Today, Angela and I presented Under the Level to the Urban Computing class.

You can find the pdf of our presentation here.

Overall, it went very well and people seemed very receptive to the project. Although we have had one mass sticker post and have the asterisk side of the project running well, Angela and I still have a lot to do with the website. One of our biggest challenges is figuring out what specifically we want to encourage those who participate in the project to do and how to get involved. This has been such a challenge because of the complexity of the problem in New Orleans and the lack of any national organization collecting relief funds. Kevin Slavin asked me tonight after class what the one thing I would like to change in New Orleans is, beyond simply creating awareness of the problem. I think my heart mostly lies with helping the Lower 9th Ward, not simply because they are suffering the most, but because what they are facing is completely unfair and criminal. Ultimately, I would like to prevent developers from buying up people's land there, which is what is currently occurring. Imagine how horrible it must be to lose your home to the storm and then lose your land because you can not afford to pay your property tax! Short of finding a way to achieve that, I think a secondary goal could be collecting funds to assist the Lower 9th Ward Homeowner's Association in their plan to construct temporary housing for former residents so they can at least return to their neighborhood.

Another large sticker post will be occurring next weekend after thesis week and before the show. Under the Level will be featured in the ITP Spring Show occurring on Tuesday, May 9th from 5-9pm and Wednesday, May 10th from 5-9pm. Hopefully the show will provide us with an additional venue to promote the project.