Senior Project Write-Up Community, Environment, and Planning University of Washington Christopher Sean Gandy
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Table of Contents Page 3: Introduction (Illuminating the Issue) •
Page 4: Motivation
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Page 5: Crime
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Page 7: Aim and Focus
Page 8: Literature Review •
Page 8: Safety
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Page 10: LED
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Page 13: Design
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Page 17: Bibliography
Page 18: Methods •
Page 18: Initial Assessment / Collaborations / Networking
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Page 22: Site Surveys
Page 25: Fraternity Foot-Candle Assessments •
Page 25: Alpha Delta Phi
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Page 26: Alpha Sigma Phi
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Page 27: Delta Chi
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Page 28: Delta Tau Delta
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Page 29: Lambda Chi Alpha
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Page 30: Phi Delta Theta
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Page 31: Phi Kappa Psi
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Page 32: Phi Kappa Tau
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Page 33: Phi Kappa Theta
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Page 34: Pi Kappa Alpha
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Page 35: Psi Upsilon
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Page 36: Sigma Phi Epsilon
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Page 37: Tau Kappa Epsilon 2|Page
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Page 38: Theta Delta Chi
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Page 39: Zeta Beta Tau
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Page 40: Zeta Psi
Page 42: Proposed Solution Page 43: Conclusion •
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Introduction Illuminating the Issue:
For my senior project I wanted to do something of lasting impact on a community I felt invested in. I had lived and been a part of the Greek community at the University of Washington for nearly five years and came to know the area very well via my time there. One of the largest issues in the area is crime; but why is that? More importantly, why does it continue to exist despite countless emails, counseling sessions, and advocacy by the University? There is a structural flaw that causes this to exist, and that flaw is largely due to the inferior lighting in the community. Despite the city moving to replace the type of lighting, the current fixtures are poorly designed. They are far too tall for the context and are constantly being covered by trees surrounding them. Furthermore, they are inadequately spaced, causing too many pockets of darkness to exist. Ultimately, this fosters an ideal setting for crime to occur. While studying abroad in Japan I was hired for an internship that deals with civic engagement, community building, safety advocacy, and projects of my choosing within the position. The internship is called Husky Neighborhood Interns, housed within Community Standards and Student Conduct at the University of Washington. Upon reading the job description, I knew this would be something I’d feel invested in, and applied immediately. From the time of the interview I was already brainstorming project ideas; one being the lighting issue. Fortunately, I was hired for the position, and began my training upon return. I knew I wanted to use this position’s power and fuse it with my senior project; however, I had little knowledge of my potential to actually affect change on the lighting situation. I knew one thing was necessary, I needed a voice of support to back my project. The job already gave me credibility to carry my opinion to different organizations, but that would not be enough. 4|Page
Motivation:
My motivation for choosing this project largely had to do with the personal connection I felt in the neighborhood; after all, I had called it home for nearly five years. While living in the Greek system I was able to piece together the problems via experience. We’d have strangers try to break into our fraternity on many occasions; for example, one time a guy almost had a 42 inch television out the window and onto our roof. While the aftermath of that particular event was rather humorous, the situation overall is not. In regards to my own connection to this, my bicycle was stolen several times, I was struck in the face by someone in the dark on Halloween, in addition to many other experiences along these lines. Something had to change, and nobody was initiating a plan of action. When I was going through the process of interviewing for HNI I created several project ideas that I desired to tackle should I be hired, and discussed these in detail. I was told that I’d have a lot of freedom to do as I please, so I began thinking about how I could tie this with my senior project. I had struggled in the past coming up with a valuable senior project idea. I had always wanted to create something tangible, not just discuss an idea, but everything tangible that I wanted to direct my focus towards was in regards to Japan, and connecting it to my desire to do research there. I knew I wouldn’t have the chance to advance my knowledge further past this via the University, and would have to just go there; however, I won the language Monbukagakusho scholarship, which gave me the chance to settle down rushing my future research. Prior to this, I couldn’t think of anything that excited me in my context. I was so set on escaping and trying to fulfill this large, time consuming dream of mine in the wake of my father’s death, that I neglected feasible ideas for a senior project. However, upon satisfying
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the initial goal of just going to Japan, assessing potential, and digesting everything, I could begin to look at what was in front of me in the setting I lived in. More importantly, I could look at it from afar, as well.
Crime:
The crime in the University District is fairly high in comparison to the rest of the state and slightly lower than the average for Seattle. According to the areavibes.com the overall crime rate in Washington is ~3900 per/yr, Seattle sits at ~6000 per/yr, with the University District at ~5082 per/yr. I could not find an area specific set of data in regards to the Greek and University Park Neighborhoods alone, but would assume a majority of reported crimes by the UWPD (since they cover the north of 45 th area) are included in the campus report. For this, please refer to the University of Washington Police report below (taken from the UWPD website). After analyzing the UWPD annual report, it is noticeable that the trend has been increasing over the past five years. In addition, I have saved emails throughout the past
year, and most notifications are assaults on the 47 th
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Street throughway between 16th avenue and 21st avenue (refer to map). This area has a large amount of dark spots and burnt out lights that were analyzed during the Night Walk I hosted (please refer to methods), and when I did the foot candle assessment. It would also make sense because 45 th street is a very busy road, 47th is the central pathway where Greeks walk to University Way. It makes an ideal spot for criminals to target. It is also where I was assaulted. As one goes up to 50 th, another busy road, very little crimes happen. North of this is University Park: an established, expensive older neighborhood. The reasons for crimes to happen there would appear to be fairly low. Fraternities leave doors unlocked, windows open, have large parties that are unsupervised, and alcohol causes irrational, unplanned behavior; amplified by the lack of informal surveillance via lighting, the area is a breeding ground for crime to occur. In terms of undocumented crimes, I know that this is rather high. Fraternities in particular host a lot of events that go undocumented with the police, as underage drinking is involved. If a crime happens, the situation is stabilized from within the organization before seeking to report the issue with police organizations.
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Aim and Focus:
The aim of the project overall, outside of physical improvement, was to begin a discussion and create awareness of the situation. After discussing the problem with people, many did not make the connection between crime and the lighting; and the few that did, seemed to have little interest in fixing it, or had given up hope in regards to improvement (with the exception of my mentors). My initial aim was to use the HNI as a networking vehicle, and a brand to boost my credentials, to go around to Greek chapters and collect their voice towards fixing the problem via a grid improvement of the city. I thought if I could achieve a large enough support list, I could then use this with my literature review and make a suggestion of improvement to city council. However, the problem was getting that voice actively engaged to support me. Though, this will be discussed in detail later on. Ultimately, if I could just get the problem out in the open and start the wheel turning, I would satisfy the initial focus. What came after that in terms of physical potential would be largely up to how far I could get with the resources I possessed.
Literature Review Safety Overview:
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Infrastructure would not be of much good if its potential exists during only half of a day. In summary, the need for lighting designed and placed to capture the highest perception of safety is the other side of the equation. If the style of the pole is too high, the lighting too dim and not designed to mimic daylight, inadequately spaced (causing pockets of darkness and recession for crime to be stimulated), safety perception will surely decline. Corners cannot be cut if long term societal gains are a goal; the system of lighting should be as interconnected as the infrastructure it supports. In most people’s minds, there is a simple and direct relationship between lighting and crime: better lighting will deter offenders who benefit from the cover of darkness. Improved lighting means that offenders are more likely to be seen by someone who might intervene, call the police, or recognize the offender. Even if this does not happen, some offenders who fear that it might would be deterred from crime. Studies from the United States and the United Kingdom concluded that improved street lighting led to a 21% decrease in crime with comparable control areas. 1 With improved visibility, potential offenders are more exposed and less likely to commit crimes. 2 “Eyes on the street,� as Jane Jacobs said exists as a timeless lesson that we should never forget when designing and locating our space. Streetlights do more than prevent crime. Improved street lighting can make a community feel safer. They allow safer operation of vehicles at night, reduce accidents, and assist traffic flow. Better light can also promote the nighttime operation of businesses and increase pedestrian street use after dark, which leads to a more active, enhanced neighborhood. 3 Also, lighting can signal more community investment, pride, and cohesiveness, which also can lead to discouraging crime. 4 An interconnected 1 DoJ, p.13 2 Streetlights and Community Safety, p.100 3 Streetlights and Community Safety, p.101 4 Streetlights and Community Safety, p.100
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cycle of increased safety perception is apparent; elements must work in conjunction with each other in order to harbor the desired effect of the system. If elements lack, aspects of reinforcement will be neglected, causing the cycle to lose effectiveness at boosting safety perception. It is important for citizens to feel cared for, as well. A large problem is the relation with local government, or American government in general as of late. Perception of their interests is low, however with new lighting, it shows that the city government and police are determined to control crime, and can increase community pride and cohesiveness, as well. This further activates the community, as the citizens become more invested in their infrastructure as well, and are more prone to interaction. 5 When citizens care more for the infrastructure, they are more inclined to watch and maintain it. Lighting can encourage residents to spend more time on their stoops or in their front yards in the evenings and thus increase informal surveillance. It can also encourage more people to walk at night, leading to further informal surveillance.6 An active, enhanced neighborhood is the goal; as this is the network that pedestrians and cyclists will use the most. People should feel safe in their community at all hours, and should be able to go out in the community without a sense of doubt in regards to their surroundings. Having any ordinary light structure will not suffice, however. Studies have shown that pedestrians in intensively used areas prefer lighting to mimic daylight. This means systems should avoid using low-pressure sodium lights, as the yellow light they can produce has a high level of color distortion.7 This effect is worsened if the lights are mounted on tall columns. Lights of this sort further
5 DoJ, p.6-7 6 DoJ, p.5-6 7 New Zealand Pedestrian Guide, p.155
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detract people by reducing the level of intimacy in the public place. Furthermore, lights closer to the ground may encourage vandalism or introduce glare, as well. 8 Lights should be designed at a comfortable height, sitting below the tree canopy and of a style that creates a friendly atmosphere that people want to cycle or walk in. The color of lighting can be made friendly by the type of bulb used. Low pressure sodium lighting, as listed above, should be avoided. Mesopic lighting (white/green/blue = shorter wavelength) has been proven to reduce luminesce of road surface glare and provide better visibility. 9 Drivers and pedestrians alike said they felt safer and could see better with lights tuned to mesopic vision 10; furthermore, perceptions of brightness from this type of lighting is associated with perception of safety. 11 In conclusion, lighting systems play an integral part to improving safety and supplementing infrastructure. Without lighting designed to be attuned to people’s preferred vision, sense of intimacy, and properly distributed and placed, safety perception decreases as the network loses a valuable system of connectivity. Connectivity with infrastructure leads to the elements sustained effectiveness at all hours, in addition to boosting community cohesion overall.
Light Emitting Diode (LED):
In the previous section, mesopic lighting was mentioned as increasing the overall perceived sense of safety. Without writing an analysis on how the eye works, essentially the eye perceives higher frequencies to be favorable, as they are closer in relation to mimicking the sun. This is counter to what
8 New Zealand Pedestrian Guide, p.154 9 White Light Safety, p.2 10 White Light Safety, p.3 11 White Light Safety, p.5
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high/low pressure sodium lighting emits. Fortunately, one type of mesopic light is LED; and thankfully, the city of Seattle is beginning to upgrade fixtures to this sort of light in the community. However, it does not do much good if the trees are covering these fixtures, and/or they are too high and distract from a level of intimacy. Two factors that currently exist in the North of 45 th Street neighborhoods.
High Pressure Sodium Light vs LED Street Light12 Items
High Pressure Sodium Light - HPS
LED Street Light
Bad
Excellent
Radiator Performance
Bad
Excellent
Electric Performance
Electric Shock Easy (High Voltage)
Safe (Low Voltage)
Working Life
Short (5,000 hours)
Quite Long (>50,000 hours)
Working Voltage Range
Narrow (Âą7%)
Wide (Âą20%)
Power Consumption
Quite High
Quite Low
Photometric Performance
12 http://www.dmxledlights.com/OutdoorLighting/StreetLightsLU1/Comparison_HPS_vs_LED_Street_Lights.html
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Startup Speed
Quite Slow (Over 10 minutes)
Rapid (2 seconds)
Strobe
Yes (Alternating Current Drive)
No (Direct Current Drive)
Optical Efficiency
Low
Color Index / Distinguish Feature
Color Temperature
High
Bad, Ra <50 (The Color Of Object Is Faith, Boring, Hypnosis)
Good, Ra >75 (The Color Of Object Is Fresh, Veritable And Comfortable)
Quite Low (Yellow Or Amber , Uncomfortable)
Ideal Color Temperature (Comfortable) No Harmful
Bad Glare
Strong Glare (Dazzle)
Light Pollution
Strong
Heating
Serious (>300째C)
Lampshade Turn Dark
Easy (Absorb Dust)
No (Static Proof)
Lamp Aging Turn Yellow
In A Short Time
No
Shockproof Performance
Bad (Fragile)
Glare No Cold Light (<60째C)
Good (No Filament Nor Glass)
Environment Pollution
Contains Lead Element Etc.
No
Maintenance Cost
High
Quite Low
Product Cubage
Big
Product Weight
Heavy
Light
Cost-Effective
Low
High
Integrated Performance
Bad
Excellent
Small (Slim Appearance)
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As one can analyze from the chart above, LED tends to be much more efficient in many regards. This section requires little elaboration, as the movement to switch to LED have already been set into motion. When it comes time to advocate this technology, little persuasion is necessary.
Design:
This section comes from a document produced by the Illuminating Engineering Society called Lighting for Exterior Environments, and outlines fundamentals to consider when implementing a system outside. The document was provided to me by one of my mentors, Jeff Robbins, who runs the Lighting Design Lab for Seattle City Light. According to him, the manual carriers much validity in the field of lighting design. To begin, it is important to note that the eye works differently at low levels of light as opposed to high levels. It typically takes around 30 minutes to adapt to darkness, while light adaptation typically happens very quickly; usually within a minute. 13 Visual adaptation when moving from a brightly lit area to a dark one takes a bit of time. This adaptation time has large safety implications. Transitions from a brightly lit or very dark environment to the opposite will cause a loss of visual acuity; this effect is worsened with age. Good lighting design should create smooth transitions between the dark night outside and bright interior lighting / vice versa. This will minimize adaptation and smooth the transition better.14Considering the amount of dark pockets in the neighborhood and infrequent spacing, it is hard 13 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.1 14 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.6
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for the eye to adapt to this setting. It is conceivable that criminals waiting for people coming out of their residencies have been lingering in the dark for some time and have an advantage in this regard. When considering the design of any lighting project, some basic requirements must be satisfied: •
Permit reasonable uses of outdoor lighting for night-time safety, utility, security, productivity, enjoyment and commerce. (currently not satisfied)
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Conserve energy and resources to the greatest extent possible (currently not satisfied due to reliance on HPS)
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Minimize adverse offsite impacts including glare and obtrusive light (not satisfied in many areas with HPS)
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Help protect the natural environment from the adverse effects of night lighting from electric sources. (nonexistent)
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Help preserve the dark night sky for astronomy and enjoyment (unfeasible for a metropolitan area)15
As a rule of thumb, the equivalent of full moonlight should be considered adequate (.01 fc) unless there are special requirements for higher levels of illumination in sensitive areas 16; which, in the case of the North of 45th community, there are. It is in a residential neighborhood prone to crime. According to Jeff, a neighborhood should typically have around 2 fc with even distribution of light; the latter being extremely important. Furthermore, the consistency of light is essential; especially when designing
15 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.2 16 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.3
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lighting for a community. One must consider the context of the situation, and how that relates to the theme of the neighborhood.17 The theme of this neighborhood is primarily walkway lighting, as it is a dense, student area on the southern end of 50th street, and an older residential neighborhood north of 50 th street. When designing for this setting, spacing is essential; especially, since a large amount of dense shrubbery exists to limit the spacingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effectiveness and distribution spread of light. This is something that the street lights deal with on a regular basis in the community. Overall, street lighting may not be ideal for a community in itself. There should be proper sidewalk illumination, and the luminance ratios should be related to the roadway since motorist visibility is critical to maintaining civic safety. 18 In the north of 45th neighborhood, large streetlights are the only source to be found. As mentioned in the introduction, many are burnt out, covered, and inadequately spaced; countering what this book is suggesting in terms of proper design. Paralleling the intimacy factor highlighted the first section, inadequate spacing/spread of light, and type of bulb, all factor into the situation being far from ideal. An important factor of urban design when considering lighting is how the light can be created to highlight elements and features within the community. Highlighting building facades, illuminating landscape elements, and accenting trees and plantings can add to the dimensionality and context of the nighttime scene, while creating visibility from a great distance. 19 The current situation in the neighborhood, as mentioned prior, consists of tall street lamps being covered most of the time by branches. If a light pole of ~ 10 feet could be implemented midway on the existing fixtures, this would cause the spread and distribution of light to become even, and highlight the trees from a bottom up perspective; creating a light path below the canopy. This would require the city to act further than just 17 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.32 18 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.38 19 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.37
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implementing LEDs on the existing structures. Update: since the city showed little interest in even replacing burnt out lights in the area upon doing my surveys, little hope seems to be put in this direction. But, there is a chance for private organizations. Some communities, and organizations may want to promote their buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character; attracting attention to the structure. Well-designed façade lighting can make a significant, favorable impact with a minimal investment. Light can enhance the intrinsic charm, beauty and utility of many settings. 20 This would be ideal for the Greek community, as many of the fraternity buildings are old, English Tutor Style homes with inadequate lighting highlighting the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character and charm. My fraternity in particular has accent lighting outside of it, but it is not enough, and the lighting is poorly designed in regards to the principles mentioned above. In conclusion, if the city cannot upgrade the fixtures on the grid, improving the spread at that level, possibly the private organizations can upgrade their fixtures to increase the luminosity from their property outwards onto the street. Given that LEDs are cheaper and more efficient, this could be used as an argument to sway an upgrade to that system; saving costs overall. Furthermore, the aesthetic design appeal of creating perimeter lighting would make this even more feasible, as costs would be cut down. Having the buildings look beautiful at all hours of the day would surely attract people to the structures more, thus improving rush statistics possibly for the organizations. Lastly, crime is no secret in the area, and was a main concern of many parents (including my own) who had children joining my fraternity. We had intricate discussions about this for nearly four years. If lighting is improved around the property, not only would the aesthetic appeal increase, but the level of informal surveillance, as well. A solid argument could be made in this direction.
20 Lighting for Exterior Environments p.38
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Bibliography: Clarke, R. V. G. Improving Street Lighting to Reduce Crime in Residential Areas. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2008. 1-62. "Comparison Chart HPS vs. LED Street Lights." Comparison Chart HPS Light vs LED Street Light. 2015. Accessed June 7, 2015. Farrington, Welsh, David P., Brandon. "Effects of Improved Street Lighting on Crime: A Systematic Review." In Home Office Research Study 251, 1-60. London: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, 2002. Lighting for Exterior Environments: An IESNA Recommended Practice. New York: Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, 2014. Moore, Eli, and Swati Prakash. "Streetlights and Community Safety." In Measuring What Matters Neighborhood Research for Economic and Environmental Health and Justice in Richmond, North Richmond, and San Pablo. Oakland, CA: Pacific Institute, 2009. Morante, Peter. "Mesopic Street Lighting Demonstration and Evaluation." <i>Lighting Research Center</i> Final Report (208): 1-70. Pedestrian Planning and Design Guide. Wellington, N.Z.: Land Transport New Zealand, 2009. 188. Street Design Manual. Second ed. New York City: New York City Department of Transportation, 2013. 1264. "UWPD Annual Report." 2014. Accessed June 7, 2015. http://police.uw.edu/crimedata/annualreport/.
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Methods Initial Assessment / Collaborations / Networking:
When I was hired for the HNI position, I knew I would have the networking ability to begin talking with shareholders invested in the community. I first brought up the project idea to my supervisors for the position, Aaron Hoard (Director of Community and Regional Relations for the UW) and Elizabeth Lewis (Director of Community Standards and Student Conduct) and was given the thumbs up to initiate the project over the year. My first source of outreach was my fraternity, Zeta Psi. I discussed the idea with my pledge brother and current chapter president, Jerry Wang, and made sure I had at least one organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support. It was essential to pitch the idea by my chapter first to get a feel for what people would say about the situation. Also, it was important to have a foundation if anything else. The next target of assessment was discussing the issue with the University Park Community Club. This is the neighborhood association for the community, led by Ruedi Risler and Kent Williams (also an alumni from my fraternity). I tried discussing the issue with the members, but they passed me off and seemed to not be too interested in helping. The area north of 50 th, their concern, is not where the crime primarily happens; so, this ultimately was not much of a loss in terms of support. Furthermore, they were well aware of the lighting issue, just unwilling to act. For HNI I was required to join the ASUW Safety Committee led by Tyler Wu (now the ASUW President). In addition to other students on the committee, the UWPD also attended regularly. I brought up the idea of lighting at the first meeting and everyone unanimously agreed to it being an important issue and offered their support; including Officer Pratt and Officer Bolding of the UWPD. I 19 | P a g e
created a lighting subcommittee for this; however, after autumn quarter, people began to not show up and this area of focus died down despite my efforts. Though, I still could use it as a validation in my newsletter the Bark. The Bark is a newsletter that I wrote and edited for the community. It was distributed by myself and the other HNI team members monthly to around 350 households. Depending on the articles written, we changed our focus to either the southern or northern part of the community. I began addressing the lighting issue slowly in the paper and increased the length to full length articles once things began moving forward with the project; especially, after I hosted the Night Walk. It was essential to plant the seed in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds about the issue via this and continue advocacy via repetition so that when the time came around to act, it would not be out of the blue. However, this was if the grid was the focus; which, at this time, I thought was. I also collaborated with the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic chapters via their meetings. For this I did several speeches at their meetings asking for support and attendance during the Night Walk. The IFC tended to show more interest, possibly because I mentioned that I used to be an active member of Zeta Psi. Lastly, via HNI I managed our Facebook account. I built and increased the network, ultimately stimulating 300+ additional likes to the page. Via this I posted updates about the lighting project and tried to stimulate discussion. However, people did not respond to the posts, as I assessed with other group pages, so this medium began to prove unsuccessful early on. My focus overall with these networking attempts was to begin putting the idea in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s minds, which worked much better in person instead of email. I tried both, the former being extremely time consuming; however, if I could not capture a voice of support, it would be very hard to get the city invested in fixing the issue. I would try this out via the Night Walk to see how many community 20 | P a g e
members would show up, and desire to be a part of this process after my various, frequent networking attempts.
Site Surveys:
My first attempt at a site survey was the Night Walk, hosted on December 8 th, 2014. I networked adamantly for nearly two straight months to reach the point where I felt comfortable hosting a survey of the neighborhood. The purpose of the walk was to write down the number of burnt out light poles, address the areas of darkness/in need of additional lighting, address overgrowth of lighting fixtures, and then submit the data to the city (Seattle City Light and Parks). I made several plans based on the turnout number. Ten routes were created: Route 1: 15th/16th Avenue’s Alley, all 45th Street to Ravenna Blvd Route 2: 16th Avenue Route 3: 16th/17th Avenue’s Alley Route 4: 17th Avenue Route 5: 17th/18th Avenue’s Alley and 56th Street Route 6: 18th Avenue and 55th Street to 20th Avenue Route 7: 19th Avenue and 55th PL Route 8: 20th Avenue and 50th Street Route 9: 21st Avenue to 54th Street then south back on 47th Street 21 | P a g e
Route 10: 18th and 19th Avenue’s Alley I broke these routes into team numbers based on turnouts of 10, 20, 30, and 40. People would be provided a flashlight, a clipboard, the chart that I created with a map of the community, instructions, and contact info, and the paper to write down the information (burnt out light #, comments, etc on). Unfortunately, despite my networking efforts, only two people showed up. However, something valuable did come. One man addressed me prior to the event’s set time. His name is Jeff Robbins. Jeff is not only an alumni from my fraternity, class of 1963, but also one of the leads of the Lighting Design Lab. Jeff came to let me know that the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute would be hosting a lighting survey on December 17 th to gauge people’s perception of safety between LED and HPS lighting; exactly what I was researching via my literature at the time. After talking with him further, I realized that we both shared the same interest: improving lighting eventually in the community. He had the same ideas as me, and was the only other person I met at that point invested. More importantly, he was in a position of much more power than myself to affect change. While Jeff and I were talking, another man showed up named John Feltis. John is an alumni from the fraternity across the street from Zeta Psi, Alpha Delta Phi, and the IFC alumni president and lead of Diversified Lighting LLC; working to upgrade stadium fixtures like Safeco Field and Husky Stadium. After Jeff left, John and I executed our own Night Walk, primarily analyzing 19 th Avenue. We discussed possibly talking to Greek chapters to improve the lighting situation on their property independently, since he informed me of how long of a process going through the city would be and his attempts at doing so himself. However, at this time, we were still focused on the grid. He gave suggestions about implementing lamp fixtures midway on the current structures possibly, which he was advocating. 22 | P a g e
We spent around two hours analyzing the area, and I parted ways with two of my most valuable contacts and future mentors.
As a second survey, I attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lighting survey on the 17 th to see what the results would be. I met Jeff and John there again, and we went around to several parking lots on campus (one by Gould Hall, another at Husky Stadiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southern parking lot, and a third also near Gould). We made note of our perception of safety, level of brightness, comfort, etc. Overall the event lasted around an hour and a half. The findings unanimously showed that LED was a favored light, causing less glare and an increased sense of safety; what my literature review had showcased, as well.
The second Night Walk was hosted on February 11 th, 2015 and thankfully, due to more networking in person and better timing (not during dead week), a good turnout happened. Twenty three total attended, including the UWPD, University Park community members, and students (primarily from Greek chapters). One of the Greek members, from my fraternity, interviewed me and wrote an article in the daily about the event, as well.
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I organized the teams, and sent them off on their way; the event lasted about an hour, with me waiting on the median of 17th Avenue between 45th and 47th Streets. Upon collecting peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s data sheets, there was found to be a total of 13 burnt out lights, 23 trees with overgrowth, and many felt unsafe/the entire area needed more lighting (especially on 16 th, 18th, 19th, and 21st Avenues). Several groups actually felt unsafe continuing north past 47 th street on 18th avenue and returned to me asking if they could take another route. Once I had the light pole numbers coinciding with burnt out and overgrowth, I submitted the data to the city and followed up rigorously. However, I received no response each time, and was forced to begin rethinking the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s angle of approach. Twenty three members was a great turn out, but I needed a stronger level of support if I wanted to go through the city, and the city was already proving to not act. I reflected back on the talk with John during our personal Night Walk in December, and began thinking that maybe the private sector would be the best approach. After this, I brought the idea to Aaron Hoard, who suggested that I put together a lighting packet to Greek organizations and begin the approach that way. The key would be to sell the data to them when the time was right. I would need to collect hard evidence in addition to having peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceptions. From this point, I began discussing the private approach with Jeff and John. I turned my focus to fraternity chapters, not sororities, primarily due to time constraint and networking ability. John is the IFC alumni president, so we could easily work with fraternities and advocate this idea at meetings. Also, I know the structure of fraternities, and how alumni and active members work (it is quite different in a sorority). If we can get the alumni on board with the idea, it will be executed. For this, I needed to acquire hard data in regards to the actual level of darkness. In my literature review I mentioned that Jeff said 2 foot-candles, with an even distribution of light, tends to be ideal for 24 | P a g e
residential neighborhoods. The Greek System is far less than this. Many roads ended up having no lights (burnt out, or merely nonexistent), and where I could get readings in front of properties, the average tended to be less than 1 foot-candle. I analyzed all the chapters minus those on 17 th avenue (due to being properly lit) and 22 nd avenue (only one fraternity and also properly lit). I could not go up onto the property, so I took readings on the sidewalks and alleys; essentially the perimeter of each house. Jeff recommended taking readings every ten paces or so. In dark spots, or out front of the door, I took a picture to coincide with the reading. This is to showcase that even if it may seem light enough, at a distance, it is insufficient.
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Fraternity Foot-Candle Assessments: Alpha Delta Phi (47th street and 21st avenue) Readings (from right to left): .03 (pic), .06, .06, .07 (pic side), .39, .32, .16 (pic), .03, .04, .04 (front corner pic), .02, .02, .05, .07 (pic), .15
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Alpha Sigma Phi (47th street and 19th avenue) Readings (beginning on bottom left): .03 (pic), .05, .18, .28 (front pic), .63, 1.3, 1.08, .69 (corner pic), . 56, .8 (pic side stair), .2, .13, .13, .25 (side door pic), .09, .32, .31, .42, .8, 1.06 (pic)
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Delta Chi (19th avenue and 47th street) Readings: .9 (pic), .3, .07, .07 (front pic), .13, .23. .24, .14 (corner pic), .54, .53, .65 (pic)
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Delta Tau Delta (19th Avenue between 45th and 47th streets) Readings: .07 (pic), .02 (pic), .03, .06, .07 (pic), .04
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Delta Upsilon (47th street between 18th and 19th avenue) Readings: .05 (pic), .3, .8, .879 (front pic), .9, .9, .4 (pic)
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Lambda Chi Alpha (19th Avenue between 45th and 47th streets) Readings: .47 (pic), 1.2, 3.7, 3.3, .09 (front pic), .35, .01 (pic)
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Phi Delta Theta (47th street on the corner of 21st avenue) Readings: .23 (pic), .2, .1, .23, .18, .12, .07 (pic corner), .26, .06, .15 (sign pic), .2 (front stair pic), .05, .02 (pic), .06, .03, .03 (parking lot ent pic), .01 (pic), .07, .16 (corner pic)
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Phi Kappa Psi (on 47th streetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corner where 21st avenue loops around a hill to 22nd avenue) Readings: .52 (pic under streetlight), .29, .1 (front pic), .05, .03 (pic)
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Phi Kappa Tau (on 47th street between 18th and 19th avenues) Readings: .8, 1, 1.5, 2.6, 4.1 (pic), 2.6, 1 (pic), .1 (pic), .07 (pic), .06, .07 (front pic), .2, .37 (pic under streetlight), .05, .1, .09, .19, .3 (pic)
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Phi Kappa Theta (on 18th avenue between 47th and 50th street) Readings: 1.8 (pic), 1.2, .87, .73, .96
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Pi Kappa Alpha (21st avenue between 45th and 47th streets) Readings: .03 (pic), .04, .05 (front pic), .05, .04 (pic), .02
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Psi Upsilon (on 47th street between 18th and 19th avenues) Readings: .9 (alley pic), .5, .5, .16, .1 (pic), .3, .06 (corner pic), .02, .03 (front pic), .03, .03, .05, .01 (pic), . 1, .03, .02 (pic), .18, .5 (pic)
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Sigma Phi Epsilon (47th street between 20th and 21st avenues) Readings: .06 (pic), .3, .01 (trash pic), .63, .45 (pic), .02, 0 (pic), .004, .02, .02, .02 (pic), .02, .02, .07, .08 (pic), .25, .55 (under streetlight), .4 (corner pic), .12 (front door pic), .3, .08
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Tau Kappa Epsilon (21st avenue between 45th and 47th streets) Readings: .27 (pic), .22, .09, .08 (front pic), .1, .26, .28
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Theta Delta Chi (on 19th avenue between 45th and 47th streets) Readings: .7 (pic), 1.38 (pic), .84, .48 (front pic), .3, .18 (pic)
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Zeta Beta Tau (on 21st avenue between 45th and 47th streets) Readings: .04 (pic), .06, .17, .17, .15 (front pic), .18 (pic)
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Zeta Psi (on the corner of 21st avenue and 47th street) Readings: .18 (pic), .32, .32, .12, .07, .05 (front pic), .09, .23, .46, .66 (corner pic), .05 (pic), .36, .2, .05, . 03, .1 (side door pic), .01, .01 (pic), .01 (townee parking lot pic)
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After analyzing the above photos, one should make note not only of the average being far below the recommended 2 foot-candles, but also note that even at the front door and under street lights the number does not reach 1 foot-candle, despite being bright in a majority of the cases.
Proposed Solution
Now that I have collected the foot-candle data and organized it, I will meet with John to present the data to the IFC alumni by the end of June 2015. Once the argument is formulated and presented to the chapters, we can assess how many chapters will be interested in alleviating this problem. Once that has been achieved, and we know how many desire to partake in an upgrade, we can narrow down the specifics: lighting style, location, cost, etc. The argument we are creating centers on the process of ‘rush,’ the signing of men to potentially join the house once a mutual pairing of interests has been made: •
Lighting will improve the aesthetic appeal of fraternities at night, thus stimulating more attention on the organizations.
•
Lighting is linked to increasing formal and informal surveillance, improving visibility will hopefully limit crime around the property. An area being well lit, causing an increased perception of safety will hopefully improve the rush process in terms of parents allowing their boys to join.
•
LED lighting is an overall efficient, wise upgrade: money can be saved, aesthetics can be improved upon, even if more fixtures are added.
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•
The act will go to increase the common good of the neighborhood. Once people are more comfortable being out later, and can see down the road clearly, not only can crime decrease, but subtle things such as cleanliness and damaged infrastructure will be noticed more throughout the day. Slowly these problems can potentially be eliminated. Furthermore, as people desire to be out later, a stronger sense of overall community in the neighborhood can develop. More positive activity at all times of the day = more interaction of human beings.
•
When the private organizations become aware of this situation, hopefully their voice can be structured as investment will have occurred. Eventually, once enough light has been shed on awareness of the issue, the city may act to upgrade the grid’s design.
Conclusion
This has been an overall extremely rewarding experience, and I’m glad I took the initiative to start it and stick with it. I learned many valuable lessons in the realm of community organizing, and lessons about our society, overall. To begin, I want to start with lessons about society that I’ve noticed. First, networking in person is essential; even if it is just to convey the message of an event. Emails are ignored and people do not follow up even if they do commit to an event via that medium. It is best to always shake someone’s hand and have verbal commitment if something desired is to be accomplished. Also, networking is time consuming. Attending meetings to do a 10-15 minute speech requires setting up the meeting (a time consuming process to go through the right networks), sitting in on the
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meeting, and talking to everyone before and afterwards in order to ensure one is creating a positive image and making proper social connections. If one leaves too soon, people are more likely to dismiss the information and/or not take an active interest. Personal connection is everything. Also, having a title, or position of power (working for the UW) is a great boost when scheduling things or having people listen. Furthermore, even after these connections are made, those who one advocated to are all that one really advocated to. The people in the same organizations may not come out to join events or feel invested; it takes much more time to begin to break down the organization’s ladder. Time and repetition are essential. If one does not sustain the connection, carefully timing encounters, it will also weaken the potential or cause things to die slowly in potential. People like to see results coming fast in American society. If one doesn’t time the delivery of information to be close enough to the delivery of a solution, interest will be lost. In planning for the first Night Walk, I spread things out too much. However, in the second, I streamlined everything within two weeks, and ended up catching and maintaining people’s attention. Also, the timing with finals may have been important, but I don’t necessarily believe that was it. This is why I have yet to propose the solution to fraternities; the data and argument needed to be collected and organized. Jeff, John, and Aaron all recognize this. Also, the common good, while many people love to speak of it, is only good if something is personally good, as well. Whether that be personal passion or investment to the situation, the concept alone is not enough to sell. Possibly because the city is doing little to enhance this image, people have given up hope or do not feel their time would even be worth it. However, if something can be sold that will potentially benefit the organization overall in terms of saving money and improving membership, one has a greater chance of progressing with a desired result. I’m looking forward to seeing the next steps.
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In terms of myself, I learned to be very patient with the process and learned how to adapt when context changes. I became very discontent when I realized that the city was not invested, and despite my work collecting data, it was ultimately ignored. When I returned to the situation, more lights were burnt out and the situation seemed to be a dead end. However, with a positive mindset and a strong will, one can adapt and switch to target a new focus. Changing the angle of approach is essential, as these sorts of things rely on people’s emotions; pragmatism is a huge benefit. Also, something worth it never comes easy. Despite this being best for all involved, one has to work to prove why it is the best. People have different values, and students in this area, despite loving their organizations, will be moving out rather quickly. The community here is extremely liquid, and looking at the liquid elements is not the right approach. Long term solutions that involve a heavy amount of time are not easy to sell. However, if one can target the organization overall (alumni), who have their minds on the bigger picture, results can potentially be achieved. I’d like to end by thanking everyone who helped me in this process and those who are continuing to do so. I will continue working on this project until the proposal is created, and the packets begin to take form via working with individual fraternities. First the organizations will need to express interest, then costs and designs can be formulated via Jeff and myself. This will continue throughout the summer until I depart Seattle for Tokyo again, but I hope to find a successor to carry on what I’ve begun. I’ve already set this up to be a sustained project within HNI, now that my time in the position is over; hopefully, I can find some more angles as well. It would be a shame to not see what this could develop into.
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