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Final Research Paper

Public Space: Final Research Paper

 

 

Portland, Maine: A ‘Walkable’ but ‘Seatable’ City?

 

An Analysis of the Public Seating Available in Portland and Policy Suggestions to Increase Public Seating for the Common Good

 

 

Jackie Sullivan

December 17, 2014

 

 

Research Question

 

One of the most highly valued yet often underrated experiences of a city is sitting in a public area and watching the world pass by. This experience is very telling of the culture of a city, and is not always observable by walking or driving. Sitting in a public place can be an activity for tourists, residents, and commuters alike, always offering a refreshing perspective. In order to increase the usage, accessibility, and efficiency of public space throughout Portland, I propose a policy that will increase public seating to make public space more accessible to all. Although a simple proposition, it is extremely significant and can have amplified effects for the culture of the city. Not only will this encourage people to occupy public spaces more often, increased public seating will also foster a sense of community. Portland will become a city of sitting, enjoying, observing, and absorbing, and will not be for the passerby’s. In order to implement this proposal into the idea of the smart city, becoming increasingly relevant with technological growth, I propose implementing seating with warming features. This will allow people to continue to take advantage of public space during the cold winter months, and will create a greater sense of community throughout Portland all year long.

 

Approach to the Common Good for the City

 

Significant policy recommendations for Portland must be applicable to the common good. The common good can easily be promoted through public space and can be simplified to embody equal accessibility to all. Available public seating is an important component of accessibility. Although Portland is fairly walkable, a technical definition of “walkability” includes components of physical access, proximity, and places.[1] It has been shown that people are willing to make tradeoffs between house size and price for the benefit of “walkable” neighborhoods.[2] Public seating provides a convenient resting stop between places, offering physical access as a means to enjoy public space. According to “Walk Score”, which measures the walkability of locations based on pedestrian friendliness and proximity, Portland has a walk-score of 57, meaning it is “somewhat walkable and some errands can be accomplished on foot.”[3] The most walkable neighborhoods were identified as West Bayside, East Bayside, India Street, and Park Side. From the transect walk I completed throughout the West End, I know that walkability can be improved. My policy recommendation of increasing public seating benefits the common good throughout Portland.

 

Approach to the Smart City

 

This policy proposal can be implemented into nearly any city. Some cities are “smarter” than others, but all could benefit from an increase in public seating. Although Portland, in comparison to a city such as Songdo, is not “smart” by certain definitions, technology is beginning to gain a larger presence. As Greenfield discusses, smart cities can refer to retrofitting networked information technologies into existing urban places.[4] In Portland, an urban area, the only missing segment is the use of technology. I recommend implementing technology to ensure public seating is available to residents all year long. Integrating warming features will allow public seating, for instance benches, to always be used. Even when snow and ice take over the city of Portland, access to public space should not be limited. In the long winter months in Maine, the snow and ice will melt so people will still be able to access benches in public space.

This is a similar strategy to heating benches in the NFL. While the purpose of heating benches in stadiums is to keep the players warm, it uses a similar method. Frank Floyd Jr.’s Reliable Construction Heaters of Cleveland makes these heated benches, which can now be found in 16 different football stadiums in the US.[5] These benches are heated using propone or natural gas blowers, allowing the players to maintain a comfortable body temperature.[6] This same idea can be taken to heating public benches in Portland, at a much lower level of power. This warming ability could increase the use of public seating in the winter months since it would allow people to access them even in the snow. Although costly, it is something worth exploring since it enhances the city experience. By melting snow and ice, the probability that public seating structures will be damaged from winter weather conditions decreases. This benefit means public seating will last longer than those seats that are damaged during the winter, and it can be argued that the payoff of heating public seating is worth the initial investment.

Increased public seating can also be used in another technological capacity. When new public seats are created, their locations can be added as a data layer to future applications and maps of the city, which is currently unavailable. Seating is not taken advantage of because people are unaware of where public seating is located. If this data is added to maps and other pieces of information about the city, people will increase their use of public spaces.

 

Literature Review

 

Many pieces of literature, both academic and media driven, discuss the use of public space, particularly in relation to seating. Beginning with William Whyte’s video on public space from 1988, he observed that the use of public space is directly dependent on the availability of usable public seating.[7] Although people are innovative and use structures that are not explicitly created as seats, they are not willing to invest large amounts of effort to create these opportunities. It is clear from Whyte’s research that the public greatly depends on convenient seating. Other studies show that seating does not need to exist in the form of benches or chairs. There are innovative creations of such seating and objects in public space that can serve multiple functions. For instance in a review of public space in New York City, there are granite planters surrounded by ledge seating and metal rails at a location near Fulton Street.[8] Additionally, Tony Rosenthal’s Steel Park is on East 80th Street, which provides a collection of metal panels and shapes, also doubling as seats.[9] There are many instances where the objective of increasing public seating can be achieved without designing specific seating installments, but rather allowing for creative freedom.

Seating is further examined through John Perrem’s research at the Architectural Association of Ireland (2009). Perrem describes that “areas where people sit act as nodes of stillness in a sea of movement and flux.”[10] He believes that sitting in a public space offers a new understanding of an area. It is a necessary part of society to create an accurate experience of the city, prompting the need and desire for seating. Perrem agrees that creative installments are a good way to implement the element of seating into public space, and he discusses informal versions of seating as alternatives to benches.[11] Both Perrem and philosopher Gilles Deleuze, as cited by Greenfield, recognize the connections that public seating creates among people and with the surrounding space, sights, sounds and smells.[12] There is an additional sense of community that comes with public space creation and it is clear that many researchers believe public seating enhances the use of public space. Elet offers a historical view of public seating, providing analysis of the form and the function of public seating influencing urban environments.[13] He claims that benches carefully integrated into public space do so purposefully with the intent of bringing out culture, ever since ancient Greece.[14] Clearly, there has been great importance placed on public seating throughout history, showing its significance on the formation of societies.

Lefebvre introduces his idea of the “right to the city” when he discusses that cities are part of public space.[15] This can directly relate to the common good since there is joint ownership among everything in the public sphere, and nobody should be excluded. Low has similar ideas when he discusses the five qualities of spatial rights: freedom of access, freedom of action, freedom to claim, freedom to change, and freedom of ownership.[16] All of these ideas have influence when defining what public space encompasses. This promotes large debate, and Perrem discusses the rise of pay-to-sit locations and the decrease of free public seating.[17] He claims this phenomenon is a result of the increase of city life and the corresponding decrease in value people place on a city. This causes those who cannot afford to pay for seating to be excluded from public spheres.[18] The rise of this issue causes a direct violation of Lefebvre and Low’s principles, which should always exist in public space.

There is also an increased discussion of these issues surrounding public space in the media world, particularly with the rise of technology. In San Francisco, there has been a recent push for increased public seating to encourage more people to spend time in the city.[19] Over the past two decades, there have been movements to decrease public seating due to their serious problem of homelessness. Most public benches were removed throughout San Francisco since they had become spaces for the homeless to congregate.[20] However with the reinstallation of seating in recent years, following an increase in efforts addressing homelessness, the future of San Francisco’s public space is promising. This is something that needs to be taken into consideration in Portland. Portland has a large population of homeless people and there is always the risk that they will gather in public areas with seating. Places like Preble Street are contributing much time and energy to alleviate the problem of homelessness throughout Portland. However, the amount of homeless people in Portland is continuing to rise, with an average of 434 people seeking shelter each night in October 2012.[21] Although increasing public seating potentially creates a place for congregation, the benefits of creating usable public space for the rest of the city outweigh this risk. Portland, a much smaller city than San Francisco, needs to focus on creating public seating for the common good, while simultaneously combatting homelessness.

According to the Portland Comprehensive Plan, the section titled “Green Spaces, Blue Edges” discusses various recommendations in terms of creating and maintaining usable public space to benefit all demographics.[22] There is a specific goal outlined to foster public-private partnerships to increase the resources available to residents in public parks and maintain the care of such public spaces. With the revival of “Green Spaces, Blue Edges” in 2001, there was an increased emphasis on refurbishing walkways and infrastructure located in public green spaces in order to make them more usable and desirable for the public.[23] Increased seating was mentioned in this policy document, although not a clear priority, highlighting a weak portion of the plan. Rather than pushing corporations to increase infrastructure in parks, I recommend encouraging artists to design infrastructure for public parks in the form of creative seating. This promotes the art culture that already occupies a big part of Portland, rather than corporate branding. Many are enthusiastic about continuing to find new ways of implementing art into every day life, and this provides ample opportunity.

Along the same lines, there have been recent initiatives throughout Portland integrating art into the creation of public space. Just this past spring the SPACE Gallery in conjunction with Congress Square Park, commissioned artist Michael Klyde Johnson to design and construct a form of public seating to increase the use of the Park.[24] Currently, Johnson’s structure provides the basis for seating and largely increased the use of this public area when the structure was introduced just this past summer. A similar initiative occurred in 2011 with the intention of holding a competition for the design of public seating to be installed along the Bayside Trail through the Portland Public Art Committee (PPAC).[25] Three locations were chosen for the public seating installments, with goals of enhancing the Bayside Trail experience, engaging the public, providing year-round, easily maintained, and long-lasting functional public art in the form of seating (Figure 5).[26] The final budget of $42,500 was intended to fund three public seating clusters and could be distributed to up to three designers.[27] Although in the end the PPAC did not reach a conclusion to proceed, they made significant progress in promoting the idea of public functional art.[28]

I recommend that Portland revisit this competitive nature to create public seating and foster a sense of community. It would be beneficial for such institutions as the SPACE Gallery or MECA to assist in these competitions to ensure the quality of work submitted would be effective, aesthetically pleasing, useful, and fulfill all of the requirements outlined – something which the 2011 competition lacked. Portland has tested this idea before and I would encourage the city to do so again. Very recently, a report was released from the Congress Square Redesign Study Group, which outlined two concepts for Congress Square Park, an area in need of redesign to ensure sustainability.[29] These two ideas stem from either a redesign of a public park built by the city at the cost of $1 million to $1.5 million from taxpayers, or a public-private partnership with the Westin Harborview Hotel combining a park and event center.[30] The City Council will review these two plans, however the Redesign Group already expressed favor towards the park only idea, after a very split vote. The goals of these ideas are to improve public space, as well as increase the value of the Congress Square neighborhood, which has economic benefits for the entire city.

All of these pieces of literature help relate to the image of public space, particularly through past initiatives, studies, and current state of affairs within Portland. Public space is clearly a defining feature of a city and it is important to be able to improve and promote such through increased public seating.

 

Methods

 

My inspiration for this policy recommendation began after I saw William Whyte’s video on the influence seating had on public space. I became particularly aware of this feature of public space during my transect walk in the West End neighborhood of Portland on November 24, 2014. Taking note of both the existence and lack of available public seating, I was inspired to learn more about how Portland could increase this component, especially in parks where seating is often taken for granted. I noticed the unpleasant appearance of many of the benches in the West End, which inspired me to integrate artistic competitions and technology into my policy suggestion. I took detailed notes during my time in Portland and recorded the locations of public seating, as well as took pictures of structures that could act as such. I only noted six benches in the Western Promenade and seven benches in Deering Oaks Park, which is a shockingly low number for such large green spaces. This experience provided the primary foundation for my research.

In order to create the most comprehensive and complete view of what policies I should encompass, I looked at many data sets describing the city of Portland. In particular, I used the City of Portland 2014 shape files to create maps on QGIS, including open space, streets, and ocean layers. During my transect walk I recorded the longitude and latitude of benches throughout the West End and I was able to utilize data that Luis Panaigu recorded of seating on East Congress Street, which I have mapped in Figure 1. I also looked at the available areas of green and open space, which are areas that public seating could easily be implemented. Since parks and open spaces exist throughout the city, it makes most logical sense to begin implementing public seating in these areas first. I have mapped suggestions for increased public seating in Figure 2. Although this is not exhaustive, it is a good start to my policy implementation. Since certain demographics impact the use of public space more than others, I looked at the median age for Portland residents in Figure 3, leveraging Portland’s Public Map Gallery. The elderly are more inclined to require seating than younger generations, since they are unable to walk around the city unassisted. A large population of elderly would create reason for an increase in public seating, something I accounted for when making my bench location suggestions. I chose not to look at the population of homeless people in Portland when conducting this research. Although a large amount of homelessness could mean a higher probability of inappropriate use of public space, the efforts of Preble Street have helped eliminate this detail so it does not have a substantial influence the placement of public seating. The benefits of increased seating much outweigh the risks of potential inappropriate use of public seating by these demographics.

 

Findings

 

As I began to look for data layers pertaining to public seating, it was clear that nobody has previously attempted to create such data about public seating. I used the locations of benches in the West End which I had recorded, with an emphasis on the Western Promenade and Deering Oaks Park, and leveraged the data that Luis Panaigu collected of benches on East Congress Street. Figure 1 provides an accurate map of observed benches. Although it is not inclusive of all the benches across the city, it is telling of the lack of benches in certain areas and the need for more data collection on this topic.

 

Figure 1:

 

Using background research and observations in the West End, I have mapped suggested locations for seating in addition to the existing locations in Figure 2. I was particularly struck by the lack of benches surrounding the pond in Deerings Oak Park and would like to see an improvement of public seating in this area. This implementation will allow the public to enjoy the park and in particular the pond more easily and often.

 

Figure 2:

 

 

To increase my knowledge about the relative demographics of Portland, I leveraged the map represented in Figure 3 from Portland’s Public Map Gallery. The blue coloring represents older ages who are particularly volatile to the lack of seating throughout Portland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3:

 

 

Map of 2010 Median Age Distribution throughout Portland

Source: Public Map Gallery, City of Portland, ME[31]

 

Something that caught my eye specifically in the Western Promenade was the state of the benches that were available. They were rickety and falling apart, not where I would picture myself sitting for a prolonged amount of time. This helped inspire my recommendation for seating combined with public art.

 

Figure 4:

Bench located in the Western Promenade, Portland, ME

Source: Jackie Sullivan, Transect Walk, November 24, 2014

In my research I found a map of proposed seating installment locations from the competition conducted by the Portland Public Art Committee in 2011. Although this initiative was never completed, there has clearly been some thought about where proper seating installments would benefit the public, which I would like to see revisited. Below is one of the three proposed locations.

 

Figure 5:

 

 

Map of Proposed Seating Installment Locations following Creation of Artistic Competition

Source: Portland Public Art Committee: Bayside Trail Seating Project, 2011[32]

 

 

Reflections/Discussion

 

            All policy proposals for Portland should benefit the Common Good; providing equal access to all is one of the only ways that large investments can be justified. In order to ensure that all members of Portland, regardless of age or demographic, have equal access to the city experience, I propose increasing public seating throughout Portland. Although rather basic, this creation can transform the experience of Portland. Public seating is often taken for granted, but when there is a shortage of public seating it is extremely noticeable and inconvenient. After completing my transect walk in the West End, I noticed the extreme lack of public seating in terms of physical structure, as well as the lack of maintenance of public seating. The benches located along the Western Promenade were falling apart and there were no visible efforts of improvement (Figure 4). Similarly in Deering Oaks Park, none of the benches seemed to be matching and they were all run-down. Although this proposal requires a large initial investment and continued maintenance costs, I believe that it can truly enhance the experience of the city and encourage those to spend more time in public space throughout Portland.

As a way to encourage community involvement and bring enjoyment to the creation of public seating, I recommend creating art competitions surrounding the design of public seating. A similar competition was conducted in 2011 among artists to design public seats along the Bayside Trail in Portland.[33] This creates both opportunities for artistic freedom and produces public art in addition to usable and unique public seating. Figure 5 represents a map of where the public seating was suggested following the 2011 competition. Public space very much involves a sense of community, which nicely coincides with this friendly competition in the creation of public seating for the use of public space.

In order to implement technology to help Portland move in the direction of a smart city, I would recommend installing warming features in order to allow public seating to be accessible all year. In the winter months snow and ice prevent benches from functioning, but if there were features that melted this away, the public could still take advantage of seating and continue to enjoy public space. Despite the large costs that this could incite, the benefits of continued enjoyment from the public would surpass the cost. With the melting of snow and ice the public seating structures would be better protected from weathering. The benches in the Western Promenade (Figure 4) clearly were weathered and not well maintained, but the warming features could alleviate at least a portion of this problem.

To begin, I think it is most logical to increase public seating in the parks throughout Portland. Deering Oaks Park specifically caught my attention during my transect walk, since there were only a few benches that were placed in odd locations and did not seem usable. It would make most sense to begin increasing public seating throughout parks, such as Deering Oaks Park. There is a wonderful pond in the middle of this park, however it cannot even be enjoyed since there are no benches surrounding it. Increasing public seating in green and open spaces should be the first priority of the city in order to increase public traffic in these areas. I have mapped open spaces in Figure 2 to highlight areas of opportunity. This project should not be limited to parks however, and unique seating structures should be installed throughout the city. Along streets, in the historic district, and in the many squares throughout Portland, anything will be utilized.

This proposal especially influences the elderly who are not able to enjoy walking the entire city, despite Portland’s relative walkability. It would be best to increase seating where there are higher populations of elderly people (Figure 3) as well as areas where they likely to go, often public parks. With Maine having the highest population of baby boomers, an age demographic that is increasingly in need of assistance in the form of seating, this should become a focus for Portland.[34] Many cruise ships dock within walking distance of the Portland Art District and the Old Port.[35] Although claiming that the entire city is walkable, the demographic that is typically found on cruise ships could especially benefit from an increase in public seating.

Conclusion

 

Overall, my recommendation to increase public seating seems to provide a wide range of benefits to many different demographics of Portland. It increases not only the desire to occupy public space, but it allows for all people to have equal opportunity to do so. It is truly a suggestion for the common good. Having spent a semester in Europe I thoroughly enjoyed sitting in public areas in every city that I visited and came to enjoy all that I learned about the city’s culture and the people through the power of observation. With an increase in public seating throughout Portland, this too can be possible. For residents, commuters, and tourists alike, there are many people who would enjoy this opportunity, especially if equipped with warming features for the wintertime. It is clear from many of the mental maps collected that people are attune to the desire for an increase in usable public space, and this is an accurate mean to achieve this greater objective.

 


 

Works Cited

 

“Arriving via Cruise Ship.” Official Travel of Site for the Greater Portland Region. Accessed December 14, 2014. http://www.visitportland.com/cruising-to-portland-maine.aspx.

 

Bouchard, Kelly. “Maine summit tackles challenge of aging population.” Maine Press Herald, January 17, 2014. Accessed December 5, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/2014/01/17/ maine_summit_on_aging_under_way_in_augusta/.

 

City of Portland MIS Division. “Public Map Gallery.” 2012. Accessed December 10, 2014. http://click.portlandmaine.gov/GISPortal/

 

Elet, Yvonne. “Seats of Power: The Outdoor Benches of Early Modern Florence.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 16, 4 (2002): 444-469.

 

Elinson, Zusha. “A Renewed Public Push for Somewhere to Sit Outdoors.” The New York Times, January 28, 2012. Accessed December 10, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/in-san-francisco-a-push-for-public-benches.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar.

 

Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “What is the Smart City?” Against the Smart City. 1.3 edition.

 

“Green Spaces, Blue Edges: An Open Space and Recreation Plan for the City of Portland.” Portland’s Comprehensive Plan, 2001. Accessed December 10, 2014. http://www.portlandmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3380.

 

Hewins, Steve, and William Becker. “Maine Voices: A public-private partnership would make the best Congress Square.” Maine Press Herald, December 11, 2014. Accessed December 14, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/2014/12/11/maine-voices-a-public-private-partnership-would-make-the-best-congress-square/.

 

Kayden, Jarold S. “Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience.” John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York City (2000): 1-349.

 

Koenig, Seth. “Is Portland ‘too attractive’ to homeless people?” The Bangor Daily News, December 21, 2012. Accessed December 12, 2014.

 

Lavey, John and Jennifer Hill. “What is Walkability?” Community Builders: The Business of Building Stronger Communities, February 2, 2014. Accessed November 17, 2014. http:// communitybuilders.net/walkability/.

 

“Living in Portland.” Walkscore, 2014. Accessed November 20, 2014. https:// www.walkscore.com/ME/Portland.

 

Low, Setha M. 2002. “Spaces of Reflection, Recovery, and Resistance: Reimagining the Postindustrial Plaza.” In After the World Trade Center: Rethinking New York City, edited by Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin, 163-172. New York: Routledge.

 

Mitchell, Don. 2014 [2003]. “To Go Again to Hyde Park: Public Space, Rights, and Social Justice.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 192-196. New York: Routledge, 2014.

 

Newcomb, Tim. “How NFL Fields, and Players, Stay Warm in January Games.” Popular Mechanics, January 6, 20120. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://www.popularmechanics.com/ outdoors/sports/football/how-nfl-fields-and-players-stay-warm-in-january-games.

 

Perrem, John. “The Importance of Seating in Local Public Space.” Building Material, 18 (2009): 70-71.

 

Pringle, Anne. “Maine Voices: ‘Art Benches’ would show Portland’s commitment to public art.” Maine Press Herald, February 1, 2011. Accessed December 10, 2014. http://www.pressherald.com/2011/02/01/art-benches-would-show-portlands-commitment-to-public-art_2011-02-01/ .

 

Public Art Portland Maine. “Bayside Trail Seating Project: Request for Qualifications.” March 21, 2011. Accessed December 12, 2014. http://portlandmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2942.

 

SPACE Gallery. “Untitled Patio with Benches and Planter.” Accessed December 10, 2014. http://www.space538.org/exhibitions/untitled-patio-benches-and-planter.

 

Whyte, William H. “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.” (1988). Internet Archives. Accessed November 17, 2014. https://archive.org/details/SmallUrbanSpaces.

 

[1] Lavey, John and Jennifer Hill. “What is Walkability?” Community Builders: The Business of Building Stronger Communities, February 2, 2014. Accessed November 17, 2014. http:// communitybuilders.net/walkability/.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “Living in Portland.” Walkscore, 2014.

[4] Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “What is the Smart City?” Against the Smart City.

[5] Newcomb, Tim. “How NFL Fields, and Players, Stay Warm in January Games.” Popular Mechanics,

[6] Ibid.

[7] Whyte, William H. “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.” (1988). Internet Archives.

[8] Kayden, Jarold S. “Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience.” John Wiley and Sons, Inc: 103.

[9] Ibid, 276.

[10] Perrem, John. “The Importance of Seating in Local Public Space.” Building Material, 18 (2009): 70.

[11] Ibid, 71.

[12] Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “What is the Smart City?” Against the Smart City.

[13] Elet, Yvonne. “Seats of Power: The Outdoor Benches of Early Modern Florence.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians: 444.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Mitchell, Don. 2014 [2003]. “To Go Again to Hyde Park: Public Space, Rights, and Social Justice.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 192-196. New York: Routledge, 2014.

[16] Low, Setha M. 2002. “Spaces of Reflection, Recovery, and Resistance: Reimagining the Postindustrial Plaza.” In After the World Trade Center: Rethinking New York City, edited by Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin, 163-172. New York: Routledge.

[17] Perrem, John. “The Importance of Seating in Local Public Space.” Building Material, 18 (2009): 70.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Elinson, Zusha. “A Renewed Public Push for Somewhere to Sit Outdoors.” The New York Times, January 28, 2012.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Koenig, Seth. “Is Portland ‘too attractive’ to homeless people?” The Bangor Daily News, December 21, 2012.

[22]“Green Spaces, Blue Edges: An Open Space and Recreation Plan for the City of Portland.” Portland’s Comprehensive Plan, 2001.

[23] Ibid.

[24] Space Gallery, “Untitled Patio with Benches and Planter.”

[25] Public Art Portland Maine. “Bayside Trail Seating Project: Request for Qualifications.” March 21, 2011.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Pringle, Anne. “Maine Voices: ‘Art Benches’ would show Portland’s commitment to public art.” Maine Press Herald, February 1, 2011, 2.

[29] Hewins, Steve and William Becker. “Maine Voices: A public-private partnership would make the best Congress Square.”

[30] Ibid.

[31] City of Portland MIS Division. “Public Map Gallery.” 2012.

[32] Public Art Portland Maine. “Bayside Trail Seating Project: Request for Qualifications.” March 21, 2011.

[33] Public Art Portland Maine. “Bayside Trail Seating Project: Request for Qualifications.” March 21, 2011.

[34] Bouchard, Kelly. “Maine summit tackles challenge of aging population.” Maine Press Herald, January 17, 2014.

[35] “Arriving via Cruise Ship.” Official Travel of Site for the Greater Portland Region.

Post #7: Individual Analysis of Transect Walk

Public Seating, or lack thereof, in the West End

4 Comments

This past Friday, Libby, Emma and I conduced a transect walk through the West End. We began our walk at Pine Street and State Street, walking towards the Western Promenade and making our way to Deering Oaks Park. We channeled William Whyte and took note of the public seating that was available in Portland. Overall, we noticed the lack of public seating along the streets and also the lack of maintenance of existing public seating. Both the Western Promenade and Deering Oaks Park could drastically be improved with additional public seating available – something Portland needs to focus on even before they expand the public space throughout the city.

As we began our transect walk through residential neighborhoods with brick sidewalks, it seems as though it would be a perfect place to sit down and relax. As one of the wealthiest parts of the city, I was amazed at the lack of public seating that was available here. We came across a tree stump where a tree had presumably been cut down recently, and talked about the potential that this stump had to create public seating. If trees have to be cut down, why not cut the stump at a height that is conducive to a seat? This is an easy way to incorporate local artists who can help design and carve tree stumps to create public seating, which possible could be lacquered for future use.

IMG_0977

 

We also observed low stone pillars (43o39’02.15″N; 70o16’09.10″W) which could have easily been lengthened to create seating. This idea was definitely inspired by William Whyte – why create stone pillars with no purpose? They might as well double as a seat.

 

In the western promenade, there was a less than impressive amount of public seating, which discourages the use of this public space. We saw 6 benches throughout the promenade, none of which were nicely maintained or well-designed. These benches were run-down and in drastic need of improvement to even begin to look inviting to the public. All of the benches ran along the side-walk, which was also in need of improvement, but were too spaced out for practical purposes. It would be beneficial for benches to be placed in the green space to encourage use of the grass that is clearly well-maintained by the city. The views from sitting on the current benches were also not that pretty, they might as well be facing each other and looking towards the residential streets. (Promenade benches: 43o38’58.52″N; 70o16’34.65″W, 43o38’57.33″N; 70o16’34.62″W, 43o38’56.53″N; 70o16’34.73″W, 43o38’54.50″N; 70o16’34.15″W, 43o39’04.52″N; 70o16’34.98″W).

IMG_0990

photo-19

 

As we ventured away from the promenade and north towards the medical center, we noticed some blue round benches outside the center and near a bus stop. These seem like they would be highly utilized benches for the amount of traffic that comes through this area, however the seats were bright-blue metal and rusted, which also did not look very inviting. The positioning of them were closed off from the street view which did not seem to be the best design since you would have to seek them out opposed to stumble upon them. (43o39’07.83″N; 70o16’31.52″W)

IMG_1009

 

The first usable public seating we saw was a stone wall outside of the medical center and near the bus stop, which seemed an ideal height. However, the lack of street lights in this area made us realize that they would only be an ideal seating place during daylight hours. (43o39’08.62″N; 70o16’29.70″W)

IMG_1012

 

There was a similar stonewall across the street outside the parking lot, however there was a wrought iron fence positioned on top of the stone wall, which made seating impossible.

IMG_1015

 

There were three benches that we saw at the intersection of Congress Street and Deering Ave, which all seemed to be in better condition than the benches in the Western Promenade. There were two benches next to each other but separated by a trash can, which does not make for a logical design(43o39’14.78″N; 70o16’21.44″W and 43o39’14.44″N; 70o16’21.02″W.) The third bench was isolated and facing away from the others (43o39’15.00″N; 70o16’21.27″W.) Although a nice place to have public seating, they did not make for conducive conversation setting.

IMG_1018

Deering Oaks Park was the best public area that we encountered during our transect walk, although still in need of improvement. We saw 7 benches here, mostly located along the sidewalk, which were in better condition than the ones in the Western Promenade and also in better condition. Throughout all of the green space there were no park benches which could easily make the grassy area more conducive to public activity. We noticed one picnic table although it seemed isolated and random, but there is also potential to improve that area of the park. The lighting situation as not consistent either – some lamp posts were antique looking and pretty while others were more industrial and ugly. Lighting is a huge factor in the range of uses of the park and something that has to be improved. There also are no paths that run along the pond or any benches that look at the water – one of the more inviting and unique aspects of the park. This public space has the most potential for increasing activity – and we can start by improving public seating. (Bench 1: 43o39’25.03″N; 70o16’20.17″W, Bench 2: 43o39’25.32″N; 70o16’19.84″W, Bench 3: 43o39’26.10″N; 70o16’15.64″W, Bench 4: 43o39’26.22″N; 70o16’14.57″W, Bench 5: 43p39’26.48″N; 70o16’12.78″W, Bench 6:43o39’26.84″N; 70o16’11.52″W, Bench 7: 43o39’27.22″N; 70o16’10.67″W)

 

 

Post #6: Individual Analysis of Ethnography & Mental Maps

Improving Public Life

5 Comments

I cannot recall a time where I have sat in one place for almost 3 hours and just observed life go on around me. The café ethnography was an extremely interesting activity and really spurred some creative thinking. It was interesting for me to observe interactions and make assumptions about the people I was watching. The café that I was in, Bard Coffee, attracts a wide variety of people. Some students doing work, some people socializing, some business meetings, and some people grabbing a coffee after work. All of this simultaneously happening in one space was a very interesting dynamic to sit and observe. Although I don’t think that it can be classified as a purely public space since most everybody, including myself, purchased something before sitting down in the café, it is a great example of what keeps Portland public life thriving and engaged.

The mental maps also were all extremely different and really reflected the images that people have of the city. The commuter’s map that I got was very abstract and only included the places that he frequents, including a few bars and the food truck. The Meca student’s map was much more detailed but also included the few things that are most important to him in his daily life. Most of the recommendations I received included an improvement in the Parks Department, improvement in public transportation, and more public trash bins. All three of these suggestions seem to be a theme and often when people were asked for an improvement they had too much to say to even write down a few notes.

 

Cafe Ethnography Notes: Bard Coffee

Start: 4:20pm, Friday, October 3rd

  • A lot of people; many doing work with lap tops; some socializing; smells like good food and feels homey; music playing; people listening to their headphones; man at the table next to us is editing a paper with his feet up on a chair; person behind in a suit using his phone with a cup of coffee; everyone using real cups no plastic/paper/disposable cups; area to the left has comfy chairs/couch/table – other area has more tables; bar stools are old fashioned looking and comfy; outlets under the bar – presumably for people to use electronics/laptops
  • Man in black just walked in and sat on the couch – nothing on him to do. Man at cash register is wearing a tie and a vest; Women just walked in socializing – look mom age but are friends; woman wearing a helmet just walked in with a messenger bag; Man in the suit still on his phone behind us; Man on his laptop to the left is now writing an email and no longer has his feet on the chair next to him; most people are still on their laptops etc doing what they did before; street outside is sunny and more people are walking around; students near the window are doing homework together – perhaps a project
  • Couple just sat down next to us – woman is holding an iced drink and is wearing gloves, man has a china cup of presumably coffee; older man is at the cash register ordering a cookie and a drink, he is with a younger guy in a suite – probably in his late 20s; woman at the bar is still working on her ppt presentation; other woman at the bar is still on her phone/tablet with headphones in; man in black on the coach has left; man to the left with his laptop is still on his emails – probably in his 40s, he talked to us when the man in black left and said he was freaked out by him – we agreed;
  • Man to the left on his laptop is now on Facebook and looks serious – wearing a button down. Couple behind us may not actually be a couple – she could be his daughter/niece, they are talking about doing yard work this weekend in the vegetable garden; mom and two kids just walked in – one boy and one girl – the mom looks like she is from Asia, the daughter is having fun on the chairs at the bar; man to the left just stood up to put his coat on; woman at the bar is still working on her presentation; other woman at the bar is still on her phone
  • Man and woman behind us are on the phone with someone; man in the suit behind is now sitting with a woman and they are looking at something on their phones; woman at the bar who was working on her presentation is now packing up to leave; mom-friends just walked out with coffees; young man just walked in to the cashier in a neon shirt; kids with mom are named Sophia and Ben – their mom just called them and they moved from the bar to a table near the window; older man with younger guy in suit are still talking and drinking; two young girls (students?) walked in with bags and are waiting for the bathroom
  • Two girls with bags just left the bathroom together (…weird) and are waiting for their drinks; man sat down at the bar with a huge camera and a large backpack – looks like he has been walking the city and observing others/taking pictures; older man and young guy in suit are still talking and currently observing the younger man’s watch; man and woman behind (non-couple) have left; the man in the suit sitting with the woman was just joined by another man in a flannel shirt; younger lady maybe a student just walked in a sat at the corner of the bar; woman at bar is still on her phone/tablet with headphones in; two people on their laptops are still there and have started socializing
  • Students who were sitting near the window left; man on the coach just filled up a bag with water – looks like the backpack with water in it and a tube to your mouth; man with the large backpack at the bar is still there; less people are walking on the streets; another mom with a son and daughter walked in – look very Maine; woman on her tablet at the counter just put her sweater on but still has her headphones in; getting darker outside and the lights are getting brighter inside; Asian mom just walked out of the bathroom; old man with guy and suit are still talking
  • Boy who got the water bag just walked out and left his friend with the laptop on the couch – he was holding the water bag so maybe wasn’t for the backpack; woman and man with a stroller just walked in – man has gages and woman doesn’t fit that profile at all; new man sitting at the bar between the woman with her tablet and the student; female student seems to know the barista – they are talking about pants with each other; older man and guy with a suit left; man with big backpack is still sitting at the bar with his back towards us; someone outside is putting advertisements on the windshields of all of the cars
  • Café has emptied out a lot – girl on the couch with her lap top left and she looks a lot older than I thought she was; woman on her tablet has left; the three people behind us are still there and engaged in a lively conversation; the music seems louder but probably because there are less people here; man with the big backpack at the counter is still there – seems to be on his lap top but his back is to us, he is still wearing his backpack even though he is sitting down
  • Older man walked in – probably mid 60s, with a brief case and in a button down, presumably just got out of work, he bought an apple and sat down on the couch with a briefcase, is starting to set up his laptop; two woman walked in together – one looks like she is wearing scrub bottoms; man at the counter is reading something and is still sitting next to the female student; female student is reading a book and sometimes talks to the female barista; the trio behind us are still talking and are very lively
  • Two men walked in – look very Maine, one is wearing a flannel, one has gages, they both have long hair, one is carrying a brown paper bag and the other is carrying a bag and a bike helmet, they ordered something and are sitting at the bar where the man with the big back pack was sitting but has left; a woman in corporate clothes just walked in, she must have just gotten out of work; old man on the couch just got off the phone which he plugged into the wall – it is a flip phone; woman waiting for her coffee is wearing a flannel, ripped jeans, and has a nose ring; female student at the bar is still studying and man at the bar next to her is looking distracted from his reading
  • Old man at the couch has started cutting his apple and eating it – he pulled a napkin out from underneath his mug really quickly it was actually quite cool; corporate woman who got her coffee sat down at the table behind us (where the trio was previously) with a man with sleeve tattoos and dreadlocks – a very odd match, it looks like they are doing work and some sort of finance? Not sure if they are paying each other back or if they are figuring out something; a boy and girl walked in and are figuring out what to order; two men at bar are drinking coffee and talking; female student and male are still at the bar studying/reading
  • Got a lot busier! A family walked in with two little kids, two older kids, and what looks like two moms; an older man in a suit is now here; the couple that were deciding what to buy are now sitting together on the couch but are getting up to leave; a man sat to the left (where the laptop man was earlier) and is on his phone – looks like he is in his 30s; the two guys at the bar are still there with their backs to us; the female student is still reading and the male is still at the bar reading again
  • Man in the short-sleeve shirt to the left just spilled his hot coffee on himself/the ground and is now cleaning it up; the family with a lot of kids sat at the couch and are all drinking big cappichino-esque drinks, the kids have chocolate chip cookies; the old man is sitting in the couch area still in a big chair on his laptop with a red mouse on the arm of the chair; a couple just walked in and ordered coffee – look like tourists maybe coming from the art walk? They are both wearing sneakers; there are a few people sitting on their own on the other side of the café; everyone at the bar is still there
  • The kids from the family are livening the place up a bit; the student and man at the bar are still silently studying; the potential-tourist couple have sat at the table behind us where the tattoo guy and corporate woman have left; the two men at the bar with their back to us are in a very serious-looking conversation; the potentially grandmother from the family is taking pictures of them all on the couch but they don’t like it; the old man is still on his lap top; the woman with the nose ring has just appeared from around the corner and has put her mug away in the bin; the female student is talking to the barista again – definitely friends

Mental Maps

1. Jessica Tomlinson. Female, age 43. Arts Administrator at Meca. Has lived in Portland for 20 years in the West End. Improvement: re-instate a fully funded Parks Department.

Would like to hear more about the study: [email protected]

photo-9

 

2. Nick Gonthier. Male, Age 21. Artist/Flatbread Employee – senior at Meca. Has lived in Portland for 4 years.

Would like to hear more about the study: [email protected]

photo-10

 

3. Female, 49. Accountant at Meca. Has live in Portland for 9 years downtown.

photo-11

4. Bill Leavy. Male, 42. Food truck employee in Congress Square Park. Has lived in Maine for 10 years – commutes from Scarborough. Improvement: more trash bins and better public transportation.

photo-12

 

Post #5: Infrastructure Reflections

Smart Infrastructure for the Common Good

Throughout history there have been many shifts in technology, which have subsequently shifted the social sphere within cities. Even just looking at Times Square in New York City, it has transformed from a “pornucopia” as Professor Gieseking so cleverly called it, to an area of Broadway filled with cars, to a pedestrian square with huge sky scrapers filled with advertisements. This is just one instance of the worldwide transformation, which was especially prevalent in the United States. With the advent of the car, cities became much more centered on vehicles, something that Mayor Giuliani was particularly fond of. In 1999, Mayor Giuliani shut down the 50th Street crosswalks at Fifth and Madison as a way to convenience cars at the inconvenience of pedestrians. [1] Cities began to construct freeways out to the suburbs, which were means of enabling people to “understand the city from the position of the car”. [1, 414] By seeking to enhance the ‘flow’ a conflict between modes emerged. [1] Which mode sat at the top of the hierarchy? Pedestrians or cars? As soon as the shift to cars gained momentum, Giuliani decided that Times Square and all of New York could benefit from an increase in tourism. He gave corporations tax-reductions to build huge skyscrapers under the promise of putting big ads on the building. Streets were shut down and increased number of public tables and chairs were put out in the street to encourage people to use this public safe. This image of Times Square coincides with AbdouMaliq Simone’s idea of “people as infrastructure” [2].

Simone discusses the expansion of infrastructure beyond its traditional definition of physical structure and into people. The dichotomy of people producing infrastructure and infrastructure producing the people, is a big concept gathered into the right to infrastructure, coined by Jiménez in response to Lefebvre’s idea the right to the city. [3] In terms of infrastructure for the common good, this idea seems accurate. As I discussed in my previous post, the common good is about equal accessibility to all. With the people producing infrastructure and infrastructure simultaneously producing the people, the common good seems like a reasonable and achievable quality in public life. Johannesburg provides a powerful example of a place of collision between underdeveloped, half-built environments, and the strong influence of the US. [2] It is more difficult to promote the common good through infrastructure in this kind of environment that has drastically different segments and no area for these different areas to unite.

In this way, Johannesburg is similar to Portland. With Old Port filled with wealthy, affluent families in large houses on the water, and the Bayside Area filled with people who regularly eat meals at Preble Street. Here, infrastructure differs between areas and is something that needs to be changed in order to promote the common good. One way this can be accomplished is through the restructuring of public roadways and sidewalks. For me it seems as though Portland is very conducive to both pedestrians and vehicles at the same time, but those who do not have access to vehicles may feel differently. An increase in public transportation is a way to make these people feel like they have easier access to portions of the city and can use infrastructure to their advantage. If people have equal access to all regions of the city through accessible transportation infrastructure, Portland could become more united.

Jiménez directs our attention to infrastructure for the smart city discussing mainly free and open source software (F/OSS). The transition from technology existing in a silo, to people “wiring the landscape of their communities with the devices, networks, or architectures” represents the collision of these worlds. [3, 342] Most of what Jiménez discusses and in relation particularly to the project in Madrid, seem to be too advanced for Portland. However, the simple fact that cities are becoming smarter as technology and computing systems are driving society can relate. Smart infrastructure can include anything from public wifi to designing public parks from publicly available data – more of the direction that Portland is headed. Portland needs to focus on equally accessible smart infrastructure such as public wifi or public buildings without limitations before it can move to making parts of the city in 3D printers or an architectural intelligence structures. Portland could also benefit from open-access data so that everyone can contribute ideas or information of the city in order to create a more collaborative effort focused around the city. This idea also promotes the common good through more accessibility to all segments of the population. All three of these readings bring about important aspects of infrastructure, especially in a smart city, and provide useful suggestions of how Portland can begin to develop in this way.

[1] Sorkin, Michael. 2014 [1999]. “Traffic in Democracy.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 411-415. New York: Routledge, 2014.

[2] Simone, AbdulMaliq. 2014 [2004]. “People as Infrastructure: Intersecting Fragments in Johannesburg.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 241-246. New York: Routledge.

[3] Jiménez, Alberto Corsín. 2014. “The Right to Infrastructure: a Prototype for Open Source Urbanism.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 32 (2): 342-362.

Post #4: Housing Reflections

Accessible Smart Housing

Housing is an essential component of human life. Survival would be rare without shelter – one of the foundational aspects in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Various public acts have contributed to the extensive history in the creation of housing, both urban developments and the rise of suburban residents. There have been drastic efforts to increase the accessibility of housing to all segments of the population, mostly after World War II. However, not all of these efforts positively enhanced the housing effort. Some of these actions caused gentrification of the city and suppressed the common good.

As Smith discusses, Mayor Dinkins claimed that the homeless residing in Tompkin’s Square Park in 1991 had ‘stolen’ the park from the community. [1] As we have discussed previously, this goes against Lefebvre’s primary idea of “the right to a city”. [4] Forcing 200-300 park-dwellers out of the park on June 3, 1991 did not make for a conflict-free situation. [1] Although the park is not considered housing, forcing people out of the park, a public space, and into the streets, solved no problem. This example highlights the fundamental problem with housing: its lack of accessibility to every segment of the population.

In order for housing to promote the common good, it needs to be easily accessible to all. Nobody should be disadvantaged due to his or her ethnicity or economic status; everyone has the right to housing. As we have discussed in class, the process that banks exercised targeting specific ethnic groups through redlining is the opposite of promoting the common good. Gentrification does not create housing for the common good, but rather, it further separates economic classes and ‘revitalizes’ neighborhoods by pushing out the poor and replacing them with the ‘gentry’. Fields and Uffer bring a global perspective into the debate reassuring that fact that predatory lending and rising housing prices increased globally, not just within the United States. [2] This type of mortgage lending has a similar targeting nature to redlining post-WWII, neither of which benefited the common good. These shifts in housing practices and neighborhoods contributed to global social change and further gentrification. Examples from Berlin and New York specifically exemplify this, however it was part of a worldwide trend towards privatization. The idea of gentrification so explicitly outlined on the Lower East Side moved housing development away from fostering the idea of the common good. [1]

In terms of smart cities, I am hesitant to encourage the creation of a System of Systems such that is suggested in Crowley et al.’s analysis of smart environments. [3] Although seemingly smooth and automated, one glitch in the master system could have disastrous implications that are harder to rebound from. This sort of housing filled with complete automatic and technologically advanced systems seems daunting to me. However, implementation of smart meters to measure such things as electric consumption and energy consumption seems to be a direction worth exploring. [3] Other than public shaming, I do not see the advantage of using social media, specifically Twitter as a means of communication for smart meters – but other methods of notification can be implemented. [3] This improvement in housing is not necessarily limiting to a small segment of the population but can move housing towards the “smart” city design.

With so much of Portland focused on local organizations, it seems as though meters measuring decrease in energy would be beneficial. Although costly, turning off lights and electronics when not in use is something that every citizen needs to be more aware of. I do not think that Portland is equipped to create completely automatic systems monitoring these, although it is something Portland should look into further – finding alternate ways to monitoring such simple activities.

Places like Preble Street in Portland exemplify what it means to supply housing for the common good. By getting people off the streets, fed, and into shelters, housing is becoming more accessible to all and people are not left to fend for themselves in public parks. Additionally, Portland’s increasing creation of “mixed income housing” can create more accessible housing for more of the population, move the city farther away from gentrifying neighborhoods, and move the city closer to supporting the common good. Although not necessarily housing options for a “smart” city, Portland needs to focus on creating accessible housing in a city before they can shift to creating housing in a “smart” city.

[1] Smith, Neil. 2014 [1996]. “‘Class Struggle on Avenue B’: The Lower East Side as the Wild Wild West.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 314-319. New York: Routledge, 2014.

[2] Fields, Desiree, and Sabina Uffer. 2014. “The Financialisation of Rental Housing: A Comparative Analysis of New York City and Berlin.” Urban Studies, July.

[3] Crowley, David N., Edward Curry, and John G. Breslin. 2014. “Leveraging Social Media and IoT to Bootstrap Smart Environments.” In Big Data and Internet of Things: A Roadmap for Smart Environments, edited by Nik Bessis and Ciprian Dobre, 379-99. Springer. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-05029-4_16.

[4] Mitchell, Don. 2014 [2003]. “To Go Again to Hyde Park: Public Space, Rights, and Social Justice.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 192-196. New York: Routledge, 2014.

 

 

Post #3: Public Space Reflections

Safe Public Space for the Common Good

Here at Bowdoin, everyone has a heightened awareness of the common good and a connection to place. As part of the application to Bowdoin, students have the option of writing about either of these features – two things that directly relate to the use of public space. These values garner much attention on campus and most every Bowdoin student feels a special connection to place, whether it be in Maine or elsewhere. People feel these deep connections often because it is a public space that they feel comfortable and at home in. There are so many aspects that make connection to place possible, a number of which are included in the 5 qualities of spatial rights that Low discusses: freedom of access, freedom of action, freedom to claim, freedom to change, and freedom of ownership. [1] Part of this sense of place comes from the idea that anyone can access, claim, or use a space – similar to Henri Lefebvre’s idea that cities are public spaces and everyone has “the right to the city”. [2] As a Bowdoin student I feel a deep connection with Maine which has grown stronger as I have progressed through Bowdoin – mainly due to the qualities that Low and Lefebvre discuss.

Mitchell discusses another aspect that is absent in many of the connections we have to place: fear. Nobody feels a connection to a place where activities such as “wilding” occur. [2] With an increased presence of security since 9/11, it is more difficult to feel a connection to place with military personnel stationed at every corner to maintain a safe environment, while simultaneously creating an artificial one. [2] Although there is a fine line between not enough and too much patrol and surveillance, everyone should feel comfortable in the space that they are in. Fear ignites the opposite feeling that a public space should encourage.

Both New York City and Portland contain many areas of public space. As cities are becoming more “smart”, there is an increasing need for development and maintenance in different aspects of cities. If we have learned anything yet about public space, it is that public space needs to have adequate and usable seating for the public. Public space cannot be properly utilized without seating, and it is an essential aspect which all public space requires. Additionally, a safe public space gives rise to important aspect of the common good. Although this comes in all different shapes, smart cities have to be safe to allow for the connection that Bowdoin holds so dearly.

I am hesitant to encourage public-private partnerships because they often overly privatize public space and create the sense of limitation through exclusive events. However, they can also promote a sense of order. If a corporation partnered with a space such as Lincoln Park in Portland, there could be vast improvements and a new sense of community development that it currently lacks. Presently, there are no efforts made to maintain or visit the park due to its poor location and lack of vibrancy, which a small corporation could change with a little tender-love-and-care. Everyone has the right to ownership of this public space, although there is currently no incentive to act upon this ownership. [1] In developing public space, Portland needs to focus on maintenance and safety to encourage all to access and use the space, but be cautious of overly privatizing such. Through increased seating and increased lighting, these can be achieved, perhaps with the help of corporate partnerships.

Attempts to create a “smart” city however are contrary to some ideas about increasing utilization and accessibility of public space. A smart city usually appeals to a smaller, more technologically advanced segment of the population, and can further deter people away from public space that cities are trying to attract. If there are inconspicuous developments such as public wifi, more people could be attracted to this public space at the same time as not deterring anyone from it. Public wifi is a system that does not change the layout or public view of a public space, but encourages additional activities to occur in such a public space and allows for things that were previously impossible. There is a line between smart developments and developments that can appear to be “too smart” for certain segments of the population. However, public wifi seems to be an inclusive improvement in a smart city. As long as Low’s 5 qualities of space are available to the public, it seems to be a space made for the common good.

[1] Low, Setha M. 2002. “Spaces of Reflection, Recovery, and Resistance: Reimagining the Postindustrial Plaza.” In After the World Trade Center: Rethinking New York City, edited by Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin, 163-172. New York: Routledge.

[2] Mitchell, Don. 2014 [2003]. “To Go Again to Hyde Park: Public Space, Rights, and Social Justice.” In The People, Place, and Space Reader, edited by Jen Jack Gieseking, et al, 192-196. New York: Routledge, 2014.

Post #2: From Policy to Recommendation

Interactive Maps in Public Space

5 Comments

Public space needs drastic improvement in Portland, and I am part of the group focused on this aspect of the city. I have many suggestions in terms of increasing the usage, accessibility, and efficiency of the public space that is available in Portland. However, in terms of smart city recommendations correlating with public space, only a few areas can easily be implemented. I have taken one of Greenfield’s qualifications of a smart city, which he claims refers to retrofitting networked information technologies into existing urban places.[1] Greenfield also mentions that the philosopher Gilles Deleuze states that space is only important for the connections it creates rather than the qualities that it inherently holds, which is tightly linked to smart public spaces.[2] After reviewing Greenfield’s claims about public space, here are some suggestions regarding the improvement of smart cities through public space in Portland.

  1. Parking notifications sent to cars – There are apps for iPhones and Androids that help people find parking spots to create more efficient turnover, use of public space, and free-up space on roads. However, it would be more efficient if this information was sent directly to people’s cars so that they could access it while they were driving. The application for such data makes sense in the mobility case, however it losses effectiveness when a driver who is attempting to find parking is unable to access his/her phone while driving to obtain the data.
  2. Public wifi – This would encourage activities to take place in public space that were previously reserved for cafes, libraries, or homes.
  3. Interactive maps – Gives residents of Portland a better understanding of the offerings that public space has and how to get to different public spaces throughout Portland.
  4. Application for scheduled events in public spaces – People will be more in-tune with events that take place in public spaces such as outdoor concerts, art walks, art exhibits, food truck hours, etc. People will be more aware and able to attend events in public spaces.
  5. Docking/charging stations in public spaces – This would be friendly to the business world and will attract a wider range of people to take advantage of the public space who otherwise would not take advantage of.

Looking through documents from the Portland City Council Board Meetings, there is little mention of public space. In Portland’s Common Goals for 2014 document, there was no mention of the creation or improvement of public space in Portland, an immediate sign that more attention needs to be directed to this area. Very few “orders as passed” from the fiscal year 2014-2015 had to do with public space, and furthermore no orders introduced the idea of smart cities to Portland. A few movements included improving traffic patterns through new signs or stoplights, which will allow for more traffic flow and less congestion in the streets, a common public space.[3] Order 34 concerned the redesign of Congress Square Park, suggesting both maintaining the existing structures of Congress Square Park or creating an event center with a public park over the event center.[4]. After visiting Congress Square Park and many other public spaces throughout Portland in the last few weeks however, it is safe to say they are still in need of improvement. It is one thing to improve public space and it is another thing to make the public space “smart” or filled with information technologies.

The above suggestions all concern “smart” city suggestions, which as Greenfield argues, is not always the most efficient and often suffer from over-specification.[5] With constant technological changes there is little redeeming cultural value in areas of a city, something that Portland is filled with does not want to lose.[6] Despite these claims against smart cities, there are some technological devices that can increase the use and value of public spaces in the city of Portland.

The suggestion that I would like to discuss is the interactive maps in Portland. This, in combination with the suggestion about the schedule of public space app, will give more people, both residents and tourists, knowledge about how and when to use public spaces throughout Portland. It is surprising that although Portland is such a small city, not many people feel totally comfortable with its landscape and layout. Many lose the value of public space or are unaware of the public space that Portland offers. If Portland had interactive maps showing all of the public areas available for people to take advantage of, the usage of such spaces would increase dramatically. Another feature of these maps can include scheduled events in public spaces, such as public art displays, concerts, and hours of food trucks in areas such as Congress Square Park. Not only would these increase traffic within public spaces, it would also increase attendance of events within public spaces. These aspects of a smart city are easily adaptable with the increase of public space or events taking place in public spaces.

[1] Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “What is the Smart City?” Against the Smart City. 1.3 edition. Location 115.

[2] Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “The Smart City is Built in Generic Space” Against the Smart City. 1.3 edition. Location 267.

[3] The City of Portland City Council. Order 11-14/15. Effective on 7/31/2014. http://www.portlandmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/6159.

[4] The City of Portland City Council. Order 34-14/15. Effective on 8/14/2014. http://www.portlandmaine.gov/DocumentCenter/Home/View/6376.

[5] Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “The Smart City is Overspecified”. Against the Smart City. 1.3 edition. Location 642.

[6] Greenfield, Adam. 2013. “The Smart City is Overspecified”. Against the Smart City. 1.3 edition. Location 685.

Post #1: Research Topic & Group

Seeing the Value in Public Space

I would like to take part in the research group focused on public space. I believe that this topic covers many recent issues and I am interested in the value of public space. We talked a little about the value that Central Park has, and the drastic decrease in value if Central Park no longer acted as a public space but was instead filled in or developed upon. It was interesting to see the different types of public spaces within Portland and how each are treated depending on their set up, availability, and access. This interests me because I find myself increasingly taking advantage of public space, something that I never previously had much contact with.

The part of Townsend’s lecture that intrigued me the most concerns ownership. The policy analyst in the video spoke about ownership of infrastructure and the topic arose of whether IBM owns and controls the information it helps collect. This sparked my interest in public space in a similar manner. If the space is public and open to everybody, who takes fault for things that occur in public space? Whose responsibility is it to maintain and care for public places such as parks, squares, and streets. Doesn’t everybody have a right to use public space so shouldn’t everybody hold some sort of responsibility to maintain it? This is a topic I am looking forward to exploring more.

I am not from a city; I live in the suburbs outside of Boston. The city that I have had the most contact with is Boston. Although not a huge city, I am able to enjoy the Boston Common and public areas just as much as the next and appreciate the areas of public space throughout Boston. Last year while abroad in Ireland, I had the opportunity to travel to many other countries throughout Europe. It was there that I really realized the value of public spaces. While carrying weekend belongings around throughout the city, the best part of the weekend was sitting in a park watching the world go by. I had never before realized the extent to which sitting and observing people can tell you so much about the city you are in, and this always occurs in a public space. With short trips to many cities over the course of the semester, I soon saw this aspect more clearly. I would love to learn more about the public space in a city so close that I am embarrassed I haven’t spent more time in, Portland. And I am looking forward to approaching public spaces there with as much value as I did in Europe.