URBAN INTERVENTIONS THAT WORKED: The How and Why...

Philadelphia MuralArts Program http://www.muralarts.org/

- One-Liner: Murals look better than graffiti.

- Involve all generations but target youngest the most

- Provide employment to artists

- World-class and scale projects put movement on the map

- Participants become personally invested in project

- Improves city and individual simultaneously

- Gives citizens chance to prove their worth

Philadelphia LOVE Park http://www.ushistory.org/lovepark/

- One-Liner: Improvised skate-park become youth center

- Not intended for skating but later exploited this potential

- Allowed youth to create their own scene

- Stands out among city’s parks by having ritual

- Becomes center of other movements through association

- Has subversive undertone; not spoon-fed to urban youth

City Year http://www.cityyear.org/

- 'Give a Year. Change the World.'

- Targets 17-24 year olds specifically

- Builds city and individual simultaneously

- Loyalty/ Personal investment in project

- Project is the organization, not the specific action

- Marketing reveals acute understanding of teen psychology

COMMONALITIES

- Give-and-take; Don’t get something for nothing; Give something good -- get something great

- Exchange results in positive effect on both city and individual

- Psychology of ritual, place-making, and commitment

- KEY: Fully exploiting tool at hand, not finding most novel uses

> paint/brush/2d art

> physical urban form

> teen mentality manipulation

> cell/txt technology (!!)

Incentives

Incentive to participate

What are teens curious about?
what degree of control do they have, or do they simply participate?
teens want somewhere to gather, hangout, etc.


Large vs. Small

• Is the installation a "spectacle?" (event, flash-mobs, projections, loud music/noise, large in scale)
  
  
• Does it get broadcasted, is it heavy on the technology? (via text, blue-tooth jacking, word of mouth)
  
  
• Is it small, physical, and distributable? (flyers, boxes?? common/mundane/recognizable/familiar objects)
  
  
• Is it permanent; something that lasts? (structural? something to sit on, stand on, congregate around)
  
  
• Or is it temporary, easily transported, easily replaced? (movable, manipulative, multiple sites, does the function or purpose change over time?)
  

teens and public space

different blurbs about teens and public space:

Teenagers and Public Space

MATS LIEBERG

Teenagers have no obvious right to spaces of their own. They often have nowhere else to go except outdoor public places, where they often come into conflict with other groups. This article explores this dilemma. Based on empirical studies in Sweden, the article describes how teenagers use public spaces in their local environments to create meaning and context in their existence. It indicates which places they use, what characterizes these places, and how teenagers use them. Variation and variety in the structures and environments of places mean that the localfield of activity cannot always be encompassed by traditional generalizing theories. Knowledge of the significance of local variations in the identity construction and action strategies of youth thus becomes an important link in understanding and interpreting the postmodern society.

http://crx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/6/720

________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I think about public space, I often remember what it was like when I was sixteen and had no place of my own, no money, and an irrepressible urge to do something unexpected. How I wanted to move in ways that had not been programmed by my parents or another authority, and was always searching for something to climb, for a hole in the fence, for an undiscovered place, a final frontier to push against.

If my experience was any indication, teenagers rely on public space more than almost any other demographic. But, although there’s lots of talk about attracting families to the city, I rarely hear mention of teenagers in urban planning. Beyond an occasional basket ball court or hockey rink, how do we consider their needs and preferences?

http://spacingmontreal.ca/2009/06/17/teens-in-public-space-when-the-world-is-your-junglegym/

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Teenagers and Downtown Syracuse

Urban Video Project as physical interface
Download/Modify/Upload model of input and output


Amphibious Architecture:

http://www.amphibiousarchitecture.net/

Questions for teenagers

We may assume that teenagers have the same access and phone capabilities as those that we as young adults have....however, teen cell phone usage, including txting may yield patterns different from what we'd expect. Some questions to ask teenagers, perhaps at a school meeting session, that will help us clarify:

1. How much do you (the teen) use your cell phone on a weekday? On a weekend?
2. Do you use more phone minutes or txt messages? (Are these plans unlimited?)
3. How often do you use sound recording or your phone's camera?
4. Does your phone have bluetooth capabilities? If yes, do you use it?
5. How long are the typical text messages sent? (one word, short answers, lengthy paragraphs, etc.)

Teen interests in CNY

http://blog.syracuse.com/voices/2009/06/dear_syracuse_an_open_letter_f.html
http://blog.syracuse.com/voices/2008/11/teens_need_to_work_together_to.html
http://blog.syracuse.com/voices/2008/11/what_teens_want_for_central_ne.html

"Do you want to know why kids always say they'll leave and never come back to Syracuse after graduating? Do you want to know why kids who stay after graduating begrudge the coming fall semester when they have to report to whatever local college they're going to? It's not because they aren't excited about their new experiences; it's because they're sick of Syracuse.

Visit syracuse.com and read the comments that are written by Syracusans. These comments reflect the negative mood of the Syracusans who are vocal enough to speak--and by speak I mean complain--but who do nothing more than that.

City school or not, kids are not taken seriously here. After all, they're kids, right? But that's where it stops... adult Syracusans have this perception that they'll get nothing out of the local kids, and this is where it all goes downhill."

• articles on syracuse.com discussed the fact that teens need places to hangout
• as a group, we also discussed the fact that downtown does not seem to provide a place for teens
• "The area of Syracuse most in need of change is downtown."
• " Also, people need places to sit downtown when waiting for their buses to arrive."
• "To make downtown more appealing to teenagers, the bus system needs to change."
• "I would love to do simple, small things that make a significant difference in the lives of my fellow Central New Yorkers."

teen interests:

• after-school activities
• places they can go that don't cost money.
  
• hang out at the mall past 4 p.m.
  
• teen-friendly music scene.

what they want:
Music scene - need to be teen friendly
Race relations - some teens still show their ignorance
Views on GLBT teens - same as above
Anti-violence education
Health education
Career training - need more internships, job shadowing, networking opportunities
Things to do - need more. low- or no-cost
Transportation - teen-friendly bus schedules, needs to be safer
More inter-school events that aren't competitive
More city-suburban interaction
Homeless teens - couch surfing
Teens with kids - and rules on pregnancy in schools
More fundraisers
Teen involvement
Education outside of schools
More festivals in more places
Life skills
Tech classes in schools
Accommodations for people with disabilities
More green space
Improved sidewalks
More street lights
Carpooling serive
Cross-generational interaction
City feels unsafe
Crime
Interaction with Syracuse University
Teens and drugs and alcohol- and effective education about the problem
Schools feel unsafe

ROBOT VIEW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbbZzLkz4gc

Transplantable Urban Rooms

- Use principle of robot view to transmit 3d panorama to other location

- Position Android on tripod in key locations

- Have output projected in sister space

- Both for individual and group!

Rate/Review

- Users edit input images at any given site

- Live personalization of space

- Space endowed with character, happening, ritual

- Space becomes place

Installation

- BUILD: tripod/stand

- BUY: # of Google Android devices http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Android

- BUY: # of projection devices