Lived Landscapes of the Fillmore

Ingrid Seyer-Ochi (Stanford University, Ph.D., Education; M.A., History) is an Assistant Professor in Social and Cultural Studies at the University of California’s Graduate School of Education. A common equation underlies all of her research: an interest in the experiences of socially-constructed and marginalized groups as they interact with multiple institutions across structured and segregated landscapes. Her interest in the spatial organization of learning opportunities emerges in part from a childhood spent moving (via truck, camper, and sailboat) from place to place. She brings her experiences as an anthropologist, historian, and urban high school teacher to all of her research and teaching. She lives in Oakland with her husband, daughter, and Pug.

Focusing on the San Francisco neighborhood of the Fillmore, “The Lived Landscapes of the Fillmore” analyzes the relationship between the lives of local youth and various aspects of their built and social environment. Drawing upon over 500 maps composed by 281 San Francisco students, I tease out the defining characteristics of the Fillmore’s public image and master identity. Using these maps in conjunction with my observations of and conversations with Fillmore residents, I argue that the neighborhood’s local master identity is defined by a core set of characteristics, including: extensive social knowledge and shared histories; an expansive faith-based network; a conflictual sense of communal belonging and anomie; a perceived sense of chaos; an ambivalent, often combative relationship with the police force; drug dealing and its myriad social, economic and emotional influences; organized “gangs”; organized violence (predominant); a sense of random violence (less common), and a related high frequency of homicides (specifically among young Black males); high unemployment, the “hanging out” (and “outside”) that accompanies it and the frequently evolving “street corner” landscape evolving from both. I conclude with an analysis of the “ghetto pass,” a social tool whose many uses highlight the social nature and borders of the lived landscape.

It is not on any map; true places never are.

—Herman Melville