Hope and Housing for Salinas
Matt Nadeker
César Torres-Bustamante
March 2021
The Natividad Community Project is the first mixed-use housing project proposed for the City of Salinas. Nestled within the existing Natividad Creek Park on the northeast side of Salinas, this project acts as an example for the future of how housing underprivileged groups can help the entire community.
Understanding the housing crisis in Salinas goes beyond the local news headlines that have been gaining traction within the last 30 years. Real solutions require a careful analysis of the housing statistics. Regional problems along with local issues around the site location illustrate why a real solution is necessary.
Installation of a road system is necessary when implementing a housing project of this magnitude. The Natividad Creek Way nestles itself underground of each apartment building and connects between the main arterial road of Nogal Way and the collector road of Cottonwood Drive.
The Natividad Community Project is the first mixed-use housing project proposed for the City of Salinas. Nestled within the existing Natividad Creek Park on the northeast side of Salinas, this project acts as an example for the future of how housing underprivileged groups can help the entire community.
The City of Salinas has been battling the problem of providing housing for the resident and migrant agricultural workforce for over 100 years. The Natividad Community Project is a mixed-use apartment complex that combats chronic overcrowding and provides a venue for community outreach programs to have a direct stake in the emerging neighborhoods the city will need to model for the upcoming future. By combining subsidized efforts for food outreach, expanding transportation opportunities with neighboring farm employers, and a variety of other social engaging opportunities, the Natividad Community Project will serve the individuals who are tasked with harvesting, processing, and transporting the food that gets to the produce displays in grocery stores around our country.
ABOUT ME
After an undergraduate education focusing on landscape architecture, political science, and sustainable environments, I hope to round out my education with a law school degree with a specialty in intellectual property. While these three subjects seem inadequate to prepare me for a life of protecting people’s ideas, I believe the exposure to such a wide range of subjects has prepared me to become the ultimate tool in absorbing information and making sure people’s lifelong work is protected.