Category: Uncategorized

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”

One thing that I noticed was missing from Ralston was a public library. This would be best built in either wards 2 or 4. Although, I think the library would be a good addition to any ward in the town but is probably most fitting for 2 or 4. They seem to be the least suburban and both seem to be significant areas of contact within the community, meaning having a library in one of those wards might be more beneficial to the library’s use. I actually think this is less useful for particular wards but is more useful for the overall community. A library provides an easy access, quiet community center that would be open to everyone in town. While a lot of similar community spaces may already exist, some of them, such as the country club, are likely completely locked to nonmembers. A library would be much more inclusive than something like that. It creates another area of contact and another use for social capital, which would always be a welcome addition to any city.

Public amenities, such as buildings, parks, or other infrastructural improvements: Include an image (you can find an image and pretend that it is an image of the community amenity, or you can design one) along with a brief explanation of how this amenity will improve the quality of life in Ralston.Include in your description an explanation for why this makes sense for Ralston—that is, how it aligns with Ralston’s community ways as you understand them or challenges them in a way that you think should be challenged.

A public library is a good amenity that helps the citizens of Ralston have another way of building up the community. In my community people seem to value helping children to learn to love reading and learning new things. In order to fully optimize the recreation a good location will be for the public library to be placed into Ward 3. I find that Ward 3 is between both wards, namely Ward and Ward 4, that already have schools located with them. The library can act as a subtle community center because the it can as way for group to quietly study topics, take up the role of being child daycare, and just entertainment.

My second contribution to the community of Ralston comes in the form of city development. As the first ward is mainly for people who make less income or make way too much income, it leaves a disparity within wealth and living conditions. My solution comes in form of an Act, being the “Ralston First Ward Development Act” to hire and plot the construction of areas of the other wards to contribute to the growth of the first ward. The goal would be to build more commercial and residential areas to allow more jobs of higher quality, as well as an attraction to the area, to let people who currently have perhaps lesser paying jobs access to more higher-paying ones, be it in the way of actually participating in the construction effort or perhaps getting lucky with the businesses that move into the newly constructed area. 

The Goal of the act is to bring attention to the first ward which has been seen as somewhat neglected compared to the other three, with new business, new housing, there will be an attraction for more down the line investments in the ward. This act would come in tandem with the road development ordinance, as combined together it would help bring the 1st ward into the fold with the rest of Ralston

In general, my suggestion is regarding the financial disparity between the poorest and wealthiest members in Ward 1. Taxing the richest members in that ward (or otherwise finding a semi-stable source of income) and diverting the funding towards the local public schools could be a start. In general, I feel that some of the best thing you could do is offer resources to families with children; since for poorer families, raising children can be a rather arduous task, financially and emotionally, and may result in the child being deprived of certain resources such as reliable education (not due to neglect, but because their families are incredibly busy, or can’t afford it).

I feel like I could contribute something that falls under business in some capacity, something like a game studio. Since I’m majoring in Game Programming and have been introduced to the process of game development this semester, I feel like something relating to that would be the best thing I could personally contribute. I feel like having something like this established in Ralston would be fitting considering that the community already seems to have a great interest in art, with game development being an art in my eyes. All aspects of game development could be considered art in its own respect, with programming being art in the sense that it’s like building something, just digitally, while the design and art aspects are like art in a more traditional sense. In terms of the frameworks we’ve discussed, my contribution could be best described as a built environment, providing people with an interest in creating games in some capacity a place to do so.

My contribution would be to improve the infrastructure around the Canal Gardens affordable housing area. It doesn’t need to be infrastructure the houses specifically, and especially if that makes the cost of the houses go up for those living there. I think that improving public infrastructure to give the Canal Gardens area things similar to the Ralston Country Club area would be a good idea. If a good enough job is done, the affluent people may even be willing to stay around that area.In addition, I would like to have Canal Gardens host more events. All of Ralston would be encouraged to visit the Canal Gardens area and this could allow for the residents of Ralston to meet some new faces. The feedback would most likely be met with higher scores in the Ward Vitality section because of the events, and higher scores in the Ward Neighborliness section because of the infrastructure.

Background: Ward 1 of Ralston is considered the worst place in Ralston to live according to most of its residents. The residents gave the Ward Vitality a low score of 2/4, “Not Much Happens”. They gave the Ward Neighborliness an even lower score of 1/4, “Isolated and Unavailable”. To put it simply, Ralston’s Ward 1 is a contact zone because cultures clash there in very asymmetrical relations of power. It is the place where the richest and poorest of Ralston residents are expected to coexist.Here’s an excerpt from the structural look at Ralston: “Economic disparity is most glaring in this sharply divided ward, and it’s most notable in the housing sector. An enclave of large homes rings the golf course, properties belonging to some of the wealthiest and most established families in the city. Across the bridge road, the Canal Gardens affordable housing development is home to city residents who earn less, on average, than residents in any other part of the city.” The ward has the Ralston Country Club, and an affluent old neighborhood stretches around the country club’s golf course. Across the bridge, there is the Canal Gardens affordable housing development. Residents that live here earn less, on average, than those living anywhere else in the city. If the resident score is so low, then one contribution to the Ralston community would have to do with improving Ward 1.