People need to see to follow

The discussions that we had in our studio and the unitech experiment, about people following each other’s actions brought into my notice a similar situation in my locality.

I live in sheikh sarai, dda flats and my block has a park about 150 x 60 sq. ft. and we also have this huge stretch of green on the other side which covers about 100 ft of length of our block. 5 years ago the block park was not at all used, covered with tall grass, whereas the green stretch about 30 ft wide had an abundance of trees, there was a walking path, couple of benches where people used to sit, I remember waiting for my bus by that stretch ( the stretch is kind of raised, ( we call it ‘the pahari’ - its abt 6-7 ft high), it gives a view of the roads opposite and it was connected to our block, the citywalk road and the college of vocational studies , easily accessible to all.

The block park was completely ignored, till this lady on the ground floor started planting small green strips right in front of her house, people followed with their individual strips in front of thier respective houses, they got the grass trimmed, installed lights, made proper pedestrian space to walk on and even bored a tubewell.

The park is occupied at all times, especially at night, there are no qualms about going out because one is not alone. It all started with individual strips being planted to a whole park being activated.
And ‘the pahari’ - over the 5 years has been ignored, when people shifted to the block park, no one now visits pahari anymore except some college couples which has also become rare. It is now becoming a garbage dump.

The reason I wrote this is because, just yesterday when I came back from the ‘draw me in’ experiment, people from my block had gathered around the pahari and from what I heard they are going to bring up its maintenance issue in the next society meeting. I am sure we will be able to use it again.

smriti

( uploding photos soon )

Office experiment

 Office Experiment 1

  16 august, 1:00 - 2.00 p.m   Unitech Cyber Park

As part of our studio unit – activating public spaces ( zone of action being Gurgaon), we a group of 13 calling ourselves the ‘URBAN GORILLAZ – agents of change’ had our first flash mob in  the unitech office complex. Positioning ourselves in groups of two or three around the complex we threw paper planes at each other, while the office crowd moved about with their usual business.

Thinking backwards, I could trace out the whole process of human response – when the few people sitting right in the vicinity of our activity, saw us – after about 2-3 min noticed us (also goes for the crowd moving about) and given 5 min realised our presence. ( while moving about, throwing the planes, the assumptions that I heard people making amongst each other- which were then followed by questions of ‘what’s going on?’ )

Talking about the reactions – there were these people who came up and asked about the activity – all with different concerns – some asking the reason for conducting the activity (if it was some special day, some form of punishment etc) , some wanting to know if we were from the campus or someone from outside – and putting the queries together it came to the basic question that they were curious( what’s happening ???)  

People need to see to follow - there were these people who actually picked up the planes and joined in, and some others who while walking stopped to pick the ones they spotted lying and made this whole act of blowing them and then tossed it – for once they had something different to do than chatting on the phone  ( that is their job, I say, take a break for once! ) 

And talking about activating spaces, I feel its not only about a bunch of people coming and sitting around, I mean people did sit around and did whatever they had to under and around the structure, but its about using it in a way that you socially connect, I mean with ten offices out there and a huge crowd of say about 1000 if only 50 hang around, the connections come out naturally, and when such groups need to hang out they have to use spaces – like the manicured lawns that are in front of the complex (which are conveniently barricaded) why not use them, instead of just standing by them. And if there’s a question of trampling the grass then there’s  an example within the complex – a path meandering through the green.     

About 20-30 people stand by the stalls outside,  a disconnected mass from the complex, I think  a flash mob should be conducted in that area to see the people’s response.  

smriti

Urban issues- public spaces(gurgaon)

The aim of the studio is to identify potential public spaces in gurgaon and use them to their maximum potential. Now people claim that with so much construction going around, with expanding population DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPACES LEFT??

For those of us who inhabbit gurgaon also are met with the same dilemma. Where is the public space??

The places are right infront of us all we need to do is open our eyes.

In today’s fast paced life we overlook the obvious. We are so engrossed in our own little world that we forget to see the broader picture. For eg. The other day walking towards one of the malls looking for a place to chill out with my friends I saw this wide patch of grass and wondered “why are we not using this space”

Is it because nobody uses it hence it has become a no man’s land?

Or is it that I see this beautifully manicured lawn and feel disheartened if I trample the grass or spoil its scenic beauty.

Or I was sacred that the security guard will come and shove me away.

Well the third reason is more of cowardice on my part. Infact I should have gone there and see what the reaction of the people around the area and most importantly that of the security guard is.

Through this studio we are conducting  a series of experiments to gauge the reaction of people and see how they react to public space and when they see other people using it and hope for a positive response.

by avni 

Mapping

Experiment One

16.08.2010

Experiment One

Throwing paper planes in a public space inside an office building complex in Gurgaon around lunch time

Aim-  To observe how people working in those offices engaged in the activity and used the public space differently.

13 agents dressed up in office clothes spread themselves in a huge structure in the middle of the office complex and randomly threw paper planes over a course of half an hour. The three of us who were diagramming the area, mapping the change in movement and assessing the impact of this random act in a public spaces observed some interesting things.

The maximum movement of people in the building was seen between 1:30 and 1:50 pm. Almost everyone passing by looked, some in amusement, some amazed and most of them confused at the occurrence of such an event. About 35-40% of these people actually sat down or stood around for approximately four to five minutes to watch. 5-7 people sitting in and around that area participated and actually had fun doing something as goofy as throwing paper planes. However this participation was much less than what it could have been considering the large number of people who stood around the central structure and watched from surrounding green areas.

The other great part about this act was the response and the personal encounters that all of us faced. I was asked if I worked in one of these buildings and was also informed by someone who had been working there for the past five years that this was the first time he saw something so crazy happening. After a brief discussion with some of his colleagues, he concluded that the people throwing paper planes had all got fired from the same office there and were doing this as a strike to get back at their boss!

In my opinion, this office complex which is busy almost all the time and sees a lot of activity and movement throughout the day experienced a pleasant change where people actually sat around in groups and used the public area for longer periods than they usually do. Some more such interventions at different times in this area could prove to be very useful in activating this vast unused public space.

Aayushi

agents of change -shitij dogra

Agents of change as the name suggests , trying to reform the very nature of the area around us . unfortunately, people are so very bound to what they see everyday that they never really think out of the box. They are like horses of a chariot as I suggested the very sentence to my teacher when she scolded me for questioning a security guard that why is a space which is not being used can be used in a more judicious manner. Yes , called them the horses because they are made to the see straight not into their surroundings . same is the case with the people of Gurgaon district.


Today I would like to share my first flash mob experience with everyone. We guys thought of doing something different as we say thinking out of the box. We guys decided to sit at a wasted public space and we guys decided to fly paper planes in that area as it was the best means of passing time for everyone in their childhood. We guys entered the building complex and sat on the floor pretending as if we dint know each other . all of us started throwing planes around the floor . I had never visited that very place before but it really made me believe that this place would not have been that crazy the way it was when we guys were there throwing paper planes randomly. For when, somebody used to ask as to what we are doing our replies were “ I just had a divorce , so I am channelizing my energy into something else” ironic isn’t it? . As in India there is this huge problem with people of proving their superiority over others , a guard came up to me out of nowhere and asked me to leave while on the other side some of the people even joined us into the very event.

Within five minutes there were about seven security people around me finding a way to catch hold of me and kill me. Basically , they even checked my bag to see if there was a bomb in my bag, I am sure one of them must still be feeling proud of himself thinking he saved his own complex from a bomb blast. So I asked them that why are they stoping me , as it is the best defence to not answer a person as it keeps you in ambiguity , he asked his fellow mate to throw me out of the complex and so I went myself, basically in the end we managed to get some support of the people which was our main motive which we successfully achieved