Thesis Book

VISUAL + AUDIO ART CENTER PARK

WELCOME TO HIPSTER HEAVEN. Northern Liberties, USA. BY ARIEL VAZQUEZ

NEW!!! INTERACTIVE PARK & ART CENTER in No.lib.- CROWDSPACE - MEETS TACTICAL SOUND GARDEN (Tsg) toolkit IN NORTHERN LIBERTIES.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .Cover sheet .TABLE OF CONTENTS .PREFACE .INTRODUCTION - open space - crowdspace - what is northern liberties?

Where is northern liberties?

HISTORY

- NORTHERN LIBERTIES: PAST (the term), PRESENT, AND FUTURE -LAND USE & ZONING (zoning maps) -RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY -OPEN SPACE (LIBERTY LANDS), PARKS, AND RECREATION -COMMERCIAL SERVICES -MOBILITY & PHYSICAL I INFRASTRUCTURE -THE nlna

. Precedence (research on public space) - PARC DE LA VILLETTE - YERBA BUENA GARDENS - recycled soundscapes (interactive public sound installation)

. THE MASS PROGRAM (crowdspace)

. SITE ANALYSIS - SITE STUDY

Northern Liberty gone wifi Philadelphia gone wireless digle mapping program Analysis of wifi (hotzone) Mapping analysis of network capability

. IMAGE COMPOSITION OF THE SITE . BIBLIOGRAPHY

preface Giving the ubiquity of mobile devices and wireless networks, and their proliferation throughout increasingly diverse and sometimes unexpected urban sites, what opportunities - and dilemmas - emerge fro the design of public space in contemporary cities?

The idea is to create a space where artist and visitors can share, gather, interchange, and present information (art, music and video) using their WiFi capable mobile (portable) devices.

With close to 1.5 billion cellular handsets in use and worldwide sales three years ago of over 500 million units, mobile phones are by far the most prevalent mobile device.

Second only to the mobile phone, the MP3 player is the most visible and influential mobile device.

The Audio/Visual Art Center (Liberty Lands Garden) is an open source software platform for cultivating public sound gardens within contemporary cities. It draws on the culture of urban community gardening to posit a participatory environment where new spatial practices fro social interaction within technologically mediated environments can be explored and evaluated. Addressing the impact of mobile audio devices like the iPod, the project examines gradations of privacy and publicity within contemporary public spaces.

The Art Center enables anyone living within dense 802.11 wireless (WiFi) ^Hot Zones^ to install ^data collecting software^ for public use.

Using a WiFi enabled mobile device (PDA, laptop, mobile phone, PSP (Playstation Portable), Nintendo DS, Microsoft Zune, Apple iPod), artist and visitors ^plant^ art (video, music or information) within the environment.

These planting are mapped onto the coordinates of physical location by a 3-D audio/visual engine common to gaming environments - overlaying a publicly constructed information database onto the site. Wearing headphones connected to a WiFi enable device, the visitors as well as the artist drift through a virtual realm of sound and video landscape of information that will remained in the mobile device until the artist or the visitor leaves the site.

introduction CROUDSPACE is a design concept for a place for crowds to gather. In this proposal, the Crowdscape consist of a threeblock argumentation of north of Center City (in the heart of Northern Liberties). The site, stretching north along 3rd St. from W. Wildey St. to Poplar St. is frame by a number of existing crowd attractors - like Liberties Walk, Standard Tab, North Bowl, etc. The Crowdscape draws from the numerous amenities that are located in the eastern boundary of the site, bringing people from the west, south and north into Liberty Lands. What the Crowscape makes possible is the translation of the extruded density (that is, people stacked floor by floor) onto a horizontal plane.

CROWD + ARCHITECTURE The term public space goes in and out of fashion In architectural discourse. As the only large public green space in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, Liberty Lands is central to the social life of this diverse community, workers, business owners, parents, gardeners, dog owners and artists have come together to plan, build and enjoy this special place. Because of limited resources and its grass roots development, Liberty Lands is not formal but reflects the contributions of local residents. Everyone is welcome and made to feel comfortable. The park is completely accessible to the public. Although the community Garden is fenced, it is not locked. Theft, vandalism and crime have been minor and manageable. The popularity of this word can not go unnoticed.

But what does this qualifier say, if anything, about form-making?

Whether people gather to pray, protest or shop, the basic fact remains: we must make room for the crowd.

OPENSPACE - CROWDSPACE CROWDSCAPE: THE RAVERS Every July since 1989, a crowd has gathered in Berlin to form what is known as The Loveparade. Over the years the popularity of this event has grown exponentially. In 1989 there were 150 participants; by 1999, 1.5 million people joined the celebration. Touted as “a peaceful demonstration for a rave population,� this happening has spawned similar events in Leeds, Vienna, Tel Aviv and Cape Town.

THE BROTHERS

Power in numbers was the undeniable inspiration behind the Million Man March in 1995. The aptly named march was intended to bring over one million black men to Washington, D.C., increasing the population of the city by 50% in one day. The estimated size of the crowd was hotly debated, raging from 400,000 attendees to an incredible 1.5 million, depending on sources. The official head count, conducted by Dr. Farouk ElBaz of Boston University, was settled at 837,000.

THE BATHERS On January 24, 2001, the most populous city in the world was not Tokyo, Mumbia or Lagos but Allahabad, India. On that day as Hindis celebrated the most auspicious day of Kumbh Mela with a spiritual cleansing in the Ganges - more people gathered in one place on Earth than has ever recorded before. The 24 square mile city ballooned to 30 million people. It was as if the entire state of California relocated itself to the city of Pasadena.

WHAT IS NORTHERN LIBERTIES? WHERE IS NORTHERN LIBERTIES? History

past

Northern Liberties Boundaries Northern Liberties is located north of Center City (specifically, Old City) and is bordered by Master Street to the north; Callowhill Street to the south; North 8th Street to the west; and the Delaware River to the east (from Callowhill Street to Laurel Street; from Laurel Street to Girard Avenue the eastern boundary is North Front Street). The historical boundaries are the same, except that instead of Master street, the northern boundary was the Cohocksink Creek, which now flows as a storm sewer under the following streets: (starting at the Delaware River and running from southeast to northwest: Canal, Laurel, Bodine, Cambridge, & Orkney Streets).

History Originally a portion of the Northern Liberties Township, the district first gained limited autonomy from the township by an Act of Assembly on March 9, 1771. The Act provided for the appointment of persons to regulate streets, direction of buildings, etc. By March 30, 1791 a second Act enabled the inhabitants of that portion of the Northern Liberties between Vine Street and Pegg’s Run (Cohoquinoque Creek) and the middle of Fourth Street and the Delaware River to elect three commissioners to lay taxes for the purpose of lighting, watching and establishing pumps within those bounds.

Why Northern Liberties?

In recent years, Northern Liberties has become a center for local artists and musicians. Large improvement and revitalization projects have also been undertaken recently causing a large jump in property values. The neighborhood has been targeted for revitalization because it is very close to Center City yet contains many vacant lots and abandoned historic properties.

Like many Philadelphia neighborhoods, the housing stock is primarily made up of rowhouses.

Northern Liberties contains two privately owned but public parks, both established and owned by non-profits run by the neighbors. One, Orianna Hill Park, is an off-leash dog run; the other, Liberty Lands, is a two-acre park and playground.

Northern Liberties is served by SEPTA’s MarketFrankford El with stops at Spring Garden and Girard. The station at Spring Garden is unique for being in the median of I-95. The elevated line’s tracks then break away from the expressway’s right-of-way to tower over Front Street through the neighborhood as it heads north away from Center City.

In 2005, service resumed on SEPTA’s long-delayed Girard Avenue trolley at the northern boundary of the neighborhood

On March 28, 1803, the Legislature passed an act to incorporate that part of the township of the Northern Liberties lying between the west side of Sixth Street and the Delaware River and between Vine Street and Cohocksink Creek, thus creating the District of Northern Liberties. Under the Consolidation law the district ceased to exist in 1854, and become a part of Philadelphia.

At the time of its inclusion into the City of Philadelphia, Northern Liberties Township was the 11th largest urban place in the United States with a population of 47,223. This annexation allowed Philadelphia to pass Baltimore as the nation’s second largest city..

Northern Liberties holds the status as a famous red-light district in the United States. Prior to annexation, the township was created as a less densely populated alternative to nearby Philadelphia. Because of this, it was later known colloquially as “Philadelphia’s first suburb.”

However the Southwark neighborhood claims this distinction as well.

In 1985, the Northern Liberties Historic District was created, containing 209 Italianate architecture, Greek revival, and Federal style buildings. The historic district is bounded by Brown, Boone and Galloway, Green and Wallace, and Fifth and Sixth St.

18TH CENTURY MAP OF NORTHERN LIBERTIES DISTRICT

The Term Liberties The Liberties was a term applied by William Penn to certain tracts of land lying north and west of the city. It contained what was called “the liberty land or free lots” because the proprietaries gave to the first purchaser of ground in the colony, according to the extent of their purchase, a portion of the land within those limits free of price. The original idea of Penn was to lay out a great town of 10,000 acres (40 km²); but when the commissioners came to survey this space of ground it was found somewhat difficult, and when Penn arrived in 1682 he determined to divide the great town into two parts, one to be called the city and the other the Liberties.

The city contained about 1,820 acres (7.4 km²).

The Liberties extended north of Vine Street to the mouth of Cohocksink Creek or Pegg’s Run and up the same so as to go round the lands of Jurian Hartsfelder, which had already been granted away before Penn came to the colony.

There were Swedish, Dutch and English grants of land made before Penn came to be proprietor that had to be respected, so that the Liberty lands were very irregular in their boundaries, and ran by various courses along the Cohocksink, Wissinoming, Tacony, Wingohocking and other streams, and Germantown and Bristol townships, to the Schuylkill, and over the same and out to Cobbs Creek, and down the same and along the west side of the Schuylkill to a point opposite Vine Street, at the north city line, and along the same to the place of beginning.

This survey was made in 1682, and the Liberties contained on the east side of the Schuylkill, 9,161 acres (37 km²); west side, 7,074 acres (29 km²); total, 16,235 acres (66 km²). These liberty lands on the east side of the Schuylkill became a township nearly from the time of survey, and were called the Northern Liberties, while the western Liberties, beyond the Schuylkill, became a portion of the township of Blockley.

The territory between the Delaware and Schuylkill was subsequently divided; the western part was called Penn township, and the eastern part was sometimes called the Unincorporated Northern Liberties.

Whenever so spoken of, the reference was to that portion of the township which had not been taken up by the formation of districts, and by the time of consolidation the area of the township was very small, the districts of Northern Liberties, Spring Garden, Kensington, Penn, Richmond, and the township of Penn and the boroughs of Aramingo and Bridesburg, having been carved out of it.

In 1854 the township or Unincorporated Northern Liberties was the space of land north of Kensington, west of Richmond and Aramingo, and a portion of Frankford, south of a portion of Oxford and Bristol townships, and east of Penn township. A part of it was west of the Frankford Road, and all it was east of Germantown Road -

Present

Northern Liberties’ eclectic past translates into the neighborhood’s present day personality and personalities. The diversity of uses, of the architecture and built form, of the people, their races, ethnicities, occupations, and economic status have roots in history, are valued today, and are to be preserved and protected in the future. Both long-term residents and newcomers describe the neighborhood with pride and affection, eager to elaborate upon Northern Liberties’ many assets. The neighborhood is close to Center City and near to the waterfront; it enjoys access to transit; its inhabitants can live and work within its confines; art, music, and entrepreneurship thrive in Northern Liberties; and once, it was an affordable place to live.

MODERN MAP OF NORTHERN LIBERTIES FROM GOOGLE MAPS

More importantly though, Northern Liberties is beloved for its independent spirit and its distinct sense of community, fashioned over time. It is a neighborhood to join, to be embraced by, and to belong. It is a place of soul and of choice, a place of potential and, a place with an identity. It is a real neighborhood in a real city, at once unique and quirky, gritty, flexible, green, decayed and charming, welcoming, spacious, open, quiet, diverse, close-knit.

As much a reflection of the neighborhood’s variety as the reason for it, the unique and diverse people of Northern Liberties are collectively defined by their tolerance, activism, energy, and creativity.

Totaling 3,954 in number in the U.S. Census 2000, Northern Liberties has been experiencing population growth since its low point of roughly 3,500 residents in 1980. Though residents perceive Northern Liberties as one of the few integrated neighborhoods in the City of Philadelphia, in reality, only portions of the neighborhood remain truly racially and ethnically diverse. In 2000, the overall population make up was as follows: 55% Caucasian, 31% African American, 1% Asian, and 13% Other. 18% of Northern Liberties residents identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino.

The population composition was similar in 1990, suggesting relative stability: 59% Caucasian, 27% African American, 1% Asian, 13% Other, with 17% percent of all residents identifying themselves as of Hispanic origin. However, both Census tract data and anecdotal accounts suggest that Northern Liberties is racially and ethnically diverse only along the north and western edges of the study area.

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Future

Given the valued history of Northern Liberties, its organic, grass-roots evolution, and the distinctive character and pride of its current residents, a sense of trepidation and in some cases, resentment, accompanies the buzz of recent and rapid change, reinvestment, and development. Long-term neighborhood stakeholders have a strong desire to preserve and protect Northern Liberties, its purity and soul, the hard work of old time residents who built the community that exists today. Ironically, some of the neighborhood qualities worth protecting from extinction are those attracting new development. Developers are drawn to the untapped potential of the neighborhood, the opportunity, and the community that is flourishing amidst the urban residential renaissance.

Philadelphia Multiple Listing Service data for 2005 quotes the average sales price in Northern Liberties at roughly $312,300 dollars, behind only Rittenhouse Square, Olde City, and Queen Village. Thus far, the 2005 high sales price in Northern Liberties is $690,000 dollars, indicating the desirability of the community and justification for continued investment and development.

More significantly, Multiple Listing Service data ranks Northern Liberties first in residential sales price change between 2003 and 2005, at a rate of 181%. For comparison, residential sales prices in Olde City, Brewerytown, and Graduate Hospital during the same time period rose by 171%, 163% and 142%, respectively, in Queen Village, 121%, Bella Vista, 121%, Rittenhouse Square, 109%, and the Art Museum area, 108%.

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LAND USE & ZONING

The current land use map of Northern Liberties resembles a chaotic mosaic in which all but a handful of blocks contain some mix of residential, commercial, industrial, or open space. The existing mix of uses is evidence of the neighborhood’s artisan and industrial past, when laborers lived and worked in close proximity. Compared to many of Philadelphia’s primarily residential neighborhoods, the mix of uses distinguishes Northern Liberties and contributes to the live/work flexibility and varied streetscape so valued by local residents and workers. The current zoning map for the neighborhood is incongruent with reality, an unrealistic portrait of Northern Liberties’ existing conditions.

While the two maps illustrate the strong residential pocket in the northwest corner of the study area, the yellow areas in the land use map, representing parcels devoted to residential uses, appear to be spreading throughout the neighborhood, spilling into the large tracts of land that the zoning map still deems suitable for industry.

MAP OF THE DIFFERENCE NEIGHBORHOODS IN PHILADELPHIA - WHERE THE SHOOTING GALLERY TO SOME PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THEIR EXHIBITION

Indeed, as in all Philadelphia neighborhoods, variances sought for redevelopment projects are the rule rather than the exception. Such procedures render zoning a powerful tool for guiding the new development and place a significant amount of responsibility and influence in the hands of local civic groups, as developers must seek support and approval from neighborhood residents and leaders before submitting their plans to the City of Philadelphia’s Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA). In Northern Liberties, a team of dedicated volunteers form the NLNA Zoning Committee, are charged with reviewing and negotiating aspects of all projects requiring a variance that appear before the neighborhood. Their recommendations are made to the NLNA Board, which votes on each project.

Neighborhood residents and business owners are invited to attend zoning committee meetings to voice their opinion as well.

zoning map of existing current northern liberties, fishtown and east kensington neighborhoods

single family zoning plan

multy family zoning plan

park & institution zoning map

retail zoning map

industry zoning map

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Residential community

Much like the collage of land uses, a collection of sub neighborhoods, each containing a variety of architectural styles and dwelling forms, comprises Northern Liberties’ residential community. Both long-term residents and newcomers appreciate that Northern Liberties exists as a small town or village within a larger urban context. While all residents of Northern Liberties live under the umbrella of a larger, shared neighborhood identity, the varied land uses subdivide the study area in to smaller residential communities, each with specifically tailored concerns about coming change and development: for some, proximity to open space is the most pressing issue, for others, the high water table and susceptibility to floods, the impossibility of parking, or the intermingling of blossoming commerce amongst homes and apartments. Another source of unease surrounding the influx of new development is balancing the desire to be open to the wave of newcomers in traditional Northern Liberties fashion with the fear and assumption that new residents do not understand what Northern Liberties is. Northern Liberties’ residential population, 49% homeowners, 51% renters, reside in row homes, twins, single- family homes, and multi-unit structures, in traditional dwelling units, as well as in spaces that accommodate the growing trend of live/work situations. Still standing are many relics of the typical workers’ housing stock of the 1790s.

Termed bandboxes,” these homes are 16 feet by 16 feet and two and a half stories tall with an interior spiral staircase (30). Within the same block, contemporary architecture meets structures from another era.

Both historic and new construction tuck homes, apartments, and condos in buildings devoted entirely to residential uses, in mixed-use structures above first floor commercial spaces, and, more recently, in converted industrial and warehousing spaces.

Though the neighborhood’s original plan for the former tannery was to develop a senior housing complex, a fire in the late 1980s destroyed all of the existing tannery structures. The City demolished the charred remains, and the NLNA reconsidered its plan, opting instead to create a neighborhood park. Described as “the perfect homey park” and “the communal backyard” of the neighborhood, the park’s beloved eclectic uses and “goofiness” are a reflection of the neighborhood. Indeed, the park is not only owned, but also maintained, by the community.

West of Liberty Lands lies another communityowned open space resource, the Orianna Hill Dog Park. Donated by the City of Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, the NLNA pays no taxes on the caninefriendly park as a beneficiary of the Real Estate Tax Forgiveness Program, which exempts public space from taxes.

The NLNA is currently in the process of securing a third community-owned park from the City, an existing playground with unsafe play equipment and many instances of graffiti located on Lawrence between Myrtle and Reno Streets.

If the City grants the NLNA ownership of the playground, the NLNA plans to rehabilitate the playground and link it to an intimate collection of public green spaces and gardens along Orkney Street. Northern Liberties residents also enjoy easy access to two city-owned recreational open spaces, a well maintained, muraled playground on 3rd Street between Fairmount and Brown associated with the Northern Liberties Recreation Center at 321 Fairmount Avenue, as well as the playground and basketball courts on Hope Street.

Directly across Front Street from the Tip Top Playground, is a large, informal and untended, green space. Situated along Front between Laurel and Wildey Streets and sandwiched between the Market-Frankford El and the elevated highway, the overgrown garden is an opportunity for improved open space accessible to both Northern Liberties and Fishtown. In addition to the open space noted In some instances, new construction in Northern above, most blocks in Northern Liberties boast a Liberties respects the neighborhood’s tradition streetscape punctuated by trees of varying age and size. Though the street trees map evidences of diversity and experimentation, adding several pockets within the study area that suffer imaginative design solutions and building materials to the evolving urban fabric. However, from a dearth of plantings, this is mostly due to prior industrial and manufacturing uses which with property values rising, raising housing are, in many cases, under redevelopment. costs in turn, the desire for good design must be balanced with the necessity of maintaining The trees and park spaces add more to Northern a sufficient stock of high quality affordable housing. A shared concern among neighborhood Liberties than pleasant urban vistas framed by residents, leaders, and business owners is that green arcades and comfortable, open gathering places amidst the urban fabric long-term inhabitants of Northern Liberties be of the neighborhood. The permeable surfaces protected from escalating property taxes and of green space and the leaves and root beds rents, which bear the potential, ultimately, to of street trees act as reservoirs, absorbing cause displacement. storm water runoff that otherwise rushes to the neighborhood’s sewer system, causing floods during heavy rains. Community residents and leaders, local business owners, artists, and developers, alike, are aware of the social and Open space is a major concern for financial value of dense development in urban neighborhood stakeholders in Northern Liberties. For many, the plentiful space and lush settings. All parties are equally cognizant of vegetation drew them to the neighborhood years the resultant need for open space to allow for recreation, relaxation, and environmental ago, and they watch with sadness, frustration, balance. As such, attendants at each focus and fear as both large open spaces and small group expressed concerns about green space lots are claimed for new development. Not only consumption and commitment to open space does such land consumption permanently alter conservation and creation. the fabric of the neighborhood, it implies a growing population that will be forced to share decreasing greened, open spaces. Northern Liberties’ greatest open space resource is Liberty Lands, the community-owned park located between Bodine, American, Wildey, and 3rd Streets. Liberty Lands was originally a tannery, which fell vacant, accumulated tax liens and a list of environmental offenses, and was ultimately transferred from City ownership to the NLNA at no cost. The property transfer occurred in the 1980s, before the market for redevelopment in Northern Liberties existed.

open space, parks, & recreation

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT -

The 1916 Sanborn Insurance Maps of Philadelphia, edited in the 1940s, illustrate not only the incredible density that defined Northern Liberties during an earlier era, but also the clearly defined commercial corridors lining the neighborhood. Inhabitants lived in the residential pockets punctuating the diverse industrial fabric, and they supported the shops and services that filled almost every storefront along Callowhill, Spring Garden, Poplar, and 2nd Streets as well as Girard Avenue. Indeed, the 1850 Census lists nearly 48,000 inhabitants within a half mile area of Northern Liberties.

Additional commercial venues existed throughout the remainder of the neighborhood too, dating back to the mid 1700s when the British Army Barracks located between 2nd and 3rd Streets, Willow and Green, sparked the establishment of taverns, shops, and other services in the area.

The commercial corridors and scattered retail and services that exist in Northern Liberties today reflect the patterns of the past. Parts of Spring Garden, 2nd and 3rd Streets, and Girard Avenue enjoy robust retail activity during the day, while offices and industry populate the regions between Callowhill and Spring Garden, I-95 and Delaware Avenue, and along American Street, Front Street, and Frankford Avenue. In the evenings, commercial activity in Northern Liberties centers around the restaurant and bar scene on 2nd and 3rd Streets and Girard Avenue. Larger venues along the fringes draw people to the waterfront and along Spring Garden.

Overall, there are 194 businesses in the area which are represented by the accompanying chart.

Residents and stakeholders have raised concerns regarding the lack of some services (food shopping for instance) and over representation of other uses most notably bars and clubs.

Though tensions between commercial uses and surrounding residential areas exist, neighborhood stakeholders seek to maintain the diversity that makes the physical fabric of Northern Liberties unique. Members of the community recognize the importance of supporting commercial activity in Northern Liberties. They appreciate the services that local businesses provide in close proximity, the income that commercial uses generate, which business owners often reinvest in the community, and the benefit to public safety that results from having more eyes on the streets throughout the workday and into the evenings. Furthermore, the perceived loss of light industrial uses has sparked interest in creating a more supportive network for neighborhood business owners, artists, and entrepreneurs, perhaps in the form of a business association that will advocate for the vitality of Northern Liberties’ commercial sector.

Returning 2nd Street to a vibrant commercial corridor is a common goal of neighborhood stakeholders, proud that the commercial has maintained its integrity,” and wary of intrusion by nation-wide chains. Having benefited from much recent reinvestment, the redevelopment of 2nd Street remains unbalanced and incomplete. Not only is there a discrepancy between the east and west sides of the street, but commercial activity remains heavily concentrated between Spring Garden and Laurel Streets. The completion of Liberties Walk and the development of the Schmidt’s site will reinforce the role of commercial uses along 2nd Street north of Laurel Street.

MOBILITY & PHYSICAL STRUCTURE -

TRAFFIC AND CIRCULATION Northern Liberties is bounded on its south, north, and eastern edges by auto-oriented, relatively high-speed throughways: Callowhill and Spring Garden Streets to the south, Girard Avenue to the north, and Delaware Avenue to the east. To the west, 5th and 6th Streets carry a sizable volume of traffic, also traveling at accelerated speeds. The speed and regulation of vehicular travel through the neighborhood are cause for concern for neighborhood residents.

Lingering industrial and commercial uses bring large trucks through the neighborhood during the day, and at night, patrons of Northern Liberties’ bar and restaurant venues flood the area.

As retail opportunities within the neighborhood expand, traffic conditions deteriorate, threatening the quality of life within Northern Liberties and raising questions about desirable density, successful coexistence between conflicting uses, and the differing needs of community residents and visitors. Indeed, the mixed-use corridor along 2nd Street presents specific traffic-related issues. Between Fairmount and Poplar, the one-way street widens to 100 feet across. With only two traffic lights, no traffic lines, and few designated pedestrian crossings, 2nd Street is prone to a style of driving reminiscent of drag racing. Those opting to park along the street’s east and west side later face the dangerous prospect of backing out into traffic.

A walkable neighborhood in size and scale, navigating the pedestrian environment with ease remains a challenge for Northern Liberties residents. The seemingly constant construction in the neighborhood renders many sidewalks unusable, obstructed either by fencing and debris or by destruction of the sidewalk itself. Cluttered and uneven sidewalks prevent comfortable travel on foot, especially when pushing a stroller. The lack of bicycle racks also discourages the use of alternative means of transit within the neighborhood.

PUBLIC TRANSIT Northern Liberties is well served by public transportation. SEPTA’s Market-Frankford elevated line stops twice within the study area boundaries, at Spring Garden between Front and 2nd Streets and again at the intersection of Girard Avenue and Front Street. As such, almost all residents and employees of Northern Liberties live or work within a half mile (or ten minute walk) of the Market-Frankford Line.

Additionally, four bus lines and a trolley line serve the neighborhood, providing easy access to Center City, West Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, and the length of Philadelphia’s Delaware River Waterfront. While SEPTA affords mass transportation that complements Northern Liberties’ central location within the city of Philadelphia, the neighborhood’s access to transit primarily serves day commuters. Because the Market-Frankford Line stops running just after midnight, patrons of Northern Liberties’ evening and late-night social scene do not benefit from, and therefore are less inclined to ride, mass transit to and from the neighborhood.

TRANSIT ANALYSIS MAP

pARKING Parking in Northern Liberties is an issue of great concern and grave debate, affecting the daily life of residents and visitors, employers and employees, daytime, nighttime, and commuting populations, alike. Some neighborhood stakeholders feel that the subject of parking consumes too much of the NLNA’s time and attention and too much of the debate surrounding proposed development projects. Undeniably, in a thriving urban environment, parking will always be in short supply, a reality which reinforces the appeal of a walkable community situated near mass transportation, like Northern Liberties. However, in an increasingly autodependent society in which the number of cars per household continues to escalate, the ability to park with relative ease and a sense of security contributes significantly to most people’s quality of life.

RANDOM PICTURES TAKEN IN THE SITE SHOWING DIFFERENT TYPE OF PARKING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The scope of services for the Neighborhood Plan, therefore, includes a review of the current parking environment in Northern Liberties. A parking survey conducted once on a weekday evening and once on a weekend evening, in addition to less formal observation during the workday, confirmed that onstreet parking in the neighborhood is consistently in short supply, attempting to meet the demand of fulltime residents and employees as well as of distinct day and night populations. The detailed parking survey targeted the following portion of the study area: Front Street to 5th Street, Spring Garden to Laurel and Poplar Streets.

On the weekday evening, overall on-street parking reached an occupancy level of 75%, while on the weekend evening, the overall occupancy level was 90%. During both surveys, on street parking spaces on residential blocks approached 100% occupancy consistently. As explained above in the discussion of commercial services, parking occupancy was greater near active commercial uses, less so near industrial sites, underneath the elevated highway, and where either the street configuration or the signage made parking availability unclear. The large bars and clubs located south of Spring Garden Street spurred the most visible change between the weekday and weeknight evening, as patrons’ vehicles filled the blocks adjacent to Spring Garden and the large paid parking lot on the northeast corner of Spring Garden and Front Streets.

Though the large paid public parking lot reached capacity by 11:00 PM on a weekend night, the parking survey revealed that both the smaller private paid parking lots are under used. That residents remain unwilling to purchase advertised monthly parking spaces in private lots suggests that onstreet parking in Northern Liberties is not yet impossible to find. Some residential blocks have petitioned the city for permit parking restrictions on their blocks. In exchange for a yearly permit and the requirement that the permitted car be registered in the city of Philadelphia, permit owners enjoy unlimited parking on their streets while non-owners must obey the hourly restrictions. Opponents of permit parking argue that blocks with parking restrictions lose 10% of existing parking spaces, as parking in restricted areas cannot extend the full length of each block. Permitted parking also brings parking enforcement to areas where the previous lack of rules has tolerated illegal parking techniques. Because the restrictions are inconsistent throughout the neighborhood, the establishment of parking limitations on one block merely redirects abusive day commuter parking to another portion of Northern Liberties that remains unrestricted. Furthermore, the narrow hours of restricted parking on both weekdays and weekends do not serve to discourage late-night restaurant, bar, and club-goers from parking in residential areas. As noted, the parking issue encompasses a range of practical concerns about how best to accommodate Northern Liberties’ current and future populations but also presents an interrelated set of social and aesthetic challenges. Accompanying the rapid residential investment in Northern Liberties is the City’s mandate that developers provide one offstreet parking space for each new dwelling. The required one to one parking ratio for new residential development has drastically altered the urban fabric of several Philadelphia neighborhoods, Northern Liberties among them. The ubiquitous emergence of street-front garages for singlefamily homes evokes hostile critique from many neighborhood stakeholders. Not only are the new garages unsightly, reducing the valued variation in the Northern Liberties streetscape, but they require curb cuts, reducing onstreet parking by one or one and a half spaces each. Of equal concern, the new garages destroy Northern Liberties’ street life culture, characterized by frequent and friendly interactions between neighbors. Garages replace front stoops and first floor windows, remove eyes from the street and increase storm-water run-off onto local streets due to driveways made of impermeable surfaces.

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THE NORTHERN LIBERTIES NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATION (nlna)

The Northern Liberties Neighbors Association’s stated mission is: to provide services and programs beneficial to all residents and businesses in the neighborhood; to encourage and promote the preservation and beautification of historically significant structures, streets, and the natural environment, and; to plan for the creation and/or preservation of open spaces for community benefit. Though the role of the NLNA has evolved over time, as a civic alliance charged with representing the neighborhood and its residents, the organization’s most important functions are to facilitate communication among disparate groups of neighborhood stakeholders and serve as a liaison between the neighborhood and the City. Comments by neighborhood residents, business owners, developers, and NLNA committee members, alike, indicate that while the NLNA succeeds as an advocate for Northern Liberties in some respects, the association struggles to accomplish some of its tasks.

PRECEDENCE

research on public spaces parc de la villette -

The competition for Parc de la Villette was organized by the French Government in 1982. Its objectives were both to mark the vision of an era and to act upon the future economic and cultural development of a key area in Paris. As with other “Grands Projects” such as the Opera at Bastille, the Louvre Pyramid, or the Arch at Têle-Defense, the Parc de la Villette was the center of numerous polemics, first at the time of the competition, when landscape designers violently opposed the challenges of architects, then during governmental changes and various general budgetary crises.

The Parc de la Villette is located on one of the last remaining large sites in Paris, a125-acre expanse previously occupied by the central slaughter house and situated on the northeast corner of the city, between the Metro Stations Porte de Pantin and Porte de la Villette. Over one kilometer long in one direction and seven hundred meters in the other, La Villete appears as a multiple programmatic field, containing, in addition to the park, a large Museum of Science and Industry, a City of Music, a Grande Halle for exhibitions, and a rock concert hall.

Despite its name, the park as designated in the competition was to be no simple landscape replica. On the contrary, the brief for this “Urban Park for the 21st Century” develops a complex program of cultural and entertainment facilities, encompassing open-air theaters, restaurants, art galleries, music and painting workshops, playgrounds, video and computer displays, as well as the obligatory garden where cultural invention, rather than natural recreation, was encouraged. The object of the competition was to select a chief architect who would oversee the master plan and also build the structuring elements of the park. Artist, landscape designers, and other architects where to contribute a variety of gardens or buildings.

System and Superimpositions Our Project was motivated by the fact that the sites is not “virgin land”, but is located in a populated semi-industrial quarter, and includes two enormous existing structures, the Museum of Science and Technology and the Grande Halle. Rejecting the idea of introducing another mass, even of a linear character, into an already encumbered terrain and respecting the extensive requirements of the program, we proposed a simple structural solution: to distribute the programmatic requirements over the total site in a regular arrangement of points of intensity, designated as Folies. Deconstructing the program into intense areas of activity placed according to existing site characteristics and use, this scheme permits maximum movement through the site, emphasizing discoveries and presenting visitors with a variety of programs and events.

Developments in architecture are generally related to cultural developments motivated by new functions, social relations, or technological advances. We have taken this as axiomatic for our scheme, which aims to constitute itself as image, as structural model, and as a paradigmic example of architectural organizations. Proper to a period that has seen the rise of mass production, serial repetition, and disjunction, this concept for the park consists of a series or related neutral objects whose very similarity allows them to be “qualified” by function. Thus, in its basic structure each Folie is bare, undifferentiated, and “industrial” in character; in the specialization of its program it is complex, articulated, and weighted with meaning. Each Folie constitutes an autonomous sign that indicates its independent programmatic concerns and possibilities while suggesting, through common structural core, the unity of the total system. This interplay of theme and variation allows the park to read symbolically and structurally, while permitting maximum programmatic flexibility and invention.

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research on public spaces

parc de la villette photos

scanned images from event-cities 2, by bernard tschumi

research on public spaces Yerba buena Gardens History -

In 1953, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors designated a 19-block section south of Market Street as a Redevelopment Area. Due to setbacks and delays, not much was done until late 1970s, when the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA), led by Project Director Helen Sause, began working with Bay Area artistic and community groups to collect information about practical needs and cultural aspirations. The Yerba Buena project was the result of this extensive community involvement. The project’s creative plan placed much of the convention center underground, while providing low-income housing mixed with cultural and open space. In 1980, Mayor Dianne Feinstein and the SFRA issued an invitation to developers worldwide to “create ... in the heart of one of the world’s great cities, an environment in the form of a magnificent urban garden. . .” The culmination of this process are the gardens we walk among today, along with several other projects in different stages of growth.

The vision for Yerba Buena was built on three firm legs. The first was the idea of bringing art and artists into the area initially with the understanding that community development would follow.

Whether it’s SoHo in New York or the Left Bank in Paris, artists have often played the role of explorer, homesteader, and developer for future urban growth. The second idea was the concept of diversity. The community was determined to ensure that the Yerba Buena project would preserve and foster popular culture and ethnic diversity. Diversity brings durability and healthy development to both the evolving garden and the growing community. The third idea was sustainability. Sustainability is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The long-term goal for urban sustainability is to develop a prosperous and healthy urban system, which can provide for the needs of residents while reversing trends of increased pollution and environmental degradation. This goal toward sustainability is communicated and practiced at all levels of planning and operation.

At the core of the Yerba Buena vision and its three legs are three people, who undertook the immense project. And since it was built, these same three have continued to support and foster its growth through their work with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. The first is Helen Sause, former SFRA Project Director, current Deputy Director, and life force of the initial concept.

Instrumental in the schematic design, architecture, and landscaping is the second person, Bill Carney, current Project Director. Filling out the foundation is Cathy Pickering, SFRA Project Assistant. Cathy oversees the daily operations of the facility and works closely with all the YBG partners. For more information see their website.

Yerba Buena Gardens opened on October 11, 1993.

In 1998 Mayor Willie Brown opened the Children’s Garden and took the first ride on the newly restored Carousel.

Early History Yerba Buena was named in 1835 when the English family of William A. Richardson settled in the area.

Wild mint grew rampant in the surrounding hills, and the name translates from the Spanish for “good herb.” Richardson built his home on the slope between what we now call Telegraph Hill and Rincon Point. After the second settler, American Jacob Lesse, moved in near the Richardson home, two flags were raised: the Mexican National Emblem and the Stars and Stripes. On July 9, 1846, Captain John Montgomery landed his 70 sailors and marines and took possession of the Yerba Buena settlement in the name of the United States of America. Six months later, Mexican General Vallejo bargained to give a portion of his property holdings to established settlers Doc. Semple and Thomas Larkin in exchange for naming the new town after the General’s wife, Francisca. Fearing this would overshadow the little-known Yerba Buena, in January of 1847, Washington A. Bartlett, Alcalde and Chief Magistrate, wrote his famous ordinance that renamed the entire settlement as San Francisco, At the time, its 462 inhabitants lived in tents, shanties, and adobe huts. The streets went without names until they were mapped out in early 1847 by Jasper O’Farrell. Their names still remind us of the city’s most prominent settlers: Elbert Jones (doctor, editor, and hotelkeeper), Nathan Spear (livestock merchant), William Davis (merchant), William Liedesdorff (merchant and real estate owner), and Captain Joseph Folsom.

The Park-Complex: Yerba Buena Center of the Arts History Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii) is a sprawling aromatic herb of the western and northwestern United States, western Canada and Alaska. What is now San Francisco, California was originally named Yerba Buena by its Spanish settlers in the 18th century because of the abundance of the herb in the area.

research on public spaces Yerba buena Gardens -

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), the project’s anchor cultural complex, was developed as the result of years of community input and planning with scores of Northern California artists, as well as cultural, educational and civic leaders. YBCA’s mandate was to feature culturally diverse, community-based, national and international contemporary interdisciplinary arts, culture and entertainment. YBCA was also designed to participate in experimentation, change and the discourse and debate between the arts and public life.

Incorporated in 1986, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts was built by SFRA using funds from private development in the Yerba Buena Gardens district. Under an operating agreement, the Agency supports the security, operations and maintenance of the facilities, and YBCA is responsible for raising funds through contributed and earned revenue for its artistic and educational programs. The non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, originally incorporated as Yerba Buena Gardens Cultural Center, Inc., was created to operate and program the facilities.

YBCA’s two landmark buildings include Galleries, a flexible “Forum” space and film/video screening room designed by Fumihiko Maki in association with RMW, and a Theater designed by James Stewart Polshek. YBCA opened to international acclaim in October 1993.

From the ground up, YBCA was designed to embrace and celebrate a diversity of arts, cultures, and audiences. Created on the model of the European Kunsthalles, with no permanent art collection, YBCA bridges the seemingly contradictory worlds of pop culture, contemporary art, and community aesthetics. Exhibitions, performance, film/video, and community engagement programs are organized thematically in an effort to connect art and community life, and a host of community engagement programs each year connect audiences with art, artists and ideas.

Each year over a quarter of a million people attend one of hundreds of YBCA exhibitions, performances, screenings and community enagement programs. Major accomplishments include presenting and hosting the work of more than 2,200 visual, performing, and media artists (the largest percentage of whom are Bay Area residents) and commissioning and presenting 125 world premiere exhibitions and performances.

Mission & Vision Mission Yerba Buena Center for the Arts presents contemporary art from the Bay Area and around the world that reflects the profound issues and ideas of our time, expands the boundaries of artistic practice, and celebrates the diversity of human experience and expression.

Core Values The vitality of life in the Bay Area depends on our continued exposure to varied perspectives and beliefs. As well, our legacy depends upon our commitment to new art, ideas and means of expression.

These are the sustaining principles of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which take form through: Inclusion–of the new idea, the unfamiliar voice and multiple viewpoints of diverse cultures; Respect–for the time and goodwill of our audiences; the talent of all artists; the generosity of our funders; the dedication of Staff, Board and Volunteers; the integrity of our local communities; Collaboration–with artists and arts organizations, community partners, civic groups and businesses in pursuit of mutual goals and richer experiences; Inquiry–by supporting artistic risk-taking and experimentation, and a dynamic learning environment that encourages critical thinking, discovery and play; and Commitment–to the artistic development of Bay Area artists and organizations in conjunction with their national and international peers.

Vision Yerba Buena Center for the Arts aspires to be a center of creativity within the Bay Area; one that is recognized globally and locally for its dedication to artistic innovation, its imagination in the exploration of ideas and its sustained commitment to creatively engaging our community in the contemporary art experience. Inspired by living artists, we seek to create through them and with them a fully integrated center of artistic inquiry that embraces diverse aesthetics and ideas. We are courageous in pursuit of our aspirations, bold in carrying out our work and fearless in our commitment to place contemporary art at the heart of community life.

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research on public spaces

Yerba buena Gardens photos and plan

yerba buena art center gardens - san francisco, ca photo taken from www.flickr.com

yerba buena art center gardens - san francisco, ca interactive map from ybac.org website

research on public spaces recycled soundscapes interactive public sound installation -

Recycled Soundscape is designed as a system through which to explore and engage with auditory aspects of experience in the city, and to provide the possibility of relief, through sound and relational design, from the prevailing and often stressful urban flow.

The result is an interactive system for the public orchestration of an urban sound ecology.

It consists of a set of kinetic, human-scale interfaces which seek to create diversions and concentrations of attention within the sonic context of a location, by facilitating reflective activity in the public sphere, in the course of which an acoustic landscape may be augmented, modified, and performed. It offers the possibility to listen to and to record noises - human, natural, machine - which are otherwise difficult to take notice of, and which nonetheless contribute to the characteristic of a place over time, composing its evolving memory in sound.

Karmen Franinovic karmen@zero-th.org Yon Visell yon@zero-th.org Zero-Th Studio http://www.zero-th.org

the mass program Crowdspace: The Mass Program Northern Liberties is located north of Center City (specially, Old City) and is bordered by Girard Avenue to the North; Callowhill Street to the south; North 6th Street to the west; and the Delaware River to the east (From Callowhill Street to Laurel Street; from Laurel Street to Girard Avenue the eastern boundary is North Front Street).

In recent years, Norther Liberties has become a center for local artist and musicians. Large improvement and revitalization projects have also been undertaken recently causing a large jump in property values. The neighborhood has been targeted for revitalization because it is very close to Center City yet contains many vacant lots and abandoned historic properties.

Like many Philadelphia neighborhoods, the housing stockes is primarily made up of rowhouses.

Northern Liberties contains two privately owned but public parks, both established and owned by non-profits run by the neighbors. One, Orianna Hill park, is an off-leash dog run; the other, Liberty Lands, is a two-acre park and playground.

Northern Liberties is served bu SEPTA’s Market-Frankford El with stops at Spring Garden and Girard. The Station of Spring Garden us unique for being in the median of I-95. The elevated line’s tracks them break away from the expressway’s right-of-way tp tower over Front Street through the neighborhood as it heads north away from Center City.

In 2005, service resumed on SEPTA’s long-delayed Girard Avenue trolley at the northern boundary of the neighborhood.

Crowdscape is a design concept for a place for crowds to gather. In this proposal, the Crowdscape consist of a threeblock argumentation of north of Center City (in the heart of Northern Liberties). The site, stretching north along 3rd St from W. Wildey St to Poplar St is frame by a number of existing crowd attractors - like Liberties Walk, Standard Tab, North Bowl, etc. The Crowdscape draws from tne numerous amenities that are located in the eastern boundary of the site, bringing people from the west, south and north into Liberty Lands.

What the Crowscape makes possible is the translation of the extruded density (that is, people stacked floor by floor) onto a horizontal plane.

Crowdspace: The Mass Program Space Program - Open Garden Crowd Center What makes open space work? * * * * * * * *

Access from nearby places.

A sense of safety In the open space.

Adequate funding for maintenance & cleaning.

Clear delegation of maintenance responsibility by municipal agencies.

Where possible, sustainable design.

Lighting for safety & eighteen-hour use.

Appropriately designed seating option Programming & elements that reflect the surrounding community.

Source: Compiled from many sources by Philadelphia Green Lessons Learned about Planning and Designing Great Open Spaces * * * * * * * *

Involve the neighborhood.

Design with a vision.

Revive underused or unused space.

Design parks with flexible programming in mind.

Cleanliness equals respectfulness.

Be creative in funding parks.

Use pars as organizing elements.

Parks departments must play a leadership role

Source: Urban Parks and Open Space By Alexander Garvin, Gayle Berens and others. Published by the Urban Land Institute. http://www.greenplanphiladelphia.com/node/56

Program SPACE REQUIREMENTS Virtual Performance Spaces Multi-media spaces for films, music, and lectures to take place.

Performance Multi-media rooms 600 seats, including both wheelchair and stretcher seating Audio and Visual enable rooms (movie theaters rooms in where artist can present their multimedia exhibition) Exterior loading dock IT management & administration Storage Computer Labs Miniature Exhibition Rooms (for multi or single channel visual representation or exhibition) Multiple flexible seating arrangements Storage Exterior access for service Outdoor Performance Theater Access to interior performance theater support spaces Contemporary Arts Center Art galleries, studios, classrooms and workshops Art Gallery Open space for multiple gallery arrangements Storage Movable walls for Graffiti installations.

Program (cont.)

SPACE REQUIREMENTS Outdoor gallery/ sculpture garden, visual, audio installations spaces (Liberty Lands) Access to interior gallery and studios Studios Animation and Musical Studios -2 studios for 15 artists each -2 studios for 5 artists each Graphic installation Studios -2 studios for 5 artists each Printing Studio -1 studio for 5 artists Photography Lab -Digital equipment -Dark room with adjacent review room for 5 artists Shooting Studio -With adjustable lighting Audio/ Video Studio -1 studio for 5 artists Special Event Space Multi-purpose space, meetings, lectures, conventions, banquets, and receptions Event Hall Flat floor with exterior light and access Main meeting space with flexible arrangements for events Ability to section space into areas for programs with small audiences Immediate adjacency to restaurant/ kitchen Cafe/ Kitchen Direct access to event hall and outdoor gallery/ sculpture garden Storage area Cooking and preparations area Interior and exterior public seating area Administrative Offices Offices 4 general-purpose offices Conference room with seating for 12 Office storage and file room Computer Lab Accessible to all users Box Office For ticket sales, information and direction Exterior public access Artists Residence Temporary housing for visiting artists Apartments Mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments

site sf proposed development Open space - Liberty lands = 104,499.55 sf - undesignated land n. of - liberty lands = 15,733.26 sf - open space - ortlieb brewing = 8,242.79 sf - open space - brew house & addition building = 9,820.25 sf total open space = 138,295.85 sf

proposed building renovation - ortlieb brewing = 9,518.91 sf - brew house = 3,044.61 sf - addition = 1,059.24 sf - bottling house = 21,894.43 sf total building renovation = 35,517.19 sf

site analysis

Site analysis The site is located in the heart of northern liberties, surrounded by development, service, convenience retail, shoppers good, activity, and public transit.

Site analysis Northern liberties is mecca for new entrepreneurs, who are committed to create new business in the community.

northern liberties gone wifi what is wifi?

Wi-Fi is a wireless technology brand owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance intended to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards.

Common applications for Wi-Fi include Internet and VoIP phone access, gaming, and network connectivity for consumer electronics such as televisions, DVD players, and digital cameras.

Wi-Fi Alliance is a consortium of separate and independent companies agreeing to a set of common interoperble products based on the family of IEEE 802.11 standards. Wi-Fi certifies products via a set of established test procedures to establish interoperabilty. Those manufacturers that are members of Wi-Fi Alliance whose products pass these interoperabilty tests can mark their products and product packaging with the Wi-Fi logo.

Main article: Wi-Fi Technical Information According to the brand style guide of the Wi-Fi Alliance (the owner of the Wi-Fi brand): Products which successfully pass the Wi-Fi Alliance testing may use the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED brand. The Alliance tests and certifies the interoperability of wireless LAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. Studies show that 88% of consumers prefer products that have been tested by an independent organization.

Wi-Fi technologies have gone through several generations since their inception in 1997. Wi-Fi is supported to different extents under Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh and open source Unix and Linux operating systems. Contrary to popular belief, Wi-Fi is not an abbreviation for “Wireless Fidelity” (see “Origin and meaning of the term “Wi-Fi” below).

figure explains when mobile device is wifi compatible

A Wi-Fi enabled device such as a PC, Games Console, cell phone or PDA can connect to the Internet when within range of a wireless network connected to the Internet. The area covered by one or more interconnected access points is called a hotspot. Hotspots can cover as little as a single room with wireless-opaque walls or as much as many square miles covered by overlapping access points. Wi-Fi can also be used to create a mesh network. Both architectures are used in community networks.[citation needed] Wi-Fi also allows connectivity in peer-to-peer (wireless ad-hoc network) mode, which enables devices to connect directly with each other. This connectivity mode is useful in consumer electronics and gaming applications.

When the technology was first commercialized there were many problems because consumers could not be sure that products from different vendors would work together. The Wi-Fi Alliance began as a community to solve this issue so as to address the needs of the end user and allow the technology to mature. The Alliance created the branding Wi-Fi CERTIFIED to show consumers that products are interoperable with other products displaying the same branding.

Many consumer devices use Wi-Fi. Amongst others, personal computers can network to each other and connect to the Internet, mobile computers can connect to the Internet from any Wi-Fi hotspot, and digital cameras can transfer images wirelessly.

Routers which incorporate a DSL or cable modem and a Wi-Fi access point are often used in homes and other premises, and provide Internet access and internetworking to all devices connected wirelessly or by cable into them. Devices supporting Wi-Fi can also be connected in ad-hoc mode for client-to-client connections without a router.

Business and industrial Wi-Fi is widespread as of 2007. In business environments, increasing the number of Wi-Fi access points provides redundancy, support for fast roaming and increased overall network capacity by using more channels or creating smaller cells. Wi-Fi enables wireless voice applications (VoWLAN or WVOIP). Over the years, Wi-Fi implementations have moved toward ‘thin’ access points, with more of the network intelligence housed in a centralized network appliance, relegating individual Access Points to be simply ‘dumb’ radios. Outdoor applications may utilize true mesh topologies. As of 2007 Wi-Fi installations can provide a secure computer networking gateway, firewall, DHCP server, intrusion detection system, and other functions.

In addition to restricted use in homes and offices, Wi-Fi is publicly available at Wi-Fi hotspots provided either free of charge or to subscribers to various providers. Free hotspots are often provided by businesses such as hotels, restaurants, and airports who offer the service to attract or assist clients. Sometimes free Wi-Fi is provided by enthusiasts, or by organisations or authorities who wish to promote business in their area. Metropolitan-wide WiFi (Mu-Fi) already has more than 300 projects in process.

Philadelphia goes wireless -------------------------------------------------------------------------------The final stage of testing the revolutionary wireless Internet project in Philadelphia has ended.

The city government approved the public availability of a 15 square mile test zone, which will soon be extended to its full coverage plans, 135 square miles.

The project is meant to offer citywide Wi-Fi Internet access in both public areas and private homes in all of Philadelphia for $21.95 a month ($9.95 for low-income households). In outdoors the access is free of charge, and so it is for people that participate in community programs.

Greg Goldman is the chief executive of the Philadelphia Project, a nonprofit organization set up by the city to implement the plan. His organization will make Internet available to more than 300,000 households that didn’t have the possibility to access the Web before. “This is a major step toward achieving our vision of the entire city connected,” Goldman said. “Low-income families can begin using the powers of the Internet to improve their educational, employment and life opportunities.”

What is WiGLE and how do I use it?

What is WiGLE? The name stands for WIreless Geographic Logging Engine.

Basically, you upload your stumble files with GPS coordinates, and they stick the networks on a big map of the world. You can browse the map here: http://wigle.net/gps/gps/Map/onlinemap2/ (doesn’t work in Safari, click on “original webmaps” in the bottom right instead.)

You also appear on the rankings board at http://wigle.net/gps/gps/main/stats/.

If you’re a WiGLE member already (or just signed up as one), join the KisMac group: http://wigle.net/ gps/gps/main/joingroup?groupid=20060120-00011.

How do I use it?

In KisMac, go to File -> Export -> Data to notstumbler Text.

Go to http://wigle.net/gps/gps/main/postfile after logging in.

Click the “Browse” button, and click on the file you exported from KisMac. Hit the Send button.

Then watch this page: http://wigle.net/gps/gps/main/mytrans/ to see how the file is being parsed.

To find the location of someone’s network, go here: http://wigle.net/gps/gps/main/query/ and either enter the BSSID in the bottom field, or any other details in the top set of fields, and hit query.

analysis was done using digle

analysis of wifi (hotzone) capability.

mapping analysis of networks capability

analysis was done using digle

figure explains when mobile device is wifi compatible - signal enable - using open secure network

figure explains when mobile device is wifi compatible signal unenable - using close wep secure network - red

IMAGE COMPOSITION

OPEN SPACE LIBERTY LANDS

DEVELOPMENT

TRANSPORTATION

RAMDOM PHOTOS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS 1. tSCHUMI, bERNARD. EVENTCITIES, ^PARC DE LA vILLETTE^ - MOVEMENT AS GENERATORS, tHE mit pRESS, cAMBRIGE, mASSACHUSETTS, lONDON, ENGLAND, 1994 2. tSCHUMI, bERNARD. ARCHITECTURE AND DISJUCTION, pROGRAM ii (ESSAYS WRITTEN BETWEEM 1981 AND 1983), tHE mit pRESS, cAMBRIGE, mASSACHUSETTS, lONDON, ENGLAND, 1994.

3. KOOLHAAS, REM. MUTATIONS, Harvard Project on the City, Muliplicity, ^1.0 SPACE^, ACTAR, ARC EN RêVE CENTRE D^ARCHITECTURE 2000.

WEBSITE 4. THE ART COLOGNE - http:// www.artcologne.com/(GREAT SOURCE FOR REPRESENTATION OF THE ARTS).

5. WIFIMAOS.COM - SOURCE OF EXISTING MAPS OF WIRELESS NETWORKS IN US CITIES. 6. http://www. greenplanphiladelphia.com/ node/56 - EXPLAINS WHAT MAKES OPEN SPACE WORK. 7. http://www. northernliberties.org #communityresources NORTHERN LIBERTIES COMMUNITY RESOURCES - MSG BOARD 8. http://www. northernlibertiesnow.org/ resources.html - INFORMATION ON THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNITY PARKS, PLUS IT TALKS ABOUT THE ARTISTS IN THE COMMUNITY.

9. http://www.geekpedia.com/ news162_Philadelphia-goeswireless.html - ARTICLE OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA GOING WIRELESS. 10. http://kismac. tehbin.com/viewtopic. php?f=2&t=22T - FORUM - DEFINITION OF WIGLE, SOFTWARE USED TO MAP THE WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS IN N,L. 11. NORTHERN LIBERTIES BIBLIOGRAPHY - Donald Bull, et.al., American Breweries, (Trumbull, CT, 1984).

- William L. Downard, Dictionary of the History of American Brewery and Distilling Industries, (Westport, CT, 1980).

- James Goodman, compiler, A Digest of the Acts of Assembly ... of the Northern Liberties, (Philadelphia, 1853).

- Roy E. Goodman, Northern Liberties, 2 parts, (Society for Industrial Archeology, Oliver Evans Chapter, Chapter News, Vol. IV, Issues 2-4, 1987).

- Ernest Hexamer, Hexamer General Insurance Surveys, (Philadelphia, 1867-1897).

- Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, Guide to the Northern Liberties, (Philadelphia, 1982).

- Edward Pinkowski, “oseph Battin: Father of the American Coal Breaker Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 73.

- Richard Webster, Philadelphia Preserved, (Philadelphia, 1976).

12. http://smg.media.mit.edu/ projects/HearAndThere/ - BY Joey Rozier and Karrie Karahalios 13. http://www.zero-th.org/ RecycledSound.html Recycled Soundscape Sonic Diversion in the City, BY Karmen Franinovic karmen@zero-th.org

_FIN :p