Ask and Ye Shall Receive (Occasionally)...

Sometimes, just sometimes, you ask the universe a question and you get a response. With pretty quick turn around time, too. That seems to be what happened this week when, after posting a quick blog asking what might we do with all the new public space being built in DownCity, the Providence Journal provided an answer. It seems the Providence department of Planning and Urban Development has been running a very modest program delivering grants to local artists who want to create temporary art in public spaces around the city. Currently, Westminster Street is hosting a pop-up gallery where a pair of local artists are inviting the public to capture Polaroid selfies and other Providence-centric pics.

[M]ost of the action will take place at 235 Westminster St., where [artists, Devan Durante] and [Brandon] Lane will operate a small “pop-up” gallery through Aug. 22. During that time, anyone who wants to can stop in and have their portrait taken using a 1970s-era Polaroid Big Shot camera...Visitors will also be able to borrow a number of older Polaroid cameras from the gallery — provided they leave a driver’s license or other form of identification for security. Durante says the goal is to document both the city’s obvious landmarks and its hidden nooks and crannies.

And this isn’t the only project that is getting funded this year. There will be a project to teach kids the best way to build a fort, a farmers’ market mini-golf course and other projects. Check out the article for more, and keep your eyes peeled for more things to pop up this summer and fall. 

SOURCE: http://www.providencejournal.com/features/entertainment/art/20140713-pop-up-projects-capture-collective-portrait-of-providence-unite-artists-and-community.ece

The New, New Kennedy Plaza is Coming. What are we going to do with it?

In case you’re wondering what in god’s name is happening at Kennedy Plaza this week, here is a link from the department of planning and development detailing the changes to come (note that it’s in PDF format, so be ready). It’s an interesting plan, and one that I’ve been following for some time. As you’ll see in the diagram, there are many new public spaces that are going up around DownCity. This is mostly a positive development, however, public space is not always a good thing in and of itself. What matters more is how it is used.

Currently, Kennedy Plaza is heavily trafficked for its public transit access. But take away that function and what will become of it? Providence has numerous plazas and parks dotting DownCity already, many of which sit empty or else are being used for purposes other than their original intent. This isn’t to say that we don’t need public spaces, but rather that we need to be more active in how we use them. Programs like the weekend beer garden in Burnside Park, or Shakespeare in the Park by the Roger Williams memorial are great examples of what can be done to inject life into a public space.  I haven’t heard one way or the other what designs civic groups might have on this new public space, but I hope the city will be more proactive about working with them to make this the kind of public space we will actually want to spend time in.

At last - a Bike Lane for the Proudly Timid...

If you're interested in ways to make bike commuting a more viable option, check out the video above. It is a pretty simple, cost effective design that would make the most hazardous part of bike commuting - crossing lanes of traffic - a whole lot easier. As a person who loves to cycle, but doesn't have the nerves of steel (or sense of entitlement - take your pick) that allows some people to do things like cross three lanes of traffic to make a left hand turn, navigating across major roads can be a real hang-up. And since I consider my self to be not very far off the median as far potential biking hang-ups go, I think solving this particular problem would go a long way to eliminating the mental barriers of much of the public.

This solution is such an elegant one, it amazes me I haven't seen it before. Of course, it will impede traffic, so no one should expect city planning departments to fall all over themselves to be first to make this happen. But since it's becoming increasingly clear that roads will be used to capacity no matter how wide we make them, there's a good argument for fighting through that sentiment. The video is a bit on the long side, but it's a fascinating 5 minutes.

SOURCE: Liz Stinson, Wired, http://www.wired.com/2014/06/a-new-bike-lane-design-that-could-make-biking-more-popular-and-save-lives/

Ding-Dong the Mall is Dead?!?

Here's something we haters of the suburban lifestyle would never had suspected in 1,000 years; the Mall may be dying. Across the US (and indeed, across the world as seen here), malls are shuttering their doors and being left to rot. If you grew up in the 80's, you would understand what a titanic shift this is. Once upon a time, the Mall was cultural touch-stone for young people. A place to shop, yes, but also (and more importantly) a place to be seen; to mingle; to be with your peers.

Today that seems nearly as quaint an idea as drive-up dining and bobby-socks. So what is driving this shift? The short, unsatisfying answer is, a lot of things. Obviously, changes in taste are a factor, but changes in technology may also be having an impact. The mall took off as a social spot in part, because it was a place where suburban parents could drop off their teenagers, giving them a little bit of freedom without worrying about their security. But that was back when, if you wanted to have a private conversation with your friends, you had to be in the same room with them. Technology has changed that. I can't say I know what teens in the digital age do to build their own networks, but it seems hanging out at the mall isn't it.

Another factor hitting the malls is the economy. For more than 30 years, malls were developed in a frenetic way, without much apparent regard to market capacity. The center of commerce in my own home town was built around two malls less than a mile from each other. One of them is now dead, and although the death blow was a series of devastating floods which hit the region a few years ago, its slow decline was apparent for years. In the face of shrinking incomes - with its attendant shrinking consumption - these sorts of distantly located, retail specific structures simply couldn't stay solvent.

Of course, as a card-carrying hater, I knew this was going to happen. A car-dependent destination focused solely on selling things you don't really need (as opposed to home goods, groceries or other necessities), always seemed like terrible idea. And being the kind of person I am, I assumed my sense would, given enough time, be proved right. What I didn't know, is how quickly this would play out. While I lament with the rest of the community, the terrible waste of space and materials these empty hulking shells represent, I'll be all too happy to seem the Mall as a concept finally fade away.

SOURCE: David Uberti, The Guardian,  http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jun/19/-sp-death-of-the-american-shopping-mall

If you build it (roads), they (drivers) will come (drive)...

Building roads creates more traffic. That's the conclusion researchers have recently come to. Researchers looked at the data from the last 50 some odd years and found a nearly "perfect one-to-one relationship," between road construction and traffic.

Using Tech to Access City Services Ought to be in the Cards...

It's almost taken for granted these days that new technology, smartly applied, can be a big part of the answer to almost any problem. So it's long been frustrating, and more than a little baffling, how slow city and state governments have been to adopt it. However, a new program being deployed in Oakland, CA, may be a sign that this is finally starting to change.

Orange is the New Green...

Being green isn't just for the hip anymore. Prisons across the country are turning to agriculture to cut costs and teach skills to inmates (and, I suspect, to give them something to do). I'm no fan of prison labor, especially when it generates profits through what amounts to slave labor. But idle hands being the devil's playthings, I can see the appeal of this kind of program. Especially since the "skills" prisoners are usually supposed to get as compensation for their labor don't count for squat if you can't get past the are-you-a-felon check box on most job applications. If you have to keep your inmates busy, helping them develop a connection to the food they eat isn't a bad way to go.

SOURCE: Derek Prall, American City and County http://americancityandcounty.com/public-safety/prison-produce