Concrete Earth

Why Free Radical Cl Sux

2007-06-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

To explain in the simplest way first, then some fun chemical equations..........CFC's get up into the stratosphere, you know the area above the troposphere (where we live). Stratosphere is ozone. Ozone is O3. Photons (sunlight) hit it. Causing a Cl (Chlorine) to break off. Cl becomes a free radical or also sometimes refered to as atomic when it breaks off. (Normally it occurs as Cl2.) When it breaks off it destorys O3. One chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules. The net effect : destroy s ozone faster than it is naturally be created. Ozone absorbs ultraviolet rays, esp. UVB. O3. Keepin us safe, yay for ozone! good up high bad near by.................now to move on to some fun stuff..................

Main focus, CFC-12 [CF2Cl2 (gas), dichlorodifluoromethane] is formed by replacing the four hydrogen atoms in methane with two chlorine atoms and two fluorine atoms. Through the "Chapman reations" we can see how O3 saves us and is naturally occuring:

O2  + hv -> O+ O   (hv is shorthand for wavelength dependent light)
O +O2  (M) -> O3  (M is a third body which carries away energy)
O3 + hv -> O  +O2

The oxygen molecule (O2) soaks in the light from the sun, and breaks into two oxygen atoms. The thrid part of the reation is what is vital to saving our skin and creating the strososphere. This process keeps cycling. Now when dichlorodifluoromethane gets introduced (or any other ozone delepting compound), the Cl gets introduced into the system. An artificial reaction occurs as a result of CFC release. As stated earlier when a solar photon strikes a chlorofluorocarbon, such as CFC-12, chlorine can be released to catalytically destroy ozone
Chlorine acts as a catalyst to destroy ozone by the following process:

CCl2F2 hv->Cl CClF2

O3+ hv->O +O2

O3 +Cl->ClO +O2

O+ ClO->Cl +O2

Net: O+O3->2O2

So pretty much, Cl destorys the ozone which causes many problems............................not like anyone is really going to be still reading this by this point.................................

The more creative Concrete Earth site is gone

2007-05-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Gone. Gone for good. No back up copies. No saved files. Yes, the Concrete Earth site with the more creative, intriging, thought provoking, useful/useless facts has been deleted. So everyone is now left with this site instead. Possibly I will update this one soon, in a week or two with some cool stuff. Or depending on the person some very boring stuff. As a disclamer (i can't spell very well) this was the orginal concrete earth site. This orginal one was created for a college project, from this idea is what spawned the "good" concretearth site, which is now gone forever. Sat Nam.

Key Concepts for all assignments

2006-03-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

Assignment #1: New York City and Urban Horses

Pre Industrial Society:

This concept pertains to the design, function and layout of New York City before the major industrial era. New York City developed in a circular pattern, with long narrow streets. Most political, commercial, and social activities took place in the center. The population and city was smaller, mobility and access was limited.

Mobility Risk:

The ability and opportunity for someone to travel safely and easily within the city. Horses are large animals that can act spontaneously. This can easily cause some type of obstacle for people, causing a risk to there physical, or mental well-being and access when moving through out the city.

Heritage Tourism:

A form of tourism that focuses and explores local, national or international history. People seek to visit and experience places or attractions that reflect historical value to them or to society. New York City heavily advertises and promotes heritage tourisms.

Noise Pollution:

Any sounds that cause nuisance or physical harm to a living being that they cannot control. In New York City this can include, automotive horns, street performers, air conditioners, vendors and business.

Urban Horses:

This is not a specific breed or species of horses. This term is used to describe a horse whose function is to work in the city. These horses have shorter life spans, poorer health and disadvantaged living standards compared to horses in other environments.

Assignment #2: Negril, Jamaica

Negril, Jamaica:

This city is located in the Northern western coast of Jamaica. It is primarly considered a beach resort area. This area is becoming an ubran environment quickly because of the tourism industry.

Urban:

This term is used to describe a city. An area that has a high development of buildings, centeralized population and high economic activity. There is usually little to no agriculture in these areas.

Native People:

People who have always lived in a specfic area and region. They have there history and family roots in this place. Their culture steams from the area that they orginally inhabited. They have knowledge of the land and wildlife.

Irie:

This means happy people or good times. In general this means things are postive and well. This is primarly an Jamaican term.

Assignment #3: My Community

Levittown section:

Individual neighborhoods that are named mainly after plants. Each street in the section starts with the same letter as the name of the section. For example, in Appletree Hill streets all begin with the letter a, such as Ash Lane or Appletree Drive. The names of these sections use to represent the landscape in some way. These areas should never be referred to as developments. Each section can be represented individually communities or as a part of the Levittown community.

Community:

I used the word community to represent unity among people. People living in an specific area who have access and experience the same basic living conditions. Such as climate, landscape and education. The people usually have similar interests and ideas. This severs as a place where they can feel comfortable and safe. Each person in the community contributes directly or indirectly to others living in the area. An example of a direct contribution would be someone who volunteered at the fire station. A direct way would be through taxes, which helped to fund the library. It consists of common grounds that help with every day functions and needs, which are usually run through the government.

Commercial Zones:

These are areas where public services are available and commerce occurs. In My Community Map they represent, restaurants, gas stations, food markets, banks and convenience stores. These zones in Levittown are usually run by large business rather then small or private business. For example, Wal-Mart and Wawa would be considered commeical zones.

Common Grounds:

These are buildings and areas that everyone in the community can have access to. People in the community can use the services or the land with out having to directly pay for it or to have special permission.

Value:

The ideas that a culture, community or person holds as important. These are things that are desirable and help shape the community. There can be personal, economic administrative political values.

Assignment #4: National Parks and People-An Ethical Dilemma

National Parks:

These are specfic areas of land and water that are protected and created by a national goverment, to help environmental and cultural preservation. These peices of land are public property and can be used for recreational and educational activties.

Common Land:

This refers to land and the resources found on the land including wildlife that anyone can use and have free access to. These resources are suppose to be used in moderation and only what is vital is taken and used.

Sustainablity:

The ablity to contuine a way of life and to be able to have a supply to nourishment. To be able to maintain good health and life of off the resources that are available.

Malthusian Idea:

This idea was orginated by Sir Thomas Malthus. This is the idea that population grows without limits, in concentrated area. While the resources and food production has limits. This growing population can only bring harm, and deplete resources.

Garamba National Park:

This national park is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, region du Haut-Zaire, N4 0 E29 15, it borders Sudan. This park was created in 1938 and covers approx. 1,900 square miles. It contains a diverse landscape that includes grasslands, forests, and swamp land. The park is home to numerous plant and animal species.

Assignment #5: Community Describtion of Bristol, PA

Greenspaces:

Areas within the community or city that are not developed. These are areas of open land that do not have man made obstructions on them. These can be public or private land.

Environmental and Health Hazards:

These are things that cause or can cause harm or danger. They jeoparidize the area or well being of people.

Volatile Organic Compounds:

These are organic chemicals that have high vapor pressure and form vapors very easily. These are naturally released from certain plants. These occure with many mad made industrial products such as gasoline and paint additives. These are very harmful in large doses to humans, animals and the enviroment.

Special Incentives:

These are things that are used to entice people to move into an area. These are products and services that are offered for free or at a low price, that usually cost more. These include in this area: cable, phone, water and tax breaks.

Waterways:

These consits of rivers, lakes, streams and other water sources. These can be man made or naturally occuring.

National Parks and People - An Ethical Dilemma

2006-03-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

An environmental ethical dilemma that I feel significantly impacts environmental quality deals with the creation and access of national parks, within the United States and in other countries. National parks are created with the idea to help conservation and preservation efforts. It is important and necessary to protect and preserve lands. Often without the creation of a nation parks certain species can become extinct.

Once they are created, they become specific pieces of land, which are assigned boundaries, borders and limits. These pieces of land then are given laws and restrictions, that people must obey because governmental enforcement. National parks then become common land.

One problem that appears is that native people use these lands. The use of these lands can range from gathering food, firewood, access to clean water or cultural significance, all which are vital to there way of life or sustainability. How can we force people not to have access to land that they have always depended on? In modern times, this is more of a problem in third world countries then in the United States. This has occurred largely in the U.S. with Native Americans in the past. A present day example of this is the creation of Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This park was created to help conservation efforts and to protect the Northern White Rhino. Once this park was created the native people lost, the ability to have access to land they always depended on.

There is no easy solution to this problem. Each side has different values and ideas on how the land should be used. Often times the groups that place value on the conservation of natural land and its resources usually neglect the values of native people. This lends way to poaching and hostility sometimes violent from the natives. Also many groups that are responsible for the creation of parks are from first world countries that have not experienced the way of life of the natives.

A problem that is more common in the United States is how do we preserve natural areas and still allow them to be common land? The parks suffer negative impacts and are altered because of human interaction. This can be seen with the construction of roads lodges, gas stations, trails and restrooms. Since national parks are common land and limited, in the United States this creates a problem because of the Malthusian idea of population growth. National parks encourage visitors but if everyone in the U.S visited these parks, they suffer tremendous negative changes and no longer serve the purpose for which they were created. Wildlife, plants and ecosystems are already suffering negative impacts from human visitors in the park. For example, while I was in the Grand Canyon National park, I saw three wolves that had no fear of humans. Another example would be from when I hiked through Olympic National Park. There I saw man made clearings for tents, new trails made and litter. Parks like Petrified Forest are being destroyed from people taking pieces of the wood from the park. Restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in a park each year could help, but also raises more problems.

I feel that there has to be nationally protected land. There is a world wide problem of rapid development and land alteration. Natural environments are important for health, existence and well-being of society. In addition, natural environments are homes to millions of living organisms. Each organism performs or is need for specfic functions or reasons that are vital. The environment is important for everyone on a gobal scale and every country must have protected. It is important to protect the environment because with out it we would not exist.

Above is a picture of Garamba National Park
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wpni01.auroraquanta.com/photos/nationalparks/
The Tragedy of the Commons, Hardin Garrett (1968)
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nwf.org/yellowstone/images/buffaloRoad

Negril, Jamaica

2006-03-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

My urban juxtaposition takes place in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is located in the Northwest area of Jamaica. To view a map of Jamaica and Negril go to www.infoplease.com. I felt that this is a unique area. I choose this area because I felt that this is a becoming a new urban area. Even though it is a new urban area, there are juxtapositions all over. Jamaica gained its independence only a short time ago around 1962. Tourism is the main industry in the area. Because of this tourism industry, many things are changing for the native people of the area. For example, Negril use to have a rule that no building could be taller then the tallest tree in the area. Now this rule is not longer in affect, and many of the resorts are significantly taller then the trees.

When you think of Negril, Jamaica one pictures, beautiful beaches, clean water, nice houses and irie people. This image is not completely true. Many of the people who are living in Negril are very poor. When driving through the town you see small shacks made of wood, held together with ropes and nails, many of them having no windows. Then you see massive, well-constructed buildings that are brightly colored right along the beach. These are the resorts. The resorts have taken the best land in that area and are forcing the native people to move further inland. They cannot live, work or use this land for themselves. In addition, they must take low paying jobs at the resorts in order to live in the area. The resorts make everything avaiable on site so there is no need for tourist to leave the resort. This causes the local population not to be able to make money off of the tourists.

The pictures on the top of the page show the contrast of the living conditions of Jamaicans living on the island compared to the resorts.

http://www.go-jamaica.com/webcam/

My Community

2006-03-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

I drew my community map of where I live currently in Levittown, PA. This map is not drawn to scale. I choose to design the map by placing myself in the center, which is represented with a heart. This is the area that I feel most comfortable and safe at. I then drew circling out from that point. The areas that are located closer to the heart symbol are places I feel more comfortable. I divided the land among residential and commercial zones. Residential areas are colored a light purple with the names of individual sections written in black in the center. Commercial zones are indicated in orange. It also shows the symbols for important common grounds found with in the community. These include the post office, Salvation Army, District Court, schools, library and baseball fields.

I drew places on the map that I feel have value and importance to the community. I placed the library and schools on the map to show the value in education. I displayed baseball fields, (which have playgrounds with them), because there are many children living in the area. It is important to have positive outside social activities for them to do. These types of places are important to have in a community. The Salvation Army is a place that anyone in the community can go when they are in need. This is run for the community by the community. This shows unity among the people. The District Court is responsible for how the community is run on a political level. The Post Office I felt needed appear on the map, because this is a service that everyone utilizes.

The commercial zones have economic importance and serve the wants and needs of people. The residential zones show the areas within the community where people have settled. I placed friends on my map because they are important to be on a personal level and exist within my community. Thycol Woods and Black Gulch Creek are on my map because they serve as geographical reference points for people in the area. I also feel that nature is significant and holds value to me. It also helps to illustrate how developed the area has become.

There are many juxtapositions within my community. One of these is the names of the Levittown sections. The sections are names usually after trees and other plants, which were in the area when people first began to move here. There use to be many trees in the area, and now there are hardly any. Barely any of the sections now have the specific trees growing in them that they are named after. For example, the Oak Tree section when developed had two Oak trees on each property and small woods. Now, there is only one Oak tree for every four blocks and the woods are gone. This shows how much the area has changed it environment.

This link has some intersting movies of Levittown when it was orignally being built. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/levittownrelics/movies.htm

This is old photo of Levittown, PA when it was new in the early 1960's.

New York City and Urban Horses

2006-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

The pubic use of horse drawn carriages, gained more public attention because of an tragic accident that occurred on January 2 2006. A horse pulling a carriage was spooked and caused a fatal accident. The use of horse drawn carriages should not be permitted in New York City and other major urban areas. New York City is densely populated and polluted area. It causes health risks and mobility risks to humans and the horses.

There is no longer an economic or social need for these types of vechicles to be in operation in an major ubran environment. Originally, the need for horse drawn carriages was vital to the life of the pre-industrial society. Even then, the elite, comprising only a small portion of the population, utilized this form of transportation. The progress of new transportation, effectively operating subway in the early 1900’s and then the automobile, caused the need for these carriages to become no longer needed. Now, the New York population uses cars, trucks and buses (along with mass transit) for major forms of transportation, causing the horse drawn carriage to become a novelty and a tourist attraction. Horse carriages cause a mobility risk for motorists, people on bikes and pedestrians.

Many feel that heritage tourism, would be negatively affected if horse drawn carriages were banned. This would not be true. Numerous other historical attractions are available in the city. In addition, it would only be a historical representation of how the upper class experienced mobility around the city. A walking tour or even subway ride would be a better way to experience the true historical operations of the city. This industry only comprises 5% of the economic revenue. There are opportunities for the operators of horse drawn carriages can get other low wage jobs. An alternative would be to create more walking tours of the city. Other major cities have banned the use of horse-drawn carriages and managed to survive economically, including Paris, London, and Las Vegas.

Approximately 80% of horse drawn carriage accidents are caused because of the horse being spooked by noise pollution. Noise pollution in this major city cannot be filtered to create a stable environment for the horses to work in. This puts not only the horse at risk but people. The physical design of the horses used in the city causes them to be subject to unhealthy working conditions. There nose is level with the exhaust pipes of cars. Also, these urban horses are made to work in all climates and weather conditions. Proper drinking water, food and footing are usually not available. These urban horses only are used for less then 4 years then are euthanized, while police horses are used for 15 years and have a retirement program. It is easy to obtain a license to operate this type of business, which causes many of the operators not to be properly trained.

If horse drawn carriages must remain in operation, they should be severely regulated. Only a certain number of carriage operations should be allowed. This would make evaluation the working conditions easier, less expensive and less time consuming.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vet/vet4.shtml

http://www.transportation.njit.edu

Community Description of Bristol, PA

2006-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

The urban area that I will be focusing on is Bristol PA, which is located right outside of Northeast Philadelphia. To view a satellite image of the area go to http://maps.google.com/maps. I feel that this is a unique area for several reasons, including its history, design, environment and community. Bristol is one of the oldest settlements in the United States, founded in 1681. Originally, Bristol was used as a major port area and dock because it is located along the Delaware River.

The age and history of the town there are environmental problems. The water was polluted because of the port and the related industry. Also, because there was always some type of industry located here, there was ground and air pollution. There were not environmental standards and regulations for many years for these businesses to follow. There are rail lines and bridges in this town. Since, this area is an old settlement; there are many limitations on mobility around the town. These limitations include uneven brick sidewalks. This makes traveling on the sidewalks difficult if a person uses a wheelchair, walker, or bike. In addition, many older buildings do not have wheelchair ramps or automatic doors. Some homes still have asbestos.

This was mainly an Italian and Irish community, but now has much diversity. This is a populated area. Whenever people live in an area, especially for long periods there are adverse affects on the environment. In recent times, there has been much development in the area. New commercial centers and parking lots are being built. This is taking away the little green space that is left.

This area also has numerous rivers, streams, lakes and quarries. In this region, there are several industrial plants, and the Tullytown landfill and incinerator. These industries pose as environmental and health hazards. Also, the land value of homes within very close proximity of these is low. People who live in these homes receive special incentives and tax breaks. There is need to have these styles of business and companies, but the location of them are poorly positioned now because of the fast growing community.

One of these plants is Rohm Haas. Rohm Haas is zoned heavy industrial and is located in Bristol. This site has been established since 1919. They manly manufacture adhesives, specialty coatings, electronic material and salts. They are a major contributor of air and water pollution in the area. For instance, they release 1.5 tons of volatile organic compounds into the water. Besides Rohm Haas, there are many light and medium-zoned industries. These industries range from chemical laboratories to book warehouses. The Tullytown dump is also located within close proximity of residential areas and waterways.

http://www.rohmhaas.com/bristol/aboutus/whatwemake.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol,_PA

www.kginn.com/images/

From Row homes to Developments

2006-02-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Gentrification
Fieldwork Project-Part 1

The area that I focused on for my fieldwork on gentrification was Bristol, PA, primarily historic Bristol Borough. The main areas within the town that my field observations were taken were along two main routes. From Mill St. to Radcliff then up Lincoln Ave, then along Beaver Damn Road to Pond St. Also, further north along Radcliff up to Green Lane and Wilson Ave. Gentrification is process that is widely occurring in almost all cities in America. The process in general is the “restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people.” In Bristol gentrification is widely occurring. This could be seen by new developments, restoration of existing row homes, new commerce and new businesses. This essay provides a general over view of the gentrification process in this area. The routes taken are highlighted in purple in the amove map.

Prime examples of the gentrification process can be seen at the intersection of Green Lane and Wilson Ave. and along Radcliffe St around the intersection of Green Lane. The new development along Radcliffe St. is called Villas at Riverview. These areas are where new development housing was recently built. On the Goggle map the development at the intersection Green Lane and Wilson is not built yet, which shows how new it is. These areas are highlighted green on the image above. The first thing that is observed when looking at these homes they do not have the same style of the rest of the housing in Bristol. These new homes are pre-fabed houses, and are built as a development. The rest of Bristol homes are brick row homes or duplexes. The average house in Bristol is worth approximately 80,000-120,000 dollars. These new homes are selling for between 300,000 to 500,000 dollars. People who are already living in Bristol can not afford to move into these style homes. The average income for residents in the area is only 35,000 dollars a year.

Also, a new trend is happening by which many existing homes in Bristol are being restored. This trend can be observed at various locations along Mill St and Lincoln Ave. but is not limited to these two streets, can could be seen all over Bristol. Higher income people who are not residents of the area are buying the existing homes for a relatively cheap price and restoring them. Then these homes are either sell them for higher prices then other homes around it or are renting them out. Bristol is increasingly becoming a renter community. Recently, people from New York City have found Bristol appealing. The main reason for this is that Bristol is located close to the PA Turnpike, I-95 and the Burlington Bristol Bridge. These new residents are usually more economically well off then the existing residents of the community. The average rent was around $300 a month, over the past several years this has gone up. Below is a picture of the new homes along Radcliffe St. Th average rent now is $500-$750 a month. While the new residents may be able to afford these prices, many of the existing members of the community can not. When this happens the people who are renting do not have a say in the policy or economic issues in the community, even though they are the ones who are living there

Since there is this influx of new, more higher income members of the community stores are also changing. This can be seen along Mill St. Mill St. was always the area of the community where most commerce was done. Traditionally these were Mom and Pop stores that provided services for everyday needs and affordable products for the community. Now new corporation trend shops are opening and the old stores are shutting down. For example, a coffee shop, an antique store and a designer clothing store have gone up. These services are not what the people in Bristol desire. In addition, people in the community cannot afford to shop at these stores. They now have to travel outside of their community to shop with in there price range.

I have also conducted observations at the Bristol train station, during peak hours. I have observed many businesspersons coming into Bristol to work at the new office buildings. (These new offices are usually converted from existing abananded industrial buildings. This is furthered discussed in the Industrial essay). From the attire (nice suits, well-groomed, ect.) that the jobs that they are coming to work at are white collar jobs, that make over 35,000 a year. This means that people who are living in Bristol do not have the opportunity to work these jobs and make more money to be able to afford the changes that are happening in the community.

http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Bucks_County/Bristol_Borough.html

www.bcrda.com/villas.html

Factories and Mills

2006-02-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

Industry
Fieldwork Project-Part 2

The area that I focused on during my field observations on industry is marked on the map above by the purple lines. The blue spots are buildings/areas of interested that I observed. The first path that I took was along Pond St. to Jefferson Ave, turning down Canal then down Dorrance St. back to Pond. There were three areas of interest along this path. The first was along Pond Street, there was a tall clock tower with a large white building attached to it. The tower is called the Grundy Mill. This building did not seem to have any activity. The second spot was at Dorrance St. At this location, there were two large buildings, an ice skating rink, and an office building. The third was at Canal St. and Jefferson Ave, there was another large older building and in the parking lot there was several tractor-trailer trucks parked. This was a wood working mill. These sites lead me to my first inquiry questions that aided in my research of the area. Was there always offices located in the building at Dorrance St.? What was the building used for that is attached to the Clock Tower? Are these buildings related to each other, because they are located with close proximity of each other? What was economic importance of these buildings? What was the community importance of the areas? The Grundy Mill is shown below.

The second route that I took was walking several blocks straight down Radcliff Street. This is further north then the first path. I observed two spots along this path. The first one was a long building industry building. I believe that this was the back of the building. This was located directly across the street from the new expensive homes, which are discussed in the gentrification essay. The second spot was located next to these new homes. There is a large cleared space with only one building built on it. This building appeared to be a factory. There appeared that there use to other building here at one point. Several inquiry questions arouse. What was this long building? What use to be in the vacant spot? What is the building that is still standing? Is there any negative impact on the neighborhood across the street from the industrial building?

Bristol’s history is largely based on the industry that was once located here. Bristol had been a major manufacture in the country. This was due to the prime location along the water and because of the numerous factories and mills. The building across from the new homes is a book warehouse. The vacant area next to the new homes once was a major industrial area. There was the Dial Soap Factory and a manufacturing building of airplane products for the military. Through my research of area, I found that my first path could be considered a part of the historical industrial district of Bristol. This area was home to five major mills and factories during the early 1900’s. A major part of this area was the Grundy Mill Complex. On Dorrance St., the large building that is now offices once was a factory. This is also an example of gentrification. There are many similarities between Grundy and Stetson. Grundy was the major employer in the area and owned almost everything in town. All of the large buildings at one point were owned by Grundy and were factories or mills. The rise and fall of the communities around these mills is related to the rise and fall of the mills. When the factories began to close is when the area began to suffer economically. Most of the community is still blue-collar workers. This is similar to Stetson and North Philadelphia. Even though it is not covered on my routes, I feel that it is important when talking about the industry of Bristol to mention Rohm Haas. Rohm Haas is major industry in the region. For more on Rohm Haas refer to essay, Community Description of Bristol PA.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Bristol-Pennsylvania.html

www.bucksviews.com

An overview of Health

2006-02-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Healthscape
Feild Project-Part 3

The third field study that was conducted focused on the healthscape of Bristol. Healthscape can be defined as the landscape of public well-being on a community and individual level. The main ideas that I focused on during observations were access to nutritional foods, access to medical treatment, outdoor recreational activates and quality of air and water. The above map shows the path that I took, which is highlighted purple blue spots are areas of interest. I began in the parking lot at Water St. then went down Radcliffe St. to Cedar then down Pond St. Then I turned on Mulberry St., went down Wood St to Mill St, bringing me back to Water St.

Through my observations, I found that there were not many options for nutrimental foods. On the corner of Pond St. and Beaver Damn Rd. was one of the only food stores that I found in the area. This store was called, Bristol Selecto American and Spanish Foods. This store offered low priced food with not many fresh or organic items. Since the store accepted food stamps I feel that many in the area would be consider lower to middle class. I encountered several Mom and Pop grocery stores and delis that were closed down. I feel that these stores may have closed down do to the changes in industry and gentrification of the area. Along Mill St by Water St. there was a Mom and Pop style cheese steak and milkshake stand.. The most prominent food option for people in the area was pizza-parlor style foods. There use to be an Amish Deli along Radcliffe St, but it was closed down several months ago, due to high rent and unfavorable lease conditions. Residents must travel outside of the area to go to grocery stores or markets. This limitation on access of food can negatively affect the health of the community and individuals.

There also seemed to be limitations on medical treatment and pharmacies for people in area. This can cause the most problems for elderly residents who do not reliable transportation outside the community. I encountered one medical center during my observations. This was located near the corner of Mill St and Wood St. There were no pharmacies in the area. The only pharmacy that I found in Bristol is located inside the Rite-Aid on Pond St. This Rite-Aid is marked in blue on my map outside of the purple highlighted observation area.

Along Water St. and Radcliffe there were options for recreational outdoor activities. This appeared to be the meeting place of the community. Along the water, there were green spaces with picnic benches, the wharf, and the Delaware Canal Trail. The canal runs from Bristol to Easton PA and the entire path can be walked. There were also memorial plaques located along the trail. This area was clean, and trashcans were provided frequently. Along Mill St. was the main commerce strip. All of the stores had handicapped accessible entrances. The main limitation that I found was some of the sidewalks were uneven or broken up. This can cause limitations on mobility for the handicapped and elderly.

I feel that Bristol may have a problem with clean air and water. This is concluded based on the amount of industry that is currently and historically located in the area. In addition, Rohm Haas is located very closely to that area. This is a major source of air and water pollution in the area. Also, the Tullytown Dump is located in close proximity of the area. On certain days, the air has strong scents, from the dump, which is a foul stench, or from the Rohm Haas that has a sulfur type smell. This area was also used as a major port for many years. This is a source of water pollution. These are all negative factors on the health of the members of the community and individuals.