Photo by Hope
Individual Photovoice Narratives
Group Photovoice Presentations
Community Access
by Amber, Mandee, Omar, Rachel, Vanessa
Our research group decided to focus on the availability and quality of public services in each of our communities. We expected that communities that had the highest average income would have the greatest availability to and highest quality of public services. We thought this was an important question to explore because our community accessibility ultimately impacts ones character development.
Community Diversity: Are we really Integrated?
by Angel and Leaf
Our project is based on the diversity in our communities. Leaf and I both perceived our communities as diverse and integrated, and sought to show that our neighborhoods represent diversity in NYC. However, our observations showed that although our communities are diverse they are not as integrated as we originally thought. It is important that people are aware of the kinds of cultures and races that surround them, otherwise one loses their sense of community . For this research, Leaf and I took pictures of the people in our neighborhoods as well as pictures we felt represent the diversity in our communities.
Community Identity
by Chloe, Glinda, Precious, Samara
Through being connected to these places and individuals our group has come to several different conclusions. Katherine’s neighborhood which is Highbridge in the Bronx has a lack of investment within the community, and as a result of this disinvestment she feels that the area is not properly attended to, and that there are no centers or public places that can be used to unify the neighborhood. Katherine concluded through her photos that the disinvestment does exist, and there are many of open spaces that could be used to benefit the community. Sharon realized that after moving from Norwood in the Bronx, she did not know what she would define her community as. After going out, and taking photos she realized that her community is not restrained to just places but the people that surround her on a daily basis. She realized through her family, and church she finds identity in a strong Malayali community. She realized that her community was not what she expected: ‘’I realized, I’m very shaped by my culture and the people around me. Also, I’m shaped by the relationships I have built.’’ Jenifer used to live on Allerton Avenue in the Bronx where she found comfort in a strong Hispanic community. There were several bakeries to serve her families gastronomical desires, as well as community centers that were ethnically diverse. She recently moved into a predominantly Black community, and feels that there is an ethnic division within her community. Through her research she concluded that in her old neighborhood there were places such as her church where she found solitude. Vincent’s photovoice project pertained to Astoria, Queens where he realized that ethnic diversity could be found there, and this him being a mixed race individual and growing up with a diverse body of people prepared him for the real world. He feels that growing up on streets like ‘’The Block’’ (in the narrative) he can now relate to a diverse body of people. He feels that his community is tight knit but, continues to be threatened by gentrification.
Community Diversity: Segregation
by Hope, John, Lourdes
Diversity is often not considered when an individual is evaluating the quality of their neighborhood, this can be said about the members of this group. Had the attention not been brought to us, we would not have realized that diversity was an issue in our neighborhoods- that issue being segregation. We chose diversity with the presence of segregation as our theme because when thinking critically about our neighborhoods we realized that the major issue was the fact that many people were not like us and separated themselves with people that were like them or many people were like us therefore they only associated with us. We had originally expected to see exactly what we saw: segregation. There were asians who stuck together, african americans that stuck together, jamaicans and e.t.c. This poses as an issue to us because integrated means that individuals are not ignorant to other cultures. The group went out to our neighborhoods and took pictures of almost every individual we could find. These pictures showed how segregated our communities really are. This shows how individuals are afraid to integrate because of their lack of open-mindedness and not wanting to be judged by others that are not like that.
Community Diversity: Dominant Cultures and Neighborhoods
by Ariel, Aurora, Rose
Our project analyzes the effects a dominant culture has on a neighborhood and its people; focusing on our own communities and experiences, we observed both the benefits and drawbacks of either being part of the dominant culture or being excluded from it. Our project focused on the influences of the Polish dominant culture on Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and the Asian dominant culture on Elmhurst, Queens. The problem statement that we have sought to answer is: How does a lack of diversity influence a community/neighborhood? Through the use of Photovoice, we have taken pictures of our communities to illustrate the influence of the dominant cultures within our communities on both where we live (influences on stores, cuisines, and products), as well as on our own cultural identities. The project has been an enlightening experience because it shows the different lenses with which people view their communities.
Nature, Safety, and Crowding
by Byrd, Damian, Tobin
We each come to this project with our own interests and topics we hoped to explore. Themes of safety, nature, and crowding propelled our research. Overall we felt that the way we think about these themes in our communities might be different from the reality of experience. We think this is important because we wonder why communities have to be so different from one another, especially around issues that should be universal? We all share this space in our city but individually, safety, crowding and nature are not distributed equally. We used photovoice to try to visualize the reality of our community around safety, crowding, and nature. We found through our images that even though Damian and Byrd live in the Bronx, Byrd experiences a different type of safety than Damian experiences in his. Also, we found that my neighborhood is more community based than Damian's and Byrd's.