yup
first, after a good post rehearsal talk tonight, tuesday
i've been thinking alot about making certain that the final questions, the ones on the clipboard that the audience respond to, and that the performers speak back the responses...
that these questions have the space for as much or more positive imagining as they do negatives/challenges
so
a slight change to these 4...
What’s a question you want people who plan our cities to think about?
What's something you heard someone say in the last hour that sticks with you?
Twenty years from now, what do you want to be able to say about the place where you live?
As cities get more crowded, what can we build that help strangers become neighbors?
and then,
and cast/creative team
help me with these
these are the statements for the big polling section-
what do you think of these?
I live in a
House I own
An apartment I rent
A condominium I own
Other
I take public transportation
Daily
One-three times a week
Occasionally
Never
I talk to strangers -
With regularity, with nervousness, with great curiosity, not so much.
The last time I shared something deeply personal in conversation was- today, within the last week, within the last month, I can’t remember
The last time I argued with someone was- today, within the last week, within the last month, I can’t remember
I want the place where I live in ten years to be- more sustainable, more comfortable for me, more equitable for others, more beautiful
I am comfortable talking about my personal values
Yes
No
Unsure
and, use the comments section here to help me find a couple more
that help us move from the content of the double room, to the conversations in game three...
suggest a few new statements/questions for the polling, would you?
thanks
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Getting Close
Join us this week at dress rehearsals, or this weekend for the show itself
details to the right
questions we found for the final section of the show include:
What question would you want someone who will plan your city to think about?
What concerns do you have about living in a city twenty years from now?
...
details to the right
questions we found for the final section of the show include:
What question would you want someone who will plan your city to think about?
What concerns do you have about living in a city twenty years from now?
...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
A Question for the team
Cast, Design team, collaborators
I have a question for you
we are working to figure out, right now
the ending of the piece
the questions that, after a year of work, make the most sense to ask audience members as the event is culminating
So if the context is
the audience has been in an hour long conversation with us
and we want to ask some clear, smart questions that bridge the personal, the imaginative, and the specific
in relation to choices, and vision
questions they can respond to concisely, without needing a lot of words to express a response
what might some questions be?
one i toss out is-
Thinking about people I will never meet,
but who live in a city we share,
it is important to me that people have access to-
that is a fill in the blank statement-
you can do that, or a straight up question
use the comments on this posting to add to a list of these-
Please, take a second and add at least one today.
Others not involved in the project, feel free to add as well
I have a question for you
we are working to figure out, right now
the ending of the piece
the questions that, after a year of work, make the most sense to ask audience members as the event is culminating
So if the context is
the audience has been in an hour long conversation with us
and we want to ask some clear, smart questions that bridge the personal, the imaginative, and the specific
in relation to choices, and vision
questions they can respond to concisely, without needing a lot of words to express a response
what might some questions be?
one i toss out is-
Thinking about people I will never meet,
but who live in a city we share,
it is important to me that people have access to-
that is a fill in the blank statement-
you can do that, or a straight up question
use the comments on this posting to add to a list of these-
Please, take a second and add at least one today.
Others not involved in the project, feel free to add as well
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
join us tonight!
Tonight Tuesday August 26 & Thursday August 28
join us at the Discovery Center
7:30-8:30
to play the game and help us prepare for the show
Come if you can, and come on time
For map and directions: www.southwaterfront.com/discovery_center
join us at the Discovery Center
7:30-8:30
to play the game and help us prepare for the show
Come if you can, and come on time
For map and directions: www.southwaterfront.com/discovery_center
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tomorrow- Saturday- 2-4pm
The Future of Housing in Portland
A workshop/discussion
Play our new civic planning game
meet some fascinating community members
join us!
see the info on the right side of this page...
A workshop/discussion
Play our new civic planning game
meet some fascinating community members
join us!
see the info on the right side of this page...
Interviews this week
have been fantastic
Monica from Sisters of the Road came on Tuesday
Robert Liberty from Metro and Rick Potestio came last night, Thursday
each night folks come, we learn about their experiences
but
we also get the experience of inquiry- of pursuing conversations and taking them in directions that we are moved to explore-
we are being given the gift of uninhibited curiosity
which, rather than quench our thirst for knowledge
makes us more curious
The interviews begin with me asking questions, but move to a group interview fairly swiftly.
Monica spoke with us about her work and the responsibility we all have for each other.
Robert spoke about the need for sustainability and the history of redlining.
Rick spoke about real estate and the economy of materials and changing neighborhoods.
We have also begun to play the game, the civic planning game that we use in the show, within these research evenings. Thats a great exercie for us, and our guests seem to enjoy it.
We want to move our growing curiosity out into our audience- we want to infect them with curiosity and make a space for figuring. And complications...
Monica from Sisters of the Road came on Tuesday
Robert Liberty from Metro and Rick Potestio came last night, Thursday
each night folks come, we learn about their experiences
but
we also get the experience of inquiry- of pursuing conversations and taking them in directions that we are moved to explore-
we are being given the gift of uninhibited curiosity
which, rather than quench our thirst for knowledge
makes us more curious
The interviews begin with me asking questions, but move to a group interview fairly swiftly.
Monica spoke with us about her work and the responsibility we all have for each other.
Robert spoke about the need for sustainability and the history of redlining.
Rick spoke about real estate and the economy of materials and changing neighborhoods.
We have also begun to play the game, the civic planning game that we use in the show, within these research evenings. Thats a great exercie for us, and our guests seem to enjoy it.
We want to move our growing curiosity out into our audience- we want to infect them with curiosity and make a space for figuring. And complications...
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tonight, Sunday August 17- Come play
we are going to explore a new version of the civic planning game we have developed for the show
we'll be playing at 6pm tonight at the discovery center
we could use a few extra folks to play if you have an hour
come on down
we'll be playing at 6pm tonight at the discovery center
we could use a few extra folks to play if you have an hour
come on down
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Vito Knows Cities
As we were wrapping up the workshop today, I was thinking about architect Vito Acconci's words about city/human futures; I think this is from the Venice Biennale in 2001.
What To Wear happening right now
it's 4:05 saturday afternoon at the AIR studio on the South Waterfront
its 100 degrees outside, but inside, its cool
even as 6 groups work intently on their garments
Courtney davis is leading a fantastic session
and in 8 minutes
the groups will share what they've made
fabric is held together by wire flags, mesh and streamers lay across models' bodies
and every piece in the room is radically different from every other
all in pursuit of the notion- garment as place, the individual as building block of city
we will post photos soon
its 100 degrees outside, but inside, its cool
even as 6 groups work intently on their garments
Courtney davis is leading a fantastic session
and in 8 minutes
the groups will share what they've made
fabric is held together by wire flags, mesh and streamers lay across models' bodies
and every piece in the room is radically different from every other
all in pursuit of the notion- garment as place, the individual as building block of city
we will post photos soon
Friday, August 15, 2008
TOMORROW- SATURDAY- JOIN US!
WHAT TO WEAR- A Workshop
AIR Studio 2-5pm
look on the right side of this page for details...
AIR Studio 2-5pm
look on the right side of this page for details...
the performer and the audience
yesterday, thursday, in several ways, a similar question kept coming up-
who is the performer in this kind of show?
If they function, at times, as guide, as actor, as conversational partner, and sometimes as facilitator, how do we decide on all the details that clarify their function for the audience, for them as performers, for the design team...
what is the contract we seek to create between the event and the audience/participant?
The performers are the heart of that contract, and it is negotiated from the moment people enter the building...actually, from the moment they hear about the show and begin to imagine what their experience might be...what might be expected of them.
the costumes- what should folks wear?
we have a core cast of 7
and about 10 other people who, myself included, will be helping execute the event
who wears what that communicates their role, allows them to function as they need to, and that brings a theatricality to the space that doesn't overwhelm audience members, but doesn't flatten any chance for transformation either.
Judith Mowry, a local facilitator and founder of the restorative listening project in NE Portland, was our interviewee last night, and that conversation also got at these issues-
How do you, in public events, swiftly get a group of strangers to agree to invest in an experience, feel heard, feel safe, and listen to other people with different values, needs, and desires? How do you lead that experience in a way that is playful, meaningful, surprising and equitable? How do you not prioritize 'expertise' over experience? And, different than Judith's work, how do you do this without personal story as the core of the process?
who is the performer in this kind of show?
If they function, at times, as guide, as actor, as conversational partner, and sometimes as facilitator, how do we decide on all the details that clarify their function for the audience, for them as performers, for the design team...
what is the contract we seek to create between the event and the audience/participant?
The performers are the heart of that contract, and it is negotiated from the moment people enter the building...actually, from the moment they hear about the show and begin to imagine what their experience might be...what might be expected of them.
the costumes- what should folks wear?
we have a core cast of 7
and about 10 other people who, myself included, will be helping execute the event
who wears what that communicates their role, allows them to function as they need to, and that brings a theatricality to the space that doesn't overwhelm audience members, but doesn't flatten any chance for transformation either.
Judith Mowry, a local facilitator and founder of the restorative listening project in NE Portland, was our interviewee last night, and that conversation also got at these issues-
How do you, in public events, swiftly get a group of strangers to agree to invest in an experience, feel heard, feel safe, and listen to other people with different values, needs, and desires? How do you lead that experience in a way that is playful, meaningful, surprising and equitable? How do you not prioritize 'expertise' over experience? And, different than Judith's work, how do you do this without personal story as the core of the process?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A Map of Questions
Last night, Tuesday, we had two interviewees- Colin and Itzel- who spoke from two different experiences of working with and around money and the development of projects in Portland.
Colin is involved in organizing capital to make public/private colaborations possible (he worked on the Armory, the Civic, and a business strip in the Albina area); Itzel works with a non profit that helps people prepare financially for home ownership, especially people who need fiscal counseling/aid.
They spoke about their own work, and they spoke about what "the good of the community" means in the both their daily work lives. They also spoke about the city's growth, and what factors will make Portland livable, or not, as we head into the next 25 years and population increase. Their thoughts, and key concerns, were different, but related to issues of affordability and intentionality.
After they left, the cast (and other collaborating artists) continued the conversation, and then moved to an activity where each person 'performed' their own perspective on development in Portland. On the South Waterfront high rises. On the city growing and changing.
We spend alot of time working with ho we will make space for the audience conversation- for a journey that audience members engage in with each other, with us guiding the structure, and using performance to catalyze and deepen moments of that conversation. But tonight, we also wanted to take some time, and dig into the perspectives/questions informing us as citizens, which of course impacts what we as artists will create and lead.
So we put it out there. And it took the form of mini-presentations/performances around the Discovery Center. With humor. And then arguements, as people challenged the ideas/perspectives of each other a bit.
It was great.
The conversation was really engaging, and you could feel everyone moving into the topic with higher personal stakes.
Some questions that began to arise, less about our involvement as artists/facilitators, and more about the content of our exploration-
Are people who don't like the "privileged" feel of the Waterfront towers missing the point that green sustainability and vertical density are the only way our city can grow healthily in the coming years?
And is that true?
Is there something inherently uncomfortable with a seemingly isolated glass and steel paradise rising up almost overnight in which only a privileged class can afford to live?
When people think about where they want to live, are they searching for a lifestyle, or status, or some combination of both?
What role should desire and personal taste play in urban planning if they lead in directions that are utterly unsustainable?
Are planned communities a good thing, or are they too driven by economics and not enough by collective human activity over time?
In terms of where people live, if some people have choice and others simply don't, can a city grow and be healthily diverse?
These are some-
Collaborators will post other questions on the comment section of this post...
Colin is involved in organizing capital to make public/private colaborations possible (he worked on the Armory, the Civic, and a business strip in the Albina area); Itzel works with a non profit that helps people prepare financially for home ownership, especially people who need fiscal counseling/aid.
They spoke about their own work, and they spoke about what "the good of the community" means in the both their daily work lives. They also spoke about the city's growth, and what factors will make Portland livable, or not, as we head into the next 25 years and population increase. Their thoughts, and key concerns, were different, but related to issues of affordability and intentionality.
After they left, the cast (and other collaborating artists) continued the conversation, and then moved to an activity where each person 'performed' their own perspective on development in Portland. On the South Waterfront high rises. On the city growing and changing.
We spend alot of time working with ho we will make space for the audience conversation- for a journey that audience members engage in with each other, with us guiding the structure, and using performance to catalyze and deepen moments of that conversation. But tonight, we also wanted to take some time, and dig into the perspectives/questions informing us as citizens, which of course impacts what we as artists will create and lead.
So we put it out there. And it took the form of mini-presentations/performances around the Discovery Center. With humor. And then arguements, as people challenged the ideas/perspectives of each other a bit.
It was great.
The conversation was really engaging, and you could feel everyone moving into the topic with higher personal stakes.
Some questions that began to arise, less about our involvement as artists/facilitators, and more about the content of our exploration-
Are people who don't like the "privileged" feel of the Waterfront towers missing the point that green sustainability and vertical density are the only way our city can grow healthily in the coming years?
And is that true?
Is there something inherently uncomfortable with a seemingly isolated glass and steel paradise rising up almost overnight in which only a privileged class can afford to live?
When people think about where they want to live, are they searching for a lifestyle, or status, or some combination of both?
What role should desire and personal taste play in urban planning if they lead in directions that are utterly unsustainable?
Are planned communities a good thing, or are they too driven by economics and not enough by collective human activity over time?
In terms of where people live, if some people have choice and others simply don't, can a city grow and be healthily diverse?
These are some-
Collaborators will post other questions on the comment section of this post...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Night & Day
Our show will happen 9 times during the TBA festival.
8 of those will be in daylight; one will be at night.
Part of the show will occur on the patio at the discovery center, a super interesting concrete space with a fireplace, a large wall, and a stunning view over that wall at the skyline of the South Waterfront.
As we have been exploring the physical possibilities of this area, and how to play with motion in relation to City, and vision, and connection/disconnection, we have been struck by how beautiful the patio playing area is at night.
The movement becomes a series of silhouettes.
Mystery suffuses the smallest gesture.
Everything is heightened.
And this is, in a large way, a misdirection.
A trap.
Because at the end of this event, we want what the poetic has to offer, but, there is also something very basic, very hands on, very...daily about the choices and complications that planning community entails.
And, most of the performances will be in the daytime.
When the way we view that outer area is filled with much less mystery.
Since we rehearse mostly at night, its an interesting dilemma of tone. We want to work and create within the environment of the moment. But, we have to of course account for the moment in which we will meet and engage our audience.
And so I've been wondering- what does the light of day demand that the dark of night allows to remain beneath the surface. When you can't see faces, just bodies. When you can't make out surroundings, but can just glimpse the dance itself.
And, for that one nighttime performance, what will we gain in visual power, and what might we lose in the banality of flesh on sidewalks...
How does a city differ at noon and at midnight?
Any thoughts?
8 of those will be in daylight; one will be at night.
Part of the show will occur on the patio at the discovery center, a super interesting concrete space with a fireplace, a large wall, and a stunning view over that wall at the skyline of the South Waterfront.
As we have been exploring the physical possibilities of this area, and how to play with motion in relation to City, and vision, and connection/disconnection, we have been struck by how beautiful the patio playing area is at night.
The movement becomes a series of silhouettes.
Mystery suffuses the smallest gesture.
Everything is heightened.
And this is, in a large way, a misdirection.
A trap.
Because at the end of this event, we want what the poetic has to offer, but, there is also something very basic, very hands on, very...daily about the choices and complications that planning community entails.
And, most of the performances will be in the daytime.
When the way we view that outer area is filled with much less mystery.
Since we rehearse mostly at night, its an interesting dilemma of tone. We want to work and create within the environment of the moment. But, we have to of course account for the moment in which we will meet and engage our audience.
And so I've been wondering- what does the light of day demand that the dark of night allows to remain beneath the surface. When you can't see faces, just bodies. When you can't make out surroundings, but can just glimpse the dance itself.
And, for that one nighttime performance, what will we gain in visual power, and what might we lose in the banality of flesh on sidewalks...
How does a city differ at noon and at midnight?
Any thoughts?
Monday, August 11, 2008
This past weekend
Lots of rehearsal, lots of time together as a team
We worked for months on this project in chicago, briefly in Hartford, CT
and now here
People lately have asked me-
"so, you created a script in chicago, and then you've been developing it further in order to produce it in Portland?"
Nope.
Not that, no.
We made a piece in Chicago.
To explore the content and forms that this project wants to explore and utilize. And then, we shed that event, like a skin.
Some of it has stayed with us. Some of it was learning, and we go on.
In Colorado at a conference last weekend, talking about this form of development, one way of saying it that seemed to make sense in the room at the time, was that in Chicago, we began to swim in the shallow end of the pool. And because we spent some time in that first set of issues, swimming around, we were ready in hartford to move to the 6-8 foot deep section. And now here in Portland, we're trying to swim in the deep end. Which doesn't mean we're smarter- it means that the more time we spend, the more our first impulses give way to more complicated, and substantial impulses. I hope.
An example from the last week, and even this past weekend- our interviews last week with documentary filmmakers, a city planner and a real estate broker offered us stories about culture in a different light. Coupled with a NYTimes article about section 8 housing residents moving, with the aid of vouchers, to suburbs in California, suddenly culture, and difference, and living as neighbors next to people with very different life experiences, became more complicated than Chicago's scenes about neighbors in tension. This is a really good thing. Not because the Chicago material was unsatisfying, but as our understanding of our content shifts and grows, our show will hopefully become a more multi-layered experience.
We have begun exploring the geography of our Portland site in some fun ways. Balconies. Models. Tightropes. We continue to look for spectacle amidst an event that wants to be informal, participatory and yet poetic.
Some really interesting Public events coming the next two Saturdays. Watch here for details.
We worked for months on this project in chicago, briefly in Hartford, CT
and now here
People lately have asked me-
"so, you created a script in chicago, and then you've been developing it further in order to produce it in Portland?"
Nope.
Not that, no.
We made a piece in Chicago.
To explore the content and forms that this project wants to explore and utilize. And then, we shed that event, like a skin.
Some of it has stayed with us. Some of it was learning, and we go on.
In Colorado at a conference last weekend, talking about this form of development, one way of saying it that seemed to make sense in the room at the time, was that in Chicago, we began to swim in the shallow end of the pool. And because we spent some time in that first set of issues, swimming around, we were ready in hartford to move to the 6-8 foot deep section. And now here in Portland, we're trying to swim in the deep end. Which doesn't mean we're smarter- it means that the more time we spend, the more our first impulses give way to more complicated, and substantial impulses. I hope.
An example from the last week, and even this past weekend- our interviews last week with documentary filmmakers, a city planner and a real estate broker offered us stories about culture in a different light. Coupled with a NYTimes article about section 8 housing residents moving, with the aid of vouchers, to suburbs in California, suddenly culture, and difference, and living as neighbors next to people with very different life experiences, became more complicated than Chicago's scenes about neighbors in tension. This is a really good thing. Not because the Chicago material was unsatisfying, but as our understanding of our content shifts and grows, our show will hopefully become a more multi-layered experience.
We have begun exploring the geography of our Portland site in some fun ways. Balconies. Models. Tightropes. We continue to look for spectacle amidst an event that wants to be informal, participatory and yet poetic.
Some really interesting Public events coming the next two Saturdays. Watch here for details.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Saturday
a good week so far
today,saturday, an open studio day down at the South Waterfront AIR studio where we're in residence
hoping to connect with more waterfront residents, and introduce them to the civic planning game we developed in chicago, play it with them, and get feedback as we develop a new version of it for here in Portland.
Then, tonight, a 4 hour rehearsal over at the discovery center, our performance site- tonight, we're going to begin playing with some of the more 'risky' uses of the space, physically, and also begin getting more focused on a content piece we're developing for one part of the site.
A key weekend as we're now one month out from the TBA showings. And, we have all taken a large step forward this week, in mind and gut, in terms of understanding how the issues we're exploring really impact and relate specifically to Portland.
The videos in the entry before this one from last saturday's ten tiny dances are explained and given some extra context, by the way, in the july 28 entry.
today,saturday, an open studio day down at the South Waterfront AIR studio where we're in residence
hoping to connect with more waterfront residents, and introduce them to the civic planning game we developed in chicago, play it with them, and get feedback as we develop a new version of it for here in Portland.
Then, tonight, a 4 hour rehearsal over at the discovery center, our performance site- tonight, we're going to begin playing with some of the more 'risky' uses of the space, physically, and also begin getting more focused on a content piece we're developing for one part of the site.
A key weekend as we're now one month out from the TBA showings. And, we have all taken a large step forward this week, in mind and gut, in terms of understanding how the issues we're exploring really impact and relate specifically to Portland.
The videos in the entry before this one from last saturday's ten tiny dances are explained and given some extra context, by the way, in the july 28 entry.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
First week (after a year and many other first weeks)
So, after a year of development, research and engagement
the core Sojourn team began this week working in the Discovery Center at the South Waterfront in Portland
A really good week so far.
Last Saturday, with the Sojourn Institute Students, we shared our 5 ten tiny dances.
Hundreds of Portlanders came down to the Waterfront and wandered/watched dance.
Our dances will appear on this blog soon- we have some new video capabilities that we're exploring.
This past Tuesday, we hosted our first Public Interview at the Discovery Center.
A realtor and a city planner had a very honest conversation with us about Portland, about its planning history, and about who can afford what in today's shifting market.
Tonight, Thursday, we interview a mediator/community organizer and a documentary filmmaker.
The interviews begin with a brief question and answer that the whole team participates in. Then, we create pieces ( we call it performative research activity). Then, the interviewees respond, and we talk more. And then, we play the civic planning game we developed in Chicago, and continue to refine how to use it as a tool for asking participants to experience their own values in relation to place and then collide those vaues with others as they try to make decisions about community.
We are making some headway in figuring out the journey of this show/event.
Its not a plot based journey.
So, what's the dramaturgy?
What's the structure?
Its become clearer that the answer to that is all about our goal- to offer a space for a unique and active interaction between strangers. One that's dynamic,creative, thoughtful and playful.
So the dramaturgy is a series of questions that will serve the structural purpose a plot would in a story based piece. We are now working to figure out how to move through the questions as experiences, not as presentations. And, how performance moments help deepen and loosen the shared investigation as we move forward together, performers and audience.
Its alot of fun, and alot uncertain.
Which feels like the right combination right now.
the core Sojourn team began this week working in the Discovery Center at the South Waterfront in Portland
A really good week so far.
Last Saturday, with the Sojourn Institute Students, we shared our 5 ten tiny dances.
Hundreds of Portlanders came down to the Waterfront and wandered/watched dance.
Our dances will appear on this blog soon- we have some new video capabilities that we're exploring.
This past Tuesday, we hosted our first Public Interview at the Discovery Center.
A realtor and a city planner had a very honest conversation with us about Portland, about its planning history, and about who can afford what in today's shifting market.
Tonight, Thursday, we interview a mediator/community organizer and a documentary filmmaker.
The interviews begin with a brief question and answer that the whole team participates in. Then, we create pieces ( we call it performative research activity). Then, the interviewees respond, and we talk more. And then, we play the civic planning game we developed in Chicago, and continue to refine how to use it as a tool for asking participants to experience their own values in relation to place and then collide those vaues with others as they try to make decisions about community.
We are making some headway in figuring out the journey of this show/event.
Its not a plot based journey.
So, what's the dramaturgy?
What's the structure?
Its become clearer that the answer to that is all about our goal- to offer a space for a unique and active interaction between strangers. One that's dynamic,creative, thoughtful and playful.
So the dramaturgy is a series of questions that will serve the structural purpose a plot would in a story based piece. We are now working to figure out how to move through the questions as experiences, not as presentations. And, how performance moments help deepen and loosen the shared investigation as we move forward together, performers and audience.
Its alot of fun, and alot uncertain.
Which feels like the right combination right now.
Monday, July 28, 2008
In Portland- Moving Forward
We have begun Phase Three.
Our whole company and a batch of amazing collaborators are now at work here in Portland, continuing to develop the show/event that will open September 5 as part of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's TBA Festival at the South Waterfront.
Information on the engagement and performance events, all of which are open to the public and free, is on the right hand side of this page.
We have also begun our yearly Institute. 30 participants are working with us all this week at Lewis & Clark College, where we are in residence for the fifth straight summer. The participants come from around the United States. In the day, we work on devising, and sharing the work that Sojourn does in a variety of contexts. At night, they are working with us on a series of five Prologues for BUILT which will be performed Saturday August 2nd as part of the Ten Tiny Dances event at the South Waterfront. Its free. 4pm.
I'll be using this site to offer thoughts on the process and content of BUILT as we work this summer, and we'll soon have a second connected site on which collaborators and community members will offer thoughts on the process and their experiences.
Hope you can join us.
Our whole company and a batch of amazing collaborators are now at work here in Portland, continuing to develop the show/event that will open September 5 as part of Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's TBA Festival at the South Waterfront.
Information on the engagement and performance events, all of which are open to the public and free, is on the right hand side of this page.
We have also begun our yearly Institute. 30 participants are working with us all this week at Lewis & Clark College, where we are in residence for the fifth straight summer. The participants come from around the United States. In the day, we work on devising, and sharing the work that Sojourn does in a variety of contexts. At night, they are working with us on a series of five Prologues for BUILT which will be performed Saturday August 2nd as part of the Ten Tiny Dances event at the South Waterfront. Its free. 4pm.
I'll be using this site to offer thoughts on the process and content of BUILT as we work this summer, and we'll soon have a second connected site on which collaborators and community members will offer thoughts on the process and their experiences.
Hope you can join us.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
BUILT happened
last night, Wednesday May 28th, we finished our 5th and final Chicago area BUILT public event
below, an email i sent out to a friend a few days ago that gives a sense of what happened-
"Just wanted to share the news that Sojourn is having a
super-interesting experience in Chicago right now.
Much of the company has been in residence with me at Northwestern
University for a month, and before that, i'd been working for months
with community members and students
we're now thru 2 nights of a 5 night run, 3 events in evanston and 2 in
downtown chicago
20 performers, 60 person audiences, and i think we've
moved into an area of connecting experimental performance and civic
engagement, that is, at least for us, an interesting development...
we've developed a site -specific travelling game-based dramaturgy that
is half set performance, and half improvised and facilitated
interactivity, all deepening and complicating a conversation about city
growth, housing and urban change. We're staging it in a the bowells of
an old university building, and its main 2 level lecture hall, and
downtown in a beautiful old formal law forum. Within the structure,
each night's event has 3 different community 'experts', or coaches, who
spend a few minutes helping the audience consider the way they're
playing the game (a board game we play with them in three phases
scattered thruout the show), and these coaches complicate matters from
their own experience
last night, for instance, legendary public housing advocate Beauty
Turner, Evanston's Alderwoman of the first ward Cheryl Wollin,and
Chicago historian/author Bill Savage took on this function...they were
fantastic, and pushed us all in unexpected ways
the 75 minute event, which is a mix of scenes, movement, media and
public conversation, ends with the cast moving throughout the audience
with cellphones, asking the audence for their priorities for visioning
a city, and then the cast calls other cast members onstage, who tell
our designer, shannon scrofano, who draws by hand a map of chicago with
statements and questions from the audience that is projected live, and
immense, on a screen at the front of the room, as the live cellist
grows louder and louder
we have a full house coming tonight, and almost full next week in
chicago,
and so far, the audiences are an interesting mix of geographic, age and
cultural diversity partly due to, i think, the assignment my students have had
since march, which has been to build community partnerships/audience
constituencies...
just wanted to share, mid experience, because we're having a good (and
challenging) time and learning a ton.
And, it seems to be going well.
This project continues for us with 3 days of research and collaboration
with HartBeat Ensemble in Hartford, CT in June, and then we are home in
Portland from July on, working to create the premiere of what this
evolves into, hosted and commissioned by The AIR program at the South
waterfront and presented as part of this summer's TBA Festival. "
-----
I wrote that last Saturday.
We are learning so much, with and from the students here at Northwestern...and Chicago, with its scale, history and scores of amazingly active community members, is an incredible place to be thinking about city growth in these times...
More to come here soon.
From Hartford, and from Portland.
below, an email i sent out to a friend a few days ago that gives a sense of what happened-
"Just wanted to share the news that Sojourn is having a
super-interesting experience in Chicago right now.
Much of the company has been in residence with me at Northwestern
University for a month, and before that, i'd been working for months
with community members and students
we're now thru 2 nights of a 5 night run, 3 events in evanston and 2 in
downtown chicago
20 performers, 60 person audiences, and i think we've
moved into an area of connecting experimental performance and civic
engagement, that is, at least for us, an interesting development...
we've developed a site -specific travelling game-based dramaturgy that
is half set performance, and half improvised and facilitated
interactivity, all deepening and complicating a conversation about city
growth, housing and urban change. We're staging it in a the bowells of
an old university building, and its main 2 level lecture hall, and
downtown in a beautiful old formal law forum. Within the structure,
each night's event has 3 different community 'experts', or coaches, who
spend a few minutes helping the audience consider the way they're
playing the game (a board game we play with them in three phases
scattered thruout the show), and these coaches complicate matters from
their own experience
last night, for instance, legendary public housing advocate Beauty
Turner, Evanston's Alderwoman of the first ward Cheryl Wollin,and
Chicago historian/author Bill Savage took on this function...they were
fantastic, and pushed us all in unexpected ways
the 75 minute event, which is a mix of scenes, movement, media and
public conversation, ends with the cast moving throughout the audience
with cellphones, asking the audence for their priorities for visioning
a city, and then the cast calls other cast members onstage, who tell
our designer, shannon scrofano, who draws by hand a map of chicago with
statements and questions from the audience that is projected live, and
immense, on a screen at the front of the room, as the live cellist
grows louder and louder
we have a full house coming tonight, and almost full next week in
chicago,
and so far, the audiences are an interesting mix of geographic, age and
cultural diversity partly due to, i think, the assignment my students have had
since march, which has been to build community partnerships/audience
constituencies...
just wanted to share, mid experience, because we're having a good (and
challenging) time and learning a ton.
And, it seems to be going well.
This project continues for us with 3 days of research and collaboration
with HartBeat Ensemble in Hartford, CT in June, and then we are home in
Portland from July on, working to create the premiere of what this
evolves into, hosted and commissioned by The AIR program at the South
waterfront and presented as part of this summer's TBA Festival. "
-----
I wrote that last Saturday.
We are learning so much, with and from the students here at Northwestern...and Chicago, with its scale, history and scores of amazingly active community members, is an incredible place to be thinking about city growth in these times...
More to come here soon.
From Hartford, and from Portland.
Friday, May 23, 2008
first night
last night, we had our first public event
it was nervewracking, and tremedously exciting
around 40 people came, age and geographic area diverse, from the community on and off campus (which made for rich conversation)
our community experts/coaches, who are different each 'show', last night were an engineer, an urban transportation specialist, and a journalist who has covered public housing for 15 years
the event ran 72 minutes
people stayed and talk
the performer/facilitators did a great job
and tonight, we will be full at 60, with new coaches and i'm sure a different event
more details on the conversations here soon
it was nervewracking, and tremedously exciting
around 40 people came, age and geographic area diverse, from the community on and off campus (which made for rich conversation)
our community experts/coaches, who are different each 'show', last night were an engineer, an urban transportation specialist, and a journalist who has covered public housing for 15 years
the event ran 72 minutes
people stayed and talk
the performer/facilitators did a great job
and tonight, we will be full at 60, with new coaches and i'm sure a different event
more details on the conversations here soon
Monday, May 19, 2008
how we make decisions
last night, sunday, at the end of tech weekend
we had some folks come in and move thru a rough run of parts of the event
we were especially interested in their experience of the game
it seemed to go well
and, we got useful feedback
i fel like the more we experiment with our combination of direct exchange with the audience. leading conversations, game playing, and whole group spectator moments, the more it becomes important to think about the larger conversation we're moving people through, and in fact joining them to have
ehren brought up yesterday a question about whether a certain scene helped the event move on to its next moment...or, if it was placed a bit early in relation to the flow of ideas
and that got me thinking about the decisions we make in making art
and, the decisions we make in our daily lives, as we try to make sense out of the swirling moments and choices we encounter each and every day
when those decisions cause our needs to intersect with the needs of others...how in the world do we make those decisions in conscious ways, day after day...?
when do we practice that?
does this piece simply ask that decisions themselves have to, for an hour or a bit more, be the focus of experience...
in a similar vein, this site
http://transopoly.cnt.org/
i think, asks very similar questions...
we had some folks come in and move thru a rough run of parts of the event
we were especially interested in their experience of the game
it seemed to go well
and, we got useful feedback
i fel like the more we experiment with our combination of direct exchange with the audience. leading conversations, game playing, and whole group spectator moments, the more it becomes important to think about the larger conversation we're moving people through, and in fact joining them to have
ehren brought up yesterday a question about whether a certain scene helped the event move on to its next moment...or, if it was placed a bit early in relation to the flow of ideas
and that got me thinking about the decisions we make in making art
and, the decisions we make in our daily lives, as we try to make sense out of the swirling moments and choices we encounter each and every day
when those decisions cause our needs to intersect with the needs of others...how in the world do we make those decisions in conscious ways, day after day...?
when do we practice that?
does this piece simply ask that decisions themselves have to, for an hour or a bit more, be the focus of experience...
in a similar vein, this site
http://transopoly.cnt.org/
i think, asks very similar questions...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Who comes?
A civic planner from Evanston generously came and spoke with us last week
In addition to discussing how Evanston conducted 3 years of civic engagement to arrive at the West Evanston Plan, she also brought up what, as we approach next week's public events, has become a primary challenge and topic of discussion-
How do you get folks to your event that don't see themselves as a part of the conversation?
Who aren't interested in public conversation?
Who think public participation is a waste of time?
Who don't see these issues as significant in their lives?
or, as theatre artists and companies often ask-
How do you diversify audience and create a desire for what we have to offer?
In the case of this event, how do we engage theatre audiences in an event that has a level of participation to it?
That isn't a play, but a dialogue of sorts?
And
how do we engage those who may be interested in the topic, but turned off by the notion of an evening of theatre?
How do we make participation ok?
How do we share the sense of fun we hope the event will generate and entice people to come?
To call ahead of time?
To bring someone?
We are attempting to fill 300 slots over 5 nights.
Five events with 60 people
With a hoped for mix of community members from off campus, campus folk, and family/friends of those involved.
How do you build audiences who you want to be more than audiences, but who, in the end, you do indeed need to show up...?
This is something we've been working on everyday.
We'll see how the coming weeks go...
In addition to discussing how Evanston conducted 3 years of civic engagement to arrive at the West Evanston Plan, she also brought up what, as we approach next week's public events, has become a primary challenge and topic of discussion-
How do you get folks to your event that don't see themselves as a part of the conversation?
Who aren't interested in public conversation?
Who think public participation is a waste of time?
Who don't see these issues as significant in their lives?
or, as theatre artists and companies often ask-
How do you diversify audience and create a desire for what we have to offer?
In the case of this event, how do we engage theatre audiences in an event that has a level of participation to it?
That isn't a play, but a dialogue of sorts?
And
how do we engage those who may be interested in the topic, but turned off by the notion of an evening of theatre?
How do we make participation ok?
How do we share the sense of fun we hope the event will generate and entice people to come?
To call ahead of time?
To bring someone?
We are attempting to fill 300 slots over 5 nights.
Five events with 60 people
With a hoped for mix of community members from off campus, campus folk, and family/friends of those involved.
How do you build audiences who you want to be more than audiences, but who, in the end, you do indeed need to show up...?
This is something we've been working on everyday.
We'll see how the coming weeks go...
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A couple of links
Here are two interesting things I stumbled across while looking for stories and thought might be of interest to everyone:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-code-overviewjan27,0,6181305.story?page=1
this is a story from the Trib that was a culmination of an investigation they did into how upzoning happens in chicago, and how much of it is dependent on contributions to aldermen, etc.
http://neighborsproject.blogspot.com/
this is a blog that finds stories about neighborhoods and gentrification all over the country and collects them
enjoy!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-code-overviewjan27,0,6181305.story?page=1
this is a story from the Trib that was a culmination of an investigation they did into how upzoning happens in chicago, and how much of it is dependent on contributions to aldermen, etc.
http://neighborsproject.blogspot.com/
this is a blog that finds stories about neighborhoods and gentrification all over the country and collects them
enjoy!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Play
So, civic planning, when it involves more than one person, is essentially an exercise in collective imagination-
yes?
With facts and studies and history and law and multiple perspectives, there is -
where we are now
and
where we want to be-
and though the result is given as much weight as the credentials and institutional support of the sponsoring host,
its still the same exercise that arthur c clarke undertook when he imagined our world in 2001...
Civic planning is work of the imagination.
So, how does civic planning make certain that imagination is engaged in the process?
How does the process utilize creativity, and play?
And
what information is needed to ground that creative work?
For the imagination to do more than fantasize in a vacuum, but still have room to play,
what information is necessary, and what isn't?
yes?
With facts and studies and history and law and multiple perspectives, there is -
where we are now
and
where we want to be-
and though the result is given as much weight as the credentials and institutional support of the sponsoring host,
its still the same exercise that arthur c clarke undertook when he imagined our world in 2001...
Civic planning is work of the imagination.
So, how does civic planning make certain that imagination is engaged in the process?
How does the process utilize creativity, and play?
And
what information is needed to ground that creative work?
For the imagination to do more than fantasize in a vacuum, but still have room to play,
what information is necessary, and what isn't?
Friday, May 9, 2008
Is being heard enough?
Last night in rehearsal, the Sojourn artists met with all the student collaborators and interviewed them about the community research they've been undertaking.
Fantastic conversations. We were searching for questions that community members would like us to examine in the show- so, not looking for only stories and opinions, but really asking- what conversation would you like to be in with people about these issues? What needs to be asked and wrestled with?
One thing that came up in multiple conversations, that seemed to rise to the surface
was how often people, many different people, express frustration at not being able to get involved in decisionmaking processes...while at the same time, many people talk about working hard to make space for community involvement.
Which brought up the question-
what does being involved mean to you?
Does it mean a space to be heard?
Or
do you consider involvement real only if your ideas/opinions are actually acted upon?
Does being involved mean- getting what you want?
Or, is it feeling a legitimate part of a process?
What are your expectations for involvement?
Fantastic conversations. We were searching for questions that community members would like us to examine in the show- so, not looking for only stories and opinions, but really asking- what conversation would you like to be in with people about these issues? What needs to be asked and wrestled with?
One thing that came up in multiple conversations, that seemed to rise to the surface
was how often people, many different people, express frustration at not being able to get involved in decisionmaking processes...while at the same time, many people talk about working hard to make space for community involvement.
Which brought up the question-
what does being involved mean to you?
Does it mean a space to be heard?
Or
do you consider involvement real only if your ideas/opinions are actually acted upon?
Does being involved mean- getting what you want?
Or, is it feeling a legitimate part of a process?
What are your expectations for involvement?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Neighbors
I think we've taken a leap forward in the past few days in our conversation-
A bridge that seems to get at a variety of issues we're exploring
and, at some of the discomfort this conversation can raise
is the question-
Who are you willing to live near?
which seems connected to the question-
How comfortable are you with people who are different than you?
which led us to...
Who, on a daily basis, do you choose to see
and not to see?
If a conversation is engaging issues of growth, and housing
which leads to notions of mixed housing, affordable housing and changing neighborhoods
it seems that attitudes, and then behavior, and then policy
are somewhat responsive to our own willingness, or not, to live amidst and among diversity...and a diversity defined in many different ways...
what do you think?
A bridge that seems to get at a variety of issues we're exploring
and, at some of the discomfort this conversation can raise
is the question-
Who are you willing to live near?
which seems connected to the question-
How comfortable are you with people who are different than you?
which led us to...
Who, on a daily basis, do you choose to see
and not to see?
If a conversation is engaging issues of growth, and housing
which leads to notions of mixed housing, affordable housing and changing neighborhoods
it seems that attitudes, and then behavior, and then policy
are somewhat responsive to our own willingness, or not, to live amidst and among diversity...and a diversity defined in many different ways...
what do you think?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Conflict and Complexity
we spent some time yesterday working around the idea of dialectic
of opposing forces
of conflict
Its at the heart of drama, but, as Harry said
does it help us invesitgate complex social forces, or does it simply perpetuate dualities
and prevent our conversations from being truly multi-voiced...does it harden hierarchies
rather than make space to consider power differently?
A question-
can you name an instance in the modern history (small h or big H) of community growth
when conflict was seemingly about opposing forces
but was solved, or opened up, by the realization that the probelm wasn't simply a duality...?
of opposing forces
of conflict
Its at the heart of drama, but, as Harry said
does it help us invesitgate complex social forces, or does it simply perpetuate dualities
and prevent our conversations from being truly multi-voiced...does it harden hierarchies
rather than make space to consider power differently?
A question-
can you name an instance in the modern history (small h or big H) of community growth
when conflict was seemingly about opposing forces
but was solved, or opened up, by the realization that the probelm wasn't simply a duality...?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Public housing
so, this weekend
we worked alot with stories, and ways to exchange stories
and today, we listened to a podcast from a Chicago Public Radio panel event in February
about "Gentrification"
It raised some great questions for us
some of which have been brought up before on this blog, some of which
not so much...
a question i'd ask anyone to respond to, here, just to launch a conversation-
If your tax dollars are supporting public housing for those in need, who should have what level of voice in determining the nature and design of that housing?
You?
Those who live there?
Neither...?
we worked alot with stories, and ways to exchange stories
and today, we listened to a podcast from a Chicago Public Radio panel event in February
about "Gentrification"
It raised some great questions for us
some of which have been brought up before on this blog, some of which
not so much...
a question i'd ask anyone to respond to, here, just to launch a conversation-
If your tax dollars are supporting public housing for those in need, who should have what level of voice in determining the nature and design of that housing?
You?
Those who live there?
Neither...?
Friday, May 2, 2008
The personal and the political
In rehearsal last night, Thursday night
we explored scenes that put the drama between 2 people
at the heart of the larger issues we've been investigating
a grandfather planning to sell the family hous when his granddaughter leaves for school, and her urging him to hold onto their home
one woman welcoming another into an apartment building, but judging her lifestyle and placing the sense of community they both crave in peril
a man coming to see the new home he's renting, and having an awkward conversation with the young single mother soon to move out because she can't afford the rent anymore
my question to you, anyone reading this, is-
what ideas can you share for specific situations that put the political and ethical dilemnas
of commuity, growth, housing and responsibility
into moments between 2 people involving story, conflict and instances of relationships with something at stake...?
we explored scenes that put the drama between 2 people
at the heart of the larger issues we've been investigating
a grandfather planning to sell the family hous when his granddaughter leaves for school, and her urging him to hold onto their home
one woman welcoming another into an apartment building, but judging her lifestyle and placing the sense of community they both crave in peril
a man coming to see the new home he's renting, and having an awkward conversation with the young single mother soon to move out because she can't afford the rent anymore
my question to you, anyone reading this, is-
what ideas can you share for specific situations that put the political and ethical dilemnas
of commuity, growth, housing and responsibility
into moments between 2 people involving story, conflict and instances of relationships with something at stake...?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Trying to organize this blog more clearly
Its Thursday morning
and in an effort to understand how better to make use of this online resource as project participants pass it around, i'm trying to take some suggestions from project collaborators.
For one, the top of this page now is links to articles and sites we have found interesting and useful.
Second, I think instead of random thoughts that reference what happened in rehearsal or in our process, i need to take on the responsibility, and/or get help with the responsibility, of posting each day in a manner that someone not in the room with us can get a sense of what we've been doing, and comment on our experiences/discoveries, rather than these comments being just for our cast.
So I'm going to ask of all us using this blog to be more conscious of putting whatever we write here in a clearer context, and, i'm going to also ask everyone to comment on posts when that seems appropriate ather than always starting new posts.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we had a shortened class/rehearsal session. In it, we made some physical work, and then we spent a lengthy period of time in small groups working on activities that I assigned. Some groups were given the tasks of making scenes; some, of creating participatory activities for the rest of us, to try some ideas out that we might use with the audience. And some were creating exercises for use in our rehearsal process, to help us bring research in the room. This is one of our largest challenges- utilizing what we are learning in active dynamic ways, and not simply sitting and talking through al our experiences in community.
We finished the session with a giant game of red light/green light aimed at giving everyone the opportunity to shout out loud moments of Chicago history that seemed important to them. This brought us back to an important conversation about the fact that what history is important is incredibly specific to each person's values, knowledge, and point of view.
Today, Thursday, here's a question I throw out for anyone to respond to in the comments at this posting-
10 years from now, what physical living situation would you like to find yourself in?
What kind of space, place, neighborhood...?
thanks
and in an effort to understand how better to make use of this online resource as project participants pass it around, i'm trying to take some suggestions from project collaborators.
For one, the top of this page now is links to articles and sites we have found interesting and useful.
Second, I think instead of random thoughts that reference what happened in rehearsal or in our process, i need to take on the responsibility, and/or get help with the responsibility, of posting each day in a manner that someone not in the room with us can get a sense of what we've been doing, and comment on our experiences/discoveries, rather than these comments being just for our cast.
So I'm going to ask of all us using this blog to be more conscious of putting whatever we write here in a clearer context, and, i'm going to also ask everyone to comment on posts when that seems appropriate ather than always starting new posts.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we had a shortened class/rehearsal session. In it, we made some physical work, and then we spent a lengthy period of time in small groups working on activities that I assigned. Some groups were given the tasks of making scenes; some, of creating participatory activities for the rest of us, to try some ideas out that we might use with the audience. And some were creating exercises for use in our rehearsal process, to help us bring research in the room. This is one of our largest challenges- utilizing what we are learning in active dynamic ways, and not simply sitting and talking through al our experiences in community.
We finished the session with a giant game of red light/green light aimed at giving everyone the opportunity to shout out loud moments of Chicago history that seemed important to them. This brought us back to an important conversation about the fact that what history is important is incredibly specific to each person's values, knowledge, and point of view.
Today, Thursday, here's a question I throw out for anyone to respond to in the comments at this posting-
10 years from now, what physical living situation would you like to find yourself in?
What kind of space, place, neighborhood...?
thanks
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Environmental Psychology: A Primer
from what i'm reading this is a relatively new field...here's some definitions. it's long and a little science-y, but super interesting:
Environmental psychology examines the interrelationship between environments and human behavior. The field defines the term environment very broadly including all that is natural on the planet as well as social settings, built environments, learning environments and informational environments. When solving problems involving human-environment interactions, whether global or local, one must have a model of human nature that predicts the environmental conditions under which humans will behave in a decent and creative manner. With such a model one can design, manage, protect and/or restore environments that enhance reasonable behavior, predict what the likely outcome will be when these conditions are not met, and diagnose problem situations. The field develops such a model of human nature while retaining a broad and inherently multidisciplinary focus. It explores such dissimilar issues as common property resource management, wayfinding in complex settings, the effect of environmental stress on human performance, the characteristics of restorative environments, human information processing, and the promotion of durable conservation behavior. The field of environmental psychology recognizes the need to be problem-oriented, using, as needed, the theories and methods of related disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, ecology). The field founded the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA), publishes in numerous journals including Environment and Behavior and the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and was reviewed several times in the Annual Review of Psychology. A handbook of the field was published in 1987 (Stokols and Altman 1987).
There are several recurrent elements in the research literature that help to define this relatively new field. Understanding human behavior starts with understanding how people notice the environment. This includes at least two kinds of stimuli: those that involuntarily, even distractingly, command human notice, as well as those places, things or ideas to which humans must voluntarily, and with some effort (and resulting fatigue), direct their awareness. Restoring and enhancing people's capacity to voluntarily direct their attention is a major factor in maintaining human effectiveness.
Perception and cognitive maps - How people image the natural and built environment has been an interest of this field from its beginning. Information is stored in the brain as spatial networks called cognitive maps. These structures link one's recall of experiences with perception of present events, ideas and emotions. It is through these neural networks that humans know and think about the environment, plan and carry out their plans. Interestingly, what humans know about an environment is both more than external reality in that they perceive with prior knowledge and expectations, and less than external reality in that they record only a portion of the entire visual frame yet recall it as complete and continuous.
Preferred environments - People tend to seek out places where they feel competent and confident, places where they can make sense of the environment while also being engaged with it. Research has expanded the notion of preference to include coherence (a sense that things in the environment hang together) and legibility (the inference that one can explore an environment without becoming lost) as contributors to environmental comprehension. Being involved and wanting to explore an environment requires that it have complexity (containing enough variety to make it worth learning about) and mystery (the prospect of gaining more information about an environment). Preserving, restoring and creating a preferred environment is thought to increase sense of well being and behavioral effectiveness in humans.
Environmental stress and coping - Along with the common environmental stressors (e.g., noise, climatic extremes) some define stress as the failure of preference, including in the definition such cognitive stressors as prolonged uncertainty, lack of predictability and stimulus overload. Research has identified numerous behavioral and cognitive outcomes including physical illness, diminished altruism, helplessness and attentional fatigue. Coping with stress involves a number of options. Humans can change their physical or social settings to create more supportive environments (e.g., smaller scaled settings, territories) where they can manage the flow of information or stress inducing stimuli. People can also endure the stressful period, incurring mental costs that they deal with later, in restorative settings (e.g., natural areas, privacy, solitude). They can also seek to interpret or make sense of a situation as a way to defuse its stressful effects, often sharing these interpretations as a part of their culture.
Participation - The field is committed to enhancing citizen involvement in environmental design, management and restoration efforts. It is concerned not only with promoting citizen comprehension of environmental issues but with insuring their early and genuine participation in the design, modification and management of environments.
Conservation behavior - The field has also played a major role in bringing psychological knowledge to bear upon the issue of developing an ecologically sustainable society. It explores environmental attitudes, perceptions and values as well as devise intervention techniques for promoting environmentally appropriate behavior.
Scope
Although "environmental psychology" is arguably the best-known and more comprehensive description of the field, it is also known as environmental social sciences, architectural psychology, socio-architecture, ecological psychology, ecopsychology, behavioral geography, environment-behavior studies, person-environment studies, environmental sociology, social ecology, and environmental design research; each advanced by different researchers, sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes with recognized gaps and overlaps between the terms. This multidisciplinary field draws on work in a number of disciplines including anthropology, geography, ekistics, sociology, psychology, history, political science, engineering, planning, architecture, urban design and, of course, aesthetics.
The varied names for the field accurately reflect an ongoing debate about its proper scope, for example, whether or not it includes study of human interaction with the natural environment. "Environmental design" is generally understood to describe design activities focused on the natural environment and sustainability as well as concern with the planned environment which humans build - the "artificial" or designed physical environment - and its ability to meet community needs. Only a small portion of the built environment is attributable to architects, so a focus on "architectural psychology" is seen as too narrow. Generally speaking, individuals associated with the field are interested in better understanding the relationships between people and their environments so that this knowledge can be applied to problematic real-world situations.
Proxemics
In the mid 1950s anthropologist E. T. Hall wrote "The Hidden Dimension" which developed and popularized the concepts of personal space and his more general name for this field, proxemics. He defined proxemics as, ". . . the study of how man unconsciously structures microspace - the distance between men in the conduct of daily transactions, the organization of space in his houses and buildings, and ultimately the layout of his towns."
Hall defined and measured four interpersonal "zones":
. intimate (0 to 18 inches)
. personal (18 inches to 4 feet)
. social (4 feet to 12 feet)
. public (12 feet and beyond)
In "The Hidden Dimension" he famously observed that the precise distance we feel 'comfortable' with other people being near us is culturally determined: Saudis, Norwegians, Milanese and Japanese will have differing notions of 'close'. In one of his best known empirical studies, Hall carried out an analysis of employee reactions to Eero Saarinen's last work, the John Deere World Headquarters Building.
Impact on the Built Environment
Ultimately, environmental psychology is oriented towards influencing the work of design professionals (architects, engineers, interior designers, urban planners, etc.) and thereby improving the human environment.
On a civic scale, efforts towards improving pedestrian landscapes have paid off to some extent, involving figures like Jane Jacobs and Copenhagen's Jan Gehl. One prime figure here is the late writer and researcher William H. Whyte and his still-refreshing and perceptive "City", based on his accumulated observations of skilled Manhattan pedestrians, steps, and patterns of use in urban plazas.
No equivalent organized knowledge of environmental psychology has developed out of architecture. Most prominent American architects, led until recently by Philip Johnson who was very strong on this point, view their job as an art form. They see little or no responsibility for the social or functional impact of their designs, which was highlighted with failure of public high-rise housing like Pruitt Igoe.
Environmental psychology has conquered one whole architectural genre, although it's a bitter victory: retail stores, and any other commercial venue where the power to manipulate the mood and behavior of customers, places like stadiums, casinos, malls, and now airports. From Philip Kotler's landmark paper on Atmospherics and Alan Hirsch's "Effects of Ambient Odors on Slot-Machine Usage in a Las Vegas Casino", through the creation and management of the Gruen transfer, retail relies heavily on psychology, original research, focus groups, and direct observation. One of William Whyte's students, Paco Underhill, makes a living as a "shopping anthropologist". Most of this most-advanced research remains a trade secret and proprietary.
Density and Crowding
As environmental psychologists have theorized that density and crowding can have an adverse effect on mood and even cause stress-related illness. Accordingly, environmental and architectural designs could be adapted to minimize the effects of crowding in situations when crowding cannot be avoided. Factors that reduce feelings of crowding within buildings include:
. Windows, particularly openable ones, and ones that provide a view as well as light
. High ceilings
. Doors to divide spaces (Baum and Davies) and provide access control
. Room shape: square rooms feel less crowded than rectangular ones (Dresor)
. Using partitions to create smaller, personalized spaces within an open plan office or larger work space.
. Providing increases in cognitive control over aspects of the internal environment, such as ventilation, light, privacy, etc.
. Conducting a cognitive appraisal of an environment and feelings of crowding in different settings. For example, one might be comfortable with crowding at a concert but not in school corridors.
. Creating a defensible space (Calhoun)
Noise
Noise increases environmental stress. Although it has been found that control and predictability are the greatest factors in stressful effects of noise; context, pitch, source and habituation are also important variables [1].
Personal Space and Territory
Having an area of personal territory in a public space e.g. at the office is a key feature of many architectural designs. Having such a 'defensible space' (term coined by Calhoun during his experiment on rats) can reduce the negative effects of crowding in urban environments. Creation of personal space is achieved by placing barriers and personalising the space, for example using pictures of one's family. This increases cognitive control as one sees oneself as having control over the entrants to the personal space and therefore able to control the level of density and crowding in the space.
Environmental Cognition
Environmental cognition (involved in human cognition) plays a crucial role in environmental perception. The orbitofrontal cortex in the brain plays a role in environmental judgment.
Environmental psychology examines the interrelationship between environments and human behavior. The field defines the term environment very broadly including all that is natural on the planet as well as social settings, built environments, learning environments and informational environments. When solving problems involving human-environment interactions, whether global or local, one must have a model of human nature that predicts the environmental conditions under which humans will behave in a decent and creative manner. With such a model one can design, manage, protect and/or restore environments that enhance reasonable behavior, predict what the likely outcome will be when these conditions are not met, and diagnose problem situations. The field develops such a model of human nature while retaining a broad and inherently multidisciplinary focus. It explores such dissimilar issues as common property resource management, wayfinding in complex settings, the effect of environmental stress on human performance, the characteristics of restorative environments, human information processing, and the promotion of durable conservation behavior. The field of environmental psychology recognizes the need to be problem-oriented, using, as needed, the theories and methods of related disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, ecology). The field founded the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA), publishes in numerous journals including Environment and Behavior and the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and was reviewed several times in the Annual Review of Psychology. A handbook of the field was published in 1987 (Stokols and Altman 1987).
There are several recurrent elements in the research literature that help to define this relatively new field. Understanding human behavior starts with understanding how people notice the environment. This includes at least two kinds of stimuli: those that involuntarily, even distractingly, command human notice, as well as those places, things or ideas to which humans must voluntarily, and with some effort (and resulting fatigue), direct their awareness. Restoring and enhancing people's capacity to voluntarily direct their attention is a major factor in maintaining human effectiveness.
Perception and cognitive maps - How people image the natural and built environment has been an interest of this field from its beginning. Information is stored in the brain as spatial networks called cognitive maps. These structures link one's recall of experiences with perception of present events, ideas and emotions. It is through these neural networks that humans know and think about the environment, plan and carry out their plans. Interestingly, what humans know about an environment is both more than external reality in that they perceive with prior knowledge and expectations, and less than external reality in that they record only a portion of the entire visual frame yet recall it as complete and continuous.
Preferred environments - People tend to seek out places where they feel competent and confident, places where they can make sense of the environment while also being engaged with it. Research has expanded the notion of preference to include coherence (a sense that things in the environment hang together) and legibility (the inference that one can explore an environment without becoming lost) as contributors to environmental comprehension. Being involved and wanting to explore an environment requires that it have complexity (containing enough variety to make it worth learning about) and mystery (the prospect of gaining more information about an environment). Preserving, restoring and creating a preferred environment is thought to increase sense of well being and behavioral effectiveness in humans.
Environmental stress and coping - Along with the common environmental stressors (e.g., noise, climatic extremes) some define stress as the failure of preference, including in the definition such cognitive stressors as prolonged uncertainty, lack of predictability and stimulus overload. Research has identified numerous behavioral and cognitive outcomes including physical illness, diminished altruism, helplessness and attentional fatigue. Coping with stress involves a number of options. Humans can change their physical or social settings to create more supportive environments (e.g., smaller scaled settings, territories) where they can manage the flow of information or stress inducing stimuli. People can also endure the stressful period, incurring mental costs that they deal with later, in restorative settings (e.g., natural areas, privacy, solitude). They can also seek to interpret or make sense of a situation as a way to defuse its stressful effects, often sharing these interpretations as a part of their culture.
Participation - The field is committed to enhancing citizen involvement in environmental design, management and restoration efforts. It is concerned not only with promoting citizen comprehension of environmental issues but with insuring their early and genuine participation in the design, modification and management of environments.
Conservation behavior - The field has also played a major role in bringing psychological knowledge to bear upon the issue of developing an ecologically sustainable society. It explores environmental attitudes, perceptions and values as well as devise intervention techniques for promoting environmentally appropriate behavior.
Scope
Although "environmental psychology" is arguably the best-known and more comprehensive description of the field, it is also known as environmental social sciences, architectural psychology, socio-architecture, ecological psychology, ecopsychology, behavioral geography, environment-behavior studies, person-environment studies, environmental sociology, social ecology, and environmental design research; each advanced by different researchers, sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes with recognized gaps and overlaps between the terms. This multidisciplinary field draws on work in a number of disciplines including anthropology, geography, ekistics, sociology, psychology, history, political science, engineering, planning, architecture, urban design and, of course, aesthetics.
The varied names for the field accurately reflect an ongoing debate about its proper scope, for example, whether or not it includes study of human interaction with the natural environment. "Environmental design" is generally understood to describe design activities focused on the natural environment and sustainability as well as concern with the planned environment which humans build - the "artificial" or designed physical environment - and its ability to meet community needs. Only a small portion of the built environment is attributable to architects, so a focus on "architectural psychology" is seen as too narrow. Generally speaking, individuals associated with the field are interested in better understanding the relationships between people and their environments so that this knowledge can be applied to problematic real-world situations.
Proxemics
In the mid 1950s anthropologist E. T. Hall wrote "The Hidden Dimension" which developed and popularized the concepts of personal space and his more general name for this field, proxemics. He defined proxemics as, ". . . the study of how man unconsciously structures microspace - the distance between men in the conduct of daily transactions, the organization of space in his houses and buildings, and ultimately the layout of his towns."
Hall defined and measured four interpersonal "zones":
. intimate (0 to 18 inches)
. personal (18 inches to 4 feet)
. social (4 feet to 12 feet)
. public (12 feet and beyond)
In "The Hidden Dimension" he famously observed that the precise distance we feel 'comfortable' with other people being near us is culturally determined: Saudis, Norwegians, Milanese and Japanese will have differing notions of 'close'. In one of his best known empirical studies, Hall carried out an analysis of employee reactions to Eero Saarinen's last work, the John Deere World Headquarters Building.
Impact on the Built Environment
Ultimately, environmental psychology is oriented towards influencing the work of design professionals (architects, engineers, interior designers, urban planners, etc.) and thereby improving the human environment.
On a civic scale, efforts towards improving pedestrian landscapes have paid off to some extent, involving figures like Jane Jacobs and Copenhagen's Jan Gehl. One prime figure here is the late writer and researcher William H. Whyte and his still-refreshing and perceptive "City", based on his accumulated observations of skilled Manhattan pedestrians, steps, and patterns of use in urban plazas.
No equivalent organized knowledge of environmental psychology has developed out of architecture. Most prominent American architects, led until recently by Philip Johnson who was very strong on this point, view their job as an art form. They see little or no responsibility for the social or functional impact of their designs, which was highlighted with failure of public high-rise housing like Pruitt Igoe.
Environmental psychology has conquered one whole architectural genre, although it's a bitter victory: retail stores, and any other commercial venue where the power to manipulate the mood and behavior of customers, places like stadiums, casinos, malls, and now airports. From Philip Kotler's landmark paper on Atmospherics and Alan Hirsch's "Effects of Ambient Odors on Slot-Machine Usage in a Las Vegas Casino", through the creation and management of the Gruen transfer, retail relies heavily on psychology, original research, focus groups, and direct observation. One of William Whyte's students, Paco Underhill, makes a living as a "shopping anthropologist". Most of this most-advanced research remains a trade secret and proprietary.
Density and Crowding
As environmental psychologists have theorized that density and crowding can have an adverse effect on mood and even cause stress-related illness. Accordingly, environmental and architectural designs could be adapted to minimize the effects of crowding in situations when crowding cannot be avoided. Factors that reduce feelings of crowding within buildings include:
. Windows, particularly openable ones, and ones that provide a view as well as light
. High ceilings
. Doors to divide spaces (Baum and Davies) and provide access control
. Room shape: square rooms feel less crowded than rectangular ones (Dresor)
. Using partitions to create smaller, personalized spaces within an open plan office or larger work space.
. Providing increases in cognitive control over aspects of the internal environment, such as ventilation, light, privacy, etc.
. Conducting a cognitive appraisal of an environment and feelings of crowding in different settings. For example, one might be comfortable with crowding at a concert but not in school corridors.
. Creating a defensible space (Calhoun)
Noise
Noise increases environmental stress. Although it has been found that control and predictability are the greatest factors in stressful effects of noise; context, pitch, source and habituation are also important variables [1].
Personal Space and Territory
Having an area of personal territory in a public space e.g. at the office is a key feature of many architectural designs. Having such a 'defensible space' (term coined by Calhoun during his experiment on rats) can reduce the negative effects of crowding in urban environments. Creation of personal space is achieved by placing barriers and personalising the space, for example using pictures of one's family. This increases cognitive control as one sees oneself as having control over the entrants to the personal space and therefore able to control the level of density and crowding in the space.
Environmental Cognition
Environmental cognition (involved in human cognition) plays a crucial role in environmental perception. The orbitofrontal cortex in the brain plays a role in environmental judgment.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Our evening at Redmoon Theater
...was a blast, and gave us alot to think about
Angela Tillges and Redmoon were incredibly generous
I encourage everyone who was there to post about,
in particular
content, process and form experiences from the evening
thank you, Angie
more to come here soon...
Angela Tillges and Redmoon were incredibly generous
I encourage everyone who was there to post about,
in particular
content, process and form experiences from the evening
thank you, Angie
more to come here soon...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Bill Savage took us on a tour of Rogers Park
and it was cold
and, it was super interesting.
I'm going to ask two questions here
and i'd like you to comment on this post with any thoughts you have-
1)
Bill has a strong point of view. What did his home and the tour he gave us tell us about his values? What's important to him in terms of space, in terms of history, in terms of place?
2)
Bill has a strong point of view. Everything he showed us and told us is framed by that point of view. To quote him, what was missing? What stories, what perspectives, what questions were left out? What did the tour leave you wondering about around the edges, and on other sides of what he shared?
We don't get to really debrief this night until wednesday...
So if you can, use these prompts to do some thinking, and some writing.
let's get down some thoughts before they become- the thing we did before we did the redmoon workshop.
and, it was super interesting.
I'm going to ask two questions here
and i'd like you to comment on this post with any thoughts you have-
1)
Bill has a strong point of view. What did his home and the tour he gave us tell us about his values? What's important to him in terms of space, in terms of history, in terms of place?
2)
Bill has a strong point of view. Everything he showed us and told us is framed by that point of view. To quote him, what was missing? What stories, what perspectives, what questions were left out? What did the tour leave you wondering about around the edges, and on other sides of what he shared?
We don't get to really debrief this night until wednesday...
So if you can, use these prompts to do some thinking, and some writing.
let's get down some thoughts before they become- the thing we did before we did the redmoon workshop.
more audience engagement/participation
An idea I was thinking about in terms of the show's participatory nature is the question of - how does an audience know when it is okay to participate, when they are not expected to, when they are invited to and when they can but shouldn't feel as though they have to?
I think these questions relate to communities as well, maybe? When does a citizen feel that participating expected? Must they be invited? What level of participation does one commit to by taking on certain responsibilities? By participating in the Built event, what is an audience member committing to in terms of participation?
Just some thoughts..
I think these questions relate to communities as well, maybe? When does a citizen feel that participating expected? Must they be invited? What level of participation does one commit to by taking on certain responsibilities? By participating in the Built event, what is an audience member committing to in terms of participation?
Just some thoughts..
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A good weekend.
Sunday April 27th
We had a great weekend of rehearsal…
Lots of exploration of main themes, and continuing to explore how our event will combine performance and participation…
Some core questions we talked about today, as we hone in on the specific content that we’ll center material around…
Who makes decisions?
Who has the power to make decisions?
How do the words we use in this conversation get defined?
What do people want?
…We mostly see our own values as just and right…we assign our motivations and wants positive value in the world, so when different value systems want different things (or the same place), what happens…?
What do our actions and values reveal about each of us in relation to space?
In relation to community?
Who are you responsible for?
How many dreams can a community hold?
How many places can one space be?
(keeping in mind Bill Savage’s equation-
Space plus Values = Place)
Who do you trust?
What would you like to see changed?
What do you fear will be changed?
We also talked about the nature of participation that we might set up in our events, and the choices we need to make in relation to the activities we build into BUILT (no pun intended).
Fiction or Task-Based Activity
Does an activity ask participants to pretend something, to exist in an imagined circumstance (like play characters in a fictional zoning meeting), or is it an action people actually do from where they are, and who they are?
Private or Public Nature
Is an activity one which people do on their own, in the company of others, or does it demand they publicly engage, or state something about themselves…what is their level of exposure, or vulnerability in the room?
Dialogue or Voicing
Is it about the experience of listening and pushing each other, of engaging, or is it about everyone voicing their own perspective and simply being heard?
Deepening or Broadening
Is it about digging into values, into an issue and its complexity, or is it about getting at the breadth of the issue, and building awareness by expanding the conversation?
Tomorrow, we take a tour of Rogers Park with Bill Savage…
We had a great weekend of rehearsal…
Lots of exploration of main themes, and continuing to explore how our event will combine performance and participation…
Some core questions we talked about today, as we hone in on the specific content that we’ll center material around…
Who makes decisions?
Who has the power to make decisions?
How do the words we use in this conversation get defined?
What do people want?
…We mostly see our own values as just and right…we assign our motivations and wants positive value in the world, so when different value systems want different things (or the same place), what happens…?
What do our actions and values reveal about each of us in relation to space?
In relation to community?
Who are you responsible for?
How many dreams can a community hold?
How many places can one space be?
(keeping in mind Bill Savage’s equation-
Space plus Values = Place)
Who do you trust?
What would you like to see changed?
What do you fear will be changed?
We also talked about the nature of participation that we might set up in our events, and the choices we need to make in relation to the activities we build into BUILT (no pun intended).
Fiction or Task-Based Activity
Does an activity ask participants to pretend something, to exist in an imagined circumstance (like play characters in a fictional zoning meeting), or is it an action people actually do from where they are, and who they are?
Private or Public Nature
Is an activity one which people do on their own, in the company of others, or does it demand they publicly engage, or state something about themselves…what is their level of exposure, or vulnerability in the room?
Dialogue or Voicing
Is it about the experience of listening and pushing each other, of engaging, or is it about everyone voicing their own perspective and simply being heard?
Deepening or Broadening
Is it about digging into values, into an issue and its complexity, or is it about getting at the breadth of the issue, and building awareness by expanding the conversation?
Tomorrow, we take a tour of Rogers Park with Bill Savage…
Saturday, April 26, 2008
experts
i feel like a big challenge with this project
something that's important, and a great learning opportunity for us
is how to create spaces and opportunities for an exciting meaningful conversation that include 'experts' and'non-experts'...
How do you set up activities and interactions that allow a trained urban planner, a real estate developer, a renter, and a 16 year old student to all contribute from their own place of experience and knowledge, but also create a landscape for discourse that moves beyond- i share my story, you share yours...that moves to engagement?
How do we engage in ethical, moral, values-based dialogue that makes listening not only the respectful thing to do, but a neccessary action to actually achieve the task at hand?
What is the task at hand, amidst a desire for civic inquiry (a step before social action, perhaps) that offers us the chance for successful events and authentic participation?
something that's important, and a great learning opportunity for us
is how to create spaces and opportunities for an exciting meaningful conversation that include 'experts' and'non-experts'...
How do you set up activities and interactions that allow a trained urban planner, a real estate developer, a renter, and a 16 year old student to all contribute from their own place of experience and knowledge, but also create a landscape for discourse that moves beyond- i share my story, you share yours...that moves to engagement?
How do we engage in ethical, moral, values-based dialogue that makes listening not only the respectful thing to do, but a neccessary action to actually achieve the task at hand?
What is the task at hand, amidst a desire for civic inquiry (a step before social action, perhaps) that offers us the chance for successful events and authentic participation?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday night, in rehearsal
we prepared to connect with potential collaborators/resource partners in the community...
groups of students talked about who in the community we want to learn from, to create a useful and dynamic public conversation about community, housing, vision, and growth...
some things that came up to keep in mind as we begin connecting with folks included
asking people-
What would you like people to wrestle with?
What would be a multi-perspective conversation you would like to hear about your these issue, and in particular the issues you/your organization/your business deal with?
What are the misperceptions of these issues?
What never gets talked about?
What do you wish people talked about?
To make this of value to you, to make it interesting to you,
what do we need to problematize?
we prepared to connect with potential collaborators/resource partners in the community...
groups of students talked about who in the community we want to learn from, to create a useful and dynamic public conversation about community, housing, vision, and growth...
some things that came up to keep in mind as we begin connecting with folks included
asking people-
What would you like people to wrestle with?
What would be a multi-perspective conversation you would like to hear about your these issue, and in particular the issues you/your organization/your business deal with?
What are the misperceptions of these issues?
What never gets talked about?
What do you wish people talked about?
To make this of value to you, to make it interesting to you,
what do we need to problematize?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
moving ahead
we had a great first week of rehearsal
we have an exciting conversation going on at
nocaptionneeded.com
we have a facebook site
and guest artists are starting to arrive today
join the conversation
help us think expansively about this stuff...
below, some thoughts from rehearsal the other day-
Assumption/generalizations at work here, but for the sake of observing what values come out in our work, at least the other night-
When change was social/human,
the anti-change character was seen as the antagonist
OR
When a lesbian couple tries to move into a neighborhood,
and someone is against that change in the social values of what is ‘appropriate’, and what isn’t,
the person against that change
is the ‘bad guy’.
But
When there was capital/money-based change,
the anti-change person was seen as the protagonist
Or
When someone is trying to buy up property,
or a neighborhood is changing and becoming economically more solvent,
property values are perhaps going up,
The person against that change, not selling, advocating for community not shifting,
is the ‘good guy’…
……
When you don’t know, as a character, that you’re engaged in a battle
but the audience knows that because of your values, you’re actually in a battle
what does that make the experience like to watch? And, to play?
……
What kind of bridges or coming-together or shared values can vastly different stories have?
Sometimes a conflict arises because of differing values, although no one is consciously trying to be malicious…
……
Why do we value nostalgia?
we have an exciting conversation going on at
nocaptionneeded.com
we have a facebook site
and guest artists are starting to arrive today
join the conversation
help us think expansively about this stuff...
below, some thoughts from rehearsal the other day-
Assumption/generalizations at work here, but for the sake of observing what values come out in our work, at least the other night-
When change was social/human,
the anti-change character was seen as the antagonist
OR
When a lesbian couple tries to move into a neighborhood,
and someone is against that change in the social values of what is ‘appropriate’, and what isn’t,
the person against that change
is the ‘bad guy’.
But
When there was capital/money-based change,
the anti-change person was seen as the protagonist
Or
When someone is trying to buy up property,
or a neighborhood is changing and becoming economically more solvent,
property values are perhaps going up,
The person against that change, not selling, advocating for community not shifting,
is the ‘good guy’…
……
When you don’t know, as a character, that you’re engaged in a battle
but the audience knows that because of your values, you’re actually in a battle
what does that make the experience like to watch? And, to play?
……
What kind of bridges or coming-together or shared values can vastly different stories have?
Sometimes a conflict arises because of differing values, although no one is consciously trying to be malicious…
……
Why do we value nostalgia?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Forgotten Chicago
Here is the link to the site that was discussed during Bill Savage's talk yesterday. Didn't want it to get grouped in with the research links, because I feel like its different.
http://www.forgottenchicago.com/index.php
and the article that discusses it
http://www.forgottenchicago.com/index.php
and the article that discusses it
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Today we start the conversation
We're starting a conversation about cities, change, development and housing.
We're wanting to learn from people with different experiences and point of views.
We're interested in conversations that include, and then expand from, the personal stories, politics and perspectives...what are the ethics involved in figuring out/living amidst change?
Equity. Vision. Home.
The United States will increase by around 100 million people in the next 20-30 years. There is no one plan for where we will all live.
Where will we live? Will we be thoughtful about that, or will it just happen?
This blog is a space that students, collaborators and partners can and hopefully will post links, images & thoughts...its not an advocacy site for a specific activist agenda- its ideally a space for hearing, thinking and sharing.
Attacks will be deleted. Tension and disagreement won't.
We're wanting to learn from people with different experiences and point of views.
We're interested in conversations that include, and then expand from, the personal stories, politics and perspectives...what are the ethics involved in figuring out/living amidst change?
Equity. Vision. Home.
The United States will increase by around 100 million people in the next 20-30 years. There is no one plan for where we will all live.
Where will we live? Will we be thoughtful about that, or will it just happen?
This blog is a space that students, collaborators and partners can and hopefully will post links, images & thoughts...its not an advocacy site for a specific activist agenda- its ideally a space for hearing, thinking and sharing.
Attacks will be deleted. Tension and disagreement won't.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)