Coastside Recovery Initiative
Half Moon Bay, CA (2021)
In collaboration with the City of Half Moon Bay, Coastside Half Moon Bay Chamber of Congress, and the Center for Age-Friendly Excellence
Project Goals:
- Help the Recovery Task Force make informed recommendations based on a data set collected by community members.
- Ensure action-based recommendations help local businesses and are inclusive of residents affected by the pandemic; working towards a equitable, vibrant, and resilient Coastside.
Guiding Question:
"What contributes to or detracts from the accessibility, economic vitality, or vibrancy of the Coastside?"
Project Description:
The Coastside Recovery Initiative (CRI) is a regional, multi-sector economic development effort initiated and sponsored by the City of Half Moon Bay in close collaboration with the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and regional and community partners.
Composed of "citizen scientists" from the surrounding area, this task force gathered over 200 photos and developed six themes to go along with images in response to the prompt: What contributes to or detracts from the accessibility, economic vitality, or vibrancy of the Coastside?
Insights:
In total, 13 adult citizen scientists from the Coastside community particpated in 25 data collection walks over the span of seven days (June 11, 2021 - June 17, 2021).
Geotagged images/transcriptions that are examples of assets and challenges relating to the following six themes: Eco, Innovate, Thrive, Vibrant, Age-Friendliness, and Other.
Citizen scientists captured 218 photos were to determine the positive and negative aspects that impact the Coastside community. These geotagged images/transcriptions served are examples of assets and challenges relating to six themes: Eco, Innovate, Thrive, Vibrant, Age-Friendliness, and Other.
Strengths Identified:
- Generally safe
- Bike friendly in many areas
- Great tourist attractions/tasty restaurants
- Support for small businesses with all of its tourism
- Beautiful natural resources
Identified Areas for Improvement:
- Empty retail spaces
- Future of farmers markets in growing economy
- Lots of lost jobs
- Need for innovation/new businesses
- Deterioration of infrastructure
- Need for increased amenities for older adults
Activities and Outcomes:
After collection, citizen scientists catagorized thier photos into 6 themes:
- Eco (61 photos)
- Innovate (40 photos)
- Thrive (41 photos)
- Vibrant (114 photos)
- Age-Friendliness (84 photos)
- Other (39 photos)
This project is ongoing--be sure to check back for updates!
Project Leads:
Erica Wood, Karen Decker, and Victor Gaitan.
For more information, contact Karen Decker at 650-726-8281 or at kdecker@hmbcity.com.
