
The Global ARC played a prominent role as a broker between the community and univesity in a large scale field study exercise. 180 students from UC San Diego's Urban Studies and Planning (USP) Program and San Diego State University's Department of Political Science surveyed over 800 vacant lots in Southeast San Diego, City Heights, Golden Hill, and Mid-City Eastern. With help from the Global ARC, Victory Gardens, and faculty, the students organized themselves into 3-6 person teams to cover the 23 neighborhoods. Out of lots they surveyed (with professional guidance in site suitability analysis) the students identified lots deemed the best candidates for community gardens, according to carefully specified criteria and field observations. Each team produced a report, the findings of which are being shared with community partners. With input from the Global ARC on how to make this data most useful to community groups, the San Diego Supercomputer Center created a data visualization and mapping tool.