Top Banner
GLENDALE MOUNTAINVIEW CLC AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD: An Exploratory Report
42

Glendale Report

Jan 21, 2018

Download

Documents

Thomas Cushing
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Glendale Report

GLENDALE MOUNTAINVIEW CLC AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD:

An Exploratory Report

Page 2: Glendale Report

The Glendale-Mountain View CLC and its Neighborhood: An Exploratory Report

Under the direction of Dr. Joanna P. Ganning, this project was completed by the students en-rolled in Urban and Environmental Economics (CMP 3400) in Spring 2015:

Thamer Almansour, Samuel Ball, Justin Banks, Xiaokun Chen, Georgie Corkery, Patrick Hart Cromp-ton, Thomas Cushing, Gustavo Da Silva, Christy Dahlberg, Emily Day, Nicolas Deseelhorst, Laura-ann Drury, Blake Frautschi, Stephen Hanamaikai, Clint Harper, Julie Henry, Kate Johnson, Taylor Kafentzis, Nanyu Li, Steven Lizzarago, Miho Maruyama, Kaylee Milliner, Amber Mortensen, Josh Naylor, Xiaoyang Niu, Roman Permyakov, Shaokun Zhao, Ethan Ray, Sydney Rich, Zachary Small-

wood, Carlie Teague, Taylor Thompson, Christopher Turner, Emily Van Allen

Dr. Joanna P. GanningExecutive Director, Metropolitan Research Center, University of UtahAssistant Professor, City & Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah

Keri TaddieCoordinator, Glendale Mountain View Community Learning Center

Dr. Sarah MunroResearch Director and Partnership Manager, University Neighborhood Partners

Cynthia HolzAssociate Director, Utah Community Learning Centers

University of Utah, Department of City and Metropolitan Planning375 South 1530 East

Salt Lake City, UT 84112(801) 581-8255

University Neighborhood Partners (UNP)1060 South 900 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84104(801) 972-3596

Glendale Mountain View Community Learning Center1380 South Navajo St

Salt Lake City, Utah 84104(801) 974-8315

Page 3: Glendale Report
Page 4: Glendale Report

CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

I N T RO D U C T I O N 3

S O C I A L E Q U I T Y 9

ACC E S S I B I L I T Y 2 3

CO N C L U S I O N 3 5

WO R K S C I T E D 3 6

Employment 10Housing 12Education 18Health 20Demographics 21

The Neighborhood 24Transportation 26Walkability 28Social Resources 32Accessibility 34

Page 5: Glendale Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis of the Salt Lake City neighborhood of Glendale and the relationship between the neighborhood and the Community Learning Center. The Communi-ty Learning Center (CLC) is located directly in between Glendale Middle School and Mountain View Elementary School, both of which are part of the Salt Lake City School District. The center is located on the west side of Salt Lake City and is considered to be in the heart of the Glendale neighborhood. The Glendale neighborhood consists of two zip codes, 84116 and 84104, within Salt Lake City. A majority of the 84116 population lives north of I-80 between 500 West and the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Working in collaboration with University Neighborhood Partners and the CLC, our class was asked to assist the CLC in establishing an understanding of their service users, and the role the CLC services might be playing in the Glendale neighborhood. To accomplish that aim, we present both contextual, secondary data on the Glendale neighborhood, and primary, survey data we collected regarding service use and needs. In presenting these data, we demonstrate the connections between the services of the CLC and the residents who benefit from those ser-vices, synthesized along two themes: social equity and accessibility. These themes draw directly from the material studied as part of our course, and relate clearly to practical frameworks which educators and planning practitioners might pursue while extending the work of the CLC.

The main goals of the CLC are: •To increase student achievement •To increase adult education •To build relationships between the school and community •To remove barriers to education •To increase parent engagement within the schools •To transform the relationship community has with higher education •To create accessible educational opportunities •To provide programs and services that ultimately lead to a healthier community

Through our analysis of social equity, we found that while Glendale enjoys a wonderfully diverse profile, in both race and ethnicity, it also faces a number of challenges. Perhaps most pressingly, housing affordability is problematic. There is an absolute deficit of affordable hous-ing units for renter households, and while the average value of an owner-occupied housing unit is lower in Glendale than in the whole of Salt Lake City, incomes are lower as well, and thus housing affordability is not ensured by the lower costs. Moreover, the average rental rate in Glendale actually surpassed that of the city, despite being situated in a lower income area. The pressure caused by the affordability challenge results in housing instability, especially among renter households, and especially among households with lower educational attainment levels.

Our analysis of accessibility reveals that community members value active transporta-tion, with children accessing school via walking at a rate substantially higher than the national average. To facilitate this active transportation, the neighborhood has many crosswalks, side-walks, and access to the Jordan River Parkway. However, our analysis of walkability also reveals specific urban design issues that could be improved, and that vary from street to street through

1

Page 6: Glendale Report

2

the neighborhood. Beyond walkability, one of ten survey respondents lacks access to a private vehicle, likely resulting in substantially higher investments of time to access work, shopping, and other everyday services. For these people, bus service exists, connecting to larger regional transit services, and service is consistent, if infrequent. Access to CLC services appears critical for neighborhood success, and this is true especially for its health clinic. Over half of survey respon-dents use the CLC clinic as their primary place of health care access.

In conclusion, we believe that while much additional research is needed to fully under-stand the role of the CLC in family and neighborhood success, we feel that we can confidently conclude several points. First, housing affordability and stability represent serious concerns for academic success and neighborhood success in Glendale, and this is particularly true among more vulnerable populations. Second, while many features of neighborhood accessibility are strong, urban design interventions could help at strategic locations, as could improvement to the frequency of public transit routes. Access to CLC services is critical, especially for health care. The implications of other CLC services, especially for public cost savings and family and neighbor-hood success, can only be speculated about given the data collected through our survey, though we believe these discoveries should be pursued both for the CLC and for other community lead-ers.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Page 7: Glendale Report

WEL

COME

TO

GLEN

DALE

1

3

Page 8: Glendale Report

When Glendale was first developed

in the mid-twentieth century, it was a built

as a typical suburban community. Half of all

homes in Glendale were built between 1940

and 1950, and seventy percent of homes

were built before 1960 (West Salt Lake, 6).

The vast majority of these homes are single

family dwellings. However, as the great trifecta

of suburbanization continued (highway

development, home mortgage interest

deduction, and division of school districts),

more middle class residents began leaving the

neighborhood for other communities across

the valley. Interstates made it easier to live

farther away from jobs downtown, larger and

more spacious homes were built in other areas

of the metropolitan area, and school districts

in other municipalities were considered better

than the more urban Salt Lake City district.

But as the middle class white population left

Glendale, blight did not take its place. Instead,

a diverse group of immigrants from around the

world took advantage of Glendale’s location

and affordable cost of living.

The influx of new residents has helped

keep the population stable, rather than a

large decrease as seen in many blighted

communities (West Salt Lake, 6). People across

the valley believe that Glendale is the typical

poor ghetto. This notion is wrong because

Glendale is so much more than that; it’s a

neighborhood made up of hard working

people who have created a vibrant, growing,

and diverse neighborhood.

The Community Learning Center in Glendale A Community Learning Center is a

philosophy, a place, and a set of partnerships

between a school and other community

resources. The community learning center

model builds on the core instructional program

of a school by adding educational and life skill

enrichment for the entire family and removing

barriers to learning by providing necessary social

services.

– Salt Lake Education Foundation

The Community Learning Center (CLC) in

INTRODUCTION

4

Page 9: Glendale Report

Glendale works with the community, Glendale

Middle School, Mountain View Elementary

School, and their families. The goal of the CLC

is to develop and improve five specific services:

•Quality education

•Personal development

•Family support

•Community development

•Family and community engagement

The CLC serves as a resource to the

community to help children meet difficult

academic standards, coordinate health

and social services, and engage other

local community members. They focus on

strengthening the surrounding community,

early childhood development, adult education,

health programs, and other services for

families in Glendale.

The CLC is a $4.4 million dollar project

that opened in early 2013. The Salt Lake

City School District provided $3.5 million; the

remaining funds came from Salt Lake City and

private donations. The CLC is one of over 70

school-based community centers across the

nation that has received a grant. It will prepare

kids for kindergarten, alleviate crowded

classrooms, and help the children address

health concerns.

The CLC partners with many

organizations in the Salt Lake Valley including:

Education Pathways Coordinator, Mommies

and Me, Dreamkeepers, Papas in Accion/Dads

in Action, Latinos in Action, and the University

Neighborhood Partners. These partnerships

offer services that help kids and their families

be involved in the community, keep the

community engaged, and offer a wide array of

services for everyone. The CLC offers programs

such as early childhood, youth enrichment

activities, youth academic support, youth social

emotional support, youth leadership, adult

education, adult enrichment, adult leadership,

civic engagement, health and wellness

education, and family support.

This project developed out of the

relationship between the CLC and University

Neighborhood Partners (UNP). Of immediate

concern to the CLC has been their need to

enrollment and participation data for CLC

services. Also pressing but of secondary

priority, the CLC voiced the need to consider

how they could measure the impact of their

work not only on their students’ success,

but on family and neighborhood success as

well. While our class could not accommodate

all of the CLC’s research needs in the few

short weeks we had together, we could help

to establish a portion of it—namely, data

describing service users, and the scope of

5

Page 10: Glendale Report

neighborhood issues that impact the success

of the CLC, such as physical accessibility of the

site, housing instability, and health.

Who We Are and What We Did We are a group of students studying

Urban and Environmental Economics through

the College of Architecture and Planning at the

University of Utah. Working together with the

CLC and UNP staff to assess the socioeconomic

status of the Glendale neighborhood, we

analyzed factors related to social equity and

accessibility.

In order to determine which services

were being used most often at the CLC, we

partnered with the CLC and UNP to conduct

a Glendale Neighborhood Information (GNI)

survey, which asked what services community

members utilized and how often they used

them, among other information. The GNI

survey was conducted at the CLC, Mountain

View Elementary School, and Glendale Middle

School when classes were being taught and

at the CLC and during the hours parents were

dropping off and picking up their children.

It was written in both English and Spanish

to facilitate greater participation among

community members.

As the GNI surveys were distributed, we

were impressed by the sense of community at

the CLC. It seemed that staff members not only

knew community members by name, but also

knew about their children, their jobs, and some

of their struggles. This sense of community

created an atmosphere of trust wherein this

potentially sensitive data could be collected.

This report will include the data

collected on housing affordability,

employment, housing characteristics, crime

statistics, walkability, air quality, and modes

of transportation. After conducting the

GNI Survey and compiling the data, some

interesting observations concerning social

equity and accessibility to social and health

services within the community came to light.

In presenting these findings, the important

role the CLC plays within the neighborhoods of

Glendale and Mountain View quickly comes to

the fore.

The faculty and staff did an amazing job

welcoming and assisting us into their center.

We owe especial thanks to Sarah Munro Ph.D.,

research director and partnership manager at

the University Neighborhood Partners, who

helped us connect with the CLC. Additional

thanks to Keri Taddie, the Coordinator of the

Glendale/Mountain View CLC, Jennifer Mayer-

Glenn, the assistant principal at Mountain

View Elementary, Cynthia Holz the District

Community Learning Center Coordinator,

and many other wonderful faculty and staff

INTRODUCTION

6

Page 11: Glendale Report

members. This could not have been done

without your help and we were honored to

offer our time and skills.

7

Page 12: Glendale Report
Page 13: Glendale Report

SOCI

ALEQ

UITY

2

9

Page 14: Glendale Report

Survey respondents predominantly work in the professional or service industries, which make up more than half of the total (Figure 1). More than a quarter of Glendale residents work in industrial or manual jobs. Out of the respondents, roughly 5% are unemployed. While this rate is higher than the Utah unemployment rate, it is lower than the US figure from March 2015. Income and job opportunities for Glendale are also different when compared to Salt Lake City. Figure 2 displays the distribution of residents by industry of employment in Glendale, while Figure 3 exhibits the same information for Salt Lake City. These figures show that Glendale residents are more often employed in Manufacturing and Transportation and Warehousing than are workers citywide, but are less often employed in Social Assistance

and Healthcare. The following are the most common fields of employment for Glendale residents:

•Manufacturing •Wholesale trade •Transportation and Warehousing •Administrative and Waste management services •Government and Government enter prises As will be shown and discussed at length in the following section, households in Glendale, both owner and renter households, earn slightly less than do households citywide.

EMPLOYMENT

Figure 1 Occupation

*GNI Survey, 2015

10

Page 15: Glendale Report

Figure 2

Figure 3

*U.S. Census Bureau, 2011

*U.S. Census Bureau, 2011

11

Page 16: Glendale Report

In Glendale, 63% of people rent and 37% own houses/dwelling units. Out of the people who have lived in their current neighborhood for 10+ years, 52% own and 48% rent their house/dwelling unit and out of the people who have lived in their current neighborhood for less than one year, 12.5% own and 87.5% rent their house/dwelling unit. Among owner-occupied housing units, the median housing value in Glendale is lower than the citywide housing value (Figure 4). According to the CLC staff, the lower housing costs appear to be attracting young families to the neighborhood.

In Glendale, people who rent are more likely to have moved within the past three years than people who own. Of the people who rent, 59% have moved zero times in the past 3 years and of the people who own, 63% have moved zero times in the past three years. Additionally, the motivating factors for a move appear to be different among owners and renters (Tables 1 and 2).

Of the people who own, the leading motivation for a past move was proximity to work (23%). Among renters, more than half of people pointed to unaffordable costs as the motivation for their move (53%). This suggests that affordable housing programs could substantially improve housing stability for CLC users.

HOUSING

Reason for MovingBought a HouseDown SizingLost/Changed JobCloser to Family/FriendsCloser to JobCosts too HighWanted Safer Area

Reason for MovingBad Landlord/PropertyBankruptcyLost/Changed JobCloser to Family/FriendsCloser to JobRent too HighWanted Safer Area

%17.60%5.90%5.90%11.80%

23.50%17.60%17.60%

%8.80%2.90%

14.70%8.80%5.90%

52.90%5.90%

Owner Occupied PropertyTable 1

Table 2Renter Occupied Property

*GNI Survey, Spring 2015

*GNI Survey, Spring 2015

Figure 4 Housing Values

12

*American Community Survey, 2013

Page 17: Glendale Report

Map 2

Map 1 Salt Lake City Percentage of Home Owners

Salt Lake City Percentage of Renters

13

Page 18: Glendale Report

The need for affordable rental housing is substantiated by analyzing the rental hous-ing affordability gap. Table 3 portrays findings based upon the Renter Housing Affordability Gap Analysis. Linear interpolation methods were used to estimate the number of renter households that fall into one of six income brackets in the area. Then, the maximum pos-sible income of each income bracket was used to calculate the maximum affordable rent for households (column 2 of Table 3). Using addi-tional American Community Survey data, the estimated number of available housing units were compared to the number of people with-in each income bracket who need to occupy them. The final column of Table 2 reports the surplus or deficit of affordable housing units available to households in each income brack-et.

Using data from the American Com-munity Survey we calculated that the median household income for renter households in Glendale was $27,676, lower than the $30,137 estimate given for renters citywide in Table B25119 of the same database. It appears to be

the case that higher percentages of monthly income goes towards housing for residents of Glendale than those of Salt Lake City (Figure 5). From this, it can be assumed that residents of Glendale have less available income to spend on services other than housing. It also can be assumed that Glendale residents have less affordable housing options because otherwise, they most likely would not spend as much of their income on housing. This is showcased in column 5 of Table 3. There is a deficit of 1,374 units at a reasonable price for residents whose incomes less than $22,139. Therefore, approx-imately 47% of renter households earning less than $22,139 are unable to find affordable housing within the neighborhood.

Table 3 Renter Housing Affordability Gap Analysis

HOUSING

14

*American Community Survey, 2009-2013 5-year data, Tables B25118 and B25056

Page 19: Glendale Report

Figure 5

Figure 6

Household Income Bracket

Gross Rent

15

*American Community Survey, 2013

*American Community Survey, 2013

Page 20: Glendale Report

The concern regarding rental affordability is reflected also in Figure 6. This figure shows that the rental cost’s mode and median are higher in Glendale than in Salt Lake City as a whole. Considering that household incomes of renters are lower in Glendale than in the city as a whole, this figure evokes additional concerns about affordability for renters in Glendale. As Figure 7 then shows, there is a stronger afford-ability challenge among households in Glen-dale than elsewhere in Salt Lake City.

Figure 7Percentage of Residents Paying More

Than 30% of Income on Housing

HOUSING

16

*American Community Survey, 2013

Page 21: Glendale Report

When families have to move, children have to move. This often results in children having to change schools. In the survey we found that of the renters who had changed schools because of a move, 18% were renters and 12% were owners. Of the people owning, 100% made 1 school change in the last 3 years. Sixty percent of renters made 1 school change and 27% made 2 school changes in the last 3 years. Assistant principal at Mountain View Elementary, Jennifer Mayer-Glenn, stated that students who move more than once every three years are less likely to find success in their academic career.

Taking all of this information into consideration, the theme of vulnerability is apparent.

When a family is renting they are more vulnerable to relocation, possibly moving away from the CLC or the schools their children are attending. This move would reduce their access to all of the services provided by the CLC and possibly force their children to change schools, increasing their children’s risk of falling behind academically. These vulnerabilities are apparent in Glendale with both high percentages of people renting and high mobility rates.

According to Figure 8, roughly half of all residents in the neighborhood have lived there for less than five years. As discussed previously, there are several reasons that the Glendale residents move in including job changes, family

access, and affordability. According to the survey, people who have lived in Glendale for more than ten years are more likely to own their homes, to have finished high school, and to be employed in a professional or service job. Residents who have lived in the area for three to five years are less likely to have completed high school, more likely to rent their place of residence, and have a relatively equal chance of having a job in any field.

People who have lived in Glendale for one to two years are more likely to have attended some college than other groups, more likely to rent their residence, and are more likely to work in a professional or services job.

Residents who have lived in the neighborhood for less than one year are also more likely to have not completed high school, more likely to rent their home, and are also more likely to work in a professional or services position.

Figure 8

Time Residing in Current Neighborhood

17

*GNI Survey, 2015

Page 22: Glendale Report

EDUCATION Figure 9 shows educational attainment among residents in Glendale with students attending a local school or who utilize the services at the CLC. Of the respondents, almost half didn’t complete high school. With almost half of the respondents having not completed high school it is essential that the schools and the CLC provide positive educational experiences to the children to encourage them to stay in school and continue learning throughout their lives.

Educational attainment levels vary widely by occupation in Glendale. In the survey, three different types of professions were provided: service; professional; and, manual. According to the U.S. Census Bureau service jobs include warehouse, retail, and transportation positions (Investopedia, 2010). Basically, these workers produce services rather than products. Professional jobs are usually higher paying positions that often result long-term career potential. Manual labor jobs are labor intensive, like

construction workers.

Of respondents, a majority of service workers didn’t finish high school and a majority of professional workers and manual workers did finish high school. Many parents in Glendale value education for their children and want them to succeed. The opportunity costs of not graduating high school are lost future earnings, as has been well-established by scholars nationally. Figures 10-12 show the educational attainment levels of workers in Glendale.

Education Level

Professional Workers Manual Labor Workers

Service WorkersFigure 9

Figure 11

Figure 10

Figure 11

18

*GNI Survey, 2015

Page 23: Glendale Report

Most children in Glendale attend local schools (Figure 13). Sixty percent of children attend Mountain View Elementary School and 32% attend Glendale Middle School. Otherwise, only 8% are going to non-local schools. This shows children in Glendale have opportunities to attend local schools and receive primary education.

Individuals Who Have Children Attending Local Schools

Figure 13

19

*GNI Survey, 2015

Image Courtesy Utah Education Assoication

Page 24: Glendale Report

HEALTH Glendale residents have numerous health concerns in their families, the biggest health concern being dental (Figure 14). It is not clear why dental is the biggest concern. There are numerous variables that can play into dental issues, such as poor nutrition, poor dental hygiene, and lack of access to dental care.

Glendale residents are also concerned with nutrition within their families. This could mean lack of access to “good” foods from lack of grocery stores in the area, or it could be that families aren’t able to afford healthy foods. Even though Glendale isn’t a food desert according to the USDA Food Desert Atlas, the lack of multiple stores might result in a smaller selection

or lesser quality of the food being provided. Perhaps as corollaries to their concerns regarding nutrition, Obesity and Virus/Flu are also of concern among Glendale families. Not having nutritional foods to eat increases a family’s susceptibility to getting the flu or a virus and also increases the chances of becoming obese. It is worth noting that we anticipated finding that asthma would be leading health concern, due to the fact that locally collected air quality data (unavailable to us) has suggested that the air quality in our study area is worse than the average Salt Lake City air quality statistics, and due to the neighborhood’s proximity to freeways. Had we found this, it would have

signaled an environmentally-created health carrier to accessing CLC services. That we did not find this is surprising and encouraging.

When residents of Glendale need medical attention many of them utilize the services available at the CLC (Picture 2), however, the CLC is not equipped to handle broken bones, cancer, or pregnancy, all of which are health concerns for resident of Glendale.

Family Health ConcernsFigure 14

20

*GNI Survey, 2015

Page 25: Glendale Report

DEMOGRAPHICS Glendale is a diverse neighborhood within Salt Lake City. The CLC welcomes residents representing many different languages and cultures including 54% from Mexico, 17% from the United States, 4% from Burma, Somalia, and Guatemala, and 3% from El Salvador. The CLC also accommodates a broad range of ages.

All ages are welcome to utilize the same spaces and interact with one another. Of those who participated in the survey, 56.3% were between the ages of 25-39 and 31% between the ages of 40-54 (Figure 15). Children were not represented in these numbers because the survey wasn’t distributed to them.

Glendale’s diversity has created a lively neighborhood where people of different backgrounds and cultures interact. In the last 50 years, the population has gradually changed from a majority white middle class neighborhood to a more diverse district with vibrant Latino, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Pacific Islander communities.

Even though the immigrant population is large and growing, Glendale also has “a backbone of longtime residents and middle-income earners who provide stability for newcomers and foster neighborhood programs aimed at building a larger middle class,” (Smart, 2013).

This diversity is evident in the CLC, with many residents learning about their neighbors’ cultures, particularly through the exchange of recipes and food. With a combination of stable middle class residents and a dynamic, youthful immigrant populace, Glendale is creating a united, mixed-income neighborhood.

8410484116841198412384044844048402084102841098409584115841298411884120

1076432111111111

SLCSLC

West ValleySLC

MagnaOgdenDraper

SLCSLC

South JordanSLCSLCSLC

West Valley

81.68%4.58%3.05%2.29%1.53%0.76%0.76%0.76%0.76%0.76%0.76%0.76%0.76%0.76%

Zip Code Individuals City %Respondent Zip Code Analysis

Figure 16

The GNI Survey found that 81.6% of community members that took the GNI Survey live within zip code 84104. Individuals surveyed included those who use CLC services, who have children that attend the adjacent schools, or both (Figure 16).

21

Age of Those SurveyedFigure 15

*GNI Survey, 2015

*GNI Survey, 2015

Page 26: Glendale Report
Page 27: Glendale Report

ACCE

SSIB

ILITY 3

23

GLENDALEREPORT

Page 28: Glendale Report

THE NEIGHBORHOOD Accessibility is defined as the degree to which a service is available to a person, as well as the manner in which the built environment affects that person’s available services. The built environment includes all methods of transportation, such as sidewalks, streets, crosswalks, and bike lanes. The greater the variety of pathways a person has, the better accessibility they have to the services being provided. Once residents have a connectivity, they are able to take advantage of services that are offered within their transportation network. These services include education for all ages, health care of all specialties, and career development for the workforce. Those who have the best access to these services have been shown to achieve greater success economically over their lifetimes. Similarly, if a neighborhood has increased accessibility, then the community has more opportunity to succeed economically; making accessibility an ever-important issue.

24

Map 3

Page 29: Glendale Report

Accessibility of a neighborhood is measured by the experience, ease and convenience of traveling to daily needs and services. This is typically calculated by exploring urban design. Urban design is the physical arrangement of buildings and streets in the neighborhood. Accessibility is also analyzed by examining existing transportation infrastructure, such as bike lanes and public transit. The combination of urban design and transportation infrastructure influence personal travel behavior for accessing daily needs and services. Through site visits, general research, community survey data, and a walkability audit, the Urban & Environmental Economics students at the University of Utah have found that the neighborhoods surrounding the CLC

have reasonable access to opportunities and jobs outside of Glendale via infrequent, but consistent bus service that connects residents to regional transit. Locally, there is a high demand for safe, walkable and bicycle-friendly streets. Much of the infrastructure needed to create such streets already exists. However, a majority of families would greatly benefit from an increased number of thoughtfully-designed crosswalks, more bike lanes, and remedies for specific barriers to walkability.

25

Page 30: Glendale Report

TRANSPORTATION Glendale has an educational cluster which includes classes provided by the CLC, Glendale Middle School, and Mountain View Elementary School. The community has a grocery store, small shopping center, dual immersion academy, and a public library. There is ample access to parks and green space and the unique recreational opportunity offered by the Jordan River Parkway. Within a mile buffer of the CLC, there are multiple bus stops that provide locals with regional access to services and jobs outside of the community, namely routes 509, 516 and 513. Route 509 and Route 516 provide the most service with buses running every thirty minutes on weekdays covering the morning and evening

commutes. Hourly service is offered on Saturdays. These bus routes provide locals with access to Downtown West Valley Central Station, Salt Lake Central Station, Courthouse Station where TRAX lines converge, and Central Pointe Station, a hub for many bus lines and the S Line Street Car. Route 513, the Industrial Business Park Shuttle, provides the least service to the community. This bus route attempts to cover morning and evening commutes, there are two pick-up times in the morning and two drop-off times in the evening. The route reaches many industrial business parks and runs between the Salt Lake Central Station and the West Valley Central Station.

Overall, the regional access provided for the community by bus is fair. The route schedules are infrequent, but the hours of service and number of routes are better than many neighborhoods at a similar distance from downtown. These routes connect to regional transportation hubs and help families reach jobs and services. Although schedules are infrequent, individuals can use these routes to access the nearby TRAX, Frontrunner, and Streetcar lines, which allows them to travel out of the community to meet their needs.

In every community, there are individuals who have their access severely limited because they are excluded from the dominant, most convenient mode of

Transporationto School

Figure 18Car Ownership ComparisonFigure 19

26*GNI Survey, 2015 *American Community Survey, 2013

Page 31: Glendale Report

transportation. Age, disability status, and low incomes often play a role in private vehicle access and use. These individuals use sidewalks, bike lanes, and public transportation to access their everyday needs. These are the most basic methods of travel and carry residents of all socioeconomic status, age, and ability to the places that they work, live, learn, and play. To understand how people within Glendale access daily needs and services, the GNI Survey included questions on where community members live, transportation and access to education.

The GNI Survey deduced that 9.7% of respondents do not have access to a vehicle (Figure 17). In comparison, in Salt Lake City, 12.4% of people do not have a vehicle available for use. Although the community has a better rate of vehicle access than Salt Lake City as a whole, it is important to note that individuals within the 12.4% may be able to choose to not own a vehicle being that walking and biking is easy within the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods. This is very different individuals who may not have the means to own a vehicle or may have to share one vehicle between family members.

AccessNo Access

11212

90.3%9.7%

Vehicle Access Individuals %

Access to VehicleFigure 17

27

*GNI Survey, 2015

Page 32: Glendale Report

WALKABILITYInterestingly, when community members were asked which mode of transportation their children used to access school, nearly 30% re-ported that their child or children walk or bike to school. This finding exceeds the national average of students who walk or bike to school by 16% (NHTS, 4).* (Figure #: Figure Heading) The high percentage of stu-dents walking and biking to school indicates that the community has a high demand for safe streets that encourage walking and biking. Efforts to increase acces-sibility on the local level will directly benefit fami-lies because the majority of the families that use CLC services and have children who attend Mountain View Elemen-tary and Glendale Mid-dle School, live nearby. Therefore, they would benefit greatly from new bike lanes, crosswalks, and bicycle parking. The vast majority of streets in this community have well-maintained sidewalks. There are a great number of ramps throughout Glendale that comply with the Americans with Dis-abilities Act (ADA), especially at street intersections. Many blocks within the neighborhood are small enough to encourage connectivity and walkability. Some blocks within the neighborhoods are very large, resulting in fewer crosswalks and connections to nearby streets. However, the crosswalks that exist are in strategic locations along the main roads includ-

28

Map 4

Page 33: Glendale Report

Bike lanes are provided on California Avenue and Indiana Avenue. Many of the residential streets have to potential to be bicycle-friendly, but do not have designated bike lanes. Additions of designated bike lanes could increase accessibility to the educational cluster. Bike lanes along Van Buren Avenue and Cheyenne Street could provide neighborhoods to the west and south of the CLC with more convenient access to the site. New bike lanes along 1300 South, Montgomery Street, and Glendale Drive could facilitate more connectivity to neighborhoods north of the CLC. Lastly, an additional bike lane along Andrew Avenue could connect to the Jordan River Trail and provide neighborhoods east of the river greater access to the CLC and schools.

Urban design characteristics that contribute to walkability were measured by a walkability audit. The audit was performed following the procedures within the Measuring Urban Design Field Manual. These procedures involve determining street segments to be evaluated, walking along those streets, and taking notes of the presence or absence of a variety of urban design features.

29

Page 34: Glendale Report

WALKABILITYThe field guide divides these characteristics into five categories: •Imageability: Quality of a place that makes it distinct, recognizable and memorable •Enclosure: The degree to which streets, and other public spaces, are visually defined by buildings, walls trees, and other vertical elements •Human Scale: The size, texture, and articulation of physical elements that match the size and proportions of humans, and correspond to the speed at which humans walk •Transparency: The degree to which people can see or perceive what lies beyond the edge of a street or other public space and, more specifically, the degree to which people can see or perceive human activity beyond the edge of a street or other public space •Complexity: The visual richness of a place, specifically the numbers and kinds of buildings, architectural diversity and ornamentation, landscape elements, street furniture, signage, and human activity

This data is then compiled and scored using the field manual. Four street segments were analyzed using this evaluation (Figure 20). These segments were selected due to their diverse use (residential and commercial) and proximity to the CLC. All assessments are compared with other streets within the Glendale neighborhood.

California Ave (Concord - Stewert) •Imageability - Characteristics that contribute to a higher score include the number of non-rectangular buildings, presence of outdoor dining, and people. •Enclosure – Enclosure scored low due to the wide open spaces present, and the lack of enclosing features, such as buildings on sidewalk fronts serving as an enclosing street wall. •Human Scale – Human score scaled well when compared to the rest of the neighborhood due to the presence of commercial buildings with street level windows within 10 feet of the sidewalk. •Transparency – Transparency scored slightly higher than other streets within this area due to the presence of commercial buildings with street level windows within 10 feet of the sidewalk that implied human activity beyond the street edge. •Complexity – Complexity scored high in this area due to the presence of outdoor dining and visible street art.Glendale (Dale - Navajo) •Imageability – Imageability scored low due to the lack of any parks, plazas, historic buildings, and the presence of outdoor dining. •Enclosure – Enclosure scored low due to the wide open spaces present, and the lack of enclosing features, such as buildings on sidewalk fronts serving as an enclosing street wall. •Human Scale – Human scale scored low due to low building heights, zero windows at street level within 10 feet of the sidewalk, and low numbers of street furniture. •Transparency - Transparency scored low due to low building heights, zero windows at street level within 10 feet of the sidewalk and little diversity in street uses. •Complexity – Complexity scored low due to a lack of outdoor dining, street art, the presence of people, few building and accent colors, and overall total of buildings.

30

Page 35: Glendale Report

For further comparison, the following are the scores on the high end for street segments near City Creek Center.

Improved urban design principles, including an emphasis on walkability and bike-friendliness could drastically change the accessibility for people in this neighborhood to their services. It could also improve the health of the residents who would be moving more and driving less. Through the physical environment, citizens are connected to the places where they can live, play, learn, and work. Accessibility includes the ability to connect with the services that will improve the health and status of the residents. These services are greatly needed and highly used by the residents of the area

Street Segment

California Ave (Concord - Stewert)

California Ave (100W - Concord St)

Glendale (Navajo - 1300S)

Glendale (Dale - Navajo)

Imageability

5.91

5.37

3.46

3.25

Enclosure

0.89

0.82

0.89

0.89

Human Scale

2.37

2.06

1.98

2.02

Transparency

1.95

1.76

1.82

1.98

Complexity

6.14

4.53

4.61

4.51

Total

17.26

14.54

12.76

12.65

Glendale Walkability AnalysisFigure 20

Street Segment

Near City Creek

Imageability

8.37

Enclosure

2.1

Human Scale

3.2

Transparency

3.76

Complexity

11.09

Total

28.52

City Creek Walkability AnalysisFigure 21

California Ave. from 1100W to Concord St. Glendale Dr. from Dale St. to Navajo St.

31

Images Courtesy Google Maps

Page 36: Glendale Report

SOCIAL RESOURCES As discussed earlier, the neighborhoods of Glendale and Mountain View are both areas of low income and refugee placement. This raises some interesting questions about accessibility in social and service context. What is the role of the Community Learning Center in addressing accessibility issues, and its importance in the community as a whole in meeting the needs of community members? Specifically in an accessibility context, which services were most utilized by the community and what that usage said about resource access in the surrounding neighborhoods. Access to social resources such as health care, education, and career development tools are crucial

to low income and refugee placement neighborhoods. These groups are often the most vulnerable members of society from both a social and financial standpoint. These services can help improve the quality of life of the residents of Glendale and Mountain View by increasing their education level, improving their health, and giving them the skills they need to advance or expand their career paths. In order to determine which services were being used most often at the Community Learning Center, we conducted the GNI survey which among other things, asked what services community members utilized and how often they used them. This was conducted at the Community Learning Center and the adjacent middle and elementary

schools at classes being taught at the CLC and during the hours parents were dropping off and picking up their children. The survey was written in both English and Spanish to facilitate greater participation among community members. As we handed out these surveys, we were impressed by the sense of community at the CLC. It seemed that staff members not only knew community members by name, but also knew about their children, their jobs, and some of their struggles. This sense of community created an atmosphere of trust wherein this potentially sensitive data could be collected. After conducting the survey and compiling the data, we are able to make some interesting

Where Do People Go for Health Concerns

Average Usage of CLC Services

Figure 22 Figure 23

32

*GNI Survey, 2015 *GNI Survey, 2015

Page 37: Glendale Report

observations concerning accessibility to social and health services within the community. In presenting our findings, we hope to illustrate the important role which the Community Learning Center plays within the neighborhoods of Glendale and Mountain View. Addressing first the category of health access, we wanted to see where people were going for their primary health care. Among the people surveyed over half (57.4%) relied mainly upon the local clinic at the Community Learning Center. The reasoning for this statistic becomes clearer when looking at a map of health care facilities within the neighborhood.

We can see that the CLC’s clinic is the only health care facility within the relative center of the neighborhood with other facilities being located around the peripheries. In addition to over half of those surveyed relying on the Community Learning Center for their health care, another interesting statistic was that only 3.5% of the survey takers relied on the emergency room for their health care. The reason that this is interesting is because of recent media claims that emergency room

services are abused and overwhelmed by patients who may lack access to more traditional delivery systems for health care services. Our survey results suggest that the CLC Clinic plays a significant role in service provision in the neighborhood. While the suggestion is speculative, it stands to reason that the CLC Clinic may help to reduce ER dependence for non-emergency medical care. CLC services touch the vast majority of lives among those surveyed; 75% said they access a CLC service (social, health, or otherwise) at least once a month. The most used programs at the CLC are Adult Education, Youth Enrichment, Health and Wellness Education, Health and Wellness Services, and Early Childhood Programs.

This sheds light on the role that Community Learning Center plays in providing services to the neighborhood. Education and health seem to be the most important services available to community members whereas services focused on leadership and civic engagement are less popular, and might be a lower priority to those who go to the CLC.

33

Page 38: Glendale Report

ACCESSIBILITY Finally, it is interesting to note that the overwhelming majority of survey takers were females, and between the ages of 25-39. This helps us understand the demographic of those coming to the Community Learning Center. It also tells us that the CLC and its services, including adult education and health care, seem most accessible to women; there may thus be opportuni-ties to expand service provision to male community members who may have different barriers to access. It seems that the Community Learning Center gives good access to resources to the surrounding neighborhoods, and not only can help those community members improve their health, but also their education. From our survey data, we can see that it is an integral part of the community whose presence increases access to health and social services for everyone living in the neighborhood.

The CLC offers opportunities for positive externalities to occur as community members engage in its services, in particular the education classes. Educating those living within the neighborhood can affect those who do not attend class through informal methods of knowl-edge exchange. People who use CLC services are able to become more familiar with language, culture, and health and are able to spread this knowledge to other community members to increase the education level of the neighborhood as a whole.

With the analysis of accessibility in the Glendale and Mountain View neighborhoods, the idea of connecting people to services is obviously vital to their wellbeing. The built environment features buildings and infrastructure that networks residents with their places of work, schools, and services. There is a limited amount of non-automobile transport options for them, even though 1 in 10 people do not have access to a car. Urban design analysis helped to uncover the reasons for these transportation issues, and shed light on the strengths of the neighborhood.

It’s clear that the services offered by the Community Learning Center, including health care, education, and social connections are much loved and highly used. They offer accessibility to aspects of life that are uncommon for people who are transitioning to the American life, or simply have limited means. The beneficial externalities, including integration of people into the neighborhood and culture as a whole, have had a remarkable impact on the residents. Hopeful-ly, these services and infrastructure will grow and improve to impact more and more people in need.

34

Page 39: Glendale Report

CONC

LUSI

ON 4

35

Page 40: Glendale Report

CONCLUSION Since the doors opened in 2013, the CLC has been a vital part of the Glendale commu-nity by providing members of the community with services that go far beyond the classroom with a number of activities for both children and adults. The community that frequents the CLC is a diverse one. It is made up largely of ethnic minorities with a large number of native Spanish speakers from numerous countries and a fairly large refugee population from Bur-ma and Somalia.

In many ways the Glendale communi-ty could be considered a typical “blue-collar American neighborhood”. Unfortunately, like many American blue-collar neighborhoods there are economic disparities within the com-munity. As mentioned in earlier text, a large percentage of Glendale residents generally live in a lower socioeconomic level compared to Salt Lake City. Housing affordability is problem-atic, likely resulting in high household mobility. Health care access is provided through a vari-ety of sources, the CLC being a one of the main sources, unlike more affluent areas where res-idents might more commonly rely on tradition-al doctors’ offices. Though data could not be provisioned, the poor air quality in Glendale, worse than Salt Lake City’s, is problematic for the health of sensitive populations.

Such disparities result in steeper barri-ers to resources that might lead to neighbor-hood and household success. One such exam-ple is housing mobility, which leads to children changing schools more often than experts believe is beneficial. As was noted earlier, the main reasons why people in this communi-ty move out are economic and employment reasons. Roughly half of the residents of these neighborhoods have lived in the area for less than five years. This forces children to relocate and move away from important resources such as the CLC.

The CLC strives to provide residents with access to resources that all households, regardless of economic background, require for success and well-being. Thus, accessibility to the CLC is critical. While studying Glendale, it was discovered that certain urban design fea-tures increased the walkability of the neighbor-hood. This was confirmed when it was discov-ered that nearly 30% of the children either bike or walk to the CLC. Additionally, it’s important to emphasize that 10% of those that were surveyed do not have access to an automobile. This makes public transportation an important issue to those that visit the CLC from further distances.

Outside the CLC there are many ame-nities for the people of Glendale within walk-ing distance, including other nearby schools, a library, and recreation opportunities at the Jordan River Parkway. However, due to infre-quent bus routes and a lack of connectivity to TRAX and Frontrunner, public transportation is a desired amenity. A few improvements to accessibility would greatly improve the overall health of the neighborhood, while also benefit-ing the CLC.

In closing, the analysis of the socioeco-nomic condition of the neighborhood and the use of CLC services leads to the conclusion that the CLC is an immeasurable asset to the com-munity. It is a safe haven for some of the most marginalized groups in our society. The CLC is a place of education, recreation, and cultural exchange. Most importantly, for the women and children who make up an overwhelm-ing majority of those who attend the CLC’s programs, it is a part of their everyday lives. Through this research it has become clear how important the CLC is to this community and to the State of Utah.

36

Page 41: Glendale Report

WORKS CITEDMaps by Stephen Hanamaikai, Photos by Ethan Ray

Investopedia. “Service Sector Definition”. 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 02 May 2015.

Ganning, Joanna P. Housing Gap Analysis. 2015. Salt Lake City. 02 May 2015

Salt Lake City Planning Commission, comp. “West Salt Lake Community Master Plan.” (1994): (page 6)t Salt Lake City Documents. City of Salt Lake, 21 Mar. 1995. Web. 01 May 2015.

Smart, Christopher. “Indiana Avenue — the Changing Face of Salt Lake City’s West Side.” Salt Lake Tribune. MediaNews Group, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 01 May 2015.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table B25118. Web. 3 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_5YR/ B25118/0500000US24043>.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table B25056. Web. 3 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/ productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_09_5YR_B25056&prodType=table>.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table DP03. Web. 3 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/ DP03/0100000US>.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table S2401. Web. 3 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_5YR/ S2401/1600000US2834740>

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table S2301. Web. 3 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/ productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_5YR_S2301&prodType=table >.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table B08013. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/ productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_5YR_B08013&prodType=table >.

United States Census Bureau. 2013 American Community Survey 5 year estimates, Table B08141. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/ productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_5YR_B08141&prodType=table>.

Utah Transit Authority. 2014. Web. 4 May 2015. <http://www.rideuta.com mc/?page=TripPlanner>.

37

Page 42: Glendale Report