Science and Technology of New York City

The group podwalk assignment was obviously a central part of our Seminar 3 class. The topic of our class was sustainability, and each of the readings was directly related to that topic. In those readings, however, one does not get the full feel of what sustainability is and what it looks like in practice. This is what made the podwalk assignment, as well as the field trips, such a significant part of the learning experience. It allowed for us as students to go out into the field and get a first hand look at the many different elements of sites that effect their levels of sustainability. In this way, I would actually argue that the trips and the group project was a much more important aspect of the class than were the readings.

The group dynamic was one that I was very unsure of going into the process. I knew that I was in a Macaulay seminar and was thus guaranteed to be in a group of very capable classmates, but I was unsure of whether or not we would see eye to eye on how things should have been done. I personally am someone who likes to consider input from everyone and try to conform to the opinions of others. With that, however, I also look out for myself, and am very quick to take charge if I feel that the people in my group are not going to be able to do as good of a job that I am. Luckily, this was not the case, and I did not feel a sense of urgency to make sure that everyone followed me (which was often the case in high school).

Victoria was the person who took on the role of leader in the group. She was very organized and was able to communicate with us through e-mail. She kept our group on the same page as far as what was expected from everyone, and kind of divided our workload so that we were able to get our parts done independently. Although she took on this role, this did not mean that she tried to force only her ideas on the project, as I would say that the process of gathering and analyzing information was taken on by each of our members equally. Time was a limiting factor in what we were able to do, however. It seemed like a lot of the work that we did was rushed because of the deadlines. Obviously, Hurricane Sandy didn’t help, but I feel as if we did not get a great start to our project, and were playing catch-up the entire time. Luckily, we were able to get our work done on time.

The spread of the workload among our group members was something that I thought we were able to establish very effectively. Each of us contributed a portion of the script, as I was responsible for the introduction and conclusion, and each of the other group members was responsible for one stop. Although I was backed up in work during the beginning phase of the project, I was able to make up for it by doing the interaction guide. This is just one example, but it is exemplary of our group process as a whole. The feeling was that none of our group members took the easy way out, and we were fully engaged in the project. There wasn’t one of us who seemed to be trying to take on less of a workload, and it was a very enjoyable group to be a part of. I look at this as kind of an isolated experience, however, as I feel like there will not always be such a good group dynamic, and still prefer to do independent work.

The podwalk assignment, beyond its elements as a group project, was just a very informative project to complete.  First of all, it made me realize the way that each of the three pillars of sustainability interact in such a way that it is very difficult to have a high level of each. In doing research for this project, I found what was truly important as far as the factors of sustainability. Then, when putting together the project and presenting it, it became clear that I had to get a much stronger understanding of sustainability. While I felt like I understood the principles of sustainability, it wasn’t until I had a great feel of what a sustainable place looked and felt like that I thought I would be able to teach and inform others on this idea. Also, the idea that different disciplinary perspectives can view sustainability was definitely reinforced in my study of Brooklyn College. There were purely scientific aspects of the college, such as the heating and cooling plant, which were designed with sustainability in mind, just like there were economical aspects, such as the new, very expensive West Quad Building, which actually is not very sustainable.

These different ideas that I picked up while doing the podwalk project are not ones that I would have found if I was assigned a traditional research project. I feel that the way that we were put directly into the field and not only had to present information about the site, but also had to direct people on how to interact with the site, was very helpful in advancing my understanding not so much of sustainability, but the way that it is present in the real world. The West Quad Building, which, again, is not a structure that is highly sustainable, is a perfect example of something that cannot be understood by simply reading about its poor qualities. Instead, by actually being at the site and seeing the building, it is clear that the people who designed it were much more concerned with the aesthetic appeal of it, rather than its sustainability. While a research project might bring someone to read the Brooklyn College 10 Year Sustainability Plan, actually creating a guide to show these elements within the college gave me a much better understanding of the way that the things mentioned in the plan actually existed on the campus.

The podwalk assignment was very helpful for me in making me understand the way that sustainability works. It made our group go through a thorough research process on the topic, and then do the complete opposite, which was use no research, but simply go to campus and see what it looks like without numbers or complicated terms. Also, the group aspect of the project was a success, at least in my opinion, as we had a very organized group that was able to efficiently complete our tasks. The podwalk was definitely the most important part of my seminar 3 experience, and my only suggestion would be to get it started sooner in the semester.