My proposal for a contribution to the town of Ralston is a bike-sharing business. Similar to the photo on the left, I think a service that would allow people to rent bikes to ride around town would be extremely beneficial to a town like Ralston. Ralston gives me the impression that the people who live there like to be outside amongst other people. It seems like a social town with residents who genuinely like talking with one another. And looking at the town map, Ralston looks like a nice place to ride around, whether you’re going to work or just trying to get outside. I think adding a service like bike-sharing to Ralson would greatly decrease it’s environmental impact while simultaneously increasing its social capital. Social capital is described as “features of social organization in a community, such as networks, norms, and social trust, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit.” (Putnam, Bowling Alone) In this sense, bike sharing would not only create another network for people to see and talk to each other through, but would also create another norm around town. Don’t feel like driving to work? Use the bike-sharing service! Want to get out of the house and see the town while doing some light exercise? Use the bike-sharing service! There are so many opportunities for social interaction with a bike sharing service and although Ralston doesn’t necessarily need another outlet for social interaction, it doesn’t hurt to have it.
Q: Why Ward 2 for this Business?
Sticking with my original community contribution, I will be starting a bike-sharing business in Ralston. I want my business to be in Ward 2, specifically in the very East part of Ward 2. The East part of Ward 2 seems to be a very populated part of town in terms of businesses. It seems to be the downtown area, which presumably would have a lot of people walking about. I feel that having the bike racks here would make them very accessible to all of the people downtown. The East part of Ward 2 is also a generally central part of town, so if someone needed to access a bike, hopefully the bike racks would be a relatively equal distance from everyone. I still believe that this business could be an excellent contact zone, “Social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power” (Pratt). for this downtown area. A lot of people, equals a lot of foot traffic, equals a lot of business, equals a lot of people in the community served. People hanging out downtown may see the bikes and just decide they want to go on a ride at a nearby park – which they can do because this location I picked is not only in a Ward with a lot of parks, it is also very close to said parks. People who need to bike to work can get a bike downtown and then bike from this central location to wherever their job is. I think this location will work for any and all needs.
Works CitedPratt, Mary Louise. “Arts of the Contact Zone.” Ways of Reading, edited by David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.
Ralston, Vermont's "Green Island" City 