"Don't Give up the Ship"

Don't Give Up the Ship imagines an underwater Market Street filled with deep sea divers, kelp forests, and shipwrecks. Part utopian and part post-apocalyptic, the aquatic theme references the current economic situation that has resulted in so many vacant storefronts (“underwater homeowners,” “loan sharks,” “drowning in debt”) as well as the specter of climate change and rising sea levels in a coastal city. The title refers to a historic flag that flies in nearby Civic Center; the idea of perseverance in the face of an onslaught seems fitting for both the neighborhood and the times we live in.