Journal #3

 Before going on this field trip, I never have had the chance to go walk around and explore Downtown Fort Myers. To be honest, I did not expect the layout to be the way it was but it was really nice! As we walked through the area, I noticed how close all of the buildings and stores were together, which was very unique. This made it very easy for people to walk or even bike around the area to go to wherever they wanted to go. Along with this, almost every street was an idea description and layout of a complete street. The streets were laid out with pavers and had cross walks, the sidewalks included lights, benches, garbage cans, and crossing signs, and the exit areas from the side walk to the street included the rigid mats for disabled people. The way that these streets were designed was very sustainable for the environment as well. Having parks such as continental and park of palms help to give off green space and open space. Along with that, having the pavers throughout the streets will help so that water get spread throughout the ground there and having palm trees along the side walk with plants surrounding them will help spread water throughout those areas. When it comes to business throughout this area, there are a wide variety of places to go. There are law offices, courthouses, many restaurants to eat, bars, thrift stores, coffee shops, and even some art stores. One aspect of Downtown Fort Myers that really caught my attention was the art sculptures all along most of the streets. I thought it was a nice touch that this area had. Each of these sculptures enacted something that you can do in that area, which was very unique.

 My experience downtown related a whole lot to our course material and class discussions that we have been having in our lectures. One thing that really stood out to me was how rather than just asphalt throughout the streets and sidewalks, the area of Downtown Fort Myers was designed in a very permeable fashion. Throughout some of the streets and sidewalks there were pavers, allowing water to flow through the surface. Along with this, there were many soil areas surrounded by trees and plants, allowing water to flow through the land surrounding. Downtown Fort Myers is a great area to have surfaces like this, considering how traffic throughout that area is lower than most. Having an area like Downtown Fort Myers would definitely be an area of interest to live for me. It is nice to be in a surrounding where everyone is so active. Cities designs have a huge impact on people’s lives. If we were to compare the area of Downtown Fort Myers to the Estero area, they are completely different. Most places around the Estero area you will need a car to get to when in Downtown Fort Myers, you can almost walk everywhere. Living in one of these areas will directly effect how active on will or could be throughout their everyday lives.