Interviewee: Ernie Arias
Interivewer: Phong
Date: 04/14/2005

• Project started in 1985. Got a grant to start the project.
• Started with a CAD enhancement to represent semantic object; which simply is a graphical representation with underlying data attached and stored in a database; coupled with SPSS (statistical package for social science); used for analyzing data for both descriptive and inferential statistic; link data to object represented in AutoCAD; provide search for data and visualization of data;
• Cole neighborhood project was a database project; encouraged by Mayor Pena and Frank Grey (Denver Dept. of Planning); project centered around visualizing data using physical objects;
• how to construct shared understanding from the tacit knowledge of those who own the problem: in this case it was the neighbor; project want to focus on the understanding the problem from bottom up instead of top down; want to get the neighbors involved in proposing solution to revitalize their neighborhood [3:14]
• both top down and bottom up useful; they are interwoven [3:38]; a continum of approaches; develop tools that flexible enough to support division of labor along that continuum [4:07];
• 3 major grants for NSF in variety of context; concern that EDC and PitAboard is not as flexible and transparent as Ernie as envisioned it to be [5:34]; but currently much better than the physical model used in the Cole neighborhood;
• in the Cole exercise did not incorporate the dimension of gaming in that exercise; and reflection and action space did not implemented fully; mostly computer on the side; neighbor evaluating condition of house they would go to computer that would display photographs of houses in different conditions and that is how an expert's valuation of house condition knowledge gets transferred to the neighbors [6:52]; this is how the reflection space was used;
• the reflection space also gather information about individual property; neighbors would fill out a survey on the house / apartment that they live and this information gets entered into the computer database (by students and later neighbors themselves who got trained) for later retrieval [7:38]; train the trainers [8:14]; the trainers where the "human" reflection space;
• the process was somewhat clumsy for entering information into reflection space [9:15];
• funding to revitalize neighborhood a good motivation for folks to participate; neighborhood get low-rate loans for all types of redevelopment activities [10:20]; terrific motivation force for participation [10:53]; tools will never create motivation on its own;
• created 3 tools: computation info system (reflection space = deposistory of data for neighbors and the planning department) [12:08], information regarding costs of trees, sidewalk repair; had a unit cost for each of these elements; part of the process is a running tally of the cost of the all the designed elements; planning department provided an overall budget, and neighborhood gets to design their own revitalization from these unit costs [13:35];
• second tool is the group of neighbors look at the block where they live and construct a description of that block regarding characteristics of the neighborhood (land use, housing types, and other social problems such as crack houses in the neighborhood or extreme physical deterioration) [14:51]; block by block basis; evaluative thinking supported by objects neighbors would place a black roof or black object where the perceived problem was [15:30]; neighbors could see problem both in terms of statistical distribution as well as geographical location / proximity [16:10]; this approach also help to mediate conflict (i have more problem than you) [16:54]; these physical mediation boundary objects provide a physical buttress for arguments [18:17]; the emergent interaction provide framing and solutions [18:42]; supports descriptive, evaluative, and prescriptive thinking [19:00]; found that these three types of activities all of these three types of activities interwined [19:29];
• street model down to the street level; did survey of each street [21:17];
• context captured by video; and they were transcribed [17:06]; neighbors were also trained to do transcription; a real community effort;
• Cole neighborhood: had strong coalition of neighborhood activism and sense of community; up-and-coming neighborhood; back then had a lot of abandonment [22:00];
• the concept of cognitive mapping; used in planning to develop understanding of how people perceive their neighborhood [24:43]; neighborhood defined officially by planner (with specific boundaries) but neighborhood has own conception/ boundary of neighborhoods (could be a few blocks or even as small as a corner or a blocklong) [24:00];
• rest of interview did not get taped (user error), notes not as detailed
• information often not used as planned by researcher; of the communities members that was initially trained were often leaders in their community; as a result they were hired by banks to access the risks of lending to their neighbors; this is an example of cognitive resources being used flexibly;
• providing context is important; has been playing with synchronous interaction visualization, but not asynchronous interaction yet;