Outstanding Brooklyn Article

Check out this article about the neighborhood we visited in Brooklyn! It's amazing!
N.Y. / REGION | July 25, 2010
The Stories of One Brooklyn Block
By STACY ABRAMSON
South Elliott Place: its characters and stoop sitters, its street sweeps and pig roasts, its brownstones and rentals, its bad old days and new gleam.

Definition of "Social Space"

A social space is any place where people come together and congregate and interact with one another. It can be a physical location or it can be a virtual location, such as a social networking site on the internet. Similarly, it can be a privately owned spot such as a website but also like a bar, restaurant, or shopping mall. However, it can also be a public domain such as a city park or a town square.

My research will focus on public places which have urban art on display in them. This will assure that certain variables are kept constant. The locations will be accessible by virtually anyone, and they will all contain some type of potential conversation piece. I hypothesize that the presence of the art will encourage interaction, and thus, contribute to the location becoming a popular social space.

Human Interaction in Urban Areas

There are typically certain elements in urban areas that encourage human interaction. Similarly, there seem to be a limited number of interractions amongst humans that typically take place in urban settings. For example, physical interaction, other than just a simple holding of hands between a parent and child, or arms around the waists of two lovers, rarely is seen in urban spaces. Also, loud interactions, with the exception of public performances, seems to be quite rare in public.
On the other hand, any activity that seems to be a social norm is found with great frequency in urban areas. People talking on cell phones or speaking quietly with their travelling companions can be witnessed all the time. Also, when public seating is made available, people tend to gather around and congregate in areas such as this. My research will explore further the various types of human interaction found in urban spaces.

Urban Art and the Lincoln Center for the

My focus for my research is "urban art" and its ability to create, encourage, or discourage social spaces in New York City. The traditional definition of urban art typically invokes images of graffiti or cartoon characters, usually on display in a public space and usually not commissioned by the owner(s) of the "canvas." However, the traditional definition of "urban" is "from the city." Therefore, research will look at any art that is located in public places throughout the city.

This is a picture of the fountains out front of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in new York City's Upper West Side. The Lincoln Center is a 16.3 acre area where many art forms meet in one place. Not only is it home to the opera, the ballet, the symphony, and the Juliard School of the Arts, but on the Saturday we were there it also hosted a huge arts and crafts festival outside in the plaza.

John D. Rockafeller III tore down a 17 square block of old tenements in the late 1950's to build the arts complex. Today is hosts the upper crust of New York in their artistic endeavors. The entire area is build over a huge underground parking area for the luxury vehicles driven by the rich patrons of the area that come from New Jersey or other areas outside of the city. The wall that faces the public housing in the area is completely closed off to the Lincoln Center complex, creating virtually no interaction between the patrons of the arts and the surrounding community. However, despite its alienation in the heart of Manhattan, inside the complex a vast array of social spaces are created around the art. This recently expanded and improved fountain hosts several social groups at any given time. Some sit around admiring the jumping water display, while others cool off by getting sprinkled on the sides. Yet others simply use the ledge as a sitting space while chatting amongst their friends. Regardless of its many uses, this urban arts center is certainly a social space.

Party in the Park

Many New Yorkers who aren't lucky enough to have a yard space of their own bring their social spaces to the park. Here, some teenage girls host a birthday party for one of their friends.

Festival in the Park

Many people of all ages, races, and orientations came out to support the Pride gathering. On the right, the Boys' Choir Group of NYC performs "Dream Girls." There was something for everyone inside the gates of the Pride Festival.

Pride in the Park

June 19th kicked off Pride Week for the GLTB community in New York City. They had their opening festivities in the heart of the park. Shown here is the group Sunday Morning Mimosas performing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in honor of the troops overseas.