Professional blog

Elements Descriptors Physical Environment Make sure you address fully what you observed and NOTE if something was not found within your community area.    ● Boundaries What defines the boundaries? Roads, water, railroads. Is the area known for a particular name? What area is this community located in?

I would definitely say roads are what define Cedar hill TX it’s such a small city, but we do not have any railroads or lakes in the city. The closest would be Grand prairie lake reserve which is 10miles from where I live.

 

 

   ● Housing and Zoning What is the age of the houses? Describe type of construction material, appearance, and general condition. Do you see single family housing?  Multi-family housing?

Cedar hill was founded around 1846. Cedar hill currently has 5 home listed on the national park service’s national register of the Texas historical commission’s list of recorded Texas historic landmarks. Almost all homes I saw were made out brick I couldn’t find any exact material information online but I did notice that our town has many old homes as well as new modern brick ones.

 

   ● Common Meeting Places Where do people in the neighborhood hang out? Who hangs out there and what hours of the day?

Starbucks, AMC cedar hill (our only theater in town) Uptown cedar hill Mall (outdoor shopping center that has many mall based stores.

 

   ● Indicators of Growth or Decline Is this a “thriving” community or does it look “run down?”  Is there new or ongoing construction?  Businesses and Industries coming to the area? Are buildings, roadways, and public areas clean and well-kept. Do you see dirt, trash, or graffiti?

I think I would say it’s a thriving community, we have many shopping, dining places that are up to date on what’s popular in the state , I didn’t notice any trash anywhere, neither did I notice dirt of graffiti.

   ● Employment Opportunities What places for employment are there is this area? Name the businesses and industries in this area.

There’s many retail Employment opportunities, however I didn’t notice any big businesses in our town, we have large business bank branches but other than that I cant think of any other ones we have.

 

   ● Transportation How to people get from one place to another?  Is public transportation available?  How timely is it? Personal autos? Bikes?  Walking?

Mostly everyone gets around by personal transportation, we don’t have a dart train nearby neither did I notice any bus stops, I believe one would have to go to Duncanville ( the next town over to use public transportation.

People Make sure you address fully what you observed and NOTE if something was not found within your community area.    ● Race and Ethnicity What is the majority racial group represented? What is the majority ethnic group represented? Describe the distribution of gender, approximate ages, single families, multiple families, generational families?  The racial and ethnic composition of the population is 51% black, 25.8 white 0.5 hispanic black, 2% Asian, .5 native American , this city is very family oriented, and often times I would see families together but also single people at times. Median age of the city is 34 years old. I do believe many people that live here stay a while and many generations stay here.

 

   ● Cultural Characteristics What cultural similarities or differences do you observe? Languages spoken?  Clothing?  Ethnic eating places?  Culturally-based celebrations? Signs in languages other than English?

English is obviously #1, then I would say Spanish is second most common, and Asian. Theres many different diverse eating places such as Chinese, American, Mexican, Asian, country fried, seafood.

   ●Lifestyle Healthy Behaviors What healthy lifestyle behaviors do you observe? Do you see people exercising, wearing helmets when biking, seat belt usage, using trash cans for garbage disposal, healthy eating practices?

Theres many gyms In the area, Such as Planet fitness, 24 fitness, LA fitness, Orange theory, I never saw people biking to be honest, I did observe people who drive and passengers wearing seat belts, There is rare healthy food options in the town but a couple such as smoothie king, subway, sprouts.

 

● Lifestyle Risk Behaviors What unhealthy lifestyle behaviors do you observe? Do you see people practicing risky lifestyle behaviors such as drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking, fighting? Do you see signs of violence, gang activity, drug use, criminal activity, and bars on doors and/or windows?  Do you see overweight/underweight persons? Do you see children unattended playing out in the streets? Do you see any signs of homelessness?  Street people? Describe gender, age, and race/ethnicity of persons observed.

I didn’t observe any risky lifestyle behaviors, I did observe people smoking cigarettes while driving. No fighting, no bars on doors or windows seen.

I do see many overweight people and I also observed the town is filled with fast food chains and unhealthy dining options which can’t help the health crisis of the city. I rarely saw children playing in the streets however while passing by a park I did observe them there. I didn’t come across any homelessness nor street people. Everyone I saw in the streets seemed like average people.

 

● Poverty Indications Do you see any signs of homelessness?  Street people? Describe gender, age, and race/ethnicity of persons observed.

No I didn’t notice anyone lying or living in any side of the town.

 

Services in the Community Make sure you address fully what you observed and NOTE if something was not found within your community area, how far away it is and how people will access it. ● Social Services Do you see evidence of recreation centers, parks, and social services? For services that are not available, how far must persons travel to access these services?   Describe each.

We do have a cedar hill recreation center. Its in the middle of town near Joe Wilson road so I believe it should be close to everyone in town, also on that street there is a park with a walking trail.

 

● Health Services Do you see evidence of health (Hospitals, Dr’s Offices, Clinics) and mental health services?  Describe each. Are there any signs of alternative services in the area, such as healers (curanderos), herbalists, herbal stores, palm readers, acupunctures, chiropractors. For services that are not available, how far must persons travel to access these services?

I didn’t notice any hospital chains , only a Emergency 24hr clinic. I didn’t see any mental health service clinics. I did see many massage businesses such as massage envy and a palm reader.

   ● Fire and Police Services Do you see any fire and police services/equipment/officers? Where are the closest fire and/or police stations?

The closest police station is near my neighborhood on jewels rd. in the middle of town also the fire department is a couple miles down from it.