OUR IDENTITY, PLACE & FUTURE
By Reese De La Cerda
I went to school to understand the world, and there is no better subject than geography. Everything happens in a place, and every place has a story. When I went to graduate school at SFSU, I didn’t even know I had to do a thesis project, and when asked about my thesis, I decided to design my own. After all, I wanted to learn and understand how we create a better world. How do we address climate change, socioeconomic injustices, and how do I build the world I want to see? Why can’t a fantasy world become our reality? A place to raise children and live beautifully with nature and society, sustainability, for generations to come?
When we design our places, what are we creating them for? My work started by asking, “Why is the Eastside hotter than the Westside of San Jose?” I had no direct measurements; I just knew the Eastside was hotter. My measurements confirmed it is true, and it is because of how we built the urban environment. We constructed and dictated the built environment, yet those folks who live here are not us, as is often seen in neighborhoods across America. The Eastside doesn’t have as many trees, has more pavement, wider streets, more cars, and really embodies the term “concrete jungle.” All these factors create a hotter neighborhood and increase vulnerability.
Design signifies intent, and as we move into a changing climate, we must ask: How do we design our cities? How can we work with nature rather than against it? Each location is unique, and the approach to climate resilience and adaptation varies, just like geography. Most folks think geography is the study of maps, but it is the study of place, the physical environment, community, history, and events. We could easily call place ‘identity.’
