Jordan Madrigal

UHON 2850
Weekly Assignment 4
Ann Yoachim
October 21, 2016

Reflection on Story of Place & Connections to Design Challenge Requirements

What stood out to me was that each presentation was hardly related to any of the other

presentations. Each one highlighted a different aspect about place. Victoria Baltz asked during her

presentation: Do we define the place, or does the place define us? Baltz talked about how her

experiences at her grandmothers house shaped her, and how the people in that environment played a

role in defining that place. Chloe Cross presentation focused on how our perceptions of place are

affected by our early childhood experiences. Allison Dearing asked during her presentation: what makes

a person feel as though they belong to or are part of a place? All the presentations were different, and

it is not that I was expecting them to be the same, I just was not expecting so much diversity in topics of

place. I thought classmates would just generalize what place meant to them, and then explain their life

story. It just goes to show that not only is the idea of place hard to define, place is connected to

everything.

Before this class, I never thought consciously that a place affects me. I knew that when I

ventured into a place, there were expectations I had, but I was not interested in what was causing my

expectations. During the presentations, ideas about place that I have never thought about before came

into my head. Through the presentations, I noticed that my fellow classmates and I started to see place

as more than just the physical characteristics of that place, but as the people, the feelings, the tastes,

the smells, and interactions of that place. Physical characteristics play a role in defining a place, but I

argue that the majority of how I perceive place is not the physical characteristics of that place. It also

never occurred to me before this class that I can change the way a place feels significantly by adding

thigs to it a place does not have to feel the same way! Adding art is an effective way to change how

we feel about a place. For me, one of the biggest examples of this is the Passageways in Chattanooga
adding art to an alley way changes how I feel about the alley way. It brings a warm, new vibe instead of

the drab and negative connotation I typically associate with an alley way.

Baltz asked the question: Is the man in the alley way creepy because of the alley way or because he is

creepy?

This question stands out to me because it questions whether place is completely based on

physical characteristics or if there is more to it. We have a mix of super complex memories and

emotions flooding our minds when we think of an alley way for many people, I think the mix would be

telling them to stay away from that place, because mostly negative things come to mind when I think

about an alley way. I think the man can add to how creepy the alley way is, but I also think the alley way

defines how we see the man standing there. If the same man were standing in a park, I do not think he

would be as creepy, because I associate mostly positive thoughts with the park. Even if the man is a

little creepy innately (for whatever reason), the positive perceptions outweigh the negative ones. I

never heard of creative placemaking before this year, but subconsciously, I knew its affects. Beauty can

be made from the broken, and for me, adding art to a place helps cultivate positive perceptions about

that place like the Passageways for example. Adding art makes it something unique, even though the

place may still have problems, most of the attention is no longer drawn towards negative thoughts, but

towards positive ones. Art and creativity can be transcendent of human explanation. They invoke

emotions that we may have never experienced before, and can cause us to relish in a sense of awe. Art

and creativity link humans to the universe like no other creature or thing the universe is a creation,

and we are a part of that, but we also are cognitively aware of our ability to create.

Allison Dearing asked the question: What makes a person feel as though they belong to or are part of a

place?
 Belonging is an important aspect of how we feel about a place because it can make us want to

positively impact that place. Allison Dearing said that she doesnt feel native to Chattanooga. I believe

part of that is because her childhood was spent mostly in Ooltewah I did not spend a lot of my

childhood downtown, but it seems that I spent more time downtown than Dearing. I believe the other

part of why she does not feel native to Chattanooga, specifically the downtown area, is because she

hasnt spent a lot of time there. When you spend time in a place, you often learn more about it, but it

takes effort to learn the deeper history of a place. A response to Dearings question stood out to me.

Simar Singh said that he went back to visit old school, and that it did not feel the same his memories of

his old school were pleasant, but his return visit was not as pleasant as he expected. Our shared

experiences (with place, people, and the environment), also known as history, can affect our sense of

belonging. During our MLK walking tour with Shane, the director of Jazzanooga, several times he

mentioned the importance of history. He said, You cant make any changes without knowing the

history. In the context of what he was talking about, he was emphasizing the point that community

building involves sharing history. He also said, Honor your community, learn its history. During

Victoria Noyes presentation, a great discussion was started about what influences how quickly someone

can feel at home in a new place. A consensus was that shared experience leads to a sense of close

relationship with something, which I believe strengthens our sense of belonging. Not only do shared

experiences strengthen our sense of belonging to a place, but the knowledge of the history of that place

gives a deep appreciation and understanding of that place.

In terms of connecting students to downtown/MLK Chattanooga, I think the ideas of creative

placemaking and shared experience are key. Making accessible ways for students to learn about the

history of downtown Chattanooga will increase their appreciation of the city which can strengthen

their sense of belonging to downtown Chattanooga. A strong sense of belonging to a place also

influences how much time you are willing to spend in that place. Many students are somewhat
paranoid of the way certain places downtown Chattanooga make them feel. The sketchy places also

play a role in how much motivation they have to venture out downtown. Adding art these sketchy

places may not completely remove that paranoia, but it can reduce it significantly. Creative Placemaking

along with community involvement can increase positive associations with a place and even eliminate

that paranoia.