Map showing the availability of coffee in Lehigh University and Southside Bethlehem

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1e3Xz5FOiaALpfiWplyogtgQKfnSBPnPw&usp=sharing

 

Field Description
Title Map showing the availability of coffee in Lehigh University and Southside Bethlehem
Author Otavio S. Capps
Date 05/14/2019
Description This map shows all the important locations where members of the Lehigh University and Southside community can have access to coffee. The map is divided into three different sections: On-campus, Off-campus, and Lehigh Coffee Club Meeting Locations. Descriptions of the locations as well as images from the locations are provided.
Format Map
Subject Map, Lehigh University, South Bethlehem, Coffee, Community,
Rights Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Source Google MyMaps

 

 

For my digital project, I constructed a Google MyMaps that included the many available places where students and Southside residents can get coffee around Lehigh University. This topic is particularly interesting for me because I have a very deep passion for coffee, as I am Brazilian and coffee plays a major role in my culture’s identity. Another reason as to why I picked this very topic is that recently I founded my very own club at Lehigh University — the Lehigh Coffee Club! The creation of the Lehigh Coffee Club is something that I hold very dearly and when speaking about my personal Lehigh experience, it is simply impossible to omit that very aspect. Additionally, due to the recent revitalization of Southside Bethlehem, which included the sprouting of various different coffee shops in the area, it seemed like I was destined to make my project about this topic. Lastly, apart from speaking about coffee availability in Southside Bethlehem, I wanted to ensure that I included the impacts of such phenomenon, as it is no coincidence that the improvement of Lehigh’s relationship with the Southside community coincided with the emergence of new coffee shops in the area.

 

My main idea in creating the Lehigh Coffee Club was to provide a safe, fun environment for  different niches of the Lehigh community to connect, as I believe the Lehigh community is far too divided in many different aspects. As the club evolved and we had more meetings, it was clear that the club had surpassed its original intent, as it started going beyond Lehigh and it furthered the process of connecting Lehigh University to the Southside Bethlehem community. Upon the creation of the club, I immediately thought that I could easily partner with local businesses to sell, taste, and enjoy coffee. And so I did. This was the first step in establishing this connection, as the Lehigh Coffee Club partnered with the Conservation Club and Lit Coffee Roastery and Bakeshop — a recent found Southside coffee house —  to raise funds to donate to the protection of sea turtles. The fundraiser was a great success and further proved that by collaborating, Lehigh and Southside business could make a great impact on a social cause– even if it does not directly benefit the local community.

 

To further elaborate on the impact and power of coffee to connect people and communities, take for example another collaborative event between the Lehigh Coffee Club and a Southside business. This time, however, it was Sagra Beans Coffee House and Roastery that assisted in fundraising. When scheduling the Lehigh Coffee Club-Southside events, I realized it would be far more impactful to collaborate to support the local community. So, in attempt of doing just that, on April 25th of 2019, Sagra Beans hosted a fundraiser in which ten percent of the proceeds were directed to the Community Action Development Committee of Bethlehem — a non-profit organization that aims to develop the Southside community through a variety of initiatives.

 

These two events lead to the main idea of my digital project, which is that coffee shops are key tools in integrating different communities, as shown by the examples above. Given that these small locally-owned shops are so essential to the development of integrated communities, it is safe to say that they are also very important to the sustainability of communities, as evidenced by the scientific journal Habitat International. The 32nd volume of the first issue of this journal elaborates on the many aspects that make a community more integrated and sustainable. One of the very key points is that the author, Charles L.Choguill, argues is that coffee shops augment social opportunities and serve as a place of socialization and interaction between different members of a community.  

 

A lot of the information that I gathered can be found either in a Brown and White issue or the Morning Call — a local newspaper. Additionally, some of the information included above can be further supported by analyzing the 32nd volume of the scientific journal named Habitat International, written and researched by Charles L.Choguill.

 

Works Cited

 

Gouveia, Madison, and Madison Gouveia. “Coffee Roastery and Bakeshop Opens in Bethlehem.” The Brown and White, The Brown and White, 9 Mar. 2017, thebrownandwhite.com/2017/03/09/lit-coffee-bethlehem/.

 

Kneller, Ryan. “Sagra Owner Opens New Coffee Shop and Roastery in South Bethlehem.” Mcall.com, The Morning Call, 29 Mar. 2019, www.mcall.com/entertainment/food-drink/restaurants/mc-ent-sagra-beans-opens-south-bethlehem-20181128-story.html.

 

Choguill, Charles L. “Developing Sustainable Neighbourhoods.” Habitat International, Pergamon, 3 Aug. 2007, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397507000379.

 

Leave a Reply