PROJECT NEIGHBOR’DBy Zainab Motiwala

Master of ScienceCommunications Design

School Of Art And DesignPratt Institute

May 2014

PROJECT NEIGHBOR’DBy Zainab Motiwala

Bachelor of Design,

Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture

Dec 2002

Master of Science, Communication Design

School of Art and Design,

Pratt Institute

May 2014

© 2014 Zainab Motiwala

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Communications Design.

School of Art and Design

Pratt Institute.

May 2014

Jean Brennan May 2014

Jeff Bellantoni May 2014

PROJECT NEIGHBOR’DBy Zainab Motiwala

Received and approved:

Thesis Advisor:

Chairperson:

M.S. Candidate:

Zainab Motiwala May 2014

Dedicated to my creative mother, who always prayed for good neighbors before she moved to our current family home. Now I understand why.

Acknowledgements

Project Neighbor’d has been an eventful and fulfilling journey. Though this may be the end for this thesis, it is the start of many relationships within my community and beyond. For me this thesis is more than just a book, it stands to prove how far I have come, and how much further I can grow. I have learned so much over the past one year that I feel overwhelmed with a constant urge to keep this project running, and nurturing the connections it creates. It has fortified my conviction to continue using my design to benefit the people and places it touches.

Jean Brennan: The best thesis teacher and mentor I could have asked for. I have felt privileged to be under your intelligent guidance, and I thank you sincerely for being like a breath of fresh air amidst all the stress and chaos. You have deftly maneuvered and inspired me throughout, with your compassionate support.

Andrew Shea: I feel so lucky that you agreed to be my resource advisor. Your succinct feedback and experience in the field of social good has honed my work by causing me to reflect upon angles, I may have missed otherwise. You have been essential to this thesis, and I cannot thank you enough.

Roger Guilfoyle, Alex Liebergesel, Matt Martin, Heather Green: I would like to thank you, and the whole Graduate Communication Design Department. This place has been a second home to me for the past six years. I will surely miss you all.

David Sabatino (Community Activitist, Valley Stream): The man who believed in me and gave me the opportunity to enact my dreams. I treasure your support and our friendship. If everyone had a bit of David in them, this world would be a better place.

My neighbors and all residents of Valley Stream: This thesis bears testimony to the power of community, creativity and collaboration in our times. I thank you all for your participation in making this project come to life. It has been my way finder around the community through the connections and smiles you all have provided me.

My classmates; Abha Anand, John Olson, Maria Margarida, Nikko-Ryan Santillan and Zainab Al-Mashat: Thank you for your timely feedback and for making me smile when I most needed to. I will miss you all and wish you all the best of luck in your lives ahead.

Danish Bawla: My husband, my best friend, my soul mate, you have been my brick wall. I owe it all to you, and would never have been on this journey had it not been for your solid support and constant encouragement.

My parents: Thank you for your blessings and support. You have always given me the freedom to make the most of any opportunity and have played a major role in defining who I am today.

Halima Saadia and Sarim Bawla: You have been the best sister and brother in law imaginable. Thank you for helping to painstakingly edit my thesis and take care of my kids. I feel lucky to have you both in my life.

Fatima Malik: Your brilliance with words made my ideas come to life. I thank you with all my heart.

And to the rest of you: I feel honored and blessed by all who have made this journey possible. Though there are many who have not been listed here, I wholeheartedly thank you all. As the Project Neighbor’d community continues to grow, I hope that it will bring many the same joy that it has brought me.

table of content header leave blank with colored block

TABLE OFCONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION13. Abstract 14. Abstract Expanded18. Problem Statement19. Hypothesis20. Audience21. Process & Methodology Overview22. Anticipated Outcome23. Justifcation & Relevance24. Delimitations

2.0 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

29. Creativity + Diversity39. Creative Placemaking 55. Valley Stream As A Case Study63. Neighbors73.Conclusion

3.0 CASE STUDIES3.0 CDIE77. Neighborhood Postcard Project 78. The Passenger Project By IvanCash 79. Postsecret By Frank Warren80. Neighborland By Candy Chang

4.0 PROCESS & METHODOLOGY

83. Gaining First Hand Experience About People And Place 85. Immersing Into The Society At A Community Level100. Initiating Interactions Between Neighbors112. The Reward Connecting To Place113. Using Technology As A Multiplier Of A Physical And Place-Based Initiative.

5.0 RESULTS AND FINDINGS

119. Overview122. Individual Activity Results128. Conclusion

6.0 WORK CITED D

Welcome to the neighborhood circle.

INTRODUCTION1.0

ABSTRACTProject Neighbor’d is a platform for sharing, to aid a diverse community in knowing and understanding each other. Using the creativity inherent in our diversity, the mission is to develop a sense of place in order to revive bonds

of neighborliness that have been forgotten in today’s fast paced world.

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ABSTRACT EXPANDEDGoing as far back as I can remember, I have always been captivated by the idea of creativity. As a child, I frequently said that I would be an artist when I grew up. Nostalgia for those innocent times brings me to acknowledge how much the definition of creativity and design has evolved today. From an individualistic pursuit, which will no doubt always be im-portant, our times have brought greater focus on ideas like collaboration, partic-ipation and community that expand the parameters of creativity in innumerable ways to benefit everyone in the equation.

As a parent to two beautiful boys, a think-er, designer, and immigrant to the USA, the last few years have been marked by many twists and turns and an increased interest in creativity and collaboration. Given the fast pace at which society is changing, our future is extraordinarily unpredictable. Therefore, what started as a mission to find new ways for my kids to develop skills to navigate this unfore-seen future was radically altered by two basic questions, which led me to view my passion for creativity through a different lens altogether.

“What color am I?” This is the question that my then 4 year old asked me in his first week at pre-school and made me reconsider a lot of things that I had been focused on. On his first attempt I shrugged off the question and just replied, “You’re white.” To me, he falls on the fairer sider of the family gene. How-ever, he asked me the question again and I was stupefied because he wouldn’t accept the same response and said in a know it all way, “I’m brown.” While this question made me uncomfortable at the time, it has opened up so many doors that I would probably never have touched upon in this quest.

My son’s question, brought into focus his increased awareness and acute observa-tion of his place in the society around us. It also forced me to question my status as a parent bringing up children of dual heritage. It has made me realize how important it is to instill a sense of pride regarding our own heritage and culture in our children, whilst at the same time instilling in them an appreciation and respect for other cultures. It has allowed me to think about the evolution of society around me and consider the fact that most of us are cliquish when it comes to relating to people who are different from us. It is imperative for all of us to develop a feeling of community and belonging to

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The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and

incorporated into our common life”Jane Addams

the new places, which we now call home.The second question that continued the conversation above was the caption on a picture of a small girl that I came across in my search for creativity:

Are you raising me to do good? not just be good?” This question made me recon-sider the ways in which I, as a designer and a parent, can contribute in creative ways to not just raising my own kids, but in shaping the environment around them for the betterment of all who reside in it. This has made me reflect on the changing role of design and how I can use not only my creativity, but also that of everyone in the community to form a shared sense of belonging

As adults, we need to realize our own responsibilities and attitudes towards im-plementing change. We need to under-stand that the unforeseen future and the impact of globalization has and will continue to change the situations of tomorrow. Therefore, if we want our future generation to understand each other and care about the places they live in and the world they inhabit, we must exemplify that in our own actions and feed their insatiable young appetites with experience and engagement with real places, people and objects around them by using our cultural differences

as assets. Their future rests upon us getting that right. For that to happen, we need to surround them with good in their communities for them to be contributing and creative citizens of tomorrow, who shape the fabric of whichever landscape they choose to settle in, or whatever situations they might encounter.

It is commonly said that an individual is an extension of all the people who share a particular place or neighbor-hood with him. Thus for anyone who hopes to initiate any sort of goodness, big or small, whether it affects his per-sonal or community life, it is advisable to share and work with his neighbors to make his dreams come to life. As inspirational as a talk about good-ness may seem, it is useless unless we apply it to the benefit of all who surround us. For the purpose of my thesis and as an individual, my front door is the starting point into my own neighborhood, in order to bring about goodness, even if it is bit by bit.

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INSPIRATIONI am inspired by a living example of a great neighborhood in my home country, Pakistan. For a country that is often portrayed in the news as being fraught with tension, my parents neighborhood shines as an inspirational example of social cohesion, that continues to influence the residents’ lives and gives them a sense of home, security and pleasure. I aspire to create the same opportunity for creativity in the neighborhood I call home today.

The cohesiveness in the neighborhood, I witnessed as a child, started with a simple ballot committee that one of the neighbors initiated and invited my mother to participate in when my family moved onto the block. The committee consisted mostly of a generation of homemakers, and though this is an upper class neigh-borhood, the purpose of combining mon-ey in a ballot extended beyond financial reasons and was seen more as a way for neighbors to get to know each other. It provided an opportunity for all women in the neighborhood to meet once a month at least, at the home of one neighbor,

who would get the total sum of money and provide lunch for all in attendance.Ballot committees are banned in Ameri-ca as they provide ways in which money can rotate interest and tax-free. How-ever, these sort of committees are very common in Pakistan. In fact, millions of Pakistanis save billions of rupees in this informal pooling of money. Initially run by housewives, students, office workers and shopkeepers as a saving pool for financial reasons, it has come to include high society women and even young girls with the intent of socializing outside of their fixed family and friend circles. The fact that money is involved makes sure that everyone shows up. Each member of a group of trusted friends or relatives contributes the same sum to a monthly pool for a predetermined length of time. Through a ballot, each participant is allot-ted a number indicating his or her turn. Every month, one participant gets the pool total. Everyone on the committee keeps contributing until each member gets a pot of cash.

Since this specific committee took place in a setting where the people live in close proximity to each other, the interactions occurring between people and place have been far more successful and have had consequences reaching far beyond friendships and any other regular ballot committee. People who live in the vicinity not only watch out for each other, but neighbors have a special position during important events for a family, be it at the birth of grandchild, a daughter’s wedding,

or a death etc. During any occasion that warrants celebration, with the distri-bution of gifts and sweets, neighbors are considered as important as family. Though many kids like me have grown up and moved away, whenever they come home, they are paid visits by the neighbors and make an effort to meet them just as they would with family. The connections between the women have even motivated the men to meet each to address problems that plague the neighborhood. Examples include, pooling money together to keep special private police guards for safety measures, deal-ing with water shortages, keeping each other informed and figuring out potential solutions without any organizational back-ing or civic structure.

MOTIVATIONThe neighborhood mentioned above truly inspires me, but it also makes me think about the place I live in now and how different the situation is from the largely homogenous neighborhood in my home country. It also motivates me to think about the concept of the neighborhood and how it has always been the most basic unit of social organization, in which people interact most regularly and naturally, making it recognizable as a real place in which the lives of residents overlap in a multitude of ways. I think about how involved we are in our own lives today, with little or no time for the people around us. We pass each other at malls without

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making any effort to converse, we travel distances in airplanes without uttering a word. In public places, we simply plug in our earphones and hide behind the screens of our laptops and gadgets to engage in a conversation with ourselves.

I further consider the neighborhood I now live in, which is a great example of a multicultural society that has evolved over the last two decades from a completely homogenous and segregat-ed town that is characteristic of most neighborhoods in Long Island, New York. It is truly an example of the change in the American landscape that is happen-ing all over.

America is commonly referred to as the melting pot of cultures, with immi-grants from all over the world, striving to attain the American dream of a better life. Cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have always been the entry point for numerous immigrants. But in recent years, smaller towns and cities have begun to experience the cul-tural transformation that comes with a diverse society. Sometimes the Cauca-sians living in these towns may not be accepting of this mixing of different col-ors in the landscape. For generations they have been conditioned to believe in white supremacy and though many appear to be liberated and tolerant, some still have an innate human fear of change. At the moment the whole world is engulfed in a revolution. Post 9/11 much has changed. For example,

Islam has been objectified in the media as a religion of terrorists, which is far from the truth. Also, wars and geno-cides are taking place all over the world. This makes me realize the enormity of my responsibility in raising my kids in a country to which they belong, but where they are also seen as different. Being a parent to dual heritage Muslim children impassions to safeguard their future. I wish to bring up my kids to be empathiz-ing, empowered human beings who are in touch with their heritage and yet are connected with mainstream America, in order to become ambassadors of excellence today and tomorrow.

This is a question, which has arisen in the minds of many parents who are bringing up dual heritage chil-dren today. As humans, we have a tendency to stereotype cultures and religions based on a few individuals. This can lead to confusion, myths and misconceptions. By stereotyping, we are giving rise to more hate crimes, racism, bullying, depression, stress, intolerance, low self-esteem and more religious wars tomorrow. All cultures have good and bad people. The truth is there is no singular definition of what it means to be Muslim, just like there is no singular definition of what it means to be Christian, Jewish, or to be a fol-lower of any other religion. To know the true nature of any religion or culture, all we need to do is to look around at our neighbors, co-workers and our classmates. The next generations of

Americans need to be nurtured to grow up to embrace diversity, have empathy, not be judgmental, and re-alize the wealth of creativity we have in our hands due to our diversity. Diversity is the mother of creativity. I view it as a methodology for connect-ing people to place, and thus reviving old-fashioned values of neighborli-ness. It makes me think about how divergent thought and narrative from so many different cultural experienc-es and backgrounds can provide a rich mosaic of ideas. This creativity lens through which I view diversity can also be used to develop empa-thy, leading to more creative ways to engage stakeholders of a neighbor-hood in meaningful dialogue, solve problems in society and lead to the good life for which everyone strives.

The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It’s not so much about what I can get for myself for a better life; it’s about how we can all get by together.

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PROBLEM STATEMENTOur society is moving at a faster pace due to technology, busy schedules and the frequency with which we change jobs, homes and locations, making it harder and harder to feel a sense of community. It is too easy to become isolated in our homes, and all these reasons tend to be-get placelessness. Minimal connection to the physical place and people around us can lead to loneliness, depression, increased violence, and crime etc. Social media has no doubt, has been very effective at connecting us, but has also brought us to an era of neighboring of taste rather than neighboring of place. Today people are more connected to oth-ers who live far away, rather then their next-door neighbors, many of whom don’t even know their names.

This decline in physical neighborly relations in the USA continues to worry sociologists, and has been a running theme in the discipline during the last few decades. Famous sociologists and philosophers like Ferdinand Tönnies, Georg Simmel, Louis Wirth, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber all see this decline as directly affecting the quantity and quality of neighbor-hoods, and resulting in a diminished

sense of community amongst its resi-dents. All this consequently leads to the lack of a community’s ability to organize for its interests, or to feel responsibil-ity and civic pride. Robert Putnam, in his book Bowling Alone concludes that Americans are now less trusting and the social capital of society is eroding. This makes me question the changing color of the landscape as being a contributing factor in the decline of social capital. Many neighborhoods have evolved to be societies of mixed cultures, rather than the homogenous neighborhoods of yes-terday. Violence, racism, fear of change and cultural differences in society are do-ing nothing more than tearing us apart. Rather than celebrating the creativity and vibrancy that diversity brings with it, many succumb to the fear of change in people and exhibit cliquish behavior.

Understanding others therefore is one of the best ways to dispel these appre-hensions and misconceptions. Wheth-er the society shows it or not, this fear manifests itself in the lack of relations amongst residents, in which people may seem accepting, but may not be comfortable with the idea of diversity and change. Conversely, the people who embrace diversity need more cre-ative outlets to interact with each other and strengthen their connections.

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HYPOTHESISPhysical and participatory interactions in real world spaces remain a potent vehicle for nurturing connections in com-munities, and thereby building a sense of place for everyone residing in the community. Neighborhood participation reduces alienation and allows residents to feel a sense of place, a shared identity, and causes them to contribute to the betterment of the community.

This thesis presents the hypothesis that physical opportunities, or designed interventions that are social, participa-tory and creative in nature can draw out unique narratives from a diverse group of people living in close proximity to each other. Such experiences cause them to unite, regardless of their backgrounds, circumstances, age or gender. It allows them to revive neighborhood bonds in a diverse society through small connec-

tions that spark conversations, and in turn lead to community. This endeavor seeks to diffuse the fear of change, and views diversity and difference as being assets to place.

There are many neighborhood, commu-nity building projects and organizations active today in the United States. For the purpose of my thesis, I consider diversity as an asset for driving creativity, and consider it a methodology for connecting people to place. This approach allows residents to feel part of a larger whole, in which they have an important role to play, and thus feel compelled to shape the culture of the neighborhood around them. This methodology allows me as designer working at a grass roots level to have creative freedom to develop and design interactions in ways that might be not possible through a civic structure because of bureaucratic red tape.

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AUDIENCETHEORETICALLY

The audience for this thesis is the design community and all the people that aspire to do good through design. By fostering experiences that support engagement, empowerment, and empathy, I contrib-ute my little part to the vast community of designers, in their efforts towards social change. It is a tribute to creativity and the idea that as designers we are all cultural agents, and we can use our skills to change the culture of places by using culture itself as the canvas. I use this thesis as an example, through which I can demonstrate the power of design to enhance life, not just by designing beautiful products, but also by designing ideas that enhance the quality of life today and tomorrow.

CASE STUDY

For the sake of this project, I have cho-sen my own diverse community of Valley Stream, in Long Island, New York. This location will function as my experimental laboratory, not just to test out my ideas about community and connections in today’s time, but with proper support, as an actual project that continues beyond the scope of the thesis. While I know that Valley Stream is a specific unique community, I believe there are others like it today in the world’s multicultural and changing landscape, and the live social experiment I carry out here can hopefully be applied to many other evolv-ing diverse communities.

There is the world we live in and one that we imagine. It is by our

movement and invention that we inch closer to the latter. The world shapes us, and we get to

shape the world.

- Frank Chimero

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PROCESS &METHOLOGY OVERVIEWGaining first hand experience with people and place

I conducted several talks and interviews with various community members, neigh-bors and community stakeholders , which were extremely important to the process. This led to new relationships, building trust amongst community members and has been crucial in defining my own sense of place.

Immersing into the society at a community level

The best way to get to know and truly understand a community is to learn about their hopes, fears and dreams through experiences that are informal and comfortable enough to invite self expression. This was achieved by setting up a design space for Valley Stream residents at a local festival that included interesting historical facts about the community. Followed by a participatory dialogue, it allowed community mem-bers to express themselves in fun ways.

Initiating interactions between neighbors

The second phase involved connecting people to each other on a personal level, with the idea in mind that conversations lead to connections. The aim was to build an experience that gave rise to feelings of togetherness and friendship causing people to form a strong connection to place. This was done through a creative intervention called Project Neighbor’d that resonated with my intentions as a designer and Creative modifier.

Utilizing neighbors unique narratives through participatory design

By using cultural diversity as an asset for driving creativity, I encouraged neighbors to contribute their unique personal nar-ratives to the project. Using a designed framework and prompting them through activities that were meaningful for ev-eryone, I tried to create an environment where conversation, and sharing can occur. This also hoped to establish that creativity is not the sole possession of cer-tain gifted individuals but anybody can be creative given the right means to do so.

Rewarding neighbors and thus connecting to place

There is a special satisfaction that occurs by contributing and it becomes even more rewarding when everyone can see how their contribution acts as a part of a bigger whole. To maximize this feeling and with the intention of giving thanks to participants, the idea of showcasing the creative contributions is under consid-eration. This would encourage a sense of kinship, empowerment and belonging, thus fortifying the whole experience.

Using technology as a multiplier, of a physical and place-based initiative

In keeping with our highly technological and yet at times isolated times, I believe that the best possible use of technology is when it facilitates face-to-face interac-tion. Thus, I have used several forms of social media and blogs to spread aware-ness about it and keep people updated about the project. Aside from the final project website: projectneighbord.com, a Facebook page called Designing Good-ness has been developed to connect with people in the field and has been updated regularly to bring attention to its core mission of using design for social good.

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ANTICIPATED OUTCOMEThrough design, I intend to forge new relationships in my neighborhood. This would help residents live well by instilling and elevating values such as engage-ment and participation. This is an effort to creating an environment in which neighbors are no longer strangers, but have a renewed sense of civic pride that uplifts the neighborhoods. Encouraging people to participate in shaping the life of the place they call home is intended to create a vibrant and open atmosphere that exudes the warmth of home.

Designing a creative intervention that celebrates the differences in cultures and backgrounds also seeks to dampen innate fear in people who do not view diversity as an asset. The creation of an enticing environment for conversation will invite people to better understand each other. This would hopefully give rise to a shared sense of identity and solidify the community.

JUSTIFICATION & RELEVANCETo The Zeitgeist Of Our TimesThe zeitgeist of our times is the spirit of the community. With regard to the importance of community, I put forward sociologist Robert Nisbet’s definition of the word com-munity: “all forms of relationships that are characterized by a high degree of personal intimacy, emotional depth, moral commit-ment, social cohesion, and continuity in time…It may be found in…locality, religion, nation, race, occupation, or (common cause). Its archetype…is the family.”

In the 1980’s, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher aroused an uproar through her statement “there is no such thing as society”(dailymail.co.uk). However, her vision was one of personal responsibility. It was of a liberated bot-tom up nation, in which every individual contributed and had responsibility, rath-er than just complaining to the govern-ment regarding his rights and entitle-ments. Spurred forward by the greed is good mantra, a generation was raised to believe that success meant being selfish for individualistic pursuits that regard-ed wealth and luxury as the ultimate achievement, at the expense of personal values of community and neighborliness. Twenty years later, we are shifting back

“Design is imagining a future and working toward

it with intelligence and cleverness. We use design to

close the gap between the situation we have and the

one we desire”.

- Frank ChimeroThe Shape of Design .

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to what are commonly referred to as old-fashioned values. Community spirit is considered to be a meaningful part of this fundamental shift in values, with companies, organizations and even individuals working at the grass roots level to bring about change. Engaged in social innovation they are trying to make neighborhoods and cities better places to live.

The places we live in serve as play-grounds for inspiration and meaningful connection and carry much emotional weight in people’s lives. With the color of the landscape changing and so many multicultural towns all over, it is import-ant to understand that innovation is a combinatory process; when a group of people combines their diverse insights and skills, they are more likely to come up with creative outputs that benefit people and place.

To Design & Social ChangeThis shift of values can be seen in the paradigm shift that has taken place in the design community in which the focus has moved from a practice, that fuels business to one that addresses real problems. Developing practical applica-tions of visual means can create vehicles for powerful social change in communi-ties. Traditionally, designers have been associated with enhancing the looks

and functionality of products and ser-vices. They have been guilty of bombard-ing the public with messages that incite through designed artifacts, glossy mag-azines, and elaborate advertising skills. Today the boundaries of design have evolved beyond materialism towards addressing positive social change.

More and more designers are interest-ed in using design for the greater needs of the society by working for humanity instead of just corporate clients. In an interview, Charles and Ray Eames were once asked, “What are the boundaries of design?” Charles countered this with a question, “What are the boundaries of problems?” This response speaks volumes of the infinite nature of design by linking its true outcomes to life en-hancement by building good experienc-es and interactions. Working together to create a better environment be it globally or locally is now a priority for many designers. Thus, this thesis sees design as a medium, which is expected to do Good and not just be Good.

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DELIMITATIONSToday it has become impossible to live a life without technology and it is un-thinkable to deny its benefits. However, this study is in favor of direct physical participation and face-to-face interactions. It serves as a reminder that technol-ogy should not replace the basic human need of physical social interaction, but should be a medium that catalyzes the process. It should amplify our engage-ment with the people and places around us we call home.

This thesis does not attempt to make intimate friends of all neighbors, but while respecting boundaries and maintaining privacy, aims to revive the physical no-tion of neighborliness that has been on the decline in the last few decades.

This thesis does not claim to bring about drastic changes in Valley Stream, or to any other diverse neighborhood to which it may be applied to. Rather it hopes to act as a connector to let conversations happen that enliven the neighbor-hood bit by bit, on an individual as well as community level. Building community is never a one-time project, but an ongoing contribution from all stakeholders. It works with the understanding that we are all part of the equation, and that we must work towards to being more inclusive and accepting of diversity, in order to encourage the flourishing future of tomorrow.

This thesis is just a starting point towards addressing problems of placeless-ness and isolation. Through initiating a network to know our neighbors, we can embark upon finding creative solutions to problems that we face together.

2.0

It is only through our efforts, to create successful examples of societies where creative diversity is the driving force, that we can bring forth the power of diversity to created empowered communities so much so that diversity can become fundamental when talking about creativity and

people will come to realize that different is good.

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CREATIVITY + DIVERSITY

Creativity As Social Value

The 21st century has brought an in-depth focus on Creativity as the most vital skill needed for this centu-ry and beyond. In the past, creativity was regarded as a resource acces-sible to only certain gifted individuals. Today, creativity is not just exclusive to artistic or gifted individuals; the term has come to encapsulate anyone and everyone whether they are part of ex-plicitly creative fields or not. Creativity when linked to individuals, enterprises, cities or regions, establishes immedi-ate empathy and conveys dynamism. It is an optimistic note in a society, which is constantly reinventing and aspiring for progress.

Today the world is facing significant cultural, technological and economic changes that give rise to challenges that are unique in nature. Creativity is vital to address these changes, in order to think innovatively about problems in all aspects of our individual or public lives. We must transform our thinking to cope with this increasingly complex world and become better problem solvers to stimulate cre-ative responses to any issue that comes our way. Whilst some problems require just an individual with a good idea, others may require groups of individuals to work closely together as a unit and maximize the impact on the places they inhabit.Defining creativity is in no way an easy feat. It may mean different things to dif-ferent people. With regard to this wide parameter, there may be many ways

to look at creativity, but the common thread between all of them is the idea of combining existing ideas in new ways. American Creativity theorist Roger von Oech declared: “Creative thinking involves imagining familiar things in a new light; digging below the surface to find previously undetected patterns, and finding connections among unrelated phenomena.” (Oech and Willett)

Psychologists are known to have advo-cated the fact that true creativity is not just limited to novelty, but may also have something to do with the appropriate-ness of the idea. Cognitive psychologist Robert J. Sternberg states: “The basic definition of creativity can be broadly defined as “the process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile”. Morris Stein, professor of psychology, also puts emphasis on the words new and useful. He defines creativity as, “a process that results in a novel product that is accepted by a significant group of others as useful, tenable or satisfying at some point in time.” (psych.nyu.edu)

Most people may think that creativity is about creating something new to sell. Since change is taking place at many levels in the world today, creativity has an impact on every aspect of our life and society; therefore it can apply in various ways. When the concept of the Federal Express (FedEx) was developed, it was not just about inventing a new service or a new product. People have been delivering packages to each other for eternity. The creativity lay in the system that was formed for delivery that benefited the society and provided value to it (Amabile). This idea of value contribution is also focused on by writers such as Teresa Amabile, Professor at Harvard Business School,

2.1

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else

has seen, and think-ing what no one else

has thought.”

- Einstein

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known primarily for her writings on creativity. Professor Amabile proposes a consensual definition of creativity: “to be creative an idea must be appropriate, recognized as socially valuable in some way to some community” (Amabile and Pillemer, Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity).

At its heart, creativity in a social context is about generating novel ideas that may have impact on any realm of human activity, be it private or public life. It may also affect other related fields, which may range from the arts to science, education, business etc. Creativity is considered the key to finding new ways of solving problems by approaching situ-ations with the idea of empathizing and using imagination. “One concise way of defining creativity is applied imagination...you can see the future with imagination,” says creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson (London Business Forum). He further puts forth his analytical view of creativ-ity and its importance in today’s world by stating: “I define it as the process of having original ideas that have value. It’s a process, its not an event, you can un-derstand and manage the process and

its about originality and its about making critical judgments of whether this work is any good. All creative processes are intermingled with value judgment” (Robinson).

Creativity As A ProcessIt is necessary, to associate the key terms, divergent and convergent thinking with the process of creativity. The former is the ability to think of many original ideas. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, is often used in tandem with divergent thinking. The whole process can be likened to a funnel. Diverse ideas are the wide end of the funnel and the ideas are funneled and narrowed down through convergent thinking towards a point where one can logically evaluate, critique, combine and finally choose the best idea. Therefore we come to the realization that convergent thinking on its own is not feasible to produce a novel output but it is the divergence of ideas that lends to discovering every possible avenue, construct of mind and sensibility. It allows for a creative solution to emerge rather than just a correct solution. This beauty of divergence and diverse

Image: Ted.com

thoughts are the construct for the basis of this argument. Scientist and two-time Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling stated aptly: “to have a good idea, you must first have lots of ideas” (Tim and Wyatt).

Creativity, therefore, can be referred to as a process which combines or cross-pollinates existing ideas from divergent disciplines to connect them to create a completely new idea which is then termed as original. Paula Scher has likened the whole process of creativity to a slot machine. American theorist and writer Dorian Sagan mentions it as the science of connections and Gutenberg exemplifies the process by giving us the biggest invention of all time, the printing press. Creativity thus involves a combina-tion of cognitive elements that involve the ability to connect ideas, to see similar-ities and differences, be unorthodox, be inquisitive and to question societal norms (Popova).

This cross pollination of ideas from diverse sources is explored in a very resourceful way in The World Café; a process that uses a simple method of rotation where people shift from one table to another and replace the person previously there to take up ideas where the former person left off. This results in engaging conversation that sparks new connections and relationships. The World Café process engages new levels of creative and collaborative thinking sup-porting the development of unforeseen perceptions to the theme or question at hand. As a creative process, it can be equated to the ecology of conversation in which diverse participants explore new opportunities and build upon existing conversation as they revolve around the web of conversation carrying seeds of ideas with the intention to bring forth a world together. (See images).

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This brings us to the noteworthy point that creativity in the 21st century has moved beyond the manifestation of an in-dividual’s talent to one that uses collabo-rative thoughts, skills and talents. Today’s buzzwords in tandem with the creative process are critical thinking, commu-nity, collaboration, and participation. This comes across most in communities of diverse learners, thinkers, and doers and their ability to think and act as global citizens together. In his book, Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collab-oration, author Keith Sawyer explains, “When we collaborate, creativity unfolds across people; the sparks fly faster, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Collaboration drives creativity be-cause innovation always emerges from a series of sparks—never a single flash of insight. This is the essence of group creativity”. (Smart Storming)

Thus the word diverse implied by divergent thinking in creativity brings us to the idea of diversity as being a fertile breeding ground for creativity in the 21st century. In Group Genius, Keith Sawyer also writes, “…when solving complex, non-routine problems, groups are more effective when they’re composed of people who have a variety of skills, knowledge, and perspective.” He goes on to say, “The reason groups are so effective at generating innovation is that they bring together far more concepts and bodies of knowledge than any one person can. Group genius can happen only if the brains in the team don’t contain all the same stuff.” Thus if the creative process, be it individual or group, is fed by people as the source of inspiration, then diversity is subsequently vital to idea generation and forms the basis of any sort of creative process (Smart Storming). Image 2.3: world cafe

Images: The World Cafe

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Diversity Is The Mother Of CreativityIn the past, much of the public interest in terms of diversity has focused on issues of fairness and representation. Here I would to like to elaborate and shift the focus, on the power of diversity to make better and more connected societies. But before we can make a distinct connection between diversity and creativity, one needs to look at the basic ethos of human intelligence as defined by Sir Ken Robinson in one of his famous TED talks. “It’s diverse. We think of the world in all the ways we experience it” (Robinson)

By definition, diversity in a group of people refers to differences in their demo-graphic characteristics, cultural identities, ethnicity, training and expertise. But diversity can be both demographic and non demographic. With regard to demographic, it refers to people who are different in gender, nationality, race and ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation and disability. On the other hand non-demographic relates to individuals with different knowledge levels, communication styles, educational background, personal and professional talents and expertise.

Different variables among people can bring about a wide range of capabil-ities and creative output to the table. For example a mixed range of ages can allow for a multigenerational perspective in terms of experiences and values; People from different professional disciplines may offer incredible insights from their unique perspectives; Different genders and individuals with personal backgrounds from different countries of origin can contrib-ute with their diverse world viewpoints and cultural understanding. In fact, in today’s multicultural landscape, cultural fusion can be one of the most powerful elements of innovation. It can drive creativity and be a forerunner in creating a better society. Thus, diversity in societies, if provided a proper infrastructure that facilitates and encourages idea formation, communica-tion and exchange, can lead to greater creative outcomes and outperform people in a blended or homogenous environment. MIT prizewinner, Profes-sor Joseph M. DeSimone Lemelson states: “There is no more fertile ground for innovation than a diversity of experience. And that diversity of experience Image: The World Cafe

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arises from a difference of cultures, ethnicities, and life backgrounds…” (Pinschmidt).

Diversity should be acknowledged as one of the most influential factors in driving creativity and growth in our societies and environments today. The rich fertile breeding grounds that diversity provides for creativity can be understood through organizations, their workforce and their goals for innovation in this competitive era. A recent Forbes study (Forbes) has confirmed the diversity in the workforce as the root of innovation and active bom-bardment of new ideas that are crucial to organizations of today. This addresses the understanding that the individual has a capability, with certain limitations, in terms of its personality, culture and expertise. Thus by combining diverse profiles, this balances the aspect of blind spots and perspectives, which a confined homogenous workforce may overlook in many cases. In such cases, diversity may trump even the very best individual ability due to the richness of perspectives and problem solving approaches towards a similar goal or outcome. Communities and cities are combinations of individuals similar to workforces in organizations. By leveraging the creativity inherent in our diversity we can create outcomes that can have positive impacts on all aspects of our personal, professional, and social lives.

Culture, As It Relates To A Sense Of BelongingCulture is not a label for a group of peo-ple. It is an abstract way and shared sys-tem of values, beliefs, customs and rules of conduct amongst people that make them behave in a certain way. It is the basis on which people perceive, believe, evaluate and act. Culture provides identi-

ty in a diverse and dynamic way. An easy way to understand this is through as-pects, which are visible and differentiate one culture from another. These include food, clothing, celebrations, social habits, language, music, arts and religion. All these are part of an individual’s cultural heritage and designate how a person lives and acts in society. Culture affects everyday life as to how each individual thinks, feels, and learns and even what he considers to be beautiful or ugly.

Culture therefore has a very direct relevance to diversity through the difference in experiences that define an individual and his connection to that cul-ture. What might be acceptable in one culture might be taboo in another. In ab-stract terms, culture is an expression of humanity, an expression of its creativ-ity through its various common grounds with other cultures. Culture is born out of human interaction and therefore is vital to the way people relate to other people. The important feature of culture is that it forms invisible bonds between people who share the same cultural background and holds them together by passing on the values from one genera-tion to another. It is this continuity that sustains it, retains relationships and creates a sense of belonging in people to the country of that culture or to the new places they inhabit and call home.

The aspect of belonging that is explored here is social identity; a core aspect of how we define who we are. We are all individuals but it is our belonging to par-ticular groups of people that construct our culture or identity. It is a fundamental aspect of being human and is also a pri-mary aspect of connecting to the place we are originally from or with regards to adopting the culture of a place where we now belong. Thereby, it is important to

consider the notion of belonging what it means and how it defines our emotional connections to places.

There has been ongoing debate about the shift in the paradigm of belonging in recent years. The interconnectedness brought about by technology allows people to connect from near and far in innumerable new ways that we could have never imagined before. Through technology we can experience places before we have even seen them. Yet after a certain point, too much of even a good thing can have negative effects. Technology, while benefitting us in nu-merous ways, has at times, also isolated us from our physical sense of belonging to places. For example, our neighbor-hoods are becoming impersonal and anonymous which detracts from our sense of belonging to the place.

In the past belonging was more rig-idly defined in terms of its limitations to social identities such as class and religion and geography. Today, people have more power over the categories to which they want to belong, like groups, communities, brands and lifestyles. In terms of geography, people are more likely to be connected to their social me-dia friends who may be far off but who they maybe able to relate to, in terms of mental level, taste, social, financial and professional levels rather than people around their own physical space.

The fact that people continue to search for new ways to locate themselves in an ever changing society, points explicitly towards the innate and timeless human need of social bonding, loyalty, security, acceptance and more succinctly belong-ing. As advocated by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; a psychological theory centered on humans’ innate desire for fulfillment,

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“belonging is a need that we naturally seek in order to feel loved” (VCE Blog). An investigation by the SIRC (Social Issues Research Center) put forward six key ele-ments that people believe are important to their sense of belonging:

Family remains the strongest element of human social and innate need for belonging and despite modern society and its changes in the structure of families, it still comes to front as the heart of belonging.Friendships are the second most essential aspect of enforcing a sense of belonging. While this aspect has definitely undergone a change in terms of technology, the physicality of human interaction can never be replaced completely. In the past, this aspect was mostly concerned with a large extended family living in close proximity. With regards to my personal experience of moving to the United States, new friends in a new place can aid adaptability to place and can also create a sense of belonging to that place. Nationality remains a strong tie between individuals and the countries to which they belong. It reflects in the way people operate their day-to-day life and the way they adopt the traditions andvalues of their home countries. Professional identity is often the first trait people describe when they introduce themselves. Professional identity for both men and women today is an important factor as their source of income or position in a workforce directly relates to their financial and social status and therefore heightens their sense of belonging.Team spirit and shared interests influence belonging in many ways for both men and women. Belonging to a club, sharing hobbies or team sports, are an important source of identity for many.

Interestingly, all of the above point to the fact that our sense of identity and belonging is shaped fundamentally by our social interactions which play a vital aspect in any individuals life, and without which one may feel isolated and lost. Al-though it makes sense to think of human beings as individuals, we must realize that being human implies belonging to a group of individuals, thereby connecting people and places to a certain personal, cultural, historical and social context.

Stereotypes And Misconceptions About CulturesThe cities we live in today can be consid-ered as resilient ecosystems and can be likened to the unifying theory of the life sciences, advocated by the English natu-ralist and geologist Charles Darwin. He compares the diversity of life to a forest in which we are concerned about the diversity in plants and animals. Similarly, the world we live in and the growth of the place we inhabit has much to benefit from the cultivation of diverse ideas and cultures, which add to the life and our belonging to places. But to do that, we have to suspend our fears, decrease our resistance to change and forgo the misconceptions and stereotypes through which we tend to classify people and their cultures. These classifications are what give rise to issues like racism and crime in society.

In the world today, millions of people have migrated to places far from their roots for reasons such as economic hardships in their home countries, social strife, poverty and more. This displace-ment brings to light the adverse issues regarding stereotypes and misconcep-tions about people who are different than us. Everyone at some point or other

“Do you know how to get rid of the darkness? You can’t fight the darkness. The only way to get rid of the darkness is to turn on the light. When you turn

on the light, everything becomes clear. If you fight all the problems in the world, it wont solve the problems of the world but if you unite and come together in peace and harmony then you can create the

world that you want.” - Bahai’ activist

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has been guilty of being judgmental about other cultures. The Oxford Dic-tionary defines stereotypes as: “A fixed idea or image that many people have of a particular type of person or thing, but which is often not true in reality.” These stereotypes in turn lead to misconcep-tions and often withdrawal from people we don’t know or recognize as being similar to us. In fact a fear of change has been categorized as the most widespread type of fear that humans are innately prone to. Stereotypes are often created about people of specific cultures or races. In fact almost every culture has a stereotype attached to it. Though stereotypes may be centered on race and culture a lot of times, they exist towards various other groups like gender, sexual and orientation etc. Therefore they can lead people to live lives of segregation in society, driven by hate and misconceptions and can also adversely affect the community at large by creating a hindrance in its cohesion and social mobility.

In the cognitive revolution of the1970s, there was an explosion of psychological research into the way people think. A simple but profound idea was put forth that in order to understand and make sense of the world around them, human beings have a habit of classifying every-thing into categories like people, places and things to decipher them. If further expanded on, this can be taken forth as an antecedent towards the formation of stereotypes that influence our pattern of thought and perceptions about other people. To explain it more scientifically, the human mind takes information and images it is exposed to everyday and makes a decision whether to accept that information or not. While it may choose to not accept it at that point, by being re-peatedly exposed to the same message,

the mind may store it into the subcon-scious. In the moment that we see or meet someone from a certain culture, the mind transfers the information from the subconscious to the conscious and that is when stereotypes and misconcep-tions develop.

The United States, despite being consid-ered to be the melting pot of cultures, has a dominant force of white people in corporate, executive and political leader-ship positions. In the past, but to lesser extent today, they are privileged with social benefits to enjoy in their social, po-litical, or economic spaces. In countries like Europe and America where white superiority and domination is embedded in history, people have been conditioned to accept it. They may have also come to believe that white dominance is the preferable arrangement for the soci-ety they live in. It also brings with it the idea that white people are normal and anybody else is different. This has been passed down by generations experienc-ing a power-based system, which views change with fear. This however, in no way implies that all white people are like that and it is not meant to be disrespect-ful to the ones who do regard the diver-sity now inherent in their environments as being beneficial. But it just strives to highlight that the privilege has driven many to turn a blind spot to the fact that we as humans are all created equal and the color of skin has no value in deter-mining our merit or success in life.

In a compelling research based on new approaches to parenting in the book Nurture Shock, a specific chapter was devoted to the issue of why white people do not talk about race with their children and what it entails. With many stories about how teachers and parents strug-gle to talk about race, Nurture Shock

Mahzarin Banaji, Psychology professor at Yale University states: “Our ability to categorize and evaluate is an important part of human intelligence. Without it, we couldn’t survive.” However we come

to realize that in the case of stereotypes, it may not be too beneficial to our

understanding (Paul).

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provides many insights into myths about what we as parents consider as being right for our kids. This study is especially relevant here to understanding how people develop and make meaning out of their environments. I highlight some of the relevant case studies below.

In a case study about a research con-ducted by a doctoral student, Brigitte Vit-rup in 2006, regarding children’s racial attitudes, Vitrup realized that most white parents who claimed to be liberal, mul-ticultural and embracing diversity were hesitant to talk to their children about race. This lack of comfort was a fault on the parents’ behalf thinking that by bringing attention to racial differences, it would unavoidably lead to a racial con-struct. This inevitably led them to avoid the topic completely. Most white parents could not go past the clichés phrases like everybody is equal, hoping that the kids would eventually learn themselves. This goes against our earlier point, of the characteristic of human intelligence and its ability to categorize. In this case, it proves to be negative to children who are trying at a very young age to make sense out of their surroundings by cat-egorizing things and their environment as the way they see it. When race is not explained explicitly, children jump to their own conclusions and believe that their parents don’t like other races. This also leads to pride in being white and most white children conclude for themselves that they belong to a race, which has more power and wealth in society lead-ing to many social issues.

Another very important issue brought forth in the research was the quest to find identity and thus the basic human nature to belong. We often witness how kids divide themselves up in groups in school, but we must consider those

groups are never random. This goes against, what the authors describe as the Diverse Environment Theory, which many parents may believe in. This theory sheds light on the thinking that putting kids in diverse environments like multicul-tural schools will make them get along with kids from other cultures. On the contrary, it may not lead them to develop better racial attitudes more than if they were at a homogenous school. Children have a tendency to like others who are similar to them or who have the identity they are looking for and this makes them prone to hanging with kids who they are similar to, which leads to the formation of cliques and grouping by color espe-cially in diverse schools. This formation of racial groups and mental constructs is evident in how humans continue to be cliquish and more comfortable with those who are similar to them.

Another very important reading in Nurture Shock was related to how minorities, in their quest to enhance the ethnic pride of their children, develop racial identity of their kids. In order to make children confident and also prepare them for any bias that they may come across, minority parents talk about race at a very young age with their kids. Case studies showed that those children prospered in their leadership skills and at making concrete connections with those around them. This proves that we ourselves have to disregard fears and set examples for our coming generations by recogniz-ing that fear cannot be rid off till we educate ourselves and foster social contact with other cultures. This must be done so we can set an example for our kids before we expect them to be any different. We all need to understand that as society progresses, the minori-ties will one day will be majorities and

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we all need to be aware of this massive change. By being understanding of the existence of multiple tribes, colors and cultures, we can make use of social interactions to drive away fear and misconceptions and provide ways in which we can all enjoy the sense of belonging to places we call home.

A Sense Of Place

Social interactions may define a sense of belonging to people but it is import-ant to remember that these interactions are often rooted in context to the physical space, which brings us to the important aspect of belonging to place as being essential to rooting human beings in the spaces and places they share with others.

To understand what we refer to as place and how it influences belonging so prominently, it is important to understand place and its distinction from space. Marie-Laure Ryan best describes this difference in the following excerpt from Space, Place and Story:

Whilst space is an abstract collection of points separated by certain distances, place is a concrete environment with which people develop emotional bonds; while the points of space are interchangeable, place has its own unique char-acter; while space is an empty container for discrete objects, place is a network of interrelated things; while space is open and infinite, place has boundaries; while space is anonymous, place involves a community and a lived experience; while space is timeless, place is shaped by history. In short, while space is a mathematical concept, place is a social concept.

Thus, we understand that the core human interactions between family, com-munity and national histories when woven into the physical landscape creates the emotional connections that make a place. It also makes us aware that a sense of place cannot be just created in a day. It takes time, reflections and in-teractions before a group of people can foster unique attachments that define their sense of belonging to place. Whilst places may undergo changes and peo-ple may move from places they grew up in to newer places, belonging to each of these places can be considered the basic core of happiness in humans.

The idea of sense of place is portrayed in roman religion through a spirit called genius loci; the spirit that inhabits the place and represents what makes a place so different from other places. Even though there are so may interconnected layers of communication in todays world, there is an inherent loss in physical contact and the places that we live in. This has brought about awareness in planning and design fields, which relate to the physical planning of space to aid in restoring the sense of belonging to places.

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CREATIVE PLACEMAKING

Introduction One might define the 21st century as the Century of Cities. Despite the economic and global crisis faced by the world, experts in various fields are increasingly interested in finding new ways of combining their knowledge in a process which benefits not only the physical place but the material, spiritual and cultural connections present in it as well.

With reference to the design of places we share, it is interesting to outline the characteristics of what makes a suc-cessful public place. This is best defined by the leading non profit organization Project for Public Space (PPS): “Great public spaces are where celebrations are held, social and economic exchang-es take place, friends run into each other, and cultures mix. They are the front porches of our public institutions – libraries, field houses, neighborhoods, and schools – where we interact with each other and government. When the spaces work well, they serve as a stage for our public lives”.

This definition of public spaces highlights several terminologies that have emerged over the years and speak in their distinct ways towards strengthening civic pride, heightening emotional belonging to place and arousing creativity in everyone re-gardless of background to contribute to better cities, communities and societies. Amongst these, gaining momentum are the terms Placemaking, Creative Place-

making and Participatory Design. All three terms, in their own distinct ways, speak about the engagement of people with the intention of achieving change. Placemaking and Creative Placemaking delve more into the changes to the phys-ical place. Participatory Design, on the other hand, is a methodology that covers a wide variety of uses in terms of product and service design. Yet it is also a great tactic for active engagement with re-gards to people and place. In the order of this argument, we must first understand the significance of Creative Placemaking, its antecedent Placemaking and then the methodology of Participatory Design in order to achieve the intended outcome for this thesis.

Defining PlacemakingA definition of Creative Placemaking would not suffice if we do not reference it to its antecedent Placemaking. More commonly associated with urban design and planning, Placemaking has come to encapsulate various disciplines. Project for Public Spaces, one of the oldest and core Placemaking organizations states: “Placemaking emerged, manifesting itself as the process by which we can find the right fit between people and place. Place-making urged urban planners, designers, and engineers to evolve beyond their hab-it of looking through the narrow lens of single-minded goals or rigid professional disciplines to a collaborative process where the design and plan of a space should be a partnership with the experts of the community space: the people who live, work and play in that place” (PPS).

The term Placemaking originated in the 1960’s, when writers and visionaries like Jane Jacobs and William H Whyte (author of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces) proposed the revolutionary idea about “designing cities that catered to

2.2

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people, not just to cars and shopping centers”. Their attention to the concept of enticing public spaces and highlighting the importance of lively neighborhoods to make communities thrive, brought about groundbreaking fundamentals for creating social life in public spaces through the creation of meaningful and connected places (Whyte).

PPS evolved their Placemaking process based on their work with William H Whyte in the 1970s, and describe the basic process as an idea that “involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover their needs and aspirations”. This infor-mation is then used to create a common vision for that place. The vision can evolve quickly into an implementation strategy, beginning with small-scale, do-able improvements that can immediately bring benefits to public spaces and the people who use them”. Defining this as their “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” (LQC) approach, they focus on simple yet profitable ways to leverage local cre-ativity and resourcefulness and turn the regular public space into cherished community places (PPS) More than a philosophy or just a way to create better urban design, Placemak-ing is a multi-layered process of participation. It aims at diverse social interac-tion between the residents of a community to take part in the planning, design, management and programming of public spaces leading to active, engaged relationships to the spaces they inhabit. This furthers the development of ac-tivities and connections - cultural, economic, social and ecological - which help define the place and result in people spending more time in their communities. The Project for Public Spaces founder, Fred Kent, defines Placemaking in an in-teresting manner: “Turning a neighborhood, town or city from a place you can’t wait to get through to one you never want to leave” (PPS). In the Placemaking process, the role of each community member is redefined whether it’s the CEO of an organization or a pedestrian on the street through their participation in the place and experiences they share in the community. It creates a culture of participatory and grassroots democracy where the community has direct ownership of the process and its outcomes.

In evaluating thousands of public spaces around the world, PPS has found successful places have four key qualities in common: they are accessible; people are engaged in activities there; the space is comfortable and has a good image; and, finally, it is a sociable place – one where people meet each other and take people when they come to visit. PPS developed the Place Diagram as a tool to help people in judging any place, good or bad.

Text and Image: PPS

We work for better public spaces so that people will have somewhere to sit and talk with their neighbors.- PPS

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At The Alley Project, a garage serves as a canvas for art, a

studio space for community cre-ativity and a forum for events.

Photo: Erik Howard

Captions: PPS.

You know that you're in a great place when you're surrounded by all different

sorts of people, but still feel like you belong.

Text and Photo: PPS

A young Detroiter participates in the creation of a mural

at The Alley Project in Southwest Detroit.

Photo: Erik HowardCaptions: PPS.

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Creative Placemaking

On the other hand, a relatively new term and an offshoot of Placemaking, has emerged in recent years called Creative Placemaking. Interpretations of the term “Creative Placemaking vary but is more relevant for me as a designer and the focus of this thesis. It is an attempt to enhance community and economic development through arts and cultural initiatives that have impact on place with regard to social, economic and physical outcomes.

The top organizations funding this relatively new term are the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) and its non-profit Art Place; a collaboration between NEA, 13 leading organizations and a few of the nations largest banks (namely Bank of America, Citi bank, Deutsche Bank, Chase, MetLife and Morgan Stanley). In an effort to reinvig-orate communities through arts and culture grants, these organizations fund Creative Placemaking projects, with a focus on reinventing neighborhoods and downtowns across the 50 states. Com-munities all around the United States are readily embracing this new trend in an attempt to improve the quality of life, increase jobs, boost the economy and thereby enhance prosperity.

The term, Creative Placemaking was generated by the NEA white paper for The Mayors’ Institute on City Design

Times Square Transformation ‘INSIDE OUT PROJECT: 701 Seventh Avenue.’ Backdrop for Summer Solstice in Times Square, New York, NY.

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and was co-authored by Ann Marku-sen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus. The authors describe Creative Placemaking as a situation in which “partners from public, private, non-profit, and community sectors strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities. Creative Placemaking animates public and private spaces, re-juvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired” (Markusen and Gadwa).

The other chief force behind the Creative Placemaking movement, ArtPlace, bas-es its definition on the vibrancy factor. “ArtPlace believes that art, culture and creativity expressed powerfully through place can create vibrant communities, thus increasing the desire and the eco-nomic opportunity for people to thrive in place.” Vibrancy is thus defined in the context here as “places with an unusual scale and intensity of specific kinds of hu-man interaction.” ArtPlace links vibrancy to art and cultural efforts that cause positive progress in the economy by accumulating value, creating community pride, attracting new business ventures, resulting in more jobs and thus leading to a better economy and prosperity (Art Place America).

Food Chain, Sauk County, WI. The annual Farm/Art DTour, a 10-day, 50-mile self guided tour through scenic

farmland punctuated by temporary art installations, Roadside Culture Stands, Field Notes, Pasture Performances and more. Through the DTour and related project,

“Food Chain”, artists explore the timeless connection between land and people.

The Anpetu Was’te Cultural Arts Market, Minneapolis, Minnestoa.

Photos and Text: Art Place America

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The Creative ModifierAnother very important aspect of the Creative Placemaking process is the specific emphasis on the artist as a facilitator or more popularly in their terms: the Creative Modifier. Art place states that successful creative placemaking “…places artists and art at the center of planning, execution and activity.” This distinctly speaks of the ca-pacity of the power of the arts, culture and creativity to shape neighborhoods, cities and towns and regions. It also sheds light on the significantly debated issue about the importance of the arts today. It expresses that arts and culture possess an inherently vibrant quality and are advocated as vehicles for change, providing empathy, engagement, em-powerment, expression and enrichment to the places they come in contact with. In the course of doing so they address the core skills of the 21st century: community, creativity and collaboration.

artists + space = place place > space

The inaugural Redmoon Great Chicago Fire Festival (GCFF) introduces an annual event tradition that will celebrate the diversity of Chicago’s great neighborhoods and the city’s powerful spirit of renewal.

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Principles of Creative PlacemakingWithin Creative Placemaking, many tools and strategies have been creat-ed and adopted to foster connections between people and place. While, driving a broader agenda of change, growth and economic transformation in the com-munity, Creative Placemaking has an added benefit of building the quality and character of the place. These include, but are not limited to, cultural districts, artist relocation projects, mixed-use de-velopment, municipal cultural planning, creative industries, public art, commu-nity art and urban design. This change from space to place through the arts and culture creates the sense of belong-ing that human beings desire.

Whilst many may view Creative Place-making purely as an urban revitalization tactic, it brings us to the realization that the essence of any place-making, is engagement to the places that people live, work and connect in, to the point, where they themselves become vested and connected so that they become place-makers themselves. “Creative place making leverages the creative potential already present in a place. All places have creative potential just wait-ing to bubble up. Even while drawing on resources from beyond the community, leveraging local artistic and organiza-tional talent and assets increases the value in a community and the commit-ment to it, while nurturing an enduring sense of place” (Art Place America).

ArtPlace has outlined several different principles of successful Creative Place-making out of which I would like to focus on the one that relates to the purpose of my research. They advocate successful Creative Placemaking as a process that “fosters connections among people and

across cultures. The relationships built among diverse groups of people create safer, more open places that create more opportunity and foster a sense that everyone is welcome” (Art Place America).

Diversity and its connection to Creative Placemaking Creative Placemaking “contributes to a mix of uses and people that makes plac-es more diverse, more interesting and more active, thus making spontaneous interaction more likely. Intensifying and mixing activities creates the promise that visitors can stumble onto the fun, mingle with other people, or happen upon opportunity.” This statement high-lights certain words like interactions, diverse, opportunity, active, and sponta-neous etc. that all add values like hap-piness, satisfaction and belonging into the equation of diverse communities today. To apply Creative Placemaking within the specific scope of this thesis, I would like to redirect the conversation back to my emphasis on diversity and its relationship to creativity.

Restating my belief that diversity is fer-tile breeding grounds for creativity can now explain why Creative Placemaking is the means by which one can engage many type of people, as active partici-pants in fostering an emotional bond to place. The diversity of people acts as a major contributor to the creativity that will drive the place forward economical-ly, socially and emotionally. To elaborate, we have come to acknowledge that we live in an age of innovation, which is directly related to creativity. Our times emphasize original thought, ideas and expression. Being open to diverse cul-tures and backgrounds brings a wealth of new angles to the equation as the

The Wynwood district in Miami is one of many being rejuvenated through art.

Martin Luther King “I have a Dream” projection by Russ RuBert on 170’ wide

historic silos in downtown Springfield. Part of the ideaXfactory project in Springfield, MO

Text and Photos: Art Place America

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greater the diversity the more distinctive the ideas, narratives and experiences. These lead to innovative outcomes for the community and its vibrancy.

Another important aspect here is that since Creative Placemaking is mostly a collaborative effort, it also becomes a way of weaving the social fabric of a diverse community together. Every hu-man being has the right to live in a great place and also the right to contribute to making that place greater. Therefore by maximizing the creative potential of a diverse community, it would ultimately lead to better relationships between diverse people by helping them form a common vision for their community and build trust in each other, in their efforts towards the common goal the good of the place they all belong to and which they call home.

Creative Placemaking To Me As A Designer

In recent years the designer’s goal has undergone a significant change. Designers are increasingly driven to do good for society. The power of design is now increasingly focused on changing existing behavior and shaping com-munities, as opposed to just designing products and services for people. The designers changing role is best under-stood in terms of working with people and not just for people. Creator of the Design Revolution Toolkit, Emily Pilloton states how as designers we “can design better solutions for the greater good: for people instead of clients, for change instead of consumption” (Pilloton).This can be proven by the success of the recent trend of the power of design as a way for creating conversations and interactions. A relative understanding

of this stems from the success stories of Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms as mediums for conversations. The success of these social media plat-forms sheds light on the basic human need of living in and amongst others rather than in isolation. Human nature is well regarded in the following phrase from a famous quote by one of the most founding figures in western philosophy; Aristotle: “Man is by nature a social animal.”

Labeling the human being as a social animal traces us back to our evolution and we realize that in this era of tech-nology, the success of social platforms is not just due to the technology itself. The computer can never replace the vibrancy of physical human interaction. It just provides the medium for fast paced conversations to happen. Therefore, it is not the technology that is creating conversation but rather the vibrancy of human thought, personal views, expe-riences and narratives. If we as human beings can design such mediums for virtual conversation then it is apparent that it is our innate nature to live a life that is built on our social and emotional connections to each other, rather than a life of isolation with our faces hunched over our laptop screens and our one sided conversations with our televisions.

It is our own input through feelings of hope, aspiration, dreams that shapes the conversation on the computer and it is these acts that create culture. Professor of design for social innovation at SVA, Lee-Sean Huang states, “Design is a tool for becoming a cultural agent.” In my thesis, I connect this statement to the notion of using design to affect the culture of a place by using culture itself

The Inside Out Project by Tedx karachi, pakistan - may 2011

STATEMENT: To expose the persecution of minorities in Pakistan.

The Inside Out is a large-scale participatory art project (by Artist JR as the winner of the 2011 TED prize) that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of art work. Dubbed “the people’s art project,” Inside Out’s goal is to give a voice to the people within their communities.

Text and Photo: Inside Out Project

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as the canvas. Furthering our argument of diversity being fertile grounds for cre-ativity, we face the basic reality that the human race is extraordinarily diverse in so many ways. Thus if we consider the act of divergent thinking as the grounds for creativity, we come to realize that each of the 7 billion people on the face of this earth has their own unique narra-tive that can add to the vibrancy of the conversation, which no computer can ever replace.

In light of this, I place the designer as the creative modifier who can design cre-ative interventions that allow for entry for all kinds of people in the community. Through my process I will strive to devise ways that allow for peoples creativity to emerge.These interventions would be focused on heightening the sense of be-longing and ownership of place through artistic and cultural interventions. Thus the role of designer is instrumental here, as designers are wonderfully skilled in their abilities of tackling projects, engaging audiences and challenging the norm. They are accustomed to working with all sorts of people and organizing their research into creative outcomes that inspire change. Creative interven-tions from the designer’s point of view also open up opportunities that not only allow dialogue to emerge but instigate connections and friendships, which go a long way to progress. Therefore, consid-ering diversity amongst the people and connecting them is a big stride towards a bigger picture of doing good for the community and the world at large, at the same time, providing value to the design field’s changing paradigm of doing good. Since, the whole idea of Creative Place-making revolves around creative ways to engage community around place. I

will design interventions to heighten the sense of place and belonging by not only using the physical location as the place but the emotional concept of belonging to that place or neighborhood. I intend to develop a discourse around the idea that we can all share a similar space, but we can have a different sense of place. It is our distinct stories and narratives that allow for that to emerge. One anticipated outcome is people being more vested in the physical place they inhabit together and thereby uplifting the place to which they belong.

With the intention to focus on a neigh-borhood as my point of entry, I would like to clarify that the neighborhood in terms of its planning is very important in its role for promoting social diversity and increasing the social capital of place. It represents a small enough area that supports the ideals behind neighborli-ness, encourages collaboration, while still being theoretically broad enough to encompass a diverse audience that can reflect beyond themselves and their homes to consider their role and contribution to place. Creative Placemak-ing therefore leverages my ability as a designer to connect the dots allowing me to bring about ideas and everlasting relationships that make the neighbor-hood as vibrant as its diversity.

Furthermore, in an effort to empha-size design and its relation to art and culture in Creative Placemaking, I view design as both an applied and a liberal art. As an applied art, it combines cre-ativity with innovativeness. It is a form of a human endeavor, which combines craft with technical skills. By liberal art, it refers to the capability of design to stimulate movements or changes in

society and in dealing with people. In or-der to do that a designer has to explore all fields from language to literature, philosophy, math, science and history in order to be knowledgeable as a cultural agent to create effective solutions and to build a shared vision.

I also believe design has the ability to shape community and be a voice of change by driving behavior. It is essen-tially a communication-driven uniting force and a primer for change, be it big or small. Design can add value to a con-versation by changing the way people usually communicate through creative interventions and tactics. This allows for visible, tangible and simple outcomes to manifest themselves amongst commu-nity members. In the case of this thesis, the outcomes being related to place, design lines up perfectly with Creative Placemaking.

My Creative Placemaking process, as a communitcation designer includes:

Step 1: To understand, first hand, the experiences of a diverse community through opportunities to engage with them in dialogue on a community level.

Step 2: Designing creative interventions that allow for individual interactions be-tween neighbors, in an effort to change the me to we, by utilizing the creativity present in the peoples’ diversity as the fuel for the required dialogue.

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Participatory Design Going forth in our argument we now come to the design tactic that would best serve as the bridge between Creative placemaking and Communication design: Participatory Design. My interest in Participatory Design stems from a progressively developing interest in creativity and leveraging the creative po-tential within every human being. It is essential that I bring to light a discussion into what it encompasses and brings to the table.

Theory + ContextParticipatory Design, as a methodology of design, is completely opposite of the traditional model of design. Rather than designing for users, it serves to design with the users. To elaborate, as the name implies, instead of delivering a final finished product or service to the consumer, it differentiates the tradi-tional consumer to become a prosumer with a more active role in the design process. The most successful participatory design seeks out content from the user be it in visual form, thematic content, movement or action. Using the input from the users, the designer translates the contributions into some-thing greater than the initial contribution. The user is thus transformed into an active stakeholder in the process and has ownership in the end product or service that they would usually not have had in a the conventional approach.

The design field itself in the last few years has seen an influx of participatory experiences, which reflect, a change in the mindset of people, and require new ways of thinking, feeling and doing. Author of Make tools.com, Elizabeth Sand-ers states: “Participatory design appreciates that all humans have something to offer and can be both articulate and creative when given the means to express

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themselves…In Participatory experienc-es, the role of the designer and re-searcher blur and the user becomes a critical component of the process.”

The participatory culture has encour-aged designers to reach out to the vast pool of creativity in every human being around them in various impactful ways. The emergence of trends like crowd-sourcing and the success of websites like Threadless, Ponoko, the emer-gence of blogs and the daily usage of websites like Vimeo, Facebook, Youtube and Wikepedia etc. has further pointed towards the shift in the viewer as con-tributor. In fact the viewer may have be-come conditioned to approach design with the intention of participation. The difference between the collaborative and participative culture should be real-ized here. Collaborative suggests equal involvement in a joint effort while Par-ticipation is to take part in something that doesn’t need the act of working together but the idea of involvement at an individual level to a larger outcome curated by the designer.

Participatory design is not a design style but rather an approach to a design process. It is used in a variety of fields from software design, urban design, landscape architecture, product design and graphic design. It even stretches out to fields such as medicine in an attempt to design experiences prod-ucts or services that are receptive to the consumer and the users’ cultural, emotional, spiritual and practical needs. Although the scope cannot be accumu-lated in one argument, these different types of projects share certain charac-teristics like community, modularity, flex-ibility and technology in some way. The tools and techniques used to generate participation encompass a broad range of commercial, community oriented and research contexts depending on the aspect being explored. These can include anything and everything from digital systems, gaming, visioning and a host of physical and digital frameworks for feedback for products, services and experiences.

Appeel (2007) is thousands of stickers arranged into a grid. Peeling

one of them off puts a round ‘pixel’ in one’s hand while leaving a white

space in its former place. The pixels take on a life of their own as they

become part of messages, images, collections. Realized by purely analog

means, the stickers of Appeel embody many of the paradigms we commonly associate with the digital

world. It is a binary carrier for all the messages humans can imagine

Text and Image: Apeel

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While the concept of Participatory De-sign is not new, technology has certainly expedited the process and made it into an important area to focus on in the design world. Participatory design was originally conceived in Scandinavia in the 60’s and was named Cooperative Design, based on the idea of community opinions in decision-making and was mostly concerned with trade unions as a way to harness communication

between workers and managers. The Americans later on, changed it to the current term in light of their view of strong separation between workforce and hierarchy. Fine arts incorporated postmodern values throughout the 1960’s and advocated for an interest in the viewer to participate in the art in front of him, to become whole with it, change its meaning and interpretation. Historical art movements around the

world like Dadaism, Constructivism and the Gutai Art movement provided a wealth of social experimentation and fueled participatory movements in the arts. Yet they remained in the realm of cultural experiments, as part of movements of artistic expressions that spoke, engaged and provoked the viewer to respond and thus form the basis of participation.

Many Gutai artist created experiences in parks that invited people to participate.

CLOCKWISE: “Water” by Motonaga Sadamasa and“Please draw freely” by Yoshihara Jiro1956. From Gutai: Splendid Playground” exhibition at the Guggenheim, NY.

Photo courtesy: Guggenheim, Ny

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Today the participatory experience has moved beyond just the arts to a point of intersection between art and design. The age of innovation has brought a yearning for more creativity and ways to use that creativity. Participatory design therefore gives an opportunity to channel that creativity. It comes about as a visual language that gives voice to individual expressions of ideas and feeling that are often so difficult to express. The amusing part about this is that people often participate because its cheap, easy and fun to do so but

in the process they end up forwarding insights on their feeling, dreams, and imaginations which might not have emerged with a regular questionnaire or interview. In the process of contrib-uting, they may enjoy the expression that comes with it, the empowering feeling that their contribution is a part of the bigger picture, and the creative fulfillment it provides. Therefore the intrinsic human need; to belong to something greater, makes them feel fulfilled and happy with this simple act of participation.

Before I die… (2011) emerged as powerful tool to remind us of the

things that make our lives meaningful. one of the most creative participatory

projects and an experiment that has achieved great recognition worldwide.

Confessions (2012)Visitors were invited to submit their

confessions on wooden plaques in the privacy of confession booths.

The project explored the idea of an anonymous sanctuary to help us console one another as we make

sense of our lives.

Text and photo: Candy Chang

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Participatory Design As Dialogue For Making Place

For the purpose of my thesis, I refer to the community aspect of participatory design as the essence for the creation of social interaction amongst communi-ty. By using participatory experiences as dialogue, a sense of place can ultimately be developed by engaging, connecting and building community. This in turn, would benefit the social capital of the community. Paul Lample, in his book; Creating a New Mind: Reflections on the Individual, the Institutions and the Community, plays on the popular meta-phor and states:

“The Community as a Whole is More than the Sum of its Parts” (Lample).

The role of the designer is therefore elevated to that of a community builder. In light of recent social trends, and the human need for belonging and physical interactions, we have seen that people feel psychologically satisfied when they make connections with other people. The conversation that rises from these connections often lends itself to demo-cratic expression and identity especially in instances of place and community build-ing. Nina Simon in her book, The Partic-ipatory Museum defines the facilitation of dialogue as an art and attributes the general principles behind it to be similar to designing participatory environments. Participatory design as a tool to facilitate dialogue can be seen as the nexus be-tween design and Creative Placemaking as we expand on our argument further.

interaction

conversations

connectionsinfluence thoughts

belonging

community

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Participatory Design, The Bridge Between Communication Design And Creative PlacemakingElaborating further, with regard to its capability to elicit conversations, participatory design is one of the major tactics that brings rewarding results by bringing into focus the people of the place as important partners in the pro-cess and having knowledge about the place. Participatory design thus acts as a bridge between the communication designer and Creative Placemaking to facilitate that dialogue in meaningful and motivational ways. Participatory design plays a key role in connecting the designer with the users of the place, with creative ways to achieve the intended outcomes for Creative Place-making; to create place and shared vision for place.

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) regards participation as being highly effective: “Whether the participants are school-children or professionals, the exercise produces dramatic results because it relies on the expertise who use the place every day, or who are the poten-tial users of the place.’’ In relation to both creative placemaking and commu-nity, the designer can offer a democrat-ic approach through the engagement of all stakeholders in the place, and can create greater opportunities for them to see each other’s contributions and

realize their similarities, thus bringing about a shared passion for community.

Some may view participatory design, in a negative light, as a means to delegate responsibility and innovation into the hands of amateurs. However the role of the artist or designer is extremely im-portant in participatory design. Although other community members are required to participate, the creative modifier is the one who realizes the concept, the framework for dividing up the process, the mechanics behind it and the curation of the collected responses in the final form. None of this is possible without the designer, his skills, and the way he funnels the results of the participatory dialogue towards the best outcome possible. The designer, thus becomes an art director or an animator amidst a diverse population, building community and connections between participants at the same time as being a leader and educator. By catalyzing ways to allow for people’s creativity to emerge and at the same time convening their responses, the designer can help create an environ-ment that ultimately benefits the sense of place and community.

Milton Glaser talks about the concept of shared identity within a community by stat-ing: “Linking beauty and purpose can create a sense of communal agreement that helps diminish the sense of disorder and incoher-ence that life creates”

Suggestion box consists of a 18” X 18” X 18” cardboard

box, painted white with “SUGGESTION” stenciled on

it. Placed at various locations across the United States,

the public is asked to make suggestions about anything

they would like.

Text and Image: Illegal Art

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VALLEY STREAMAS A CASE STUDY

Why Valley Stream? For the purpose of this thesis, I con-sider my current hometown Valley Stream which is a part of Long Island, New York, to be an appropriate place to research, test and apply my design methodology with the intention in mind that my experiments continue to con-nect and benefit the community beyond the scope of this thesis. Valley Stream is the town that welcomed me and became my first home in the United States, and thus holds a special place in my life. I also believe it is home to a great community of people who, if given the right opportunities, can make it a model of a creative and diverse society that can be applied to many other evolv-ing diverse communities.

As I further into my research, I came upon many other significant reasons that reinforce my resolve to use it as my experimental laboratory and a place to benefit all who live there. A study con-ducted by CBS New York, ranked Long Island as the seventh most segregated area to live in among the fifty leading metro regions, which were analyzed. Initially being at number three on the list, the change to number seven has been slow but steady. Therefore, amid the blended picture before me, Valley Stream can be considered a vehicle to bring about the change. Over the last twenty years or so, its progress from a

majorly homogenous Caucasian com-munity, to the truly impressive diverse community of today, is remarkable. Its journey towards this cultural diversity also makes it a perfect location and synonymous with, reference to the met-aphor referring the United States as being the melting pot of cultures.

A small part of the town of Hempstead in Nassau County, Valley Stream is a municipal neighbor to Garden city that has a population of 92 percent Cauca-sian population. Despite the boundary they share, Valley Stream is a worlds apart from it neighbor. It is an example of a truly impressive diverse community comprising of people from more than 75 countries. A resident of Valley Stream very aptly says of his own experience in Valley Stream: “I grew up here, before I moved away. My grand parents used to live here. When I was a little boy, most folks here were either Italian or Jewish. My grandparents were of Polish descent. Turn the clock forward, 20 to 30 years, I come back and I see a little bit of every-body. I’m seeing Valley Stream is like a United Nations microcosm”.

Valley Stream is a middle class and fam-ily oriented community. It also boasts of one of the largest percentage two-parent households, which is a definite indicator of a balanced, educated and nourished society in most of suburban America. It imparts a cozy feeling and boasts many of the qualities that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Comprising of good schools, Valley Stream has a low crime rate and a high rate of ownership, which make it an overall solid suburban community and friendly place to live. Thus as a designer, in my quest to design goodness, Valley Stream provided me with an iconic exam-ple of a model suburban community in

2.3

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which I live, breathe and contribute everyday. The residents are concerned for the future of their kids and the community they inhabit. The vibrancy of Valley Stream makes it an ideal platform for an educated and engaged community to acknowledge the kind of creativity that their diversity can contribute to and give a sense pride and ownership to everyone who chooses to be part of it. The interactions that may come about everyday can also be seen as an ex-ample of globalization and the blurring of boundaries today all over the world. With confidence in my belief that Valley Stream is not only full of possibilities but home to a wonderful community, its usage is critical to exemplify to all other communities around long island and beyond, that different is good and diversity is our strength. President of the Alumni Association, of Central High school District, Mr. James Score regards this change with pride and states: “We should be proud of the fact we are not as confined as we were 50 years ago in terms of being only welcoming to certain kinds of people. We are beyond that today”.

On the downside, as I furthered into my research, I discovered people at the other end of the spectrum of thought. I came upon that fact that the towns of Rockville Centre and Lynbrook next to Valley Stream have ex-residents of valley stream, who did not appreciate this change in community and diversity. This strengthens my decision towards applying my efforts in Valley stream towards designing creative interactions that can strengthen bonds between the resi-dents. In a way it would serve to exemplify to the people who have left and even people who still live in valley stream, that regard this change with fear. Further, I shed light on my research that confirms these findings.

The Fear Of ChangeAsides from all the compelling research brought forth earlier reagardng hindrance in talking about race, I came upon some very enlightening facts re-garding Valley Stream. I conducted an interview with a freelance documentary maker and ex resident, Alina Volk who currently lives in lives in Lynbrook. Volk’s personal story is inspirational to understanding the problem at hand. Growing up in the era when Valley Stream was a homogenous society, Volk states that she was lucky to be of similar skin color to her white friends and so was never treated differently as kids never realized that she was from a different race. She, being Mexican by descent, claims that with barely any other cultures in the school asides from her and another friend, it was an unspoken deal that they never felt the urge to clarify.

Today when Valley Stream has become an extremely diverse society, she men-tions that many of her white friends have moved out of Valley Stream even if just by a few blocks, and have settled in Lynbrook which is mostly homogenous by comparison. They view the growing minorities in Valley Steam in a negative stance but deny this as a reason for them to leave. On being asked by Volk

President of Valley Stream Historical Society, Mr. Guy Ferrara states: “When you

have such diversity in a middle class town that works and

lives together, it makes such a successful and happy place to live, everybody wins. Valley

Stream is one of the most integrated areas in terms

of its racial diversity”

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they state “we accepted you, doesn’t that say anything,” in order so that they don’t appear bigoted and racist in any way. Over the years, Volk has heard several uncomfortable comments from people she has known. This makes her believe that it is more of a fear driven feeling that drives white people to leave neigh-borhoods in search for more homoge-nous places. When confronted, they re-fuse to come on record, as they would rather not explain themselves. Yet after several attempts, most of them stated one thing vaguely that struck Volk “We don’t want their kids to be the minority.” Another significant comment, which she has received, “we don’t want to be the last ones here”. This is in no way in relation to the fact that their kids are not happy. Volk clarifies this and states that: “Even if their kid is completely hap-py, has good grades, has good friends, they would rather move away them as a risk of being a minority five years from now. They don’t want their kids to be dating anyone that looks too different. They want all their grand kids to look like them. They want their kids friends to be like them. Conclusively they fear change of any sort”. Volk herself choos-es to keep her kids in the Valley Stream school district, which at times provoke expressions of dislike from her friends.

Volk considers this an evidence of the fact that white people don’t want to let go of their privilege of white supremacy, to be considered equal to others, which they have been conditioned to since his-tory. For them, the question is not that they view other cultures as being bad. It really is, a fear to accept the changes to places they once belonged to. Given the fact, that they don’t understand other

cultures, they are afraid of them. This sort of attitude in adults eventually leads the children to be bigoted and view themselves to be on a supreme level as compared to others.

Another very interesting aspect that Volk brought forth is that, this fear is all the more relevant in people who grew up in the town and then left for college or professional reasons and on moving back to settle in with family. Since they found it to be very different than the way they left it, they cannot accept the change. She stated “people who have moved here from different parts of Long Island or from New York City, are not scared in the same way. Its like they came in knowing that they didn’t know it any differently. It’s a universal thing that people want to remember their hometowns the way they experienced it. Volk is ambitioned to make a documen-tary, which would shed light on the main premise that emerges in her research: Is change driving the fear or is the fear driving the change?

To conclude, I intend to use my design to-wards the physical implementation of an intervention through, which I can directly benefit the community of Valley Stream and further their connections to each other. Secondly by striving to make Valley Stream into a more cohesive community, I aim to try and diminish fear people who are do not accept this mixing of minori-ties into the otherwise homogenous landscape. By exemplifying this, I hope to create an open atmosphere for people to go beyond their fears and allow natural connections to happen. By making the adults comfortable with each other, we can further influence the coming genera-

tion to understand that the future will not be homogenous but heterogeneous in every aspect and if we are optimistic to this coming future, then we must be part of this culture of change.

The time has also come to recognize how culture is critical to the growth of the vibrancy of our communities. It is important that we move towards the future using our diverse creative views to bond us together rather than drive us apart and make changes to reflect those values. Starting at my doorstep, the whole community of Valley Stream is open for me to take the steps towards a better future for all. In fact, a better future lies ahead for everyone if we take advantage of this opportunity to embrace and connect with the experiences and creativity of the various cultures that reside in valley stream. This will bring about a greater appreciation of who we are, why we must all work together and to prepare our children for the 21st century.

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Location, Ethnography and DemographicsLong Island, New York is divided into two counties, Nassau and Suffolk. Valley Stream is part of Nassau County and is located inside the southwest part of the town of Hempstead, along the border of Queens and Nassau County. This makes it the first town of Long Island after Queens. It’s close proximity to New York City also makes it a source of constant activity. Valley Stream serves as one of the main connecting stations to other stations coming from and going back New York City via the Long Island Rail Road. Towns which border Valley Stream include: Lynbrook, Malverne, Franklin Square, Hewlett, Woodmere, and Rosedale (a neighborhood in Queens in New York City

A steadily diversifying community, the Village of Valley Stream has a population of 37,646 people (100% urban, 0% rural). according to the Source: 2012 Population Estimates). Since 2000, it has seen an upward increase of 3.5% in population. As per the census of 2010, Valley Stream comprised of approximate-ly 12,625 housing units with approxi-mately 12,189 households, and 9,541 families residing in the area, out of which 35.2% families have children under the age of 18 living with them and 58.8% are married couples living together.

Valley Stream is sub-divided into two parts, namely: North Valley Stream and South Valley Stream. Initially all were a part of the town of Hempstead, but in 1925, South Valley Stream officially became the incorporated village of Valley Stream. However due to some legal zoning laws, North Valley Stream; the

unincorporated part of valley stream, still comes under the mayor of the town of Hempstead. This, however. doesn’t change the fact that all people refer to themselves as being from Valley Stream.

A very noticeable fact comes to light when we compare the racial makeup of the village valley stream in 2000 to the last census of 2010. In 2000, the village was 78.8% White, 7.5% African Ameri-can, 0.1% Native American, 6.9% Asian, 4.1% other races and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 12.3% of the population. Fast forward a decade to the census of 2010 and we come to the following figures: The racial make up of the village: 57.2% White, 18.6% African American, 11.4% Asian, 9% other races and 3.5% from two or more races.

History Of Valley Stream Related To People, Place And CommunityDelving deep into the history of this, oth-erwise normal suburban, American city revealed many stories and memorable gems that are worth remembering and would make any community proud. As for the sake this argument, I will stick to those historical facts that relate to place and the community and people of Valley Stream.

A bit of the early history is quite rel-evant to start off the introduction to Valley Stream. The real history of Valley Stream began with the arrival of the Dutch Colonists. In 1626, they made the famous purchase of the Manhattan Island for twenty-four dollars. Fourteen years later, they began to find their way into what we now know as Nassau Coun-ty. At that time, the Rockaway Indians sold to the Dutch West India Company, a tract of Land into what we now know as the Village of Valley Stream.

Photo: Mapquest

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Even though there were no signs of a community of Valley Stream as late as the 1670’s, the story of the village is interesting and colorful. It was essentially a farming community with access to land with rich soil and interspersed by water therefore prosperity was likely. Even till the early part of the 1900’s, the village that exists today consisted mostly of big scattered farmhouses, ponds, meadows and brooks and poor scattered roads amongst the woodlands. A very interest-ing fact is that it was nameless and more commonly referred to as Near Rocka-way. It was officially named by Robert Pa-gan, one of the first settlers in the area after he petitioned to the authorities for a post office. They asked him to suggest a name for the town it was for. Thereaf-ter, he chose the name Valley Stream for its topographical appearance of valleys and streams that made up the area. It is still the only village by that name in the United States.

Starting as a predominantly white neigh-borhood with the earliest settlers and families originally from England, Scotland, Germany and Sweden, it is safe to say that most of the families were branch-es of early Long Island settlers or had moved into the area after first residing in either New York city or Brooklyn. Some had even emigrated from Europe. By 1921, it had flourished into a bustling, growing community of 3600 residents.

In its early days, a host of interesting nicknames were given to locations within Valley Stream. Some of them actually stuck around whilst others have long since been forgotten. A few notable ones include Hungry Harbor Road, which was actually a nickname given to the area because of its large settlement of squat-ters who often went hungry. It also was the only farmland area to have access to

Photo from "50th Anniversary Valley Stream publication"

Written by Howard F. Ruehl, Published by: the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream.

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sea. Rockaway Avenue, the current down-town business district of Valley Stream today and part of Merrick road, was more commonly nicknamed as Rum Junction for its lively and active nightlife with small businesses and its hotels; where many travelers, celebrities and dignitaries would stop for a rest before their trip back to New York City.

Valley Stream’s history is filled with exciting stories and achievement, which many people don’t realize and give a real sense of its progress. Valley stream has a rich history of aviation. The neighbor-hood shopping center’ Green Acres mall and the surrounding Millbrook resi-dential community is built on top of the internationally acclaimed Curtiss Field, renowned for hosting legendary flyers as Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post, Amelia Earheart, Elinor Smith, Jimmy Doolittle and Frank Hawks. Birthplace to the Nine-ty Nines Inc; the first international asso-ciation of women pilots, Valley stream rightfully holds the title of the Women’s Cradle of Aviation. The World famous Snapple Beverage Co originated from Valley Stream. With its head office on

Central Avenue and its mixing plant on 330 W Merrick Road, it brings the spot-light onto Valley Stream and attaches a sense of pride to be associated with it.

In terms of people, the Valley Stream high school district has been breeding grounds for a number of notable person-alities in all fields. Notable and famous names of alumni who resided in valley stream or graduated from the district include the likes of Leslie Moonves; CEO of CBS Corporation, Stephen Boyd; NFL’s most valuable player, Steve Bus-cemi; famous actor, writer and director, Jim Breuer; comedian, Edward Burns; Actor, director and producer, Thomas Gorman; Pitcher for the NY Yankees and many more that speak of the credentials of Valley Stream as a breeding ground for success.

The Ninety-Nines, an international women’s pilot association that boasted 99 members when it was founded in 1929, the lineup included, from left, Mona Holmes, Mary Samson, Elvy Kalep, Ruth Elder, Mrs. John Reiney, Amelia Earhart Putnam, Elinor Smith Sullivan and Viola Gentry.

Image: NewsdayMay 12, 2002.

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CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:Before the Civil War, horses were the

chief means of transportation and main-stay of agriculture. Joseph Golder had a

blacksmith shop at Merrick Road, west of Central Avenue. Farmers from miles away

brought their horses to him.

In the early 1900s, Sagamore Hotel was located on the corner of Rockaway and

Hawthorne avenues in Valley Stream, but was later converted into a post office.

The first telephone in Valley Stream was installed in 1896 in Joseph Felton’s Gro-

cery and Seed Store at Central Avenue and Merrick Road.

Photo Credits: Village of Valley Stream.

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NEIGHBORS

Definition/Origination Of The Term NeighborA study of the word neighbor traces its origins back to its mostly German roots with traces of the eras’ preceding it. The word neighbor is derived from its root word nāhgabūr which is a combination of two words: nēhwiz, which means near, and būram, which refers to a dweller. The compound of these two words forms the meaning near dweller. In early times, the word neighbor was mostly used for an inhabitant, peasant, or a farmer (quite possibly with reference to the main occupations of those times). Similarly in old English, we can find similar adaptions in words like neahgebur and nehebur, all referring to someone who lives beside us with neah or neh, both implying near, while bur can refer to room, hut, dwelling, chamber and its translation from its Proto-Indo-European root bheue meaning to be, exist, dwell (Harper).

The modern day definition of neighbor in the dictionary, allows it to be placed in a variety of contexts with reference to not only a nearby person but also a place, or thing. This can be understood in reference to countries bordering each other or a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow like the earth is a neighbor to mars.

On the other hand, religion and scriptures describe the word neighbor as any person, whether friend or enemy, who is in need of one’s help or kindness. Thus a neighbor could range from anyone who lives next door, sits next to you on the bus or someone who is sleeping on the street that you are passing by.

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The Neighbor In Islamic Society

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was once asked, “Who is a neigh-bor?” He answered, “Your neighbors are 40 houses ahead of you, 40 houses to your back, 40 houses to your right, and 40 houses to your left.”

Speaking about the necessity of being kind towards neighbors, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said: “Gabriel continued to recommend me about treating the neighbors kindly and politely so much so that I thought he would order me to make them as my heirs.” The purpose of this statement by the prophet was not just to put forward a fact, but to also highlight the importance of the neighbor in Islam. It also shows that the Angel Gabriel brought commandments from Allah, concerning the rights of the neighbor so frequently that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) thought that the neighbor could possibly be made an heir in due rites of inheritance of ones wealth on an equal standing as ones parents, children and near relatives.

The entire human history is filled with records of struggles and strife to create an ideal and just society. Considered a utopian vision by many, people from all religions and cultures still aspire to create good in society. There are some universal moral values on which Islam lays specific emphasis, that relate to the well being of a community and in turn on the importance and rights of the neighbor in Islam, which will be the primary focus for this argument.

The Islamic community has a mission that surpasses basic material needs and goes beyond mere survival, power, breeding, or physiological continuity. It is, in essence, the complete embodiment of goodness and the adversary of immo-rality. The moral health of the society is extremely important in Islam and each and every individuals action and conduct, with regard to others around him, is considered to have a noticeable impact on the whole society. Morality in Islam ad-dresses every aspect of a Muslim’s life, from greetings to international relations. It is universal in its scope and in its appli-cability. A Muslim is expected to not only be virtuous, but to also enjoin virtue. He must not only refrain from evil and vice, but must also actively engage in asking people to eschew them. In other words, they must not only be morally healthy, but must also contribute to the moral health of the society as a whole. Thus the whole community is considered to be an organ-ic entity and every individual’s conduct is considered very important in shaping it.

The importance of social justice is con-stantly emphasized in Islam through the obligation of Zakat every year (obligatory charity percentage on wealth accumulat-ed over the year) and the distribution of gifts at the times of great festivals. The teachings concerning zakat stress the principle that the ownership of wealth is a privilege, not a right, and one that comes with certain obligations on the Muslim. This gives him the responsibility of the community over him and he is held accountable for what he does with his wealth in terms of helping others. It is said by great scholars that if every person took out the required Zakat every year, nobody in the world would go to bed

hungry. The aim of Islam is to shape both individual lives as well as our public lives in ways that touch upon many aspects of human rights in great detail. They include the rights of parents, children, husband, wife, relatives, orphans, neighbors, em-ployees, teachers, non-Muslims and all the creatures that God has created.

The Rights And Importance Of Good Treatment Of Neighbors

The religion of Islam places great emphasis on the solidarity of families, neighborhoods and the wider commu-nity. Good neighborliness is an essential part of Imaan (Faith) and is the binding force that holds communities togeth-er. This is because apart form one’s parents, children and near relatives, a permanent contact exists between a person and his neighbors and whether that contact is good or otherwise, it influences a person’s life, his morals and consequently the social and moral ethics of community life.

The Prophet (pbuh) has attached great importance to this and has constantly urged his followers to pay due regard to the rights of neighbors. “And be good to the neighbor who is your relative and to the neighbor who is not a relative …”- (Qur’an, 4: 36). This verse indicates that Islam does not limit good treatment for only those that are related to us but it also extends to non-relatives. Anyone whose house is near to yours can be considered a neighbor even if you are not connected by kinship or religion. The emi-nent companion of the prophet, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, had a sheep slaughtered and asked his slave, “Did you give some meat

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to our Jewish neighbor?” This honoring of the neighbor is just one of the examples of the kind of tolerance promoted by Islam.

With regard to Haqooq ul Ibaad (rights of Allah’s creations on us) and with due regard for the emphasis of maintaining good relations and being kind to neigh-bors, we realize that neighbors hold a very special status in Islam. From the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) regarding neighbors, the true Muslim knows the rights of his neighbor:

“If he falls ill you visit (and take care of) him; if he dies you attend his funeral (and take part in the burial arrangements); if he com-mits an evil deed, you prevent it from being known (i.e. do not give publicity to it); if he is favored by good-fortune, you congratulate him; if a calamity befalls him, you grieve in sympathy with him; and that you restrain from erecting your building higher than his in such away that the passage of fresh air is blocked from his house (unless you obtained his consent) and further, (you take care that) the aroma of your cooking pot does not cause sorrow to him (and his children) except that you send some of it (the food) to him.”

The neighbor in Islam enjoys a unique sanctity and security which is unknown in any other man made law and system. The true Muslim is especially careful to avoid committing sins against his neigh-bor, because a sin against his neighbor is worse than other crimes. According to the words of the Prophet, “Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him not harm or annoy his neighbor…” Thus, when one truly understands the teachings of Islam, he or she begins to see that if one member of a community suffers the whole community is in strife.

After family, neighbors are the people that we depend on the most in times of strife and calamity, and in times of need. It is important that people who share a neighborhood be able to trust and rely on each other, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. Neighbors must feel secure that both their honor and wealth are safe. Islam counts a good neighbor, one whose presence is a source of comfort, security and safety, as one of the joys of a Muslim’s life.

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said, “He has not affirmed faith in me (i.e. he is not a true follower) who eats to his satis-faction and sleeps comfortably at night while his neighbor goes hungry - and he is aware of it.”

Severing ties of neighborhood and showing ill conduct to your neighbors is highly condemned in Islam. Sadly, this understanding is increasingly fading in our fast paced lives of today. It is up to us to try and bring back the wisdom of yester-day and build good relations and strong contact with our neighbors and friends. In order for that to happen, we must first understand the rights of the neighbor in Islam. By doing so, all neighborhoods would become stronger and more united and in turn better able to confront difficul-ties and tragedies together. With regard to the ethics of being a Muslim, ones’ faith must be a source of tolerance and exem-plary behavior that brings a smile on the faces he meets everyday, by their actions and intentions towards each other and the communities they reside in and share. Today, in a time when old people are left isolated and neglected, and neighbors, both near and far, go hungry, we would do

well by remembering the examples set by our predecessors.

Validations About The Importance Of Neighbors In Other Religions And CulturesThis emphasis on good treatment and relations amongst our neighbors can be validated from many other religions and scriptures. Most of them stem from the ethical statement called The Golden Rule also called the ethic of reciprocity. Essentially it states that: One should treat others, as one would like others to treat oneself. According to current Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, Greg M. Epstein do unto others is a notion that no culture has missed out on. From that particular phrase stems a whole world of ethics and morals required for any society, big or small, homogenous or het-erogeneous, religious or not. Simply put, it means respecting others and thinking of their needs and desires just like the way we think of our own. If our neighbor is an extension of us and we are repeatedly called to treat them thoughtfully, then we shouldn’t have to go too far to extend a hand of compassion.

Though worded differently in every reli-gion, the golden rule basically states Love your neighbor as yourself. It describes a reciprocal, or a two-way relationship be-tween one’s self and others that involves both sides equally. Theoretically, it involves a person recognizing their neighbor as be-ing I or self. As a concept, this ethic and its direct connection to neighbors can be found in some form or the other in almost all world cultures, religions and words of philosophers.

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TaoismRegard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as

your own loss.Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien

ChristianityThou shalt love thy neighbor

as thyself.’ On these two commandments depend the

whole Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 22:35-40

Tibetan BuddhismWe must all live

harmoniously with our neighbors. Your happiness

depends on it.The Dalai Lama.

JainismOne should treat all

creatures in this world as one would like to be

treated.Mahavira, Sutrakritanga

JudaismYou shall not take

vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your

neighbor as yourself.Leviticus 19:18[10], The “Great Commandment”

Shawnees IndiansDo not kill or injure your

neighbor, for it is not him that you injure, you injure yourself. But do good to him, therefore

add to his days of happiness as you add to your own. Do not wrong or hate your neighbor,

for it is not him that you wrong, you wrong yourself.

ConfucianismDo not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment

against you, either in the family or in the state.

Analects 12:2

BuddhismHurt not others in ways that you yourself would

find hurtful.Udana-Varga 5,1

HinduismThis is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them

do unto you. .Mahabharata 5,1517

ZoroastrianismThat nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not

good for itself.Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5

THE GOLDEN

RULE

A look into how different religions and thinkers have embraced the golden rule is essential to understanding the importance of the neighbor.

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Why It’s Worth Getting To Know Your Neighbors? “It doesn’t matter who we are, we are all called on to be good neighbors. It doesn’t matter who our neighbors are, if we don’t get to know them, we’ll let our stereotypes and misconceptions get the best of us” (City Square Church).

For generations, the communities that people have belonged to, have served a major role in being the support systems that we often need. From these humanly bonds come acts of neighborliness that uplift our individual as well as community lives. Being a good neighbor does not only benefit us in terms of people sharing stories and smiles with us, but goes a long way in benefitting the community as well as the greater society. In essence, small conversations and connections are the key to a more vibrant and democratic society. This idea of support and posi-tive interactions in a community beings about the concept of shared and vested interest in the well being of everything that is ours instead of just mine in the neighborhood. This network gives rise to a democratic community that extends to revitalizing places, adding to the well being of the global neighborhoods that we are a part of.

The advantages of knowing our neighbors are not just limited to socializing and the emotional benefits of belonging, but also cover various other aspects of communal issues such as crime prevention, home pride, security and sharing resources. These in turn become sources of mon-etary benefit. When people are rooted to a neighborhood through their ties to it, it consequently results in a more established and developed neighborhood

making the homes more desirable in the housing market. Residents in a neigh-borhood share the same experiences in terms of the availability and quality of housing, schools, jobs, businesses, health care, and other human services. They therefore suffer and prosper together and this forms a connection between them. When neighbors are dis-connected from each other, social vice increases. Robert Sampson professor of social sciences at Harvard University and author of Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect, claims that the neighborhoods we live in, also play a long-term role in shaping our lives and defining us. An example of this is best explained in terms of bringing up kids in neighborhoods where crime is rampant. Sampson’s study of these neighborhoods, over the span of ten years, shows that the environment has a lasting effect on the children’s (res-idents) personality and character, even after they leave those neighborhoods.

Social Capital, & The Steady Decline Of Neighborly Relations In UsaThe common saying, It’s not what you know, it’s who you know can be tailored in its usage with respect to our current conversation. Understanding it in terms of the neighbor brings to it another level rather than its regular associations with access to privileges and getting jobs, con-tracts or inside memberships to exclusive places. With an emphasis on the latter part of the phrase who you know makes a distinction in other ways, too. “When you fall on hard times, it is friends and family who create a safety net. Your happiest and most rewarding hours may be spent talking with neighbors, sharing meals with friends, being at religious gatherings, volunteering for community projects” (Woolcock and Narayan).

Sociology defines social capital as the expected collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups. In a brief effort to further understand the term social capital, it is important to shed light on the central premise of what it implies and leads to. The main theory behind social capital is that relationships matter and this brings us to the aspect of a person’s social network as being a valuable asset within a community or in this case; the neighborhood. When people interact with each other, it enables the formation of communities that are committed to each other, formally and informally, which knits together the social fabric of a place. The sense of belonging that is ignited and the relationships of trust and tolerance that are formed bring great benefits to people.

“Trust between individuals thus becomes trust between strangers and trust of a broad fabric of social institu-tions; ultimately, it becomes a shared set of values, virtues, and expectations within society as a whole. Without this interaction, on the other hand, trust decays; at a certain point, this decay begins to manifest itself in serious social problems… The concept of social capital contends that building or re-building community and trust requires face-to-face encounters” (Scheffert, Horntvedt and Chazdon).

A Harvard university report, Saguaro Seminar described the benefits of strong social capital as being so vital, that it af-fects almost every aspect of personal and community life; from stronger communi-ties, better education, economic prosper-ity for people and communities, individual well-being to even public health. Particu-

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larly, as a reference to neighborhoods, strong social capital can be observed by people spending more time in community organizations, willingness to volunteer, to come out and vote and residents spend more time socializing with family, friends and neighbors (Saguaro).

With so many benefits at stake, it is no wonder that sociologists are worried about the steady decline in relation between neighbors since the 1950’s. A Pew study (2010) puts forth the finding that a lot of people don’t even know their neighbors names and the startling revelation is that in reality more than 28% of us don’t know any of our neighbors’ names. One does not have to be a sociologist or therapist to realize the lasting psychological effects this creates on people’s lives and the places we inhabit.

As we retreat into our own private lives with little or no concern to the physical presences of the people around us, it hin-ders the natural capability of the human civilization to congregate, cooperate and work towards the common good of the places we reside in. The decline in social capital reveals a decreasing shift in three main aspects of community life namely, civic and political engagement, informal social ties and tolerance and trust. The reasons for this decline have been put to-gether from various sources, and involve a variety of factors (Scheffert, Horntvedt and Chazdon):

Change in family structure: As more people live alone and have the mindset of having kids later in life in the pursuit of climbing the professional ladder, they have an element of concern for their individual self as opposed to the civic life, which might not be designed for single

or childless people. In fact the involve-ment in public community is often the result of people being concerned for the betterment and quality of life for family and kids.

Urban planning: Building on the whole idea of self, brings with it the privacy aspect that so many people prefer. Houses are now separate entities with hardly any community courtyards be-tween them. There’s a whole disconnect that is suited for privacy of the individual rather than sharing spaces through which encounters become inevitable.

Suburban sprawl: Urbanism has provid-ed residents with social, professional and recreational opportunities outside the neighborhood, which compete with po-tential ties with neighbors. As opposed to early eras where geographical limitation and issues of mobility existed, people are now more inclined to travel much further to work, shop or even enjoy recreation. As a result it leads to less time left to be involved in community groups.

Electronic entertainment: The advent of the television has extremely privatized leisure time. Television does not require us to get together unless we personally do so for the sake of sports matches or certain shows. Any sort of entertainment with regard to the television or the Inter-net adds an illusion of interactivity to our lives but remains a one-way interaction with us. That time can be used to involve ourselves into more real interactions.

Generational change: The generation, which was born in the early twentieth century, was much more involved in the civic lives of their neighborhoods. Today’s generation is less inclined to volunteer in community activities. Much of the blame

According to Robert Bellah “many of the ills of society result from too great an emphasis

on individualism and too weak a commit-ment to the neighborhood. As individualism,

selfishness, and greed in the United States has grown, civic commitment and a sense of re-

sponsibility to society has declined. Participa-tion in the neighborhood will reduce alienation and allow neighbors to belong and contribute

to the community” (Jrank)

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is put on the lack of time and the com-petitive world of today where success is measured by degrees and merits that leads to overscheduling of activities and educational endeavors.

Diversity: With the added color in the landscape of America, there may have been an increase in tolerance as people may have more interaction with the different types of people around them. However this is only to an extent; the trust factor remains limited, as this is where the fear factor comes in. The fear of relating to someone who is different than us drives people to remained more connected to people of their own ethnicity.

Time: Today people work longer hours and further away from home adding more stress and pressure to their lives. The whole idea of material comforts and social status brings with it the urge to devote our time towards stressful efforts to achieve them. This takes away time that could have been devoted to leisure activities that could satisfy basic and innate human needs of contributing, de-veloping friendships and social support.

Working patterns: With the added dimension of both parents working in these tough economic times, the typical roles of family members have changed. In earlier times, a woman’s job was to take care of the house and bring up the children. Thus, they were more involved with their neighbors, as a greater need for a social support system was felt whilst the husband was away and neigh-bors were considered as important as the family.

The Internet age: The success of social media is another major factor as today

communities are often communities without propinquity that is, not limited by their geographical boundaries. People are more connected to their social net-works and prefer to keep in touch with friends far away who are on equal setting (mental level, money) with them rather than the people next door to them.

There may be a shift from neighboring of place to neighboring of taste…More typical of the realities of this century are those individuals and families seeking more space, better jobs, higher status or greater amenities. For these people local areas of neighborhoods are but stepping stones- not necessarily devoid of sentimental value- in the pursuit of happiness. Perhaps future research will tell us that twentieth century urban man had a utilitarian rather then a sentimental attitude to the areas in which he resided in” - (Unger and Wandersman).

Robert Sampson in his earlier study also sheds light on the adverse effect of modern technology by pointing out that by allowing us to be anywhere technology may contribute to a sense of placeless-ness; a feeling of being lost between virtual space and time. But this may not always be the case. While being part of such a world enables people to get support from afar rather than their phys-ical surrounding, it also has also helped revive neighborhood ties. Research shows that people who use technology to their advantage are more likely to be con-nected to their neighbors in person. This points out to the understanding that the different methods of communications as-sociated with the times of today are not the problem, but the way they are utilized to attain our basic human needs.

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The Decline Of The Block PartyIn movies depicting life in decades gone by, images of people talking whilst walking on their neatly mowed lawns, children playing on sidewalks, retired people take a walk down the street keeping an eye out on the kids who are playing, people stop-ping by to say hello, people having dinner of their front porches or sharing a coffee and catching up on the day were common everyday occurrences. Today these activi-ties seem like a scene from the past. The neighborhood existed as a living, breath-ing entity pulsating with life rather than just a group of buildings or houses.

Reportedly, block parties originated, from world war 1, from the east side of New York City as an entire block was roped off for a parade and patriotic songs were sung to honor the members of that block who had gone off to war. Block parties do not require civic institu-tions or structure to support them but instead stem from informal or simple ini-tiatives on the residents part to organize them. These simple, interactions over a potluck became conversations leading to connections that further lead to a discussion about neighborhood improve-ments which in turn become ties that make the neighborhood whole.

Though our modern English may have retained the literal notion of the word, it might not translate well in our time. Even while having many neighbors there may be very few that we actually know; a situation that would have been highly unlikely in earlier times. A very important and apparent indicator of the decline in social capital in neighborhoods can be seen in the decrease in the number of neighborhood block parties over the past years. For generations, block parties

have served as a way for neighbors to meet each other. On an individual level, in 1975, the average American entertained friends at home 15 times per year, today it is not even half as much as that. Nearly all leisure activities that involve doing something with someone else, from play-ing volleyball to playing chamber music, are declining. Whilst talking to several people in my own neighborhood regard-ing this decline, almost all of the people felt the need to revive the tradition and seemed inclined to make efforts towards the idea.

Characteristics Of Great NeighborhoodsAs we continue to progress into the future and our cities become larger and more urbanized, it becomes more than important to focus on the most basic unit of our collective existence as humans, our neighborhoods. Amongst all the artificially planned and organic entities of civilization: villages, cities, counties, townships, zones etc., the neighborhood is the one body of geographical space that is recognized as a real place in which residents lives overlap in a multitude of positive ways.

The right neighborhood to live in is as important as finding the perfect house to live in. Just as the perfect house, be-comes home only after the people living in it impart their personality, taste and invest their time and efforts in it. The same holds true as the neighborhood, is shaped by its residents into a homely environment. Defining the emotional notion of home, in terms of a neighbor-hood, is with reference to the warmth that is associated with home, its security and its welcoming attitude to residents. The real question at hand is What if every neighborhood could be the right neighborhood? If every neighbor could

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be that person who is interested into making it the place where everyone wants to belong to, connect in, and impart it the same coziness and warmth that differ-entiates the house from the home, the neighborhood can evolve to be the place to be. Although a utopian view, it is not completely impossible.

In recent years the American Planning Association released a list of Great Plac-es in America. Their research bases its findings on 7 factors that define great neighborhoods, which are important to mention here:

1. Has a variety of functional attributes that contribute to a resident’s day-to- day living (i.e. residential, commercial, or mixed-uses).2. Accommodates multi-modal trans-portation (i.e. pedestrians, bicyclists drivers).3. Has design and architectural features that are visually interesting.4. Encourages human contact and social activities.5. Promotes community involvement and maintains a secure environment. 6. Promotes sustainability and responds to climatic demands.7. Has a memorable character

With regard to two of the 7 factors (number 4 and 5), there is a specific emphasis on social capital of a place as discussed before. It is an essential as-pect of relationships and trust on which great neighborhoods prosper and define themselves. In essence, most desirable neighborhoods share common charac-teristics of a strong sense of place and a strong identity related to the traditions and stories that it can tell. Thus, when people connect the environment with their identity, it is when the neighbor-hood becomes meaningful.

Stakeholders In A NeighborhoodA stakeholder is a person with an invest-ed interest in something. In the case of the neighborhood, stakeholders are all the people who benefit from its wellbeing. Therefore, all those people who live, work or own property within the boundaries of the neighborhood can be considered stakeholders. We can divide stakeholders into two categories:

Primary stakeholders are those people who stand to be directly affected, by any action of community organization or an individual. The residents of the neighborhood being the actual primary stakeholders can therefore be seen as critical co-investors in the design, deliv-ery of the services and resources, and improvements that the neighborhood needs. Without the support of these stakeholders, the neighborhood would cease to exist.

Secondary stakeholders are commonly referred to as community stakeholders, these are people who have a sincere concern for the community and work with local organizations, schools, churches, non-profit organization etc. Secondary stakeholders may refer to people who do not actually live in the neighborhood, yet have a vested interest in its wellbeing. Examples include: community leaders and organizers, neighborhood association members, participants and leaders of faith institutions, teachers, school board members, health care workers, child care providers, law enforcement and court officials and representatives of local gov-ernment as instrumental voices to bring about and support change in community.

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CONCLUSION

Before I conclude my argument, I would like to bring forth the words of Harvey Milk; American politician and a man, who was a strong advocate in creating thriving neighborhoods, block by block. This quote is a fragment from a larger but relatively unknown speech that he made in his early days of politics and continues to inspire the neighbor in all of us.

Let’s make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neigh-borhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild our neighbor-hoods. And to do that, we must understand that the quality of life is more important than the standard of living. To sit on the front steps--whether it’s a veranda in a small town or a concrete stoop in a big city--and to talk to our neighbors is infinitely more important than to huddle on the living-room loung-er and watch a make-believe world in not-quite living color. And I hardly need to tell you that in the 19- or 24-inch view of the world, cleanliness has long since eclipsed godliness. Soon we’ll all smell, look, and actually be laboratory clean, as sterile on the inside as on the out. The perfect consumer, surrounded by the latest appliances. The perfect audience, with a ringside seat to almost any event in the world, without smell, without taste, without feel--alone and unhappy in the vast wasteland of our living rooms. I think that what we actually need, of course, is a little more dirt on the seat of our pants as we sit on the front stoop and talk to our neighbors once again, enjoying the type of summer day where the smell of garlic travels slightly faster than the speed of sound.

A century or so later, from the age of industry, we are now part of the age of globalization and technology, where change is fast, borders are diminish-ing and there is rapid and constant evolvement of human settlements from homogenous societies to diverse ones with a range of implications and a far higher number of challenges. Yet to make a place that is culturally diverse, homogenous in its application of human morals and values, we need to revive our places. To do that, we must make new connections and yet maintain our distinct creativity through our diverse backgrounds.

Modern neighborhoods of today can appear to be daunting and disconnected places, if we do not make it our responsibility to play a role in reducing the re-sults that isolation and disconnection begets. We need to make our neighbor-hoods an example for other diverse communities to follow and as models for those that regard the changing diversity in society with fear. It is only through our collaborative efforts that we can help define our neighborhood to bring back old-fashioned values that would bring so much more meaning to the benefits, embodied by modern society today.

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In an effort to move forward in our time, better communication and physical interactions between all residents who share a widely diversifying space is vital to not only to the success of the neighborhoods we live in but also the world at large. The predicted future for the global society is that by the year 2050, more than 70% of the world population will be urban. Therefore the neighbor-hood may be the most important unit in terms of planning and in which one can have a role in promoting social diversity and increasing social capital. The unit of the neighborhood is small enough to be within the physical scope of an individual’s efforts to support the notion of neighborliness and yet broad enough for us to think beyond ourselves and make efforts that impact all of those who are a part of the equation.

Summing up the above with regard to my intentions for this thesis, I highlight my intentions as a designer and Creative modifier, with regard to applying Creative Placemaking, as a case for culture, diversity, connections and partic-ipation in my home town, Valley stream. The designed interventions overseen and designed by me would attempt to leverage the diversity of the inhabitants as an asset for driving creativity. This would allow for connections to happen, instigate conversations and thus act as spark for inspiring the community to uplift the neighborhood. Through all this, I attempt to turn the neighborhood squares we inhabit to embody the true nature of the circle. This, is in reference to its interconnectedness; its diversity and relation to its infinite points that keep it going round just like our never ending connections to each other and the places we live in.

In this quest, I would like to bring forth the quote from Benjamin Franklin: “All humanity is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those who are movable, and those who move!” Thus in light of this inspirational quote, I take on this quest to attempt to be the one who moves, in order to shape the future that we all want to live in.

I do not consider this thesis just to be a book that occupies space on the shelf but rather a visual script that inspires and provokes people to redefine place and to make big or small, visible or invisible changes that move neighborhoods to become the sort of places which we are all proud to live in.

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Between numerable projects and initiatives that exist towards community building and connecting people and places, I have picked out a few initia-tives that give me inspiration and a sense of direction for my own project.

Neighborhood Postcard Project

Initially known as the SF Postcard project, by Hunter Franks; a community work-er in Bayview, San Francisco, this idea has instigated universal appeal. It is avail-able for neighborhoods worldwide through the Neighborhood Postcard Project and continues to inspire people to make a difference in their communities. It is based on breaking down stereotypes and erasing misconceptions that emerge due to negativity related to violence, drugs and poverty in the media. This simple participatory project has caused many real conversations between people from different backgrounds and made connections between neighborhoods that may have not interacted otherwise.

As denoted by the name, the concept uses a simple medium like a postcard, which acts as a catalyst to foster connections between different communities and change perceptions about marginalized neighborhoods through storytell-ing. Residents of a specific disregarded neighborhood fill out a postcard with a positive personal story about their neighborhood. The postcard is then mailed to a random resident in another neighborhood in the same city in an effort to foster connections between communities and give them a personal viewpoint of the neighborhood. This has led many to realize, that people are more similar than different thereby creating lasting connections.

This inspiring case study serves to prove how people just need a simple reason to talk to one another and how simple storytelling can be the vehicle that por-trays change leading to everlasting connections between people and places. Furthermore, with the appreciation in mind that this project allowed random people to connect to each other from far and different neighborhoods, I use this case study as my first inspiration towards developing a mechanism that can allow neighbors in the same community to make connections in a simple, yet lasting manner.

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The Passenger Project By Ivan Cash

This project is by interactive artist Ivan Cash, who loves to engage people through inspiring human-centric projects. A participatory art project and so-cial experiment, it is aimed at connecting passengers in flights to each other by bringing curiosity and creativity to the flying experience. Implemented in six different flights in different ways by the artist himself, it consists of six different prompts and experiences, which anyone else can select to use in a travelling experience of their own.

The passenger project plays on the true participatory nature of design by allow-ing the passengers to input their own little bit of creativity to the prompt on the paper and the end result is a bigger picture of the whole experience. The paper is passed from one passenger to another who can view the previous responses and fill in a blank space with regard to the prompt and further pass it on to the next person till every space is filled.

This passing of little snippets of personal creativity, and at the same time being able to see what others have contributed is truly motivational. I, view the peo-ple, as vehicles that make the experience come alive, rather than if the artist had gone up to each individual passenger to get responses. Secondly, the fact that everyone is seen as an equal contributor is very motivational to my own ar-gument of the creativity inherent in everyone. The formation of a bigger picture to give a true narrative of the experience is also relatable, to my own goal of using participatory design to make everyone participate in an endeavor, where they feel empowered to see their contribution as part of a bigger picture.

Postsecret By Frank Warren

Launched in 2004 by artist Frank Warren, PostSecret has become a world-wide phenomenon and is still running successfully through an ongoing commu-nity art project. The success behind this participatory project that has inspired thousands of people, from all over the world, to contribute is a basic question: “What is a secret you’ve never told anyone?”

Using the simple medium of a postcard, he invites people to answer the ques-tion anonymously, encouraging them to be brief, legible and creative. This ques-tion, though extremely personal, establishes a relationship of trust between an anonymous secret-giver and the receiver who is willing to listen. Warren calls the outpouring of emotions and courage the essence of humanity. Whilst all the postcards themselves may not be visually outstanding, the power of cour-age and expression is phenomenal.

This case study is remarkable, not just because of its success. but because it readily defines the essence of a powerful question and how it can connect a giver and a receiver. I strive to think of ways to frame a question or prompt in my own project that can make people pause, reflect, immerse into the experience and at the same time cause interactions between neighbors. This can make them be willing to consider making an effort to respond even if they have a busy or stressful life. An investigation into what makes a successful question that prompts social engagement brings forth two characteristics. Firstly, the question should be open ended towards a diversity of responses. Secondly, the question should make any participant feel confident and capable of answering the question.

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Neighborland By Candy ChangNeighborland is a powerful participatory platform that was developed by Dan Parham, Tee Parham, and Candy Chang. Launched as a basic site in 2011, it has recently become free and available to use anywhere in the United States. It serves to connect neighborhood organizations, economic development groups and decision makers in public service sectors with people both online and on the street who inhabit the place. It allows residents to have a voice, share their knowledge and build on ideas for their communities, so the future of the com-munity is more promising and reflects its residents. Based on a simple yet constructive collaborative process, the organization asks the residents what they would want in their neighborhoods while giving them a free and open way to share their idea for the betterment of the com-munity. Participants are invited to put up images and videos or even create an idea. Sharing the idea, across not just the platform and the stakeholders in that specific neighborhood, but also on other social media, gathers support for the idea around the neighborhood. By clicking me too on a dedicated page, residents connect with likeminded people and organizations in their area, which have the same request and stay updated on the issue. The organization can also pair this up with a physical presence through participatory signage in public spaces to gather more responses. They also invite the people to suggest actions by asking, how they would like to make this happen.

The idea of connecting various people in close vicinity over things that matter is very appealing and resonates with my intentions of taking my project to further benefit the community. Connecting likeminded people, and organizations with knowledge and resources to one another, is inspirational in the simple way it is done. Secondly, the way that the idea uses regular residents as important partners in the design process is the core of a truly participatory experience. The simplicity of the platform is very impressive, making it not just aesthetically pleasing but easy to understand by anyone. What makes the idea even more attractive is the usage of participatory signage to connect with people physical-ly in their communities, which is highly commendable and inspirational. It brings light to my own project idea, of pairing a physical experience with a digital one to provide a complete experience.

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With the selection of Valley Stream as my case study, I have tried to use my skills as a designer throughout my primary research, design process and methodology to produce participatory platforms for conversation, culture and creativity to connect with my target audience.

My methodology is inspired by Nina Simon in her book, The Participatory Museum, in which she describes an approach called me-to-we. Her process is designed for cultural institutions, like museums to move from personal to social engagement, and explore ways to enhance visitor experiences via interac-tions with others. This idea of me-to-we resonates with my core intentions. I use this phrase as a concept for guiding the basis of all experiments, yet modifying the approach to relate to each stage of research and design. The phases that follow demonstrate how I, as a designer, personally went from me-to-we with regard to my own sense of belonging to Valley Stream. Based on my own experiences, I aimed to use design to foster interactions that allowed others to experience the same.

GAINING FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE ABOUT PEOPLE AND PLACE

Before I could expect to design expe-riences and interactions for others to benefit from and participate in, it was imperative that I start with tactics

that allowed me to immerse myself within the community and to gather empirical experience with people and place. Throughout the process, I have invited, spoken to and interviewed various stakeholders in dialogue about the community of Valley Stream. Each interview led to another interview hence creating a network of people and places that I had hitherto not known anout or experienced. I have discovered valuable historical and inspiring facts about not just the place of Valley Stream, but also the people that call it home.

People whom I’ve met and interviewed, over the course of the process, have been instrumental in guiding me rep-resent a range of different capabilities and positions in Valley Stream. Dialogue with public service employees, like Ms. Barbara (head of the building sector of Valley Stream), Ms. Mamie Eng (Valley Stream Public library director), Ms. Carol McKenna (Official Village historian) have been very informative. This led me to conversations with community elders in positions of significance, such as Mr. Guy Ferrara (president of the Historical society of Valley Stream), Mr. Jim Score (president; alumni association - Central High School district) and Mr. Dave McK-ean, (Member of the Historical society) in addition to various others. Furthermore, community activists and owners of small businesses, like Mr. David Sabatino (Own-er of Sip This Café; the neighborhood coffee place, and organizer and sponsor of the Valley Stream Fest), have been in-

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credibly helpful. Many residents and even ex residents like Ms. Alina Mongolon Volk (freelance producer and director) have been crucial to the whole process. With regard to the diverse knowledge they provided, all facts and quotes have been spread over the thesis in an attempt to connect the knowledge to the various facets discovered and explored.

Through these interviews and various talks, generous materials for research emerged surrounding two locations; The Village Hall and The Pagan Fletcher Res-toration. Not only is the village hall a seat for the Mayor but also has a wealth of public service departments and a court that work tirelessly and diligently to man-age many important facets of maintain-ing and smoothly running a community. The Pagan Fletcher Restoration is the house of Robert Pagan (one of the first settlers in the area, as stated earlier), which has been converted to a museum in order to preserve the history of Valley Stream. This historic site - now owned by the Village of Valley Stream and admin-istered by the Valley Stream Historical Society - is maintained for the purpose of displaying and making available for study various materials and artifacts. Each room has been preserved to permanent-ly give the feeling of being part of the Victorian Era, allowing visitors to tangibly connect to their town’s history.

The experience of visiting these places has been extremely beneficial. These visits provided me with direction and information towards helping me define my own sense of the place in which I live. They have also been enriching by pro-viding me with experiences that I would otherwise take for granted, or have not had at all.

The Village Hall.Valley Stream, NY

The Pagan Fletcher RestorationValley Stream, NY

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IMMERSING INTOTHE SOCIETY AT A COMMUNITY LEVEL

Valley Stream Community Fest After benefiting from the richness of Valley Stream at such a close and personal level, the next step was to immerse myself within the community itself. With regard to the qualities of Creative Placemaking, the first phase engaged me in exploration of the architectural, social and cultural history of the place. The second phase was to define the distinctiveness of the community for others and bridge different types of people in dialogue.

Therefore, using both qualities of people and place, I simultaneously sought to draw people in, to discover relevant and possibly unknown facts of the community. I also wanted to learn about their hopes, dreams and thoughts about living in Valley Stream, and open a meaningful dialogue towards furthering my research. This would allow me to facilitate experiences and interactions that resonate with them. This is related to Liz Sanders’ participato-ry design approach, where she states: “By accessing peoples’ feelings, dreams and imaginations, we can establish resonance with them” (Sanders).

The perfect opportunity to meet people struck me in the form of a poster, adver-tising for a community festival that was due to happen in less than three weeks. The location for the festival was Main Rockway Avenue, the heart of the Valley Stream business district, and the village downtown making it a common ground for various neighborhoods, and thus ideal for my efforts. Featuring more than 140 businesses, community groups and exhibits that lined both sides of Rock-away Avenue, between Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway, The Valley Stream Community Fest is a collaborative annu-al effort between local businesses and community activists, to bring a day of family, food and festivity.

What sets the Valley Stream Fest apart from a regular street fair is the idea that it is a yearly festival that showcases the best of Valley Stream, through its vari-ous community organizations and small businesses. The tradition celebrates the uniqueness of the truly impressive com-munity of Valley Stream, through cultural activities, visual and performing arts, displays of different cuisines, music and activities for all. Thus this Festival formed a seamless entry into my quest, to im-merse myself and make connections on a meta level in the community. Through light, quick and fun activities, I offered the visitors a voice and an opportunity to express themselves and participate directly and proactively in the process.

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I witnessed the friendliness of the community first hand, by the organizers accommodating me at the last mo-ment, despite the fact that they had no vacancies. After knowing my intentions, they worked with me to make sure that I secured a great location, which was specifically allotted for me with regard to the extra space I needed. Additionally, one of the co-sponsors went to the ex-tra effort of making sure I achieved my goals through various meetings about iterations of ideas. Inspired by this wel-coming attitude, and spurred forward by the wealth of knowledge I had earlier encountered, a space was designed which celebrated Valley Stream. Resi-dents and visitors of all ages at the fair engaged with the town’s rich history and were then led to participate in the physi-cal and visual dialogue that followed.

In addition to the standard 10’by 10’ booth, I was allotted three additional tables extending outwards. The regular booth placement is parallel to the street along the curb. After discussing several options, a transformative design decision was made to place the booth at an inter-section in the middle of festival’s main thoroughfare. This layout was decided to minimize crowding and allow people to access it from all sides. Through place-ment and allotment of the extra space, the community organizers made my booth the centerpiece of the festival.

Overview Of The Design SpaceWith the idea of drawing connections be-tween the history of the community and the participatory activities that followed,

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the booth contained only relevant facts about Valley Stream that pertained to people and place. The hope was to give rise to a sense of pride and belonging to the place that may be taken for granted. These facts were hung on transparent nylon thread to create an immersive experience of Valley Stream history.

Once people passed through the booth, they encountered two to three tables joined together with paper for them to draw, doodle or write upon with respect to the prompts. These prompts were arranged so that people went through a process of participation in which they engaged in a dialogue about themselves. I refer to this as the me phase, which progressed to the we phase, which was about what they hoped for as commu-nity members of Valley Stream. Several prompts and ideas were brainstormed before the final ones were decided upon.

As this visual survey was at the front end of the initial research process, the prompts were a way to learn more about the people, and what they experi-ence and think about the place they live in, making it light and fun and participa-tory for all. Calls to action with signs of draw, doodle, write, make your mark were placed at significant locations on the table. Also, a Facebook page was developed before the fair, and visiting cards were distributed in an effort to retain connections with people met at the fair, and attract more people to-wards further efforts as discussed later. A detailed look into what each prompt entailed is necessary to understand the many facets of the experience:

Images: Historical facts of Valley Stream, Layout and Design.

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Participatory Activities And Their Results

Prompt #1: Mark on the map where are you originally from?

Starting with a world map, people were asked to take a thumbtack and mark the place from which they were from orig-inally. With respect to those who were second, third or fourth generation living in the United States, they were prompt-ed to mark the place of their ancestors’ origin as this would highlight the culture that was followed in their house with respect to food, clothing etc.

Observations

This idea of mapping proved to be the most successful and made people very excited and proud to acknowledge their home and ancestral countries. It also made them want their kids to be a part of this activity. This outcome makes us think back to the notion of belonging discussed earlier. Although it had been stated in census results, the eye open-ing proof of representation of more than 68 countries in presence at the fair was moving. Given its rich diversity, this response strengthened my resolve to use Valley Stream as grounds for further research, and encouraged me to think of ways in which I could use this multiculturalism as a basis for creativity and community bonding. Various con-versations and acquaintances were de-veloped while interacting with the map. It was overwhelming the dialogue that could be triggered by a simple activity.

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Prompt #2: I believe…This prompt proved to be a tricky one from which I learnt a great deal. De-signed like a typical neighborhood flyer from which a strip of paper bearing a phone number can be torn, the prompt was set in the center and strips with some common religions as well as some empty slips were placed along the bot-tom. People could either tear a preprint-ed religion or write their own choice and deposit it in a closed box anonymously. The blank strips offered an open-ended way to voice whatever they believed in, be it love, peace harmony etc. The few results that were accumulated were as follows:

Protecting babiesStaying active and healthy for lifePeaceA world where our leaders work for our peopleTruthLoveSocialition in GodLove and peaceI am a world citizen and love the diversity in Valley StreamEquality, preservation and natureHindusimChristianityIslamAgnosticDeismJudaism

This was peoples’ least preferred activ-ity. In fact I witnessed many people turn away from the whole booth itself, com-menting that they did not want to par-ticipate in any sort of religious activity. This also confirmed my belief about the stereotypes, and misconceptions about

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religion. By mid afternoon, I removed the religion strips in an effort to retain participation. Yet this remained the least popular activity of the whole process.

Prompts #3 and #4:These prompts were on two poster boards side by side, so they had equal standing in relation to each other and presented a process of self, and subse-quently self with regard to place. This was an effort to encourage spontaneity and creativity in peoples’ responses. The results are displayed on the follow-ing pages.

ObservationsPeople enjoyed participating in these activities. They also wanted their kids to take part in it. In fact, at times, the color-fulness of the markers and crayons, and the usage of neon paper for the head-lines actually made some people think it was essentially a children’s activity, so clarification had to be given at points that this was for everyone. This made me learn that in order to target an adult age group in my future social and participatory endeavors, I must keep in mind aesthetics that are applicable to the target group. Yet in this case it was fine since it was open to all.

All in all it was a successful endeavor accompanied by pleasant conversation about the diversity and beauty of the cul-tures that reside in Valley Stream. The specific emphasis on family, friendliness, homieyness and safety was proof of the fact that many people accept and enjoy the community’s diversity and would love to be more of a part of it, given the right way to do so.

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Prompt 03: I Love Valley Stream Because...

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Prompt 04: Everyday On My Way I See...

Prompt #5: Tomorrow I Hope... (For Valley Stream)

This was the we phase, in which the prompt was framed as a caption for a postcard that was addressed to the Mayor of Valley Stream. These postcards gave people the chance to communicate what they hoped for Valley Stream in the future. They had an option to either sign it or let it remain anonymous. I refer to this as the we phase because what they hoped would actually benefit the whole community. An actual United States Postal Box was added to the table to give proof of its credibility.

ObservationsThis led to many interesting postcards that were delivered to the Mayor after the fair. Many people took part in this ac-tivity and amongst their responses was the desire for more community-based activities. The fact that it highlighted their hopes for Valley Stream provided an in-depth look into what people really want to see in the places they live in and to form even more enlivened connec-tions to them.

Various people acknowledged and whole-heartedly praised the effort and provided their own thoughts. One noteworthy point is, that I had always lamented that I was a person meant for the hustle and bustle of the city, and suburban life did not suit me. This immersion in the community and the process of making so many connec-tions has in fact been instrumental in shaping my own sense of belonging to place, and strengthened my aspira-tions to work towards its betterment. I wondered if I could evoke the same emotions of connection and community in others. Whilst this endeavor was one on a massive level with hundreds of peo-ple participating, the idea of connecting these people individually to each other was formed in the process.

Therefore, what started as thesis re-search and an initial immersion into the community I lived in, became a full fledge intention to make it an actual project that continues beyond the scope of the thesis, and benefits the place to which I belong. I kept the idea in mind that what-ever I design further serves as a model for other evolving diverse communities.

“I love that we get to learn from each other and we get to explore different parts of the world without actually travelling, right here in Valley Stream. I hope that my son learns about the entire world and he would learn to respect everybody even though they are different than him”- Valley Stream Resident

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Humanity is like a flower garden. Different colors add to the beauty of the garden. Different colors and shape add to the beauty of the community - Valley Stream Resident.

Appreciation

The fair was covered by the Valley Stream Herald, a community newspaper that made specific mention of the Designing Goodness booth, and singled out the design space and booth as being a whole story in itself.

Dozens of festival-goers took part in Zainab Danish’s research study on diversity and understanding. The Pratt Institute graduate student’s setup had several highlights, including interesting facts about Valley Stream, a map for people to show where their ancestors are from, and a place for participants to write what they believed in. Danish said that Valley Stream is a great place to conduct her research because it is so diverse, and added that most people who walked by were happy to participate and answer questions.

David Sabatino, president of Envision Valley Stream and head of the festival’s organizing committee, took part in Danish’s study, and made several other stops as well. Sabatino said that the biggest payoff of organizing the event was seeing so many people enjoying themselves and promoting the community. “Once every-thing was set up, and I could take a breath and walk up and down the block to talk to people,” he said, “it was a wonderful feeling. - excerpt from Long Island Herald

The Herald further contacted me for a personal interview sometime later, and published an in-depth article about the whole effort that has encouraged me to further the sense of community and connections in other people.

Overall this research was well worth experiencing. I learnt a great deal through it and my intentions were heightened as to how I as a designer, can use the creativity inherent in diversity towards positive gains for the community. Going further, my aim is to establish connections on an individual level between com-munity members that transcend cultural boundaries, and make them reflect and feel compassion for the people and physical place around them.

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INITIATING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN NEIGHBORS

Project Neighbor’d“In addition to its capacity for fostering knowledge creation, an emphasis on contri-bution also fosters a sense of community. As people begin to contribute together, create together, and learn together, a feeling of connection- to each other and to a larger whole - begins to emerge. (World Café)

Before moving forward to introduce my final project and how it has evolved and motivated me, I would like to recap the previous chapters by summing up my intentions for this thesis.

The core idea is to engage a physical place and its people through a creative intervention that utilizes their diversity as an asset for driving creativity. The de-signed creative modifier would allow for conversation to happen, inspire friend-ships, and act as a spark for increasing connections, thereby strengthening neighborly relations on an individual level. This would further aid me in proving my hypothesis that: physical and participa-tory interactions in real world spaces remain a potent vehicle for nurturing connections in communities. The ideal outcome is to inspire the residents to become active participants in the betterment of their neighborhoods. As grounds for the project, the idea was based around a few major aspects of my research:

- The idea of sharing and reciprocity.- Creating opportunities for more face-to-face interactions through digital and physical media.- Changing the me-to-we by strengthen-ing bonds between people and place.- Collecting participants unique narra-tives, and stimulating the creativity of everyone involved- Making the contributions part of a bigger whole by giving people a chance to view the uniqueness of others and feel a sense of community.- Using art and culture to connect, there-by drawing from Creative Placemaking’s aspirations.

In consideration of the above, I was fur-ther motivated by the warm and welcom-ing attitude of the residents at the fair. The realization that we all wanted more or less the same things in our communi-ties inspired me to use my design skills to benefit the people and place of Valley Stream. It also gave me a chance to give back to my first home in a new country. Thus, after various iterations and hard work, I developed a pass-it-forward project that brought forth a fun way for neighbors from different backgrounds to share and connect with each other. Project Neighbor’d was born.

Logo and Identity DesignMy point of focus with regards to this intervention may have been community, but at the back my mind I was well aware that with regard to social experiments, the idea of success and failure is not cut and dry. This social experiment is an at-tempt to create a confluence of variants not just related to people and place, but

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also to design, branding, packaging, and the experience. Thus, I had to make sure that I worked diligently to make the best possible use of this opportunity, and then leave it to the people to respond in their own natural manner. This would add to the repertoire of diverse actions and thoughts available to each individual. Also with regard to Place-making and its goals, this may just be an intervention around which people connect but could also serve as an igniting ground for many other projects to evolve. Therefore, it may not necessarily achieve an end goal just through one project.

The logo was designed with the convivial idea in mind that it should be iconic of the relationships that it would aspire to initiate. The simplicity of the logo and the cohesive-ness of its elements intended to embody the core mission of creating conversation, which is the magic sauce to building com-munity. Therefore, I designed two houses interlinked, representative of a neighbor-hood grounded in place, and overlapping in conversation like speech bubbles prevalent in chat icons of today. This sought to convey how simple conversation is essential for building community of any sort. The edges of the houses were purposely rounded to give a warm feeling of friendly conversation between neighbors. The font Oswald was selected in its upper case form as it’s verti-cal, sleek form gives a contemporary image of our times, and at the same time it’s solid grounding form is analogous to how a place relates to its residents. After thorough con-siderations of the project’s goals and vari-ous iterations, the tagline finalized as: Enjoy. Share. Connect. The three imperative verbs embody the process of participation that is a core part of the project, as well as com-municate the value to the participants.

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The Creative InterventionA very interesting consideration was the idea behind a phenomenon called Emotional Design. Although the concept is grounded in web design, I refer to the ethics behind it that are very applicable to my project. Emotional Design, in its core sense talks about how design can overcome barriers by engaging the manner the idea in which people connect to things. Spurred by this interesting notion, I wanted the creative modifier to be attractive yet soft and organic at the same time. I believed that it should be something that is well crafted, creating a delightful experience for those who chose to interact with it. Therefore to captivate with every element of its de-sign, I thought of it as embodying the per-sona of someone a neighbor would want to have a conversation with. In consider-ation of all these factors, I developed an object, which would contain participatory activities for the neighbors. I wanted the object to convey the feeling of a gift so I chose a simple box shape. For the basic material, I selected raw birch wood as it rounded the whole idea quite perfect-ly as being organic yet modern at the same time. The logo was laser engraved into the box surface in keeping with the natural wood feeling. A short synopsis of the project was added underneath the logo to invite the neighbors to open the Project Neighbor’d Box.

With the exterior of the box decided, I moved onto creating the interior elements. Having learnt from my past experience, I realized a precise color palette is very important as gives off a specific feel, and also attracts a certain target audience. Therefore, if it is not managed correctly, it can end up getting responses from the wrong audience. In my attempt at the fair, parents would often tell their children to participate in the activities, while remaining pas-sive surveyors on the side. This might have been partly due to the bright neon colors I used, which may have given the appearance of it being a children’s activity. Therefore, while I love colors, I chose my palette very selectively this time. Although, the colors are bright, they are used in moderation. Sunflower yellow was chosen for its sunny and up-lifting feel, lime green was chosen for the growing organic nature of relationships that this project is attempting to flourish, whilst light aqua blue was chosen for its calmness and soothing nature that these natural elements create in our lives. Overall a happy theme, that was ground-ed in a deep, dark woodsy brown that was used throughout for the font, in an attempt to give it depth, and a sense of maturity. This theme played well with my idea of attempting to re-create old-fash-ioned neighborliness in a contemporary way with the aim to revitalize the simple act of neighborliness.

The Pass It Forward Concept

Inspired by The Passenger Project by Ivan Cash, the Pay-it-Forward approach and Passing the Parcel (a childhood game I used to enjoy), the idea of a pass it forward project emerged from the hope of forging relationships between neighbors. Instead of going door-to-door asking for creative contributions, I provided the designed framework, and encouraged the passing of the item physi-

cally between neighbors. The travelling participatory Project Neighbor’d box was intended to encourage them to inter-act beyond the usual hello. Neighbors had the freedom to to pass the box to whomever they chose. The fact that the next neighbor could witness previous responses was essential to creating an understanding about the sort of people that reside in that specific neighborhood. This exercise was about increasing our neighborhood circles, and not about just staying within our social comfort zones.

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“Conversation is our human way of creating

and sustaining – or transforming – the

realities in which we live” (World Café)

This idea was based simply on adults tak-ing responsibility to share with each oth-er, and develop relationships that allow us to step into our neighborhoods and public places with confidence and caring. Another reason for developing the pass it forward concept was the view that the box would grow and change organically on its journey around the neighbor-hood. This puts forth the idea that each neighbor touched something and made it better. It may have been a phrase, or even just a word, but it enriched the box.Furthermore, Modifying Nina Simon’s approach in The Participatory Museum, I developed a process language for my pass it forward method.

Turning the me-to-we again

Me

1. Neighbor interacts with the Project Neighbor’d Box.2. Neighbor adds a personal creative contribution3. Neighbor passes along the box, thereby interacts with others.4. Creative Contributions are seen byall during participation.5. After project is complete, all contributions are displayed towards the greater good.6. Residents feel empowered and part of the whole.7. Social interactions and sense of place are heightened.

WE

To understand this further, I put for-ward the idea of Triangulation. This is explained by the forefather of pps.org, William H. Whyte in his famous book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces in which he highlights seven points from his study that are most important to a city and city life: relationship to the street, seating, sun, water, trees, food, and triangulation. Whyte describes Triangu-lation as a phenomenon, “in which some external stimulus provides a social bond between people and prompts strangers to talk to each other as though they were not (Whtye). “He uses examples such as street acts, public art, music, magicians, all which add character and distinction to a space. The stimulus could be a physi-cal object or sight such as sculpture, or people like musicians and entertainers”

Thus the Project Neighbor’d box rep-resents the first stage of Triangulation, that is eminent to Placemaking and serves to connect people by bolstering the community. The second stage of triangulation would culminate in an exhibition once the project is complete. People would be invited to the exhibition to witness the richness of tehir com-munity and interact socially. As a result, they would feel like a part of the whole experience, and ultimately the place.

Utilizing Neighbors Unique Narratives Through Participatory Design In engaging the many eyes that would interact with the box, the message and the prompts played a huge role in the success of the project. Voiced appropri-ately, they would encourage neighbors to share their unique narratives. I also realized that the Project Neighbor’d box would be disrupting their daily routine which can be a tricky issue since there is no way to predict human behavior. Therefore, each and every element of the message would have to be succinct, accessible, and relatable regardless of background.

Introductory CopyTo deal with all these factors, I spent considerable time, and explored as many options as possible before finalizing the story that the box would convey. Firstly, the neighbors would be addressed in a casual and friendly tone through its introductory wording. The wording would have to encourage neighbors to have a reason to participate by adding nourish-ing value to their lives, be it mental or physical. With this intention, the copy was honed to portray a reason to invest their time. Thus, the script was cordially addressed and included the simple steps through which neighbors could partici-pate in the project.

Layout Of Box ElementsI wanted the box to have a very hand-made feel. Therefore, the base of the box was lined with yellow chevron pat-terned craft paper, which was sunny and uplifting. I have always had a special af-fection for this pattern, and this project seemed like a good opportunity to use it. The pattern seems to portray triangular

“We need many eyes and ears and hearts engaged in sharing

perspectives. How can we create an actual picture of the whole if we don’t honor the fact that we

each see something different because of who we are and

where we sit in the system? Only when we have many different

perspectives do we have enough information to make good

decisions. And exploring our different perspectives always

brings us closer together”. (The World Café)

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roofs of houses joined together. The box was sectioned into four parts with birch wood lengths.

Each activity was allotted a section, and the fourth one was reserved for calling cards and a length of graph paper; the Neighbor Log designed to look like a folded subway map. It was designed to unravel into a list, onto which each participant could add their name and street address, so that the box would not double back to them. Participants were also given the option to add their email address so that they could be alerted about the project’s updates. An element of a reward, which will be discussed in more detail later, was added to the back of the Neighbor Log, as a way to thank the community for their time and effort in making the project come alive. The included calling cards had information for anyone who had questions.

Next, the decision had to be made which activities the neighbors would feel comfortable participating in, how they would be designed in terms of medium. I decided that these activities would have to be based on elements that transcend cultural boundaries and provide a clear value. Furthermore, the prompts would have to make the motivate neighbors to respond. It would have to be something that they would look forward to passing along and sharing with their neighbors, without being concerned about privacy.

With the hope of gamifying the activities, and making the experience of the Project Neighbor’d box enjoyable, the partici-pants were given the option to choose from one or more of the three activities enclosed. Gift tags, recipe cards and post were included to explore the partic-ipants’ opinions and personal narratives.

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Each material was purposely chosen in relation to the prompt thereby adding a layer of familiarity and fun. The idea was to make it simple enough to understand and at the same build awareness of the nature of the project. I decided to base my activities around three main elements that are familiar to us all: food, skills and talents, and hopes and dreams. Through these three dis-tinct connecting elements, we can all witness the diverse array of creativity available to each individual through connection to culture.

Activity A - Hopes And DreamsThis activity was inspired by a method called Place Performance Evaluation by PPS. In this method, groups from a com-munity are taken on site of proposed development, where they use their knowledge to develop design strategies, to benefit the community. PPS states: “Whether the participants are school-children or professionals, the exercise produces dramatic results because it relies on the expertise of people who use the place every day, or who are the potential users of the place”. This idea engages with the core principles of participatory design, in which various stakeholders are involved in the design process, and have an important role to play in the final result. In this case, the final result would be the box getting richer with so many diverse thoughts.

pic of post it pad seperatly and insid the box

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People generally enjoy feeling that that their opinion is appreciated. So passing along their hopes and dreams for their neighborhood resonates with this activi-ty. This contributed toward successfully grounding the project within the target-ed community. To facilitate this activity, the box included a pad of post-its, upon which each participant could complete the phrase: I wish our neighborhood had… The responses could then be seen by all who received the box.

Activity B - Food Food is the most basic factor of human existence, and no culture can deny how important it is. Food has an innately con-necting characteristic, and has gathered people since eternity. The vehicle for this concept was a set of blank recipe cards, which invited participants to share a favorite family recipe, with the culinary tradition and a personal story behind it. The prompt was printed on the first card, and participants could add their recipes to the respective section of Appetizer, Main Course, or Dessert. The completed effect was intended to be reminiscent of a recipe box. This activity was an effort towards celebrating the taste of diversity.

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Activity C - Skills And Talents This was a very important activity as through it I intended to showcase an essential part of what constitutes true diversity. Beyond the widely accepted definition of diversity, as implied through gender, or background, this activity high-lighted the immense and varied potential of human beings. By giving neighbors in a diverse community a way to showcase their skills and talents, people can con-nect through what makes them unique. This would hopefully lead to cultural sensitivity of close neighbors. It also puts forth the basic idea that our differences - instead of dividing us - offer so much to learn and share with each other.

Furthermore, through this activity, participants could learn about the skills of their neighbors and discover that they don’t have to go to far to find intriguing people towards developing new friend-ships. This activity draws upon the double meaning of the word gift, as both a skill we possess, and a thing we can share. Addressing this prompt in the form of a gift tag not only tells us how gifted the community is, but also attributes the feeling of sharing gifts with neighbors, in an effort to connect.

Future Directions For This ProjectAs one individual working voluntarily to benefit as many people as possible, this project has been highly ambitious. While I am still invested in the idea of the pass-it-forward approach, I witnessed the considerable time required, and the limitations involved. Peoples’ slow response time can hinder the process. Furthermore, it is difficult to track the journey of the box. Every neighborhood must have a host who would take on the responsibly of tracking it, and be available for answering questions, and overriding any hindrances the box or the participants many face in an effort to sustain its journey. Since it is not possi-ble for me to do this for every neighbor-hood, I have developed the supplemental idea of stationary boxes. This will benefit in expediting the process of collecting more contributions, from a broad range of people in order for more residents to be a part of the reward, as outlined further in this chapter.

Project Neighbor’d boxes have been placed in many community places, such as the Valley Stream Public library, the community coffee house Sip This, the Valley Stream Community Center, the Public Pool, the Village Hall and a host of local businesses. This marks Project Neighbor’d as a pilot project of Valley Stream, making it a source of pride for all who are part of it. Talks are in prog-ress with the mayor about announcing the project through several other plat-forms both physical and digital.

Additional flyer placed next to the box at all

locations

Stationary box at neighborhood coffee

house, Sip This.

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THE REWARD; CONNECTING TO PLACE

“this is positive proof of how much we relish being together, of how wonderful it is to dis-cover the fact of human community… People everywhere truly love to talk with each oth-er, learn together and make a contribution to things they care about.” (World Café)

As specified earlier, Project Neighbor’d is the first part in the idea of Triangu-lation. The second part of the Triangu-lation is the culmination of everyone’s contributions in an event that show-cases the diverse community of Valley Stream, once the project is complete. This event is an important aspect of the project, and would serve as a major celebration, in which neighbors can physically meet all who participated in the project. This would hopefully lead to a renewed sense of vigor about the place that they all share and call home. The desired outcome would be con-versations and friendships that act as catalysts towards building community and thus our belonging to place. Though several discussions are still underway about how and to what extent this can be done, I put forth a few options that have been discussed:

Project Neighbor’d ExhibitI hope to be able to do this on a large scale, by installing an exhibit displaying everyone’s contributions along with other personal pieces of art, which de-fine how diversity is truly the mother of creativity. In keeping with the Creative Placmaking theme of activating place through art, I plan to hold this exhibition in a vacant storefront on Main Rocka-way Avenue (the main street of Valley Stream). All residents would be invited to this exhibition thereby giving them a chance to physically connect and inter-act with each other.

Revival Of The Classic Block PartyThroughout my research, many neigh-bors have complained about the decline in block parties. Therefore, the idea of having a community wide potluck on the Village Green (the official grounds of the Valley Stream Village Hall), or the Valley Stream State Park has been considered. A day of fun and festivity could announce the start of summer with a block party. Thereafter, people can continue the neighborly spirit in their own commu-nities. This event would also have an exhibition of the contents of the Project Neighbor’d box which could add another layer of connections as people actually meet others who took part in the project.

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USING TECHNOLOGY AS A MULTIPLIER, OF AN OTHERWISE

PHYSICAL AND PLACE-BASED INITIATIVE.“In order to make connections on a human level, it is important for us to see, hear, smell and feel the people with whom we are close”. - debate.org Technology today, is making the world smaller, and one cannot deny the advancements that the digital age has brought us. Technology is simply a me-dium, which if used in certain ways can fortify our experiences and connections with each other. However, sometimes in its pursuit, we often forget physical connections and face-to-face interac-tions that are essential to human de-velopment, and constitute one of basic elements of any social system.

Project Neighbor’d, at its core has been mostly a physical and place based par-ticipatory initiative. Yet, throughout the project, I have tried to exemplify the pos-itive potential of digital media towards furthering place-based connections and spreading awareness about the project in my community. To this end, I have used various platforms:

Designing GoodnessStarting off as a mere Facebook page to provide a space for reaching out to the community, announcing upcoming efforts and posting pictures of my process, it has turned into an important part of my digital routine. I have enjoyed updating my progress throughout, and gathering new followers in my further resolved pursuit to use my design skills for social good, even after this thesis ends. This Facebook page has turned into my per-sonal non-profit endeavor that is here to stay for many other projects relating to creativity, collaboration and community.

Announcement On Various Other Pages And PlatformsAnnouncements about Project Neigh-bor’d have been made on Valley stream Mom, a far-reaching blog established a few years ago, by a local mom/publicist turned blogger. Since its inception it has become an important voice in bringing the community together by sharing events for families.

Project Neighbor’d has been announced on the Valley Stream Herald web-site, and been featured in their weekly newspaper. Being a popular community platform, they having a wide following, and have proudly projected the project as a worthwhile community endeavor. Furthermore, I have established the

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hashtag: #projectneighbord for people to use when they share their contri-butions online, and my twitter account has been continually updated to reach a broader audience. I have also estab-lished a Project Neighbor’d board on my Pinterest account, where I post con-tributions that reflect the visual appeal of the project.

Project Neighbor’d WebsiteLast but not the least, I have established a website in an effort to keep people engaged with the project. Through pro-jectneighbord.com, people can view the richness that resides in their commu-nities in the hopes of opening residents towards new opportunities for conversa-tion. Keeping the website design minimal and accessible has been a priority.

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Project Neighbor’d has brought forth many positive, and very few negative experiences that I had been fearful of at the onset. Aside from one or two neighbors who were hesitant to accept the box, the majority have been very friendly and helpful. Many neighbors really appreciated the effort. One neigh-bor was even kind enough to retrieve the box from another who could not fill it out. Yet another contacted me, as she had fallen sick after participating and didn’t even have the strength to go to her next-door neighbors. By being available in the neighborhood, I have become a resource for people to turn to if a problem arises. Some people have kept the box for a long time, in an effort to find time to participate, which bears witness to our extremely hectic lives today. As expected, many retired and elderly people have been more available to fill out the box, than the younger and working set. Nevertheless, a good range of ages has participated.

Project Neighbor’d has proved to be a successful attempt in my own neighbor-hood and has taught me many things in the process. As stated in the previ-ous chapter, people throughout Valley Stream were given the opportunity to request a box. In addition to the four box-es in my vicinity, I sent three of them to other neighborhoods. Out of those three, one has remained in a neighborhood coffee shop, rotating between tables as an experiment to indicate that neighbors

are not limited to just people who live next to us. It in fact serves to remind us that it is now time to take our eyes off our gadgets and isolated conversations with our laptops, and start taking notice of the people who surround us everyday. On a sad note, I have not been able to track down the other two boxes. As people in other neighborhoods requested those boxes, of which I am not a resi-dent, I was unable to serve as the host for those boxes.

Project Neighbor’d has encouraged me to take regular walks around the neigh-borhood, and led me to meet so many neighbors I would never have known oth-erwise. Furthermore, It has heightened my acute sense of the physical environ-ment around me. Due to this project, I stepped into my next-door neighbor’s house for the first time in seven years. We had a great conversation as if we had known each other forever. She has directed me to several resources in the community that have proved really help-ful in implementing my ideas. This serves to prove how much we can all benefit from being connected to each other.

In the following pages, I put forth some selected pictures of neighbors, I have been fortunate to connect with over the project. Furthermore, some selected re-sults have been compiled from the activ-ities, in an effort to preserve the findings for anyone, who is interesting designing participatory efforts of any sort.

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Rida Fatima162 Green Acre Road.

Mr & Mrs Kornfeld65 Birch Lane.

Kostya Vysotskiy66 Birch Lane.

Teresa Santamaria60 Birch Lane.

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Kooper Smith72 Spruce Lane.

Ann Jefferey Wilenshi46 Spruce Lane

Mircya Cordova70 Birch Lane

Hattie Adams71 Spruce Lane.

Activity A - Hopes And DreamsThis activity proved to be the most popular as it was the simplest and required the least effort. A large portion of the people who received the box participated in this activity. It made me realize how effortless any participatory endeavor should be, if the desired goal is a large pool of re-sponses. People have voiced many similar hopes fpr their neighborhoods, for example, the recurring response: “Block parties again”. This further serves to show that people are interested in the places they share, but they might not be active due to a lack of organized opportunities. Provided with access to the right framework, many would become more involved. I feel proud that I have taken the role of being the Creative Modifier in my community, be it big or small.

Activity B - Food

As food is such a popular element in everybody’s lives, my preconception was that this activity would be the most popular. On the contrary, this ac-tivity received fewer responses. This was likely due to the time and effort required to contribute a recipe, rather than the chosen subject matter, food, which is an engaging topic. Nevertheless, the responses have been pleasing to my palate, as well as amusing at times. I have been a witness to family favorites, like tomato soup cake and Khichdi - Chal - Frezi. I hope to continue collecting these recipes, so that I may compile them in the traditional manner of a recipe box that would be available for the whole community, and would be testimony to the taste of diversity.

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Activity C - Skills And Talents

This was also an activity that was a favorite among many people. Interestingly, the demographics varied, as more of the younger, more socially active or working professionals participated, as opposed to the elderly and retirees. The number of responses were on par with the first activity. Even the first few responses, such as “trained Indian classical dancer...” and “cooking is my love...” have warmly proved my hypothesis that diversity is the mother of creativity. I feel compelled to follow through and connect with the richness of my community well after this project ends, and hope that I can nurture the same feelings in many other people.

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CONCLUSIONThe magic of conversation.

As I slowly, and steadily collect the creative contributions with which the gener-ous community of Valley Stream has chosen to honor me, I feel rejuvenated and joyous. This project has provided me with opportunities to interact with count-less neighbors and active members of society, in Valley Stream and beyond. To clarify, Project Neighbor’d is still an ongoing project. It is also a source a pride for me that my sincere efforts will not die with this thesis. Talks are in progress with the Valley Stream Mayor about announcing it as an official community project, through which everyone will have a chance to participate. Project Neighbor’d has encouraged and laid ground for many new conversa-tions that quench my thirst for creativity and collaboration. I truly believe that it is only after knowing each other that we can come together for causes that benefit us all. In doing so, we revive the enjoyment of friendly conversation over the fence with our neighbors. Once again, we may look forward to returning to our homes, which need not be simply houses, but places in which we are proud to reside.

The delightful part of this initiative was that it sustained my intention to make this thesis occupy a living space rather than just sitting on a shelf. I feel proud to state that through its simplicity and the need for it in our hectic lives today, this project continues to motivate those who come into contact with it. By reviving old-fashioned neighborliness in a newly fashioned way, Project Neighbor’d at-tempts to transcend stereotypes, and actualize a more positive future, in which we may view everyone as an important part of the whole.

“Laughter is sweet when enjoyed alone. But it

becomes sweeter when you enjoy it together with the

people around you.”- Israelmore Ayivor

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