rest of the town. E. Bardier Road is an important road because it connects to the Ralston Middle School and Ralston High School. These public schools will be important to those living in this affordable housing area in the future, so it is good to have them in proximity. My contribution would be to have as many driveways link to E. Bardier Road as possible, and have the remaining driveways link to Meadow Park Road.
Looking at “Ward 2” there is an issue that will continue to become more significant which is housing. The antique housing from the World War II era will likely continue to appreciate in value which will inevitably force a bigger wage gap and make housing unaffordable. In the other part of this ward there is a lot of affordable housing, this leads to people in the ward having two very different lifestyles. Although diversity is needed in some communities, I feel as though this diversity will likely drive Ralston’s citizens apart rather than bring them together. In order to prevent this issue from becoming too overpowering it would be in Ralston’s best interest to change. A possible solution could be to introduce a project creating duplex housing, this could allow for the wealthier side of Ralston and the moderate side to join and become more connected. This change would create much stronger relationships between the citizens, and prevent the antique housing situation from becoming out of control.
Another contribution I would make to the Ralston community would be to Ward 4. In “A Structural Look at Ralston”, this ward scores a 3 for Ward Vitality, but a 2 for Ward Neighborliness, showing it could benefit from something that brings residents together. Ward 3 has an active group of birdwatchers, as well as Ralston High School and “Rivet” High. I think a small cafe between the schools and the canal would be a perfect way to bring people together here. It would draw students both before school to get breakfast/coffee, as well as after school as a place to get a snack or meet with friends or a study group. It would draw birdwatchers as well because of its proximity to the canal, therefore being an ideal spot to grab a bite to eat. By being located in between the canal and the high schools, it would be in an easily-accessible spot for students and birdwatchers, while not being too close to disrupt the local wildlife that is so important to the birdwatchers. A cafe would also offer new job opportunities for the Ralston community – and its location would be perfect for students looking for after-school jobs.
A cafe would greatly benefit Ward 4 by bringing together the multiple groups that are already drawn to it. This would help to raise the Neighborliness score that unfortunately falls behind some of the other wards.
I would like to add some public parks to Ward 3. I would like to do this because of the industrial activity in that ward. I believe that adding public parks will create a space where people can interact and get exercise. Additionally, having public parks would offset the lack of green space that comes with industrial activity. I think that having a balance in each ward is important. I also see the public park as a contact zone, which might be helpful for sharing views because I see that ward 3 is politically lopsided.
I have a proposition to all the wards, except ward 2. I understand that each ward has their own political views but this proposition affects the wards. My idea is to place elementary schools in each ward or most wards if there are not enough people. Yes, I understand that is going to cost a lot of money but I think this could bring the community together as a whole. My hometown did the same thing. We had 4 elementary schools and everyone was assigned to an elementary school depending on where you live. They were never distinguished and marked areas but the areas normally consisted of just the neighborhoods surrounding or around the schools. This made tiny communities within the community of the entire town and let us kids make friends with kids geographically close to us. All four elementary schools combined together when we all went to middle school and got to know everyone from the other schools too. Having those tiny communities helped a lot of people find their life-long friends as many people from my town are still close to those they went to elementary school with. Also, meeting more people in middle school lets us first discover who we are in elementary school and then looking for people who will benefit us as we are growing up and moving onto bigger and better things. I’m not sure if my idea will completely work because it all depends on how many children are located in Ralston but I recommend this system since it worked for my hometown and personally I found it beneficial to my social life.
Focusing on Ward 4, I think that this would be a good location to develop a non-profit summer reading and writing program. Since Ward 4 is a home to two schools in Ralston, I thought it would be a good idea to set up a summer reading and writing program that introduces people to new forms of literature and writing in the community. It will also provide the area with more things to do and participate in. The program will provide free sessions throughout the summer, reading books and writing their own work at their own paces, working with teacher and peer volunteers to help them achieve their goals. The program will be welcome to everyone in the community, offering children and adult sessions.
Ralston, Vermont's "Green Island" City 