My beautiful family

Way back in the old Diaryland days I had a personal diary and posted about once a week with stories about my life, my family, and the general mayhem surrounding the doings of raising four teenaged daughters. It was a decent hobby. I met some wonderful people and we still get together once or twice a year to practice nonsense. They changed my life in an amazing way and I will be eternally grateful for their friendship. I grew weary of the posting, and as my job became more complicated and demanding, decided the diary had to go. So, here I am nearly 15 years later, back at it with a new blog.

This time, I’m writing publicly to give evidence of learning for my graduate applications classes. I’m working toward a Master of Arts in History and Culture with a specialization in Urban Planning. I’m studying inner city gentrification issues and how public markets can help communities form an identity honoring both long-term residents and new incomers. In my first two semesters, I’ve built a foundation for my study by reading and writing about the history and cause of community transformation, how some residents have constructed a system of resilience to fight drastic change, and studying the many different types of gentrification and how they impact the populations trying to remain in their homes. Over the next 7 months I will dive deeper into urban planning issues by exploring subtopics surrounding gentrification. My plan is to visit public markets and interview market administration, vendors, shoppers, and neighborhood residents about the history of their market, their memories of the market as a center for social activity, and their vision of the future for the market and the neighborhood.

This blog will be a record of my adventures…I’m glad you’re joining me, welcome!