FT 11 - A Crosstown Walk Along William Street

Trip Overview
Join the Urban Ecosystem Ecology, Environmental Justice, and Human Ecology Sections on an exploration of environmental changes along a socioeconomic gradient and learn how the Crosstown Walk can be applied to the courses you teach. The Crosstown Walk course module can be used in undergraduate and graduate courses in ecology, design, urban planning, and social sciences to help students understand how ecological and social data can be socio-ecological drivers of environmental change in cities and to illustrate key concepts about urban ecology and environmental justice. On this field trip, we will introduce the course module and describe how it can be used in different types of courses and how it can be used in collaborative studies of biodiversity in the world's cities. Our three mile walk will be along North Williams St. in Portland, starting and ending in racially diverse lower middle class neighborhoods. The middle portion of the walk goes through an area experiencing rapid gentrification. We will collect data on temperature, tree canopy cover, birds, insects, and vegetation during the walk. At the conclusion of the walk we will review our findings from the walk and discuss how the module can be used in different courses and settings, and opportunities to participate in a comparison of route data for multiple cities. We will meet with representatives from community groups and with faculty from Portland State University who will discuss the changes in the adjacent Albina neighborhood resulting from gentrification and urban renewal.

Equipment and Attire
Participants should plan on bringing good walking shoes, sun screen, hat, bug repellent, camera, water, and other personal items for outdoor walking in the summer sun. We will walk approximately 3 miles.

Field Trip Fee is $25 per person.