The research aspect I would like to focus on is public space.  I recently read “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs and was really intrigued by her claims on what makes a vibrant park.  She said that public spaces needed to be surrounded by neighborhoods of diverse use to support a constant flow of different types of people throughout the day.  A solely business district, for example, would be totally vacated by the evening, increasing likelihood of crime and eventually gaining a reputation as a dangerous area.  I started to notice these trends as I was walking around New York City.  The “ideal” public spaces that I passed, Washington Square Park for example, are surrounded by offices, schools, shopping and nightlife, and is always crowded.  Cadmen Plaza in Brooklyn however, is surrounded by offices, tall apartment buildings, and major roadways, and is vacant at many points in the day.  Many of the green spaces we saw on the field trip today followed similar trends — while they are well-kept in themselves, they are surrounded by major roads that make them inconvenient.  Looking at the amenities and activity introduced into the public space, like we saw at Congress Square, is also interesting.  What makes people want to use a space?  It’s easy to get a vibe that a public space is underutilized or even hostile, but what generates that impression?  It seems Congress Square’s level of use turned around in a few months, does that indicate that popularity is based more on physical characteristics than reputation?

The Townsend lecture got me thinking about the best way to develop and implement the improvements to public space.  He kept returning to a central theme of grassroots, bottom up development in terms of smart city information sharing.  This summer, I got the chance to speak with a Bowdoin alum who works at Project for Public Spaces, a non-profit that works on urban grassroots “placemaking” (I believe they worked with Congress Square, as a matter of fact).  Their approach is to educate and support communities and make recommendations about the best ways to transform their spaces, but leaving the direction and implementation to the local community.  I  believe this a fascinating and vital approach.  I have yet to think of any local applications for smart city technology for public spaces, but I’d been interested in exploring that further.