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For this assignment, I chose to look at a part of Clintonville, as it is located so close to where I live already, and I am familiar with the area. 

Tells us about the neighbourhood’s food environment: sidewalks, lighting, traffic, transportation and safety. 

The area screenshotted above is a section of Clintonville, though it is not central Clintonville, but a little more closely located to campus. I think that the best method of transportation in this area would be via walking, due to the fact that the busy North High Street runs straight up the middle of it and there might tend to be some traffic congestion. There are also lots of crosswalks available for pedestrians. Various stores and other commercial services are located in this area, and moving east there begin to be streets filled with houses as it gets into the residential neighborhood part. The sidewalks are wide from what I can see, and there seems to be lights on many of the electric posts when walking down the street. This area is relatively safe, but there are not any police stations nearby, which can run a risk. 

How and where do families in the neighbourhood access healthy food?

There are many options in this area when it comes to food. However, not all can be considered ‘healthy’. Although there are a few grocery store options, there are many more options when it comes to fast food services and restaurants. These can all be accessible via walking, which I think is the best option in this area, bus, or by vehicle.

Would residents consider the area ‘food insecure’ with a lack of large grocery stores? Or is it food secure? Why? 

No, I think that the residents in the area would consider this area of Clintonville to be a secure food area. There are a few options to choose from in terms of grocery stores; Lucky’s Market, Giant Eagle, and two ethnic stores, Yao Lee’s Oriental Supermarket and Mediterranean Foods Imports. If you even go up a little further towards Weber, there is another called Four Seas Island food, so there is really a variety to choose from within the area. There are also a lot of more unhealthy food options, as I mentioned, like fast food services located about the area. 

Is the neighbourhood a ‘food swamp’ or a ‘food desert’? Why? (1 point)

I would consider this part of Clintonville to be a food swamp, as there is an abundance of fast food and restaurant services to buy from. That being said, there are also grocery options amongst these other food options. It would not be difficult to walk or drive down the street and find a place to grab something to eat. 

What do you think can be done, if anything, to improve the food-ways of that neighbourhood and why? NOTE: think about planners, private sector, local government, and families. (1 point)

In all honesty, I don’t think much can be done in this area to improve the food environment, aside from maybe implementing more grocery stores rather than fast food or restaurants, as those can be pricey and ‘unhealthy’. Another option could be to provide more affordable grocery stores, instead of just Lucky’s and Giant Eagle. I am very familiar with the high prices of both stores, and as a college student, sometimes I can’t even afford these places to get food. Another option to consider would be finding other ways to make these food options more accessible.

Summarize your concept map in 1-2 paragraphs. Then, in a third paragraph, discuss how effectively the Cities: Skylines simulator captures these interactions. Feel free to include screenshots. 

The concept map I constructed tackles the topic of ‘how do urban design, transportation, and the natural environment individually impact the health and vitality of a city’? From this, I branched out into those three points: environment, transportation, and urban design. With the environment, I took a look at the reshaping of landscapes by developers, the demands of the inhabitants in the city, as well as the role that nature plays in being destructive towards the city, and how all of these points tie into the health of a city. In transportation, both air quality and fauna/water systems came to mind when considering how the health of a city is impacted. Lastly, urban design tackled the two points of resources and the urban heat island effect and how these can also affect the vitality of a city. 

When it comes to these aspects put in a simulation, such as Cities: Skylines, I think the game did a nice job at keeping it realistic. I believe the simulation- for the most part- took these into consideration. For example, look at the environment and how natural disasters affect it. The simulation took this into consideration by assuring that forest fires were a thing, and that it could damage your city if you didn’t pay attention to it. Similarly, the pollution of water was also an element added into the game, just as reshaping the landscapes also took a part. The game didn’t necessarily get the flora or fauna aspect right, as it isn’t touched on much in-game, nor is the urban heat island. Overall, I think that the simulation was still a great idea to put as a requirement for the class, and it definitely opened up my eyes as to how developing a city works and all the obstacles that come with planning one, even if it did not hit the mark with some real life elements we may face as planners one day.

For this assignment, I chose to take a different route from the one assigned to us on campus. I am currently trying to quarantine as much as possible, since I have had a COVID-19 scare with one of my friends, and I didn’t feel that it was right of me to step foot on campus and possibly spread anything around before I know for sure.

Street Width & Street Safety

At the start of my walk, the main road that leads into the area I took a walk around is rather large in width, which gives room for cars and bikers coming to cycle along the trail. There is ample room for cars to be able to fit and pass by one another. I don’t think the street needs to be any wider, and if construction were to happen to do that, it would bleed into some of the greenery area and take away from it. This main street also included a sidewalk and handrail along it for people when walking down, as it is steep and curves, which I can appreciate. The only thing I would have to point out about street safety is being unable to see cars when coming around the bend, as well as walkers and bikers. I think some more street signs could be implemented to prevent any hazards or accidents taking place. The expansion of the road is not needed, and it would take away from the vast green space if they did choose to expand it. A marker or lines in the middle of the street may be helpful to implement, and street sweeping is something that definitely needs to be done, as there is a lot of trash and leaves along the sides. 

Sidewalks

At the start of my walk, the main sidewalk that leads into the park grounds are rather large in width, which gives room for both bikers, walkers, skateboarders, and what have you. Additionally, the sidewalks coming down into the one pictured above includes a railing for people walking along it, since it is a steep dive. I think both the railing and the people that would be using these sidewalks were definitely something they took into consideration when designing the walkways. However, upon walking further along, I noticed that many of the paths are starting to crack and create gaps, which you can see some of in the picture attached above. This creates an issue and can be dangerous for anyone who chooses to bike around. There is also a bit of discoloration, as the sidewalks do not entirely match up, and I think that for aesthetic purposes both of these issues need to be fixed.

Green Space

The route that I took incorporated a ton of green space, as well as a small space for some shrubbery. There is a picture attached above where I show the space that used bushes, shrubs, rocks, and the like to make it look more pleasing to the eye and increase curb appeal. You can also see they made this area more cobblestone, rather than a sidewalk or gravel, and implemented flowers. The park additionally has lots of tables and benches placed around for people’s leisure when visiting. If I had to change something about the planning of this, I would extend the shrubs and bushes further, and by this I mean as in adding some more spaces along the walk that brought the same attractiveness that the shrubbery in the pictures above did. It was a nice touch, but I would like to see more of it.

Parking:

There is not nearly enough ample parking in this area. As you can see in the picture above, there are only a few designated spaces for people to park, and that surprises me a bit because of the amount of people that visit this neighborhood park. Lots of individuals come by bike, or walk, but in my case, I needed to drive there. Luckily, it was not too busy of a day, and we were able to find a spot. Weeds are growing over and around the parking spaces, and it was inconveniently placed next to a dumpster, which I think could be relocated. The parking spaces are also slowly fading, so I think repainting of the spaces needs to be fixed, alongside increasing the available parking. 

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