The previous study

This project has been in the works since last Spring. Tom Rose's class at that time began the process of community engagement and working to understand the issues and possibilities of these bus stop locations and what the mean in the larger and smaller community. If you want a copy of this report we can make it available.

This picture is an example of current signage at the Circulator stops.
The signs are plastic and therefore easily (and often) broken or missing.

The Mission, as developed by the previous participants states:

• "[We are a] collaborative class of students
  
• exploring the process of community engagement
• educational ([making] youth culturally/geographically more aware; we learn how to engage the community: youth, parents, committees
• engage the community and youth in the process of design (maps, signs, [bus] stops)
• provide a framework of community building/discussion/network
• making the kids aware/proud of the fact that they are part of the community (bridging disconnections and engaging [in] design)

We use the West Side Circulator to accomplish the goals state above through bus stop design, bus design, and map design."

Personally I would alter the mission to be a little clearer about the process of design and the end results. The class that formulated the mission and the associate report had 8 students, two professors, and both the good fortune and unenviable task of getting the ball rolling. Our class consists of four students in various academic disciplines and substantially different backgrounds to make our efforts pretty individual and unique.

We are working closely with staff at the Neighborhood House, who run the Circulator and related programs, and we will hopefully be working closely with neighborhood group leaders as we progress through this process.

The process has been a little awkward for us so far as we've wrestled with our own ideas of what it's really all about, what expectations there are for end-products, and how we'll actually engage the community. As we know it we will each design a bus stop, and potentially elements to decorate the Circulator bus which is leased and therefore can't be permanently altered. Oh, and we're working with a conceptual budget of $1,000 for each of six sites. That includes materials and installation and fabrication labor... which could include getting students involved in the construction and delivery process.

These deceptively simple tasks present a number of challenges. We must each consider what the focal point of our designs will be (what is the thing at it's essence?). We have to determine what materials will be appropriate for year-round use and exposure. How easy will they be to maintain (low maintenance)? We have to engage the neighborhoods wherein they're located to ensure that these ideas are suitable for the neighborhood. They have to be safe for children and not interfere with traffic. And they should include some participation if not just background information from students (the User) in the community. These concepts can't be permanent. And we, the student designers, need to be able to fabricate a scale mock-up to be installed at the Neighborhood House at the end of the semester (December 2007).

We've devised a few concepts and had some studio critiques (pretty easy when only five people are involved) and are currently refining our designs to present to the program directors. Hopefully we'll be posting those ideas as we go forward.

I'll add more photos and information soon.