Field Trip Assignment

Plaza next to the Broad Museum on Bunker Hill. A lovely place to sit, lie on the grass, and relax (if you fit a certain demographic). Not allowed: consult the sign! Or ask the private security guards. For example, kids aren't allowed to climb these fantastic climbable trees! This is an example of private space (owned by The Broad) masquerading as a public plaza.

On our field trip we are going to put the theories of Mike Davis to the test. We are also going to practice close observation so that when this class is over you are skilled at "reading" the messages urban environments are sending you. Prepare yourself by reviewing the Davis text we read for class, particularly the sections where he details the "architectural policing of social boundaries" (we also discussed this in our discussion forum).

THE ASSIGNMENT:

1. THE FIELD RESEARCH: Meet in the Central Library garden on Wednesday May 24 at 10 am sharp. First, we are going to walk up the "Spanish Steps" and along one or two streets in the Bunker Hill area. If we have time we'll also visit the Historic Core section of Downtown L.A. As we walk, I'd like you to look around and consider how the urban environment was designed. You should consider the following:

1. Street front: are the entrances to shops and businesses organized along the sidewalk? Is there easy entrance? If not where are the shops and businesses entrances located and how do you access them?

2. How do you access the amenities on Bunker Hill? Where do you park? How do you get from the parking lot to one of the museums/restaurants/offices, etc.? What does that journey look like?

3. Where might you hang out on Bunker Hill? How do you access those plazas or "public" spaces? Are the places public? Semi-public? Private? What provides clues to this information?

4. Are there places to sit? How do you access those places? What does the street or plaza furniture look like? Can you lie down on it? Can you move it?

5. Is there any kind of patrol or security? What form does it take?

6. Very important: who might be encouraged to hang out here and who isn't? Who might be welcome but not comfortable? (You can consider many different demographics, from business people, to teenage skateboarders, to low income service workers, to museum go-ers, to senior citizens, to people of different economic, ethnic, racial backgrounds, etc.). How do you know? Are there certain ways the space is designed that sends messages about who belongs there and who doesn't?

2. THE ESSAY:

1. Select two different urban spaces from the field research. This could be a plaza and a lawn/park on Bunker Hill. It could be a plaza on Bunker Hill and a similar space in the Historic Core. It might be an entrance to a hotel and an entrance to a park. It could be a comparison of a typical streetscape on Bunker Hill and one in the Historic Core. You can compare Bunker Hill to Bunker Hill, or Bunker Hill to the Historic Core (your choice).

2. Write a narrative about how you approach the space, what the urban design looks like (fountains? grass? benches?), and exactly what messages these send to you as you experienced the space. For example, are the benches designed to encourage you to linger? Do they allow you to lie down? Move the furniture to your liking? Are you allowed to lie on the grass? Are there different kinds of people from different economic classes there? If it's a hotel, gym, or other shop, how do you access it? Describe, describe, describe!

3. Write a comparison of the two spaces. Be sure to be detailed in your description. How did you access the space? What was the exact journey you took? How do you describe the place? Is it at street level? How is it located in relation to other buildings? What are these other buildings? These are some questions you might answer in your description.

4. Tell me if you think the spaces are public, semi-public, or private and why.

5. Finally, write you analysis. How might your observations reflect what Mike Davis argues in the chapter we read from his book City of Quartz? What do you think about this space? What would you think about it if you weren't of your economic class and didn't dress the way you do?

3. SUBMIT

1. Please submit your written assignment (about 5 pages) along with at least 1-2 pictures of each place. Submit the assignment as a PDF or WORD document.