Kristen Adney CST 361 - Tech Tudors (Spring 2010)

Community Scan of Aptos, California

1. Walk through the neighborhood (at least 1 photo for items a – e)

Who lives here? - I noticed that mostly families live here because all of the houses are large and there is a big community area in between the houses.

What evidence is there of access to technology? Cable TV, Satelite Dish? Cell phones? Internet café? Library or Day Care with computers? - There is evidence of access to technology, I found many satelite dishes in this neighborhood.

Any symbols in yards, windows, or clothing that provide a hint of what the residents’ ethnicities/culture might be? - There is no evidence that I could find of ethnicities/culture, but I did find some bumper stickers on someone's car that suggest a very conservative family.

What kind of churches or temples are near by? - The only church that I found closest to this neighborhood was Twin Lakes Church.

Identify the 3 closest businesses by name and nature of the business. (outside photo, ask for permission to photograph the operator. You can shoot part of them – no face, no name):

Cabrillo Liquors: (I only had permission to shoot the outside photo, I could not photo the operator.)

Imperial Courst Tennis Club:

Ronning Physical Therapy: (Only had permission to take an outside photo.)

How many people are using or waiting for public transportation? - does not apply, this neighborhood is not on the street.

Does the neighborhood seem integrated or segregated in regards to race? to class? How can you tell? - No, there doesn't seem to be any segregation in regards to race or class because all of the houses look the same, none of them really stand away from the other.

Look for the parts of the community that are inaccessible to community members because of physical boundaries (freeways, train tracks, distance) or social situations (gang violence, gated communities, other safety issues)? - the only invisible boundary I found was a "Private" sign.

Three members of the community:

Interviewer #1

Do they interact with technology? - Yes, she said that she has a laptop for school and an iphone.

Ask them who they think has power in this neighborhood? - She said that she wouldn't really know, but she guessed that maybe those who run the homeowner's association tend to make the rules around the community.

What are some important issues facing their community? - She said that she doesn't really think their community has any important issues that they are facing right now.

How has the community changed in the last 5, 10, 20 years? - She doesn't know because she has only been in this community for a few years.

What is their vision/dream for the community? - She said that the community is pretty perfect and safe already, it would just be nice to have some younger people move in.

Interviewer #2

Do they interact with technology? - Yes, he has a laptop and a basic cellphone. His family also has a dish for their TV.

Ask them who they think has power in this neighborhood? - He said that it would be the homeowner association because they regulate what can be done in the neighborhood and what the homeowners can do to their houses.

What are some important issues facing their community? - He said "none."

How has the community changed in the last 5, 10, 20 years? - He said that he has only been here for almost five years and the biggest change is just that there are a lot more children in the community.

What is their vision/dream for the community? - He said that he really likes the community. He said that there is a nice park nearby, but it would be nice if they added a few new structures for the kids.

Interviewer #3:

Do they interact with technology? - She says for the most part. She likes her cellphone the most because it's really the only thing she needs. She goes on the computer sometimes and she has cable TV, but her son-in-law set it up for her.

Ask them who they think has power in this neighborhood? - She said that everyone has equal power in this community because they vote and pay into the homeowner's association.

What are some important issues facing their community? - She said that she doesn't see any problems the community is facing. It is a safe community and very quiet.

How has the community changed in the last 5, 10, 20 years? - She said that she wouldn't know because they moved in about three years ago.

What is their vision/dream for the community? - She said that she loves where she lives. She would love to see more interaction with the neighbors, but everything else is great!

Three Local Businesses:

Imperial Courts:

Identify who/what is was you observed: - I observed that all the cars in the lot were very expensive which suggests that this is a tennis club that has a high membership fee so only certain economic status people will be members.

Asset #1: They have a very clean landscape and safe area including that it is gated.

Challenge #1: The membership fees are high, so only a certain class will get in.

Asset #2: It has a pool that is clean and only accessible to the members.

Challenge #2: A lot of the members I saw where older so they might be retired, there were not very many young families.

Cabrillo Liquors:

Identify who/what is was you observed: I observed a very different type of community here. I observed some people that looked like they might be into drugs or gangs and it seemed like they lived at the neighborhood nearby, which was a mobile home park.

Asset #1: It is close to a lot of the neighborhoods so it probably gets good business.

Challenge#1: You can't control who goes in and out, so some violence may occur because of the mobile home park.

Asset #2: It is easily accesible from Soquel Drive, so more people are likely to stop there if they forgot something rather than a grocery store farther away.

Challenge #2: There is only one person that works there at one time so it could be a dangerous situation if someone tries to rob the place or gets in a fight with someone else.

Rooning Physical Therapy:

Identify who/what is was you observed: The first thing that I observed was how hidden the business was because it was off the frontage road and hidden behind another business.

Asset#1: It is a business that helps people get mobile after surgury or another accident.

Challenge#1: It only offers services to those with insurance.

Asset#1: It uses a lot of modern technology and machines to help patients.

Challenge #2: Hard to see from driving, so one would probably only hear about it from a doctor or a previous patient.