Windshield Survey Analysis

A community is defined as a group of people who live in the same area, where they interact with each other and share common interests, beliefs, needs, resources, and environment (Harkness, & DeMarco, 2016, p. 189). The windshield survey is a personal collection of observed data while walking or driving a car or using public transportation in the community. The purpose of this assignment is to complete a virtual experience of Sentinel City. During a tour, the primary focus will assess the core of Sentinel City community environment through windshield survey method, which identifies the community dynamics

Sentinel City appears to be a primarily urban area with very little open space. The houses are mostly multi-family complexes like apartments, condos, senior and independent living centers, that are constructed from brick. Industrial Heights and Casper Park District have older, more dilapidated buildings that were probably factories years ago. Trash and graffiti are abundant within this area. Nightingale Square and Acer Tech Center have more well taken care of lawns, less graffiti, more historical places, and sophisticated dinning and shopping options.

The boundaries of the windshield surveys consisted of the north to south areas located between The Gateway Park and 16th street, and west to east areas between 4th avenue and Arizona. This location is often referred to as “Historic Yuma” or “Old Yuma” and contains many historical buildings.

Community health nurses have the responsibility of assessing the community he or she will be working in to provide the best care to the residents in the community and to gather this data the community health nurse completes a windshield survey (Nies & McEwen, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the findings from the windshield survey completed in Valdosta, Georgia.

Windshield survey is short and simple community assessment. They involve the collection of data that will help define the community, the trends, stability and changes that will affect the health of the community (Stanlope and Lancaster, 2014) Windshield survey is conducted by driving around the community assessing for its various characteristics such as boundaries, population, housing, environment, public and health services and many more. This paper will reflect on finding of community assessment performed through windshield survey that took place around neighborhood of Smith K Elementary School on Tuesday, 2/16/2016 at 1300.

The community I have chosen for this paper is The South ward of Newark, New Jersey where the hospital which I work is located. Newark is an urban community consists of primarily of African American and Hispanic population. The South Ward of Newark and contains 17 public schools, five daycare centers, three branch libraries, one police precinct, and three fire houses (City of Newark New Jersey, 2013). The city’s property and violet crime levels tend to be higher than New Jersey’s average level (Newark, NJ Profile, 2013). Observation of this community through a window

Industrial Heights’s majority of buildings were in disrepair. There were multiple abandoned vehicles on the streets. Trash cans were lit on fire for a source of heat for the large homeless population. There were many stray animals that were mainly witnessed around unkempt waste and trash. The trash was not in receptacles and often laid on the ground with no system in place to contain it. Casper Park District also had some buildings in disrepair. There stray animals present with improperly managed waste on the ground. A major complaint of residents in the affordable housing is factory smoke, 21% of complaints received reflect factory smoke and 18% reflect complaints of dog barking. Nightingale Square and Acer Tech have better quality buildings with a new green/eco-friendly apartment complex erupted in Nightingale Square. There are still witnessed stray animals and poor residential waste management in the entirety of Sentinel City. I did observe waste receptacles present but they looked like they were for commercial use

In Baltimore, Maryland the city deals with urban geography which is a branch of human geography concerned with various aspects of cities. According to pov-tc.pbs.org, Baltimore is a typical “rust belt” city, filled with endless blocks of ghettos, boarded-up homes, and discarded human beings. Most of the families of fifth and sixth generations are of poverty, resulting in a destructive and a most wasteful lifestyle. According to www.geography.about.com urban geographers generally define the city as a concentration of people with a similar way of life based on job type, cultural preferences, political views and lifestyle. The public education system fails to offer inner-city youth a proper education. They are taught from their first “institution” what their roles are in American society.

A community is a group of people who live in the same area, interact with each other, and share certain norms and values. A community is defined as a locality-based entity, composed of systems of formal organizations reflecting societal institutions, informal groups, and aggregates that are interdependent and whose function or expressed intent is to meet a wide variety of collective needs (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012).

Interstate 79 on the south end of town. The boundaries of the inner city area that were surveyed vary. On the north end of the city, the boundary is economical with more expensive housing noted while exiting the inner city area. The west side of the city has a highway that separates the inner city residential area from an industrial park. The east side of the city becomes more rural while driving further out of the city. A business district that appears more modern is the boundary for the south side of the town.

Designing a city from scratch is a remarkable thought experiment but ultimately fails at implementation because we always approach it from the perspective of “how can we create a new city that solves problems of existing cities.” It’s less a process driven by design and more by critique. Urban living has paved its way into modern society, yet the vision for a city has changed over time. Large settlements need planning to grow; yet differences in minds is what leads to the modifications of a city, in return makes a city so unique. Alterations in opinions are what thrives urban life, still these differences are what skews the view of how others see a city compared to myself. They say the eye of the beholder deems beauty; this could explain

Despite the negative factors of living in urban environment, there are a great number of positive sides that affect the life quality of people who live in urban cities. Perhaps, the

The convenience of living in an urban or suburban neighborhood can be appealing to many people. Choosing between areas can sometimes be overwhelming for some individual. People are not only concerned about the safety of a community, but they are also concerned about the environment. Although some neighborhoods might look attractive, people should consider the expense that comes with it, and how commuting will affect them in the long run. Nevertheless, both neighborhoods have their specific advantages and disadvantages. When choosing between an urban or suburban neighborhood, it is important for people to research the community, the expense, and convenience

Part two of Death and Life explains several conditions for city diversity based on the observations of different American cities and discusses in depth the four factors that Jacobs believe are critical for the development of a city. The basis for generating diversity lies in these conditions, and cannot be secludedly achieved by planning and designing. This part lays out the foundation and is the basis for the rest of the book. It shows urban planning and many possible remedies for creating equal diversity, and studies why these are not applied and the effects of it not being so.

Where I live is one of the greatest neighborhoods in the city to live in; however it does have its draw backs. Importantly it has nearly everything a resident might want, beautiful picturesque scenery, proximity to shopping, and many of the cultural centers. Nevertheless the roads can be some of the most congested in town, and the streets are not safe to walk late at night.