ARDS 315H3 – Honors Methods Design Inquiry
Week 7
Sophia Bobzien and I are working together on reading the capstone project “The Evolution of Place and Neighborhood Identity in Boyle Heights” by Isai Castaneda. The main objective of this capstone research paper is to form a comparative analysis of the relationship between space and place effects on demographics in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA. What first drew me to this title was the potential similarity to what I want to research as well. I was hoping I could find inspiration for narrative structure and research approach.
From my impression, the paper was a very extensive historical time road development in Boyle Heights and how transportation infrastructure affected the local communities. It talked about two main time periods – the 1920s and the 1940s – with an epilogue that briefly mentions the 1960s. While this paper was very extensively researched and written, with many images woven throughout, there seemed to be a lack of analysis and tying specific bits of information back to the big picture.
My biggest takeaway from reading this capstone is the importance of tying back to the ‘big idea.’ When I finished this paper, I had a great understanding of infrastructure and community in Boyle Heights, but this alone did not give me a better understanding of what their thesis was trying to answer: “What is the relationship between place and neighborhood identity, and how do demographic and physical urban changes reflect and influence that evolving identity?”
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