Episode 03: Ground-truthing in Philly (part 1)

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In this two-part third episode, we learn about “ground truthing” in the city of brotherly and sisterly love, Philadelphia. In Part 1, we talk to scholar Candis Callison, artist Roderick Coover, and Sustainability Director Christine Knapp about the problem of uncertain futures, and the ways in which scientific data and digital assets need personal experiences and stories, or ground truths. Then we meet the residents of Eastwick, a neighborhood in southwest Philadelphia. Eastwick neighbors Leonard Stewart, Margie and Nancy Cobb, and Earl Wilson teach us about the ways that they brought model truths and ground truths together to make environmental changes in their neighborhood.

This episode was made possible by the work of Mary Cerulli and the generosity of the Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition. To learn more about the various environmental histories and memories of the neighborhood, check out the Eastwick Oral History Project. Read the IPCC Special Report of 1.5ºC.

CREDITS

Image: Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy, Interface Studio (2019)

Candis Callison is Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of British Columbia.

Mary L. Cerulli is a current Masters of Social Services candidate at Bryn Mawr and an alum of the National Health Corps and the University of Pennsylvania. Her professional and personal interests include community/public health and the power of story-sharing and listening to shape healing, knowledge, and society. (Contact: cerulliml@gmail.com)

Margie and Nancy Cobb are members of the Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition.

Roderick Coover is an artist and professor at Temple University, where he directs the DAER and DAVR Programs. He is currently the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities artist-in-residence.

Christine Knapp is the Director of Sustainability for the City of Philadelphia.

Leonard Stewart is a member of the Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition.

Earl Wilson is president of the Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition.

This episode was produced by Jasmine Erdener, and written by Patricia Kim and Bethany Wiggin.

MUSIC

Alice Coltrane - Stopover Bombay

Alice Coltrane - Turiya And Ramakrishna

Cut Copy - Need you now

Mavis Staples  - We Shall Not Be Moved

Mount Kimbie - SP12 Beat

The Roots - Break You Off (instrumental)

The Roots - In The Music (instrumental)

The Roots - The Next Movement (instrumental)

Scrapper Blackwell - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

FEEDBACK

Comments? Suggestions? We’d love to hear from you! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DataRefuge, or send us a note to datarefuge@ppehlab.org.

Patricia Eunji Kim