n October 2015, Dr. Kristen Hill Maher’s class conducted a project designed by redevelopment director, Brad Raulston, to observe elements of safety, visual appeal, and way–finding in particular areas of the city, as well as parking usage surrounding Southwestern Community College. We collected a total of 305 unique observational records. Each section in this report correlates to one of the above topics, offering our findings and recommendations for National City to address any concerns that arose from our observations.
The safety section recommends:
• more selective and decisive graffiti control within key public places
• eliminating litter throughout the city by installing more trash cans, and
• using abandoned buildings from past businesses as temporary community center or as sites of murals.
The recommendations in the visual appeal section overlap with some from the safety section, including installing more trash cans throughout the city and implementing alternative scenery.
The way–finding group recommends fixing signs along 8th Street to reflect accurate directions for pedestrians, changing sign placement to minimize blocking from nearby trees, and minor adjustments in sign placement to minimize confusion. This group also made specific recommendations to make the city more accessible for disabled people, including improving maintenance of disability signs, marking disability accessibility more clearly, and creating more effective detours around construction zones.
On the basis of their observations of parking usage surrounding the college, the parking group recommends regulating parking time limits for street parking and advocating carpools.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
The Sage Project Contact Info
Kristofer Patron
Program Administrator
kpatron@sdsu.edu
(619) 594-0103
University Faculty Contact
Kristen Maher
Political Science
Local Government / Community Contact
Community Development