Introduction and Project Summary

Hello everyone.

I figure I will kick this blog off with introduction of myself. My name is Chris Henchey. I am currently a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University and I am studying Geography with (hopefully) a minor in German. I am originally from just outside Boston, Massachusetts, in a suburb called Melrose. I am a 3 season distance runner at OWU, and I also enjoy photography, trains, hiking, and photographing trains.

Enough with the introductions. So, the main question is: what is this project all about? This project will be the study of public transportation and how it alters the urban and suburban landscape in the cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Now, after reading this, you may be asking: why this? As previously stated, I have a deep interest in trains, which stems back from when I was a little kid, living across the street from the train. I would sometimes run to the door to watch it go by, always fascinated. My father helped in the situation, as he was a train-buff as well, and so was my grandfather. While I enjoy trains, I am also of the opinion that they are a preferable transportation mode as opposed to cars because transit is more environmentally friendly, low-stress, and in some ways, quicker. In this case, trains includes light rail, rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and high speed rail.

With this project, I am looking to see how the building of public transportation affects the communities it serves in terms of tangible elements, such as new houses, new retail space, new roadways/bikepaths, etc., rather than intangible aspects, such as average income, population growth rates, congestion rates, air pollution, etc. This will be done by a photography method called rephotography, which involves taking an old photograph and retaking it in the present day to demonstrate changes over time. Of course, not all places, like suburbs, will have ground photographs available. Instead, aerial photographs may be used to cover those places. In a way, this project is a challenge to opponents of public transit. If the growth and development is positive for the community and makes life easier for people, then why isn't this being done in other big cities like Columbus and Indianapolis?

This project is currently in its beginning stages, so I will have more information and detail in the coming weeks and months. Until then, if you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me at cahenche(at)owu (dot)edu (just replace the at with @ and the dot with .).

Cheers!

-Chris