This Summer Job was a Walk in the Park
by Chaia Odoms
Hartford, Connecticut

Seven weeks. Seven people. Five parks. Nothing but land to conquer.

Six students and I visited five local parks in Hartford to document positive and negative aspects of each. Using hand-held computers, digital cameras, digital video cameras and maps to document the current conditions of the parks, we worked in two groups to cover the entire grounds of every park.

All in a Day's Work

We were given specific jobs in our respective groups: Observer, Recorder, Data Collector and Photographer.

At first, the Observer scavenged the park and looked for noticeable problems and positive conditions.

The Recorder carefully documented these elements on a map.

That information was then entered into the computers by the Data Collector, in a program designed specifically for the City Scan project.

The Photographer then took a picture of it. All the data collected and pictures taken were categorized, analyzed, and will be converted into Web page format.

Teamwork

Being a part of City Scan gave us a chance to get ahead of our counterparts and further our personal knowledge.

One of my team members, Andrea Obaez, says she used her previous experience with computers to help teach her peers.

Miriam Perez, says working in a small group allowed for positive interaction.

Overall, we all enjoyed working with each other, in a relaxed but productive professional atmosphere.

John Ciprian says Web designing is what he's waiting for. He'll have to wait for all the data to be collected to finally publish it on the Internet.

Maribeliz Solano says she was amazed with the quality of the pictures with the digital cameras!

City Scan offered us an updated experience with new technology, otherwise not offered during the school year. I'm the lone college student, and I have found that my experience was surprisingly informative.

A Summer Well Spent

We were all enthusiastic about this “summer job." We were at the forefront of this growing technological movement.

City Scan will serve as an example for future projects in other cities. We hope we set the standard for the type of work that must be done to keep such a program going.

Click on a park for student video reports

NewsHour Links:

The plan behind City Scan

A story about a city park in Washington D.C.

Experts discuss inner city issues


Outside Links:

Hartford Public High School

Connecticut Policy and Economic Council (CPEC)

Community Service Links

Links to City Scan Partners:

Microsoft

The Sloan Foundation

The Graustein Memorial Fund

River Run Software