Sitting+in+public+space

=Sitting in Public space= //("backstreets" is redirected to "sitting in public space")// toc

The story begins...
It's all started off with my little journey to Downtown this weekend in the hope of finding anything interesting to research for this project. Initially I wanted to research about backstreets and thought that backstreets may be the home for some people (homeless people, graffit artists..) that are generally not welcomed in private/commerical spaces. However after walking back and forth across streets in Downtown, I found out many of the backstreets are sealed or used as parking lots. Except there are some graffit on the walls of backstreets, there are pretty much noone using the space as a public and interactive area.

And so, I tried to look for other things that has some kind of interventions. I remembered two years ago I did a project about signages in Downtown and I found many really interesting intervention from the people living there in response to the signage. And here are some pictures I took 2 years ago. http://www.flickr.com/photos/13605638@N03/sets/72157602035801288/

In the same street and same place that I found those interventions, I can hardly see those again today. Many posters, stickers, drawings on the signages are destroyed and it's seems to me the "powers/government" has winned the game and voices from the community is getting weaker..

After 8 hours of desperate walk in Downtown, frustrated with no good topic to research, I really wanted to just sit down and relax. Just at that moment of finding seats on the streets, I realized that there's none (well except the 2 seats in the ttc waiting place). So I get into pizzapizza cause I saw a brench inside. I bought pizza cause the space and the nice brench that I sat speaks a language that makes me buy pizza. And the most ridiculous thing happens---seats are only avaliable upstairs and that space is locked, only the manager saw me holding a slice of pizza would let me go upstairs. [|(see pic)]

//finally, I find my topic.........//

Research concept:
Gathered from all the observations in this Downtown trip today, no matter my topic is about backstreets, signage or sitting areas, the problem is the same and that is the "powers" is winning over the battle of publizing space. spaces in Downtown is not free, non-public, not dynamic in terms of the range of activities avaliable to do or allowed to do. To shop and walk fast seems to be the only activity encouraged in the streets (through the signages--no parking, no selling, no posting... no this no that.., through sealing alleys/backstreets, possible routes or spaces to do other activities besides consuming and through not providing public sitting areas). And there's this link between the avaliability of public sitting areas and the genre of the place; the more business - orientated it is, the lesser sitting area you can find(most of them are privatized).

Critical position:
Despite that there are many posters celebrating the diversity of cultures in Downtown printed by the government, the lack of the most basic tool for fostering cultural involvment--sitting areas, actually eliminates this diversity. Toronto is surely a place with great protential, although there are many "shows" about different cultures and festivals that help people to understand each other's heritage, there's nothing more dynamic than having the community to really communicate to each other on a personal level. And I think by having more sitting areas-- that is of cause unlike those in Dundas square which is surrounded by restless commerical ads, would greatly help slowing down people in downtown and really have a chance to know people that they might have passed by many times.

Research statement:
//Sitting areas are important tools for fostering interactions that are essential in publicizing space like streets in Downtown where it is highly regulated which worked against it's multiculturalistic character.//

In my research, I would focus on the tools avaliable in Downtown and what's lacking that other areas like markham would have. Then I would compare the level of businesses involved in different areas and how's that reflected through the tools provided there. Mainly I would look at sitting areas and how's that affect the behaviour and cultural involvement of the citizens.

future directions:
While having the tools like a seat is important to facilitate social space, the activities that people do while sitting is also a key. Social activities like playing chess game would help fueling the sitting areas.

Data collected:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13605638@N03/sets/72157602045638873/media type="flickr" key="13605638@N03" ARG0="&lang=en-us&format=rss_200" width="500" height="500"

visual essay:
media type="custom" key="216675"

Resources:
Brown,James." DUNDAS SQUARE: FULL OF PROMISE BUT NO PEOPLE". NOW magazine.com.

Palmer, Howard."mosaic verus melting pot?: immgration and ethnicity in canada and the united states" in Eli Mandel and David Taras, eds., A passion for identity: introduction to canadian studies. Methuen., 1987, pp 82- 96.

Harris, Kevin. "Street meets cafe: the blending of third places".

//link to// //Joyce'////s page.//