MDG project response
I liked Sarah and Krista's project on Reducing Child Mortality-Goal 4. The statistics they had were staggering-the amount of children who die everyday and most of it can be prevented. Their presentation was well set up. The images on the black background really made the already shocking images pop. The intro, where there was one statistic per slide was a good one-it really grabbed my attention and made me want to know more about it and how to help. Some of the slides had a bit to much text and not enough images, there were a couple of slides where they were just reading off of them and not adding any more information, but they were visually pleasing. Also, it would have been nice if the video had worked, but technology is unpredictable. I saw it online, though, and it was really good. Nice job with it.
I identify with a particular part of the build environment. Libraries. I love libraries. I worked at one for 2 years. I suppose my personality is similar to that of a library’s. I love books. I read them perhaps more than I should. They take me to faraway places I could never go or can’t go at the present time. Libraries are also generally quiet, but have a buzz of life to them. I am a quiet, shy person, but if you get me talking, I may just sound like a buzz of noise. They are also a social gather place and can hold events. This is the outgoing part of the library. I am a very social person. As much as I love to be alone, I need to be around people. When I’m with the right people, I can become very outgoing. 
I might miss the bus. It's cold outside, because, well, it's winter in Minnesota. (I lost feeling in my legs today it was so cold.) So I'm at a bus stop. and I'm waiting for the bus to come. I'm waiting and waiting. And the bus finally comes, about 3 minutes late according to my watch. So now I've been outside for 10 minutes. This stop that I'm at is on Riverside and 22nd across the street from the Jimmy Johns. There is no shelter there, no building close enough to the stop that I can stand inside until the bus comes. Nothing to block any wind. There is a bench, but it is cold and covered in snow. I'd rather stand. Then the bus comes, and I get on and regain feeling in my feet as it takes me to another 
stop. I have to take a transfer, so now I'm standing at the bus stop on Central Ave NE and Hennepin Ave. There isn't even a bench there. There is an old, small, cement block building that isn't used for anything as far as I can tell. But there is nothing there that distinguishes it from any other patch of snow covered sidewalk, except for a metro transit sign on a pole. Since I'm now waiting for a transfer on a little patch 
of sidewalk, I don't have the ability to wait inside for as long as I can before the bus comes, and then run out just in time to catch it. There is about a 15 minute gap between when I get dropped off to when my transfer bus comes. It's still cold outside. And windy. The bus finally comes, but now I have to carefully climb over the mound of snow that is left at the edge of the sidewalk by the plows. It's been walked on so many times from people climbing over it that it's a bit slick. I don't have a problem climbing over the snow, I'm young and have good balance, but it's inconvenient. However, what about the elderly, people in wheelchairs, people who don't have good balance, or just anyone who puts their foot down to hard, that might get off or on at that stop? They have a good chance of slipping, falling, and potentially getting hurt. I don't have a problem with the actual bus system. They do a good job getting to all the stops when they are supposed to, and if they are a bit late-I would rather have them be a bit late than early, when I might miss it because I wasn't out in time. There have been a few instances when the bus didn't come at one of the times it was supposed to, so I had to wait an extra 10 minutes for the next bus to come, but I'm sure there was a really good reason for it. It was annoying and slightly stressing at the time because I thought I was going to be late, but everything was ok. The thing I am not to happy about are the majority of the actual bus stops. In the frigid Minnesota winters, frostbite is easy to come by if outside, especially without a wind breaker. Bus shelters would also be helpful in the summer to shade the hot, burning sun.
Minneapolis does have many good bus stops, don't get me wrong. The really busy ones are big, properly lit, have heat lamps, and are glassed in on all sides, with small entry spaces, to block the wind and warm you up. The ones that are frequently used and on main roads, but not quite as busy, have shelters that block the wind and are lit, but don't have heat lamps. There are a lot of stops, though, that get their fair amount of use, but don't have a shelter, and some-not even a bench. According to Project for Public Spaces (
