Our Neighborhood Drawbacks

My family and I live in a private zone in Visalia which has neat streets and attractive sidewalks decorating our neighborhood. In addition, we count with a secure playground area for our kids funny. It is surrounded by a high fence and has a soft carpet under the playground to protect our kids against fall downs. Many of our residents declare that is a pleasure to take a walk around our area. Laura, a woman who lives in front our home said: "It is a delight to walk to school every morning because I can enjoy our neighborhood beauty." In addition, we have the advantage of the splendor during any season. For instance, we can see numerous leaves of different colors falling down in the autumn. Reds, browns, and oranges tones cover our streets. In the spring, everyone can take a leisure time under shades of flourishing gardens full of leafy trees. We are very proud of living in this beautiful area. Nevertheless, a large deserted lot near our locality brings out some annoying effects on the residents.

This unoccupied lot gives to the community a disagreeable look that contrasts with the beauty of our neighborhood. The owners send a person to the terrain once a year to clean it up, but waste cumulates quickly. Old mattress, useless tires, and worn-out shoes give our area a nasty aspect. In addition, some people who buy their provisions in a store located at the back of our vicinity leave shopping carts in this careless lot. Consequently, gangs take advantage of the messy area using these carts to climb easily over our fences and cross out into our yards. In addition, they contribute to our neighborhood bad look painting graffiti over stone walls. I can easily ignore some of this unattractiveness when I am not in front of the lot, but when I am up stairs and lean out the window it is impossible to ignore it. Sometimes I prefer to maintain close down the curtains to avoid that view. Many of my neighbors agree with me and they keep their blinds closed too, but sometimes we have to call the police when someone is damaging our area.

The bad appearance is not the only problem this lot presents; it brings out several unhealthy problems. Due to the dust stored in the waste found over there, my little son has developed some allergy reactions. Sneezes and headaches are the most frequent cause for visiting the doctor. Moreover, bushes found in the terrain transport the pollen just about our area causing worst effects to the residents like difficult breathing. Our neighbors who have these effects can not sleep with opened windows. They must close them every night. Some pediatricians at our community have found that children living in an area surrounded by abandoned lots are more susceptible to develop allergy reactions. Agnes B. Cabatu Dr., from the Visalia Health Care Center said, "Our community presents a high risk of respiratory diseases due to the abundant cultivated fields, but the pollution within uncultivated fields aggravates the problem."

The worst consequence of this careless lot is about the danger it represents to the community. This is a perfect place for gangs to meet. They easily commit illicit acts like using drugs because the darkness of the place during the evenings. The last year, a wall had to be repainted six times because someone covered it with graffiti. When we discover these showy symbols over our walls, we feel sad and depressed because we could not understand why some people do not respect somebody else's property, above all, a beautiful