Christine Lin

Christine Lin

PHOTO COMMENTS:
The image shows the intersection of Lexington Street and Bunker Hill Street. Left of the Bunker Hill Street (of this view) are condominiums of wood siding exterior walls and high rental prices. To the right are the Bunker Hill Housing Projects, made of brick. The Bunker Hill Street seems to be a dividing line for two different worlds. White residents predominantly live in the condominiums, and Hispanic, Black, and Asian residents predominantly reside in the housing projects. There is a great dichotomy of rental prices of the buildings, household income, demographics, physical disorder, and private neglect between these areas. This picture captures two contrasting neighborhoods that share a street (Bunker Hill Street) and serve differing perceptions for outsiders and residents.

MAP COMMENTS:
My map is of Charlestown, with a focus on the Lexington Street, Monument Street, Bunker Hill Street, O’Reilly Way neighborhoods. The red dots represent location of litter in the areas. Lexington Street and Monument Street (leading up to Bunker Hill Street) had little to no litter at the beginning of the streets. However, closer to Bunker Hill Street, greater amounts of litter were visible. Litter lined the sidewalks and streets in the Bunker Hill Housing Projects of O’Reilly Way. This confirms the greater physical disorder in the project housing areas compared to the more upscale neighborhoods around them. A greater amount of litter shows that each of housing project residents may feel little to no responsibility to look after a space that requires a collective effort from the community.