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• 1 2019-12-07T22:27:28+00:00 Mural Proposal 20 plain 2019-12-18T15:43:32+00:00
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  The Imagined Mural Proposal
  
  
  
  The South Delsea Drive park exemplifies the historical and cultural aspects of our mural, so it only seemed natural that the mural would be located here. Historically, the South Delsea Drive park was the location of a World War II German Labor Camp. While treated well, the imprisonment of German prisoners of war still adds a dubious context to the park’s history. However, as Glassboro changed, so did its needs for its parks. As a result, the South Delsea Drive park was converted into a dual recreational and conservational park, meeting the needs of an evolving town. Based off of initial impressions, the change in the park would seem to represent moral growth. The park went from something negative (a prisoner of war camp) to something positive (an environmentally friendly community meeting place). In reality, the citizens of Glassboro adapted the park so that it could meet their need for a recreational space and while also having a positive impact on the environment. In other words, the park came to represent that humans cannot always be purely altruistic due to cultural demands, but they can balance these demands and their morals with each other. This newfound balance between the cultural needs of humans versus respecting a physical space is exemplified at the South Delsea Drive park and in our mural. The imaged example posted above exemplifies this idea of change over time. The left side of the mural depicts nature untouched by man, with healthy trees, grass, and flowers. As one begins to pan to the right, they see the (oftentimes) destructive forces that reshaped many of the parks. In Glassboro, fire was often the main culprit, so the grass in the mural is burnt or burning. Continuing right, as the land began to redevelop, man began to take advantage of the space available, with such features as gas lines, toxic dumping, buildings, and shops. Finally, in the present and the right side of the mural, the grass is rich once more, and the space features a walkway, a football field, and a playground, all common features of the parks today.
   

  Upon discovering the depth of culture and history present in Glassboro parks, our team set out to make these untold histories visible to the public. Our main goal was to find out the history of the parks and find out how they related to the town as a whole. Additionally, we set out to discover parts of the towns history that were hidden or not well known to the public. Even after going to school here for such a short time, we have seen that the citizens of Glassboro have a strong sense of pride for their town. As a result, we were excited to capitalize on the opportunity to provide insight on the town while also adding to its cultural history. 

  
  
   
• 1 2019-12-07T21:53:12+00:00 Location of this Mural 13 plain 2019-12-18T15:55:56+00:00

  Address:  152 Delsea Dr S, Glassboro, NJ 08028
  
  Coordinates: Latitude: 39.689813 | Longitude: -75.100914
  
  
  The imagined mural is located at Glassboro’s South Delsea Drive park, on the side of the George Johnson Senior Fieldhouse. The park serves as a locale for a variety of different cultural groups. On one hand, there are baseball and football fields that bring together large groups of friends and family for the community recreational leagues. On the other hand, there is a walking path that could be used by someone seeking personal outdoor leisure. Although most would consider the park to be one of the more natural sections of Glassboro, a closer look reveals much of the grounds are a built environment. Besides the previously mentioned sports fields, the paved walkway, benches, and even the younger trees (likely planted recently by humans) are also all part of the built environment. 

  Our mural and its location is related to environmental processes on multiple geographic scales. The South Delsea Drive park and Glassboro parks in general have positive effects on the global environment. For example, they protect plant life that contributes to the global environment in ways like oxygen production. However, there are still less visible, negative effects the parks have. Many people drive their cars to parks, which can lead to trace chains of pollution that have a large negative impact on the environment. At the local level, the parks also have varying effects. On one hand, they provide a habitat to a variety of animals that otherwise would not exist. But, on the other hand, the parks are heavily influenced by humans; their actions control the types of plants and animals that can live there. For example, the parks could be home to a certain type of tree species now that was foreign to the area until planted by humans. In turn, these new trees could have attracted a new species of animal, causing even more of a transformation in the park’s ecosystem. Overall, even in the efforts to preserve the environment, human actions have unintended consequences. As a result, it is important that in any major action taken that humans examine the environmental effects they are causing on all geographic scales. 

  At our estimated measurements of about 22 X17 feet and $20 per square foot, the mural projects to cost around $7,500. Although on the expensive side for something so small, it would contribute greatly to the community. As previously covered, Glassboro parks were the home to much of the town’s controversial history. This history, despite its significance, is not well known to most of the town’s residents. By creating our mural, these stories could be brought to light in a positive way. It would show how the town evolved from some of its more negative practices to create something positive. With the mural, a small plaque (of around $100) could be commissioned that would tell these stories further. Glassboro citizens could read about the German labor camp, the Runland Park fire, or the Lapari Landfill and see how their town has taken ownership over itself. It would serve as a reminder that even through past mistakes, it should always be the goal of society to keep moving forward.