Site Analyses



This site analyses shows the ecoregion of the Willamette Valley, it shows how the area has changed throughout the years. I have included site diagrams  which show the Willamette Valley at a large scale and have also shown the Woodburn area at a smaller scale. These maps show the existing rivers, wetlands, and large parks that inhabit the area.  Also check this article I found, about the Hispanic Community in Woodburn, Oregon.

Chatting with Jaime; pics of crosswalk

I would like to follow up a bit on Ben’s recent post about our Friday site visit.

Jaime was really excited about the idea of adding amenities at the dead end/fire truck turn-around. As Ben recalled, he was concerned about safety, with making sure there were no blind spots and keeping things safe for little kids, but he had a lot of positive things to say, as well. He liked the idea of integrating the space with the community gardens, both physically and maybe through programs (like  cooking classes, farmer’s markets, gardening classes, etc.). He had a valid point to consider about the market idea, though, that the space has no visibility from Front or 218, so only foot traffic would know it was there. Perhaps that affects the size or the frequency; just something to consider when programming the space.

Another possibility with that space is to link it more with the street itself to kind of make a thoroughfare headed South to the Plaza and North to the High School or Community Center. Maybe a green street, maybe an arcade. As for linking up with Front Street and the park across the tracks, apparently the neighbors are very much against any traffic through their properties, and they aren’t going anywhere soon, so that seems like a dead end. Jaime didn’t even know about the park, so my guess is the residents don’t use it very much.

As far as the migrant worker population is concerned, Jaime said that it is in the FHDC’s best interest to target the more stable, year-round families than the individual migrant worker. He said that, from what he had seen, the idea of the family unit moving from camp to camp was mostly gone.  In the last fifteen years moving the family has become too expensive and risky (especially at the border), and therefore individuals now make up most of the migrant workforce.

The crosswalk is way down at the end.

The crosswalk is way down at the end.

Closer-up view of crosswalk.

Closer-up view of crosswalk.

And here are some images of the busy 218 and desperately needed crosswalk in front of the high school. See Ben’s words about these here.

Talking with Jaime Arredondo Friday

Marc, Matt and I visited the site on Friday and had a chance to talk with Jaime briefly.  We had brainstormed a series of questions that we wanted to address with Jaime, we also wanted to leave him space to share with us his own ideas.  We wanted to make the information that Jaime shared with us available to the larger group.   As we walked and talked, I scribbled notes:

We looked at the crosswalk from the high school, and Jaime mentioned that a mother and daughter were struck and killed by a semi-truck in 2000.  The bus shelter at the entrance to Nuevo Amanecer is named in their honor.  The crosswalk to the high school was installed shortly there after.  There is still no crosswalk at the entrance to Nuevo Amenacer.

We talked about incorporating a craft / farmers market in the firetruck turnaround plaza.  Jaime seemed to really like the idea, mentioning that many of the women at Nuevo Amanacer sew, and that the ability to generate wealth is critical to physical health.

The existing basketball courts in Phase One are well used by the high school residents of Nuevo Amanecer.  High school aged youth are also involved in the Community Center, tutoring after school ans staffing the computer lab.  High school youth are also involved in after school academic academies.  Jaime cited a 95% high school graduation rate among Nuevo Amanecer youth.

Jaime also mentioned that kids can grow up embarrassed of their farm working parents.

Looking at the site, Jaime mentioned that he’d like to see arches or public artwork or painted benches.  He also hoped to see activity in the center of the site – like a common garden.  He thought too that it might be nice to incorporate the existing gardens in with the new development.

Jaime said that there isn’t a lot of exchange between the residents of Nuevo Amanecer and the market rate apartments to the east.  The apartments have a majority of Latino residents.

Jaime hoped that the chain link fences could come down – and that there could be a straight and welcome path through.

Marc asked about enclosed outdoor space and Jaime said that they should be open enough so that kids couldn’t get in and be hidden from view. Jaime mentioned that outdoor gathering space was essential.  People like to come out, hang out, and know their neighbors.  I asked about a water feature.  Jaime liked to idea as long as it wasn’t dangerous to kids.

Jaime mentioned that in Woodburn, people don’t talk to their neighbors very much, saying a fear of differences keep us away from one another.

I asked about feelings of discrimination / prejudice.  Jaime mentioned that a study done recently by the Oregon Social Learning Center showed that residents of Nuevo Amanecer were feeling discriminated against and that it affected their stress levels.

site analysis: Human Behavior and Culture

Here is a PDF of Marc and Rachel’s presentation on the culture of the farmworker community. The research consisted primarily of a site visit to Nuevo Amanacer, a development designed and overseen by the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation in Woodburn, Oregon. The visit included talking with some employees and residents of the site, and a couple of trips to labor camps on the outskirts of Woodburn. More photos can be seen at our Flickr site.

site analysis:CLIMATE

The included pdf is information taken from the Climate Consultant 4 program developed by UCLA and shows the climate data from Salem, OR. Because of the climate which is generally a heating climate, the passive strategies most useful will place a high emphasis on insulation with some thermal mass and direct passive solar gain. The included case study shows a passive house in Sweden that has no conventional heating system but is in a climate that is cooler and cloudier than Woodburn’s, proving it possible to have a passive house in this climate.   Here is the Woodburn, OR Climate Data, but if you’re in the class, check the class folder which has a file with much better resolution.