Reflecting on culture. Write about cultural cues that you’ve received at your community site. Think about culture broadly defined (ex. workplace culture, age, race/ethnicity, etc.).
Southwest Detroit is an extremely unique and close-knit community. Everyone knows each other and I am lucky enough to have met most of the important people in the community through project advisory group meetings and community events. On my second day of work, I went to the opening of a new, community-run police department. I can’t forget how the speaker, well-known community organizer Consuela Lopez, repeatedly referred to the neighborhood as sexy Southwest. It was an amusing choice of words, but I think represents the “fun” side of Southwest and also how the neighborhood is attractive in its own right.
I am amazed about how much public participation there is within Southwest. Whatever decisions SDBA makes, they know that we need to consult with the neighborhood. People here have opinions and want their voices to be heard, they vote and care about what is happening on their streets. Right now I am working on the Vernor Crossing Development Project and there is so much work already done on getting public input of what should be developed on the site. Every piece of development is required to be culturally relevant to Southwest so that the Latino heritage is reflected. Currently I am researching some options for having a public plaza and I am focusing on getting ideas from famous plazas in Mexico. Furthermore, public art and murals are also a big part of the culture around Southwest so we are implementing work like that into the plaza as well. Pretty soon I will probably participate in organizing a common event called “Let’s Talk” to discuss the Vernor Crossing Project moving forward. I think the organization and involvement of an event like this is something that every community should try to imitate and implement.
Also, I believe I may have established a public reputation for myself as “white girl on a bike,” which is really funny to me.
