Ballard

Background Information

Demographics: Ballard is 85.19% white, 5.78% Asian, 5.29% mixed race, 2.13% black, 0.18% American Indian, 0.11% Native Hawaiian, and 1.32% Other. 6.6% of Ballard residents are also Hispanic or Latinx.

Brief History: Ballard was first settled in the 1850s and grew quickly. It was named the "shingle capital of the world" with its fishing and logging drawing in many new people. Ballard merged with Seattle in 1905.

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Observations

When we visited Ballard we noticed plenty of food entities, local businesses, recreational entities, public entities, schools, murals, green spaces, commuity centers, transportation entities, and more. All of what we saw lined up with our research, as there was great education options, plenty of public parks, things that represent culture in the area and some homeless encampments. The city is also full of beutiful areas that stood out to us including lots of gardens and the locks.

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Neighborhood Assessment

There were some topics that connected with one another, one of which was the public parks and the race, ethnicity and culture topics. This is seen in Bergen Place, as it is a green space deticated to the Nordic heritage of Ballard. The topic of homelessness in the area also connected to the topic of public parks because there are many homeless encampments in the parks. There are also many parks across the street from the schools creating a connection between the topics of education and public parks. Most of the aspects of Ballard that we have found through our topics are good, but there are still some barriers that are present in the community. Our overall evaluation of the area is #3 because three of our topics were assets, but one of the topics, homelessness, was a barrier. It is important to note this barrier in the commnity, but also see all the assets Ballard has.

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Sources

"Ballard, Seattle, WA demographics" Area Vibes. https://www.areavibes.com/seattle-wa/ballard/demographics/

Frantilla, Anna. "Ballard" Seattle Municipal Archives. https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/online-exhibits/annexed-cities/ballard