Site Report #1

The alley runs north-south, splitting the residential portion of the block in half. Photograph by author, 01/12/2017.

The new residential building under construction faces west on 8th Ave NE. Photograph by author, 01/12/2017.

The bathrooms are closed for the near future. Photograph by author, 01/12/2017.

On the the southern half of the block are houses and apartments. University Playground occupies the northern half. The two halves are separated by NE 48th Street, which only runs between 8th Ave and 9th Ave.

Most of the buildings on the residential half of the block are houses, and none except the apartments look more than two stories tall. An alley running from 47th Street to 48th Street splits the residences into two rows. In the middle of the row facing 8th Ave, a house is being built. When it is finished, it will be the only house on the block three stories tall. During my visit, I did not see construction equipment around, or any other signs indicating whether the house had been worked on recently. The sun had also just set, and much of the light was coming from the houses; there were no street lights in the alleyway between homes.

A lot of water was caught and frozen along the curb where this half of the block meets 48th Street, leaving a long pad of ice. The grass stretching across most of the playground on the northern half of the block was lightly frozen too, and it crunched under my shoes when I walked across it. This environment would be much less forgiving to camp in now than in the summer, when I saw an encampment that homeless people had set up to stay here. The encampment was likely gone long before my visit.

The wood chips under the swings were also cold, moist, and clumped together. Before my visit, it hadn't rained all day, and the skies above the neighborhood were almost entirely clear. The air was cold enough to keep things frozen that day.

When did the construction of the new house begin, and how quickly is it progressing? When will it be completed? The new house is larger than any of the others. Is this a trend that will continue as the neighborhood becomes denser?

The park is not lit at all after the sun sets. Was the decision not to put up lights made in order to avoid disturbing residents? In a similar vein, has pressure from residents had anything to do with the homeless encampments being gone now? Does the city have enough resources to provide adequate lighting in the area?