Mind the Gap

An aspect of the process of urban design which fascinates me without fail is the space between perception and reality.
Recently a community group I spoke with lamented that there were so many homeless living in the local park. Upon investigation, I discovered that there in fact just 3 homeless gentlemen sleeping in the park. The community group wrongly assumes that homeless folks don't own a change of clothes! The gap between perception and reality could be closed here with a simple introduction and eye contact recognition.

Perception. Reality. Spatial consequence.

I have never owned a bicycle. My perception is largely that the city is a hostile environment, with roads being the saddest of the spaces where true human nature can be expressed. Not too different from open forums on popular/controversial blogs. Why would I inhabit that space without the maximum protection afforded to me by the 30 000 parts that make up the average road vehicle?

Of course the reality of the situation is that not all roads are created equal, not all roads are used equally and not all road users are equally treated. Were I to attempt to negotiate Claremont Main Road every morning during peak congestion periods I may find my perceptions remain fixed. In recently reviewing my car usage however, I have found that more than half of my car trips are under 10km in distance and outside of peak hours. Additionally, everyone of those trips can be made using alternate routes/back-roads should I chose to do so.

Tick tock.

Tomorrow I will begin my epic cycle challenge. Yes, that is a veiled attempt an aligning the challenge of changing my perceptions with the challenge of completing 718km of mountain bike madness (Google ABSA Cape Epic!). I will be collecting my bike tomorrow from a kind sponsor who believes that one voice can sometimes be loud enough. I will find the back roads and use my bike as much as possible to the tune of 100km a month minimum. I have yet to understand what is required from a kit perspective, but the minimum of a helmet, light and carrier have been met. I am still searching for a Go Pro sponsor, so if that is you - let me know!

To what end.

I advocate for mixed used developments from the comfort of my swivel chair. Every self respecting urbanist does. I have not considered the complexity of mixed use roads from the comfort of a saddle. Every self respecting urbanist should.


Follow the journey with me @contestedspaces

Gutterlaw

Contested spaces are places in our city where multiple users claim ownership mostly through occupation, often through association and rarely through legal ownership. My previous series of blogs have focused on the introduction of public art and role of social commentary through art into public spaces. Contested spaces.

This week, under the authority of the Western Cape Provincial Road Traffic Act, Provincial Transport MEC Robin Carlisle issued a series of regulations intended to increase road safety. The regulations stipulate that a 1 metre gap be given to cyclists when being passed by a vehicle. In addition to what cyclists have branded the 'gutterlaw', regulations outline important aspects such as riding with a helemt, no earphones and very importantly remaining in single file.

Our roads are potentially the most contested spaces of all. Public squares and pedestrian routes glazed with eurocentric aspirations of public life leave time to pause and consider. They create opportunities to connect, interact and engage. Our roads however, are spaces contested at speed, with intentions to arrive sooner, move faster and not engage at all, certainly not to connect.

The design solution for spaces contested at speed requires rethinking existing norms. An important principle in all the urban design work that I undertake is that of equality. How should the language of space making frame and reinforce the participants desire to be there, and perceived ownership of that space? In other words when is it appropriate and to what degree do designers allow participants to feel safe, comfortable and accepted?
 
In the case of public roads, our asphalt strips and cycling laws successfully relegate cyclists into the gutter spaces where stormwater debris, stones and litter must be contended with. Additionally, interruptions of the free flow of traffic through pedestrian crossings and signals are seen as necessary evils and often go unheeded by motorists. The case for pedestrian orientated design can be wrapped in commercial interests like street cafes, desirable meandering past shop fronts and the like. Creating cycle friendly and skateboard accommodating spaces are stapled onto discussions about better, greener cities but to what end?  If you have a car, you use it.

Cyclists and other non-motorised transportation modes simply do not equally share the public road space by design. Other than safety and convenience, there is limited motivation for real change as in my opinion, as there simply are not enough cyclists to tip the balances. And herein lies the challenge.

I don't cycle. I don't own a bike. In my mind I understand the need to have more cycle friendly places and spaces but in reality I am loathe to count myself amongst the brave few who go out there into these unequal spaces. I am a mom, living in suburbia. I enjoy driving and the feeling of safety it provides me. But what would happen if I got on a bike and tried, wrote about it and advocated for equality from a saddle rather than a comfortable swivel chair? I care about equality and I am in a place professionally to co-design spaces that can be informed by such an experience.

So starting in December I will be investigating and writing about the contested space that is the road. I will commit to riding 100km every month for 6 months, blogging twice a week and tweeting like crazy (@contestedspaces). What do I need from the cycling community?
- Use this project to further your advocacy!
- I need gear. Of course I will shamelessly promote you and laud you for your efforts. What bike does a mom in suburbia ride? Helmet, light etc. A huge barrier to entry is knowing what works and what doesn't.
- A Go_Pro would be helpful to document evidence.
- I need some lessons on street smart riding. I cannot over emphasize how inexperienced I am and how willing I am to learn.

With the use of my fabulous network of friends and collaborators, I will included some published writing into this smorgasboard of benefit and experimentation.  

I am utterly convinced that diversifying the type and number of non-motorised transport users in our city will go a long way to improving the way our roads are contested. I am very excited to begin this journey with all of you on wheels. Let the challenge begin.

Kirsten

Urban Migration

During a recent city walk through the inner city streets of Cape Town, an interesting discussion was sparked. Led by Creative Cape Town and the Cape Town Partnership, our tour of public art and public life brought us to a scene I witness regularly in Harrington Street. The daily migration of street traders, carting their temporary structures upwards of a kilometer through the city streets to their assigned plots. The discussion was about access to land, distribution of opportunity, and the micro scale urban migratory patterns occurring everyday in our city.

In order for the traders to successfully negotiate the route to the more pedestrianized inner city from the storage facility in Harrington Street, rickety heavy laden carts are first hauled to the middle of the roadway to negotiate the equally strong camber. I look on nervously hoping the cart will not veer out of control into parked vehicles - how many bags of chips and cigarettes will replace a smashed headlight or broken side mirror on a Range Rover?

To my surprise, each trader sets out on this journey alone. Every morning and every evening. No assistance, no camaraderie and no women traders in sight. The conditions are very disheartening and I can only hope that the role out of cycle lanes in our city will also take into consideration other non motorized transport such as these carts. Of course a more sustainable solution would involve accessible storage facilities adjacent to the trading sites to ensure that women, the elderly and everyone less physically capable would be able to trade informally should they wish to do so.

Storage and the daily hauling of goods is an integral part of the discussion around decisions to use non motorized transport. What other migratory patterns within the city should inform the design of the streetscape and manner in which we design shared services?
Stop.
Not for a moment am I sending out a heartfelt call for a designer to design "the-ultimate-store-all-repurposed-airport-trolley" although perhaps there is space for ACSA to be involved here. What is concerning and where perhaps the solution process should begin is in understanding why traders are not assisting each other in this daily commute. The networks of commonality and community of struggle in my observation are not well functioning in this situation and may be poorly served by another designed object.


Lets learn the story, haul trollies, understand the commute, and come to terms with the challenges are facing this community and others who migrate daily in our city.

Public meets Private

In my urban design experience, I have found the fiercest battle to be fought between interests that are public (for the greater social good) and interests that are private (individual owner or corporate group). The sustainability issue, the budget issue and even the aesthetic issue are most always overshadowed by the client wanting to overstep his ability to develop an opportunity to the detriment of those around him. At its core, this pursuit is motivated by greed. Plain and simple.

Greed.
The recognition that there are obviously limited resources, therefor one should acquire as many of those resources as possible in order to enjoy life and survive in that way for as long as possible.
(I am a bit grumpy so I switched off my politically correct setting this morning, sorry!!)

Enter stage(left): Local government

Certainly my greatest demand from local government is to ensure that these battles between public and private interests, between individual greed and the greater public good is mediated. Mediated in favor of the public good. This mediation includes securing funds for essential services and social upliftment. It includes teacher training, policing and environmental protection.

Obviously it would include abiding by its own rules drawn up in consultative public processes - the Urban Edge in particular springs to mind.

What the City has done in setting such a precedent constitutes a tipping point in terms of public engagement and the role of the local government in protecting the rights of the public good.
Very tricky. How can the City possibly defend, yes, defend the rights of the public when the City itself is seen to be bowing to private greed?

Race Classification Bench: fantastic expression and art piece. Now vandalized. Who would deface an expression of democracy?

Public Art. Public Space. Public Comment

It has become increasingly clear in our post-democratic political evolution that a ballot cast every four years simply does not encompass all that is democracy. City dwellers are occupying public spaces in cities around the globe as a collective way of making demands and objections known as politicians and officials steer away from campaign promises.  Thousands of tweets, hundreds of ‘likes’ and a dozen comments online cannot top a single rock (or poo) thrown at a window in disgust.  Never before has the importance of public space been clearer, yet the focus on public engagement in public space couldn’t be more complex.

Currently the City of Cape Town is wrangling two pieces of legislation outlining the manner in which creative industries can and should participate in public space in the foreseeable future.  From protest art to seemingly self-referential post(post)modern expressions, these works, their artistic merit and their placement will be scrutinized through a different lens than before.

At a National level, the Department of Arts and Culture has released a draft White Paper On Arts Culture and Heritage. The public participation period has now closed unless the Department heeds calls to extend the consultation process, which has been far too swift to elicit a well considered response from major role players. In addition to this overarching legislation, the City of Cape Town is formulating its first Public Art Regulatory Framework. By all accounts this is still a working title. This regulatory framework is being hurried along, and is planned to be in effect in time for the barrage of 2014.

Both these pieces of legislation will radically affect how public art and public space in the City of Cape Town is contested.

The City’s Public Art Regulatory Framework discussion document defines public art as “artistic works or activities accessible or visible from the public realm – the public realm is not only public land but also includes sites and settings of public life owned by the state or owned commercial(sic) e.g squares, streets, parks, pavements, alleys, civic buildings and building facades.

Stop. Where?

Everywhere. If you can see it as a passerby, the City of Cape Town will have rights over your visual, artistic intake.  Those opposed to oversized advertising billboards and commercial signage will not find any help in this document however. The framework excludes the right to comment on advertising/media billboards and platforms. Sorry, unfortunately scantily clad ladies in our 80km/h zones are here to stay.

So what does the proposed framework say Good Art looks like? If you are planning to create something special for 2014 World Design Capital, what are the criteria that need to have your work approved? Two aspects are worth mentioning before you start sketching. Firstly, the Cape Town brand is king and your work will need to ‘reflect Cape Towns unique identity and enhance the image of the city”. Secondly be sure to take a multi-disciplinary approach. The framework makes much of collaboration and participation. While this is certainly a progressive and exciting notion, artists who work in secluded bubbles of creative angst with nothing good to say about how the City is run, beware.

At first glace, the framework is a progressive document which will give much needed guidance to all spheres of the City’s administration. The framework does extensively cover a number of issues surrounding mural work and competition calls, maintenance and guaranteed timelines for applications. It is hoped the framework will assist the City to curate a world-class public art collection.

What the narrative of this collection is however, remains to be seen.

Owning Mandela

In documenting public art in Cape Town these last few weeks, I have come across many representations of Madiba. Most recently, there was a protest happening alongside on of these works. The protestors were incredibly dressed in ANC honoring shweshwe fabrics incorporating Madiba's image. The songs were just as colorful as their attire, as they sang victory songs and ululated in a way that was joyful yet at the same-time expressed the impending sorrow we all feel.

They were protesting the use of Madiba's image by the City of Cape Town. Recently a number of public art expressions have been plastered over buildings and lamp posts to name but a few. I personally think the art is incredible but possibly needing a home, a place, a sanctuary, at this time..rather than reimagining an already famous brand. The protesters were of the opinion that Mandela belongs to the African National Congress. I suspect this is the beginning of a nationwide debate which will inevitable be voiced in some way or another through public art.

At both the Cape Town International Convention Centre and Civic Centre, additional exhibitions/celebrations can be seen. I was quite interested with the obviously muted atmosphere now within the CTICC foyer as a result. I paused at a large photo of Madiba on an easel surrounded by glass votive candles. Tempted to light a candle, I thought: 'not yet'.
There is still time.

Time to understand, time to plan, time to distill all that has happened. Not into another brand. I want the City to make a place. A place (or places) I can go with my children and put the lovely get-well card they made for him. A place where those well dressed ladies can teach my children those same freedom songs. A place where I can draw and draw from. Public art plays such an important role in coming to terms with a post-Mandela age for young and old alike.

When I asked my little girl (4yrs old) who she thought Nelson Mandela is. Her reply:
"He is the real statue of liberty"

Indeed.

The site of the protest

Dog-alogue

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Freedom of speech and all of that..as long as you can endure the ensuing criticism if nobody agrees with you, of course.

A few days ago I spent a good long while photographically documenting this piece of public art. It's entitled Dialogue at Dogwatch by Stephen Brown, situated on Middle Campus at the University of Cape Town. Take a look, a good long look, and then I'll exercise my right to an opinion and see if you agree.

 View of the overall piece

 

Single figure detail

Facial expression detail

Detail of central figure (not unlike Henry Moore)

Firstly, it really is an impressively sized piece of public art. One can only imagine the enormous amount of time and effort and cost it took to construct this work and ship it here from the UK where it was originally erected. The craftsmanship is really world class, however my admiration ends just about there.
My experience of being in this space was initially one of discomfort - an intuitive feeling, an awkward feeling, not dissimilar to what I imagine it must feel like walking into a room where an inebriated couple have taken it a little too far and are dressed in too little.
It is a charged space, and for the hour or so that I was amongst the piece, every student passing by walked around and not through the space.

After some consideration, I realized that what I was looking at was not dissimilar to this:
Fragonard's Swing.

The Gaze.
In both these pieces the central female form is highlighted as men gaze upon her. The painted scene is depicting a man and his mistress in an air of seeming frivolity while her husband looks on as a darkened more serious figure. The Dogwatch similarly mixes these two aspects of playfully odd poses, yet clothed in more serious military garb and in a determined/dominating relationship with the female form. With me so far?
What I like about Fragonards work is the suggestion that the female figure may be enjoying or at least participating in this attention. The Dogwatch does not afford the female any expression whatsoever. It is this realisation that makes me most uncomfortable. Are the sculpted figures actually wooing the female, is she totally untouchable and therefore not known, or is it more of a conquest where names and faces are inconsequential? The dominating spatial position, facial expressions and exposed bits lead me to conclude the latter.
What does UCT think about it all?
I can only imagine what drunk students get up to here at night!

Ugh!