Observation Walk

Purpose: This path will help you notice details in your environment and reflect about what these observations reveal about your community. This could be health, access, positives, challenges, any elements that you come into your mind when you are out and about.

Choose routes: Should represent different aspects of community life. Must be safe. Would be good to discuss with community members beforehand.

Timing and route: My group has about 2 hours – but make sure to have an idea about the time you will spend in your observations and where you want to go.

• 15 minutes: Starting with discussions about the purpose of the walks – where we are going to go and how to record our observations.
• 20-30 minutes: Drive to Brasilito, observation walk through plaza, Barrio Meliana, and behind the skatepark
• 20-30 minutes: Drive to Potrero, observation walk to plaza, behind the plaza in the neighborhood
• 20 minutes: Post-walk reflection and discussion

While walking: I think that being silent for the first 10 minutes of the walk is important so that each of the senses can be acknowledged. You may want to record or take notes with a phone or a notebook

• What you notice – facts and details
• What you wonder – questions or doubts about what you see
• How you feel – notice and describe your emotional states during the walk
• Using the senses
  • Sight: What catches your eye? Colors, patterns, conditions, people
  • Sound: What are the different layers of sounds – people, nature, machines, voices
  • Smell: What scents are present and what do they tell you about the area?
  • Touch: Texture beneath your feet or in the air?

Prompts for discussion:

• Before the walk:
  • What do you expect from this neighborhood? What is different about it from where you live?
• During the walk:
  • What stands out to you using your senses from above?
  • What small details are you noticing the others might not see?
  • What do you notice about how people interact with the space?
  • How does this place make you feel?
  • What do you see that shows pride, care or neglect?
  • What might be missing?
• After the walk:
  • What are the biggest contrasts between the different towns?
  • What surprised you the most?
  • What might these observations tell you about the community’s opportunities, challenges or successes?
  • How could you contribute positively to one of these communities?

Wrap up

• How did you feel connected to community health, environment, change?
• Is there a way that you could contribute positively to one of these communities?
• Do you have any ideas of what else we can discuss?

Add your observation walk to our path and let’s go be a part of our world!