Neglected spaces

London, UK
13 May 2010
 

What would you want to change in order to enchance people's urban experience? Public space for everyone The project Neglected Spaces is a project part of an MA Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London. Navigating through the city of London is an endless journey of sensorial impressions. By trying to see the urban surrounding with new eyes you realise that there are many places that are underused and static but with great potential for a change. Through experimentation with public space this new concept of communicating has been designed in order to let people respond to their urban surrounding. This creative initiative is in an early and very exiting stage and has scope for major future development. It is currently part of an ongoing campaign to highlight the beauty of our environment and continue over time through workshops, events and talks. Is public space accessible to everyone? Decisions are often being made without consulting the public on what they would like to experience in their urban surroundings. This obstacle raises the question why the public does not have more creative influence on public space in cities. A city is much more than the gaudy glow of neon lights, streets, crowds, shops and weather. It also contains places that are underused and that do not attain their full potential: neglected spaces. These neglected spaces can appear obvious in urban space or lie secretly hidden in the public realm. The spaces often look abandoned which make the image of the city dull, boring and a sometimes even sketchy. Neglected Spaces is an innovative digital platform for democratically communicating underused spaces in London's 32 different boroughs to the public. A public place that matches three of more of the following criterias can be characterized as a neglected space: Noisy Empty Smelly Hostile Traffic Unfriendly Dark Sterile Rough Static Abandoned Lack of colours Too exposed No focal point Lack of signage A place you just pass No weather protection No encouraged interaction Nothing to do in the space Feeling that you are trapped. 


FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk/ or
http://www.neglectedspaces.com