A Whole New World- That's Where We'll Be.

This post os about public space in the area of Bushwick and Aberdeen .However, before I go into it I would just like to share a little more of my experience- it will be short-I promise. As one might expect, there is more than one way of getting somewhere in the city with all of its subway cars, buses, taxis, and of course, walking. However, it was to my surprise that I would be taking a different route to my particular subway station. The Canarsie L line was shut down and parts of it still are for a short time being. So, instead of the twenty-five minute ride- I had an adventure. I took the FREE shuttle bus from Union Square to 8th Avenue. From there, I waited for the A line and took it all the way to Broadway Junction (see above) and then took another FREE shuttle bus to Bushwick and Aberdeen. Before I start by exploring the public will be relevant:

Instead of finding the same kind of people as I do on the L line, I finally experienced something different. I saw what seemed like middle-class working people who ,to me, were nice and helped me with directions on how to get where I needed. What I thought from my previous experience was that it was a poor area that had no life- but due to a new public space -just a different route- I experienced something different. There seems to be a sense of a community that values its members and tries to promote "brotherhood" of some sort.

As I got off the shuttle bus I found urban art- advertisements and funny experessions.

In the neighborhood, there are a few places where community is meant to be made and it looks as though it is thriving. It is mostly homogenous with a few that may remain from settling in years ago. While it is mostly residential, the area still has some businesses, which are located on the central streets and avenues. There is a surplus of Laundromats and corner store bodegas. The buildings are residential so it can be said that it is really a segregated community, not open for visit. The only reason why you would be there is if you lived there, were visiting someone, or studying the area for an urban studies class. No person would come to the area to “sight-see”.

get quite depressing- On one of the most sunny of days in the With the large, elevated structures for the subway that follow you in most of the streets in the neighborhood, it creates a darkened, more isolated feeling. These structures divide the area up into small sections and you may feel confused or displaced if you aren’t a native. It can actually summer, barely any light will hit you as you walk down the sidewalk which makes it feel cold, deserted, and uninviting. This is opposite to the areas, such as the garden or the park that do have light shining in on them- which makes it more cheerful, inviting, and sociable.

There is a colorful mix of flowers and vegetables growing. The area, most surprisingly, has a community garden that is thriving and is taken care of. are tomato plants and other fresh herbs growing as well. You can also see that there are chairs in a grouped area- this means that people actually socialize when they are in the garden. This public space is used by the public and belongs to the people of the neighborhood. While I was allowed to just walk right in, in terms of completely public space, I think it is not. I would not be allowed to go in and just start planting my own seeds because I do not live there. I am not part of the community.
The area also has two parks in very close proximity of each other. One has a children’s play area with swings and a baseball diamond.


While I was there, there were a couple of people sitting and laughing on the bench and an elderly man reading on the other side. There was very little graffiti on a fence near by and none anywhere else. The second park is where architecture and design play a large role in the community’s space. You can definitely tell that it was designed for the sheer purpose of bringing the community closer. for instance, in the following pictures:

a very large, multi-pupose space that may be able to hold protest interaction between any of the two people that sit there. They have to look at each other and it fosters a sense of community. There are also courts to play handball and basketball and there isThere are several designated areas for people to use. The benches do not just stand alone but also have tables between them and two benches face each other. This is a forced socials, markets, perhaps a concert, or even a small fair. It was designed this way to make the community flexible and able to do what it wishes in terms of interaction.

In terms of privacy, this residential area seems to value it. There are gates and barbed wire surroundings several establishments as well as a church playground I saw. However, the privacy of the public space is very little. For example, there is a residential building that overlooks the park. It has a dark courtyard which faces the park. They get to see the public and the public sees them as well. To live like this is not very private because there is always someone watching someone else. One can also imagine how one can hear everything that is going on in the park, especially at night.