Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - Where do people in your community gather or socialize?
  - How and where does your community access services (healthcare, transportation, educational services, etc.)?

Examples of activities and services: Shopping areas, schools and universities, libraries, parks, lakes, rivers, places of worship, healthcare services, public transport, local nonprofit organizations, etc.

Your response: A lot of Guatemalan and Portuguese restaurants. Immigration services dedicated to Guatemalans and Portuguese people. Soccer fields servicing both communities as well. Catholic feasts from both of these cultures are celebrated together. Catholic church very central, visible. The Waterfront area is as well. Cape Verdeans are a historic and present immigrant community. Large Cape Verdean Independence Day Festival (July 5).

Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - What are the cultural bonds in your community?
  - If your community has a shared history, what is it?

Examples of cultural or historical interests: Religious groups, ethnic groups, languages, age groups, immigration status, historic or arts districts, etc.

Your response: Historically, the area rooted in Portuguese immigrants, largely from the Azores. Then, Cape Verdeans working in the fishing and whaling industry. Now, Central American communities present and working in fishing industries. New Bedford is connected to the whaling industry. Called "the oil that lit the world" because the oil from the whales was sent all around the world to light lamps. The city is not looked upon in that way anymore.

Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - Where are residents employed?
  - If there are environmental concerns in your community, what are they?

Examples of economic or environmental interests: Tourism industry, agricultural workers, mining town, manufacturing center, polluted natural resource, unemployment problem, etc.

Your response: Main employer is the fishing industry (Guatemalans, Portuguese, etc). Especially communities closer to the water. Bristol Community College is an employer and place of study. UMass Dartmouth and St Lukes Hospital. Building up tourism along the seashore. New Bedford is high in environmental pollution.

Use these questions to think more about how you would describe your community...
  - What should politicians and/or map drawers know about your community?
  - What are the needs of your community?
  - Is there anything else you want to tell us about your community?

Examples of needs or concerns: Keep community in the same district or separate into multiple districts, shared policy concerns, need for a social service, relationship to other nearby communities, issues with current district lines

Your response: Building code enforcement is an urgent need. We've had a lot of fires in the last year or two and lost a lot of people. People have been displaced, need housing, clothes, etc. Absentee landlords are a problem. Gentrification is a problem. They're building up the arts community and downtown area around tourism and art, and don't mind that property values are increasing and displacing generations of immigrants and POC. Demographics have changed a lot. Ex) school system is now 50-60% children of color, but school committee is still mostly white, as is city council. Mostly white men at local, state and federal level.