Food Fights! Hunts Point NYC

Page 1



Food Fights H U N T S P O I N T, B R O N X N YC

Research + Speculations 01 JUNE 2011

A PUBLICATON OF Transdisciplinary Design Playground Parsons The New School for Design New York, New York



RESEARCH SUMMARIES

[5]

[61]

INTRODUCTION minh-nguyet le + jayson rupert

[11]

howard chambers, elie kahwagi, amanda lasnik, rachel lehrer + grace tuttle

ObJeCTIVe eNVIRONmeNT angeles cortesi, amy findeiss, kiersten nash + kelly tierney

[35]

[83]

FOOD SySTemS aabhira aditya, jacqueline cooksey, steven j. dale, bland hoke, mai kobori + eulani labay

INFRaSTRUCTUReS OF pOWeR aaron cansler + benjamin winter

[51]

pSyCHOGeOGRapHy and DaIly lIFe

[82]

NeTWORKS OF HealTH

TRaNS pOllINaTION aabhira aditya, jacqueline cooksey, steven j. dale, bland hoke, mai kobori + eulani labay

francis carter, minh-nguyet le + jayson rupert

S P ECU L AT I O N S

[89]

[151]

eaT Up aaron cansler + benjamin winter

[103]

[117]

aabhira aditya, jacqueline oooksey. angeles cortesi, elie kahwagi + amanda lasnik

blaNK plaTe howard chambers, amy findeiss mai kobori + eulani labay

FRISK zONe

[167]

peRFORmING INNOCeNCe rachel lehrer + grace tuttle

HUNTS pOINT: 2032 steven j. dale + bland hoke

[181]

CONClUSION minh-nguyet le + jayson rupert

[127]

WHaT'S THe pOINT? francis carter + kiersten nash

[141]

GReeTINGS FROm

HUNTS pOINT

eulani labay + kelly tierney

project framing + guidance

miguel robles-duran associate professor, urbanism

with support from

quilian riano adjunct professor, transdisciplinary design

jamer hunt director, transdisciplinary design

miodrag mitrasinovic dean, school of design strategies



[5]

INTRODUCTION minh-nguyet le + jayson rupert


[6]

FOOD FIGHTS . INTRODUCTION


Hunts Point is a 690-acre peninsula in the South Bronx. Situated at the confluence of the Bronx River and the East River, it is and home to one of the nation’s largest food distribution markets. Ironically, it is also home to the poorest congressional districts in the United States. Asthma and obesity rates are at crisis levels while half of the community lives below the poverty line. However, some organizations have taken charge of the community to create bottom-up change, including Sustainable South Bronx, Rocking the Boat, and THE POINT Community Development Center Corporation—to name a few. The TransDesign studio at Parsons is aligning with some of these organizations to speculate on changes that may eventually contribute to the community’s future. The problem at hand has no starting point and no recognizable end. Food systems aren’t a topic to be solved but rather studied and understood from many different viewpoints. To do so, the TransDesign students dedicated a semester towards Hunts Point in an experimental process involving focused teamwork and widespread collaboration. The complexities and realities in the Hunts Point community are ones that cannot be fully studied within the timeframe of one semester. The compiled research and speculations contributes to and builds upon a greater conversation in Hunts Point. It is a conversation about the underlying factors to an urban context that is common across the United States. It is about food justice. It is about behavioral activism, perspectiveshifting, and imagining alternative futures. It is the beginning of a framework of ideas, processes and methodologies upon which others build upon, in the same way that the TransDesign studio is unequivocally building upon the work of many others.

[7]


[4]

FOOD FIGHTS . INTRODUCTION


The Transdisciplinary Design program is founded upon the basis that today’s complex problems can’t be solved within the design disciplines themselves. This means looking beyond the design of products and things, and shifting our focus—not only toward what we’re designing, but how we design. The 20 TransDesign students come from varied backgrounds in architecture, industrial design, communication design, strategy, journalism, dance, photography, and sculpture. The process undertaken was partly structured, partly organic and highly experimental—allowing teams to reframe, and the process to shift, as research insights were gained. Five teams, ranging in size from 2-6 members delved into ‘meta’ research topics including Infrastructures of Power, Daily Life/Psychogeographies, Networks of Health, Food Systems, and Objective Environment. Each of these lenses provided a common ground for each team to begin building their research. Each meta-topic group focused on different aspects of the Hunts Point ecosystem—investigating the consumption, distribution, and production phases of the system. Each team also investigated their subject to include historic elements, scale, agents/stakeholders, technologies, education, temporal factors, and policy & regulation—as it related to their metatopic. Knowledge was shared and exchanged across the teams at regular intervals throughout the process. Committees were set up to facilitate cross-team coordination including the media and fieldwork teams. The goal was to create synergy between these disparate lenses while maintaining a strict research schedule. The initial research findings created an arsenal of knowledge acquired over two-thirds of the semester and contributed to the final speculation stage, interventions and potential tactics to create these systemic ruptures. The methodologies, the combination of research-led design and design-led research strategies, visualizations of data, and knowledge generated in the process help to define a transdisciplinary approach to a “wicked problem” with no apparent start or end.

[5]


City Council Subsidies Health Innsurance

Health care

Health

Owners

Labor Commerce Assoc.

NYC IDA

Real Estate Services

Transport Systems

Waterfront Development

Organizational

NYC EDC

Economic Tansform

Frozen

Forced Choices Cooking Methods

Comfort

Centers

Seniors

Demand

Govt. Assistance

Process

Policy Change

Supermarket

Micro Managed

Green Carts

Bodegas

Social Movement

Education

SNAP

EBT Card

MSW

Vitamins

Obesity & Activity Diabetes & Nutrition

Natural Remedies

Drugs

Clinics

Parks

Home Care

Ambulatory

Exercise

Economics

Lifestyle

Physical release

Culture

Asthma & Pollution

Schools

Social Cohesion

Food culture

Market

Wellness

Roads Parks

Space

Identity

Psycho Geographies

Everyday Routines

Hunts Point

Individual

Macro Waste Environments

Home

Perceived Env.

Socials Waste

Nutrition Bioplastic

Biofuels Zero Waste

Life Cycle Analysis

Restaurants

Roads

Supermarkets

School Cultural Norms

Subsidies

Parks Work

Economics Bodegas

Gov’t Policies

Consuming

[6]

F&B Industry

Marketing & Media

Childcare Community Economics

Science

Consumption

Networks of Support

Land Use

Agroculture Policies

Family

Peers Friends

Transport

Gov’t Structures

Health Care

Sound

Noise Smell

Scraps Recycling

Quality of Life

Statistics

Ecological Framework

Compostes

Social Studies

Identity

Built Environment

Lost

Color Taste

Waste Policy

Diet

Hospitals

Treatment

Networks of Health

Gained Energy Density

Barriers

Environment

Education

Prevention

Waste

Foodworks Plan

Stigma

Comunication

Exercise

Objective Environments

IMAGES GO HERE Split Checks

Cultural Perception

Psychology

WIC

Eligibility

Shelters

Homeopathic

Mapping Services

Access

Urban Food Ecosystems

Food Systems

Charities

Donations

Children

Public Policy

Food Education

Boundaries

Nutrition

FBNYC

Emergency Food

Health Service

Nutrition

Infrastructures of Power

Food Insecure

Soup Kitchens

Executive Structures

Illness

Informal

Convenience

Disabled

Wellness Support Network

Drugs

Commercial

Community

Energy Density

Insurance

Mental Health

Cost

Job Creation

Political

Government

Services

Canned Whole Food

Education

Large Corps.

Public/ Private Partner

HPEDC

Transport

SES

Participation

Security

HPFD CMC

Communication

Schools

Local Business

Unions Chamber of Comm

Food Security

Legislative Structures

Judicial

Housing

Management

NonUnion

Schools National

Social Welfare

Public Health

Identity

State

City

Food Assistance

Demographics

Identity

Sight

Biological

Industry Smell Trash

Delapidation

Behaviors

Cognitions

Skills

Police

Lifestyle

Distribution

Production

FOOD FIGHTS . INTRODUCTION


S y st e m C o m p l e x iti e s

The elements within a complex system are never static. They are dynamic, evolving and perpetually in motion. Each system element, whether technological or organizational, is looked at dialectially to understand their mutual relations between them, and how they work. These relations often represent totalities in and of themselves, and the danger is to see any one element as determinant of the others. Pulling the string of one element, thus begins to pull on a host of other interrelated elements. Here within the tangled systems, is where we find what Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari refers to as assemblages, and what Henri Lefebvre refers to as ensembles.

Contingencies and unknowns are inherent to these systems that are constantly in a state of imbalance. Yet, all of these spaces and flows are situations, directions in motion—places we can act—be it our interaction with the everyday, the urban landscape, the mediated or the technological. These fields of voids become spaces for opportunity, where our research questions begin and trajectories take shape.

IMAGES CAN ALSO GO HERE

IMAGES GO HERE

Suspicions and intuitions quickly become ideas that are shared with the group. These are first tested, supported or challenged by the team, before scaling up or focusing research efforts. The research question may go through multiple stages of reframing as information is exchanged between team members. The teams then expand its research to experts and disciplines beyond the TransDesign circle. A wide range of precedents, case studies, and documents are explored, while teams conduct interviews with specialists and experts within the Hunts Point community. The group then converges again to share findings, test theories, and determine if another reframing of the problem is required or if an initiative is within reach.

[7]


C o l l a b or a tion

Tackling any of these complex social issues requires a level of diverse perspectives, as well as a wide range of disciplinary thinking to approach these types of issues. Therefore, our approach is inherently collaborative, requiring the participation and creativity of many minds—within and beyond the TransDesign studio. When groups come together under a common cause, it is the agency or disposition—a ‘thoughtfulness in action' which unifies them and provides a clear path for action.

Collaboration in itself can be a wicked problem. There are many skills and tools to use and rely on but there is a much deeper kind of discipline that is required of each individual. A flexibility to adapt to constantly changing parameters, an ability to take on different roles as the project dictates, a high level of curiosity and constitution which permits you to fail often. Negotiating these challenges can be half the battle. As designers begin to think about bringing about social change, it seems imperative to acknowledge the immense amount of history, data, rhetoric, myths, bias, semantics, syntax that underpin system element, in order to clearly understand and articulate what we are exactly designing; and for whom. Research is critical to our understanding of these complexities as well as the sharing and exchange of our work. The processes we take are often just as critical as the research itself. An ability to navigate between design-led research and researchled design is another one of our strengths. Through these multiplicities and waves of convergent and divergent thinking, we experienced tensions, dead-ends, as well as moments of invention. Within the time frame of only one short semester, our research findings and speculative projects represent a body of knowledge that can be taken further. It is a contribution to a much broader conversation that is taking place within the Hunts Point community, and many other food deserts throughout the nation.

[8]

FOOD FIGHTS . INTRODUCTION


[01] AN ALGORITHM FO R C O L L A B O R AT I O N

x,y,z = transD e = experts p = partner c = community i = initiative n = value d = determination f = failure

c p

e

z

e c

M

RE -FR

R FO

IN

AM E

x y

CRITIQUE

p

p e

p + c + (e n ) (x+y+z)

W O R K S C I T Ed

01 David Harvey, On the Deep Relevance of a Specific Footnote in Marx’s Capitalism 02 Gilles Deleuze. and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, tr. Brian Massumi, (1987) 03 Clive Dilnot, Draft: From an unpublished working paper, On Design and Knowledge from c.1999-2006] 04 Food Desert Locator, http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/ fooddesert.html

[9]

n

n

(f ) + d = i

c



[11]

ObJeCTIVe eNVIRONmeNT angeles cortesi, amy findeiss, kiersten nash + kelly tierney



F O R CE S H I T E S O N R EA SON 'S BA C K. Benjamin Franklin

This report documents the community of Hunts Point. Statistics

[FIG 01] ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

are employed to illustrate significant aggregations; substantiate

maCRO SeCTORS

as well as contradict speculations; or underscore the narrative framework. Each number represents a human life. Contrary to

SOCIETAL + CULTURAL NORMS FOOD + BEVERAGE INDUSTRY MARKETING + MEDIA AGRICULTURAL POLICIES ECONOMICS

capitalist ideology, it is impossible to extract the individual from society. Consequently, the following data illustrates the social

LAND USE + TRANSPORTATION GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES + POLICIES FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION + DISTRIBUTION

fabric of humanity with implications that directly affect you.

ObJe C TIVe e N VIR ON m e N TS HOME SCHOOL + AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody,

WORK

only because, and only when, they are created by everybody [01].

RESTAURANTS

NEIGHBORHOOD + COMMUNITY

SUPERMARKETS BODEGAS PARKS

Studying any map of New York City will reveal that a mere 10 miles stand between Parsons The New School for Design and Hunts Point. The former is nestled into Greenwich Village and the latter, a peninsula hanging onto the margins of the South

ROADS + HIGHWAYS

S O C I a l e N VI R O N m e N T S FAMILY FRIENDS PEERS NETWORKS of SUPPORT

I N D I VI D U a l Fa C T O R S

Bronx. In less than one hour, a $2 Metrocard and the 6-train

COGNITIONS

can transport you from points A to B—from the land of plenty to the poorest congressional district in our Nation.

SKILLS + BEHAVIORS LIFESTYLE BIOLOGY DEMOGRAPHICS

And that’s where our story begins. Hunts Point spans 690 acres from the Bronx River westward to the Bruckner Expressway. Initially the formal elements of the community’s topography bear resemblance to Manhattan’s relatively manicured landscape. Roads. Sidewalks. Brownstones. Restaurants. Bodegas. Schools. Retailers. However, peeling back the urban sediment unveils the harsh realities of poverty. Since the 1980s Hunts Point has invested considerable time, energy and resources to shedding its reputation as the archetype of urban decay. Poverty plagued the community. Prostitution and drugs were the visibly lucrative commodities. Myriad neighborhood organizations emerged out of desperation— Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation, Sustainable South Bronx, The Point Community Development Corporation, and Bronx Community Board 2 just to name a few.

[13]

[FIG 02] FIELD NOTES . AMY FINDEISS opposite page


690 TOTAL ACREAGE

ACRES OF LAND SPAN THE PENINSULA OF HUNTS POINT. [15]

Housing development increased by 2,300 units. Population increased by over 10,000 people. Business entrepreneurs made substantial investments to expand the industrial landscape. Consequently, the labor force grew to over 25,000 workers. [18] What are the ramifications of these numbers? Pervasive pollution, escalating unemployment, and rampant crime,

an unsustainable system.

329

FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTER

ACRES OF HUNTS POINT IS DEVOTED TO THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTER. [18]

The once hailed solutions to this vicious cycle are now more aptly characterized as band-aids for a community that is desperate for development uninhibited by the political architects of its past. Moving forward, it is imperative that individuals, organizations and governmental bodies organize and communicate in a collective effort to acquire and comprehend data; speculate

50

VACANT OR CONTAMINATED LAND

on possible interventions; understand the relative risk and scalability; and finally implement change. Therefore, please accept the following as a contribution to the larger discourse.

ACRES ON THE PENINSULA ARE VACANT OR ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTAMINATED. [18]

ReSeaRCH

Food is “a product and mirror of the organization of society on both the broadest and most intimate levels.” [02] Food is Politics. Consequently, in order to understand the design realities of the low-income urban food ecosystem of Hunts Point it is imperative to first analyze the existing environment, including the socio-spatial implications of and on the active and silent agents within the community. THe laNDSCape

329 of Hunts Point’s 690 acres are consumed by the Food Distribution Center. [18] In addition to the Fulton Fish Market, the Distribution Center is also home to the New York City Terminal Market and the Hunts Point Cooperative Market. Sixty-five wholesalers operate out of the Terminal Market where fresh fruit and vegetables are imported daily from 49 states and [14]

FOOD FIGHTS . ObJeCTIVe eNVIRONmeNT


environments define autonomy?

How can money and social network define access to food?

amework

E A LT H C A R E S Y S T E M S

How do objective environments promote individual future vision?

R O D U C T I O N, C O N S U M P T I O N d D I S T R I B U T I O N

55 foreign countries. Fifty independent wholesalers operate out

[FIG 03] HOUSING MEDIANS

of six buildings that construct the Cooperative Market where meat

FI G U R E 03 H O U S I N G M E D I A N S

OVERNMENT T R U C T U R E S and P O L I C I E S

O O D A S S I S TA N C E P R O G R A M S

and poultry are produced, processed and distributed. Currently

1968

1987

Hunts Point

Bronx

1934

1994

the distribution center is one of the largest in the world. [15]

nts

Unfortunately, from this garden of plenty flows an endless

E S TA U R A N T S

UPERMARKETS

ODEGAS

stream of waste. Within the market, 111 tons of waste is generated on a daily basis by the Terminal and Fish Markets

RKS

O A D S and H I G H WAY S

alone; this translates to 27,400 tons of waste annually. [19] Therefore it comes as no surprise that 50 acres of the peninsula have been declared environmentally contaminated. Further aggravating the situation are the 15,000 trucks that plow the peninsula daily. The percentage of accidents involving trucks is actually four times higher in Hunts Point (12%) than in the greater Bronx (3%). [o3] Most accidents occur on or close

Bronx

RENTERS MOVED-IN

Randall Avenue, Tiffany Street and Halleck Street.

[15]

Numerous proposals that attempt to redirect traffic are

Public housing mitigates mobility. Can innovation occur in a stagnate environment?

currently awaiting litigation. However a redistribution of carcinogens does nothing to comfort the one in ten Hunts Point residents that suffer from asthma—an epidemic that has grown

large a enough to warrantmap, Gov. David Patterson’s contribution o influencing cognitive what matters is notof $177,500 to fund a South Bronx Asthma Treatment Center. [04] blicly discussed, but also what is not mentioned in And for good reason, the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital’s South Bronx successful Asthma ideological effects are those which have Partnership asthma hospitalization rate for boys and girls under 14 is 8.9 per 1,000 children. [05] and ask no more than a complicitous silence."

erre Bourdieu THe aCTIVe aGeNTS

SPECULATION)

Hunts Point

OW N E R S

to Bruckner Boulevard and along major truck routes such as

Other egregious implications of this flawed urban plan bare 2010 990 970 a direct1 effect on the community’s 146,824 residents whose

homes are relegated to small, densely populated parcels HOUSIN G S U B S I D I of E S land.

H I G H WAY S U B S I D I E S

[18] Here in the northern half of the community, 47.6% of the population lives below the national poverty line. For a nation with one in seven citizens living below the poverty line in 2010

[15]

WWW.CITY-DATA.COM

If mobility is fostered, does lose of or isolation from support system create more stress? How do subsidies inform behavior? How can you plan while waiting? What if this is the only world you know? What if it’s okay not to leave? What if there was a way to connect farm communities and urban communities ? How does the physical voice build the landscape? What incentives are there to earn more money if the consequence is higher rent?

There is a for peopl assistanc

S P E C U L AT I O N

Subsi


46,824 POPULATION

[15]

that might not seem unusual for an urban population. However, the implicit stress becomes increasingly more tangible when you consider two realities that a Hunts Point resident must balance—their annual household income averages $16,000 while the studio apartment in that area costs approximately $14,784 annually. [14] How does this annual income break down over the course

$16K AVERAGE IN COME

IS THE AVERAGE INCOME PER HOUSEHOLD IN HUNTS POINT. [14]

of 12 months? How does it pay my bills? How does it feed me? How does it translate to paying rent this month?

Subsidized living. Assuming the average annual income is evenly accrued throughout the year, the average monthly salary is $1,333. [15]However, the average studio apartment rents for $1,232

47.6 POVERTY

PERCENT OF HUNTS POINT RESIDENTS LIVE BELOW THE NATIONAL POVERTY LEVEL. [15]

per month, including gas and electricity in most developments. How is this possible? Enter the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It is the largest Public Housing Authority (PHA) in North America and inspite of many problems is considered by experts to be the most successful big-city public housing authority in the Nation. Under the Section 8 Housing Assistance program, the NYCHA administers vouchers to offset the cost of rent. Eligibility and distributions are determined by income. Participants pay 30% of their adjusted gross income towards the total rent for the apartment. A NYCHA voucher covers the difference. [21] Or individuals can pursue Conventional Public Housing. Similar to Section 8 assistance, eligibility for public housing is dependent upon income. However, the threshold is a bit higher; the maximum total gross income for an individual is $44,350. Additionally, NYCHA implemented a Dual Preference Priority System that ranks individuals based on size of working family (income based) and need (applicants who are referred by the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS), the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), NY Department of Housing [16]

F O O D F I G H T S . O B J E C T I V E E N V I R O N ME N T


[ F I G 0 4 ] POLITICAL SEDIMENT OF HUNTS POINT FOOD D ISTR IBUTION C E N TE R & OTH E R FOOD -R E LATE D USAG E R ESID E N TIAL WASTE R E LATE D VACAN CY PU BLIC H OUSIN G MAR K ETS FOOD BAN KS & BISTR OS H EALTH C LIN ICS

20 YEA R V ISIO N PLA N [SE LECTE D PORTION S]

[18 & personal field work]

[17]



Services Administration (HASA), NY Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). [21]

$1,232 AVERAGE RENT

IS THE AVERAGE MONTHLY RENT FOR A NYC SECTION 8 APARTMENT. [13]

Problem Solved. Or not. Individuals interested in applying for Section 8 assistance currently receive this message when logging onto the NYCHA website:

$330 TENANT SHARE

During these challenging economic times, demand for subsidized housing assistance in New York City is at an all time high. As

IS THE AVERAGE MONTHLY SHARE OF THE RENT THAT IS PAID BY THE TENANT (30% OF

a result more families and individuals have turned to the Section

THE TENANT'S ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME). [13]

8 program to be able to obtain affordable housing. Unfortunately due to a lack of sufficient funding at this time, the New York City Housing Authority will no longer accept any new Section 8 voucher applications or process existing Section 8 vouchers. [22]

$902

HOUSING ASSISTANCE PAYMENT

But there are emergency cases. From May 15, 2007 to December 10, 2009, NYCHA reserved Section 8 vouchers for emergency applicants who were referred by the New York City Administration for Children's Services

IS THE AVERAGE MONTHLY HOUSING ASSISTANCE PAYMENT (HAP) RECEIVED BY A NYC RESIDENT FROM THE NYC HOUSING AUTHORITY (NYCHA). [13]

(ACS) or those who are classified as intimidated witnesses or victims of domestic violence.

0

SECTION 8

As of December 10, 2009, NYCHA is no longer processing any new Section 8 applications. Currently 122,000 Section 8 applicants throughout New York City are on the preliminary waiting list. Fortunately there’s another option—public housing. Of the 175,000 apartments in NYC’s Conventional Housing

IS THE NUMBER OF SECTION 8 VOUCHER APPLICATIONS THE NYCHA IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTING DUE TO LACK OF SUFFICIENT FUNDING. [13]

Program, 41 developments are in the Bronx. However, not one of them is accepting applications. 130,000 NYC public housing applicants are on the preliminary waiting list. [22] The well is dry. Or is it?

[ F I G 0 5 ] F I E L D N OT E S . K E L LY T I E R N E Y opposite page

[19]


S PE C U LA T I O N S

Food is a physical, social, personal and political tour de force that constructs and controls communities. Food is a politic. Food rules are part of a usually unscrutinized cultural ideology that continually leads to the reinforcement of life as it is‌ Yet because they [food rules] reflect and recreate the gender, race, and class hierarchies so prevalent in American society, deconstructing food rules is part of the process of dismantling the hierarchies that limit the potential and life chances of subordinate groups.[02] Hunts Point is a food desert. Food insecurity and obesity, two food-related health conditions that plague the community, are manifestations of the power reflected in food and food practices. Following are three initial speculations that we allowed to guide our research to comprehend the hierarchies embedded in Hunts Point that spawn the recursive and dynamic reciprocity between human agents and social structures—bounded by space and time and perpetuated through the most mundane, regularized and routinized of activities: Subsidies are the currency of Hunts Point. There are many incentives for developers, property owners and tenants to subsist on the housing subsidy market as a result of increased economic inequality relative to the ratio of income to cost of living in New York City. Where you eat matters. The distribution of food subsidies, specifically the state government-funded Electrionic Benefit Transfer program (EBT) and the federally-funded health and nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC), can be leveraged as a vehicle for community participants to gain greater mobility and accessibility to information.

[20]

F O O D F I G H T S . O B J E C T I V E E N V I R O N ME N T


Beyond demographics—want versus need...and then desire. Patterns in food insecurity rates reveal the existence of systemic and systematic processes or structural violences though which social structures and social relations harm people by constraining or denying access to basic subsistence needs. [06] Therefore, modifying the environment can transform the voices of Hunts Point from passive to active.

R EAL I T I E S

According to Clifford Geertz, the goal of ethnography is to uncover the fine details, nuances and complexities of social life thorough systematic processes of listening, observing, recording, reflecting, and interviewing. [07] When in doubt, ask. To test the validity of our initial speculations, we returned to Hunts Point and went directly to the source—the people. Bodega owners, residents, and street merchants afforded us an expanded perspective that addressed environment and behavior. We went into the field with an open agenda. Harnessing the power of visualization, we allowed pen and paper to guide our conversations and function as a tool for individuals to illustrate their relationship with the environment. Throughout the interviews, one of us would illustrate the conversation. This was a powerful tool that allowed us access into individual’s private spaces and the ability to understand how their life has developed around it. Following are the key findings that revealed to us that, not only what and where you eat matters, but also with whom and why you eat matters as well.

[21]

[ F I G 06, O7] I N T E R V I E W W I T H J O S É 2 APRIL 2011


FAR FLOOR AREA RATIO

IS THE SIZE OF A BUILDING RELATIVE TO THE SIZE OF THE ZONING LOT. [17]

Subsidies are the currency of Hunts Point. Spaces and places are not neutral territories but rather “physical concretizations of power.” [08] Spaces and places as physical concretizations of power circumscribe in advance relationships, expectations, and interpretations. [09] Subsidized housing is indeed a reality for the majority of Hunts Point residents. However, gaining access into private

100

homes is a delicate negotiation that requires time to cultivate.

KITCHEN

SQ FT

IS THE REQUIRED MINIMUM KITCHEN SIZE IN ALL NEWLY CONSTRUCTED STUDIO APARTMENTS. [16]

Unfortunately, we are unable to forge such a partnership. Consequently we relied on interviews to paint the picture. The consensus? Current living spaces satisfy basic needs. Strict regulations regarding measurements for minimal standards of functional living space from counter work space to room size are outlined in the HPD publication of Design Guidelines for

5

FOOD PREPARATION

LN FT

IS THE REQUIRED MINIMUM COUNTER TOP WORK SURFACE SIZE IN ALL NEWLY CONSTRUCTED STUDIO APARTMENTS. [16]

New Construction and Substantial Rehabilitation. Regulations dictate the measurements drawn for minimal amounts of functional living space. The translation? Kitchens equipped with 30” stoves, 14 cubic foot refrigerators, 2 foot deep base cabinets with a minimum of 18 inches of countertop work surface located adjacent to both sides of the sink, one side of the range and the door handle side of the refrigerator, and wall hung cabinets. [16] Though some of these buildings are in dire need of refurbishment due to the cheap, often reappropriated materials such as those used in large-scale suburban developments, they can be quite adequate for the preparation, cooking and storage of multiperson meals.

[22]

F O O D F I G H T S . O B J E C T I V E E N V I R O N ME N T


What you eat matters. “Food is not a neutral topic. Instead, the inanimate is valueladen. It conveys worth and meaning, it creates, it animates. With each meal and in each bite we are reminded both consciously and unconsciously of exactly who we are and where we fit in the world.” [09] “For low-income or fixed-income individuals, the act of pushing a cart or buggy down the aisles of the grocery store served as a regular reminder of what was and was not available to individuals and their families. Foods are quickly organized into categories of affordability resulting in entire sections of the grocery store as being “out of bounds” or “off limits” to shoppers because of budgetary constraints. Grocery shopping was described as a thoughtful and difficult process for many families trying to balance desires for purchasing real, fresh and good food with the reality of their pocketbook. [09] Hunts Point residents can shop at Key Foods Supermarket on Westchester Avenue, one of two full-service supermarkets in the neighborhood. However instead of shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables, residents are more frequently lured by the neon light of the nearby Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins. Or by the golden arches located just one block down on Southern Boulevard. And of course where ever McDonald's is situated, Buger King is only a few steps away. As fast food empires rule the streets, and small chain supermarkets become a rare find in the south Bronx, Pat Purcell, an organizer for the Grocery Workers’ Union, said the discrepancy is inevitably tied to cost. “Fast food places can afford to pay higher rent than supermarkets,” he said. “So they win over the supermarkets with smaller rent budgets.” [11] [ F I G 0 8 - 1 0 ] FIELD NOTES . KELLY TIERNEY & AMY FINDEISS respectively

[ F I G 1 1 ] F I E L D N OT E S . K E L LY T I E R N E Y next page

[23]





Where you eat matters. Hunts Point is a community saturated in contradiction. Simultaneously silent and loud. Commercial and residential. Connected and lonely. Vibrant and grey. Walking along Hunts Point Avenue, the commercial district pulsates with the energy of community members until you approach the Distribution Market, where you stand on the margins of development. Carlos, Bodega Owner Born in the Dominican Republic, Carlos is a New York resident and the proud owner of a 24-hour bodega

[FIG 13] FIELD NOTES . AMY FINDEISS

on the corner of Hunts Point and Lafayette Avenues. Carlos and the bodega have been neighborhood establishments for the last 30 years. Although he does not live in Hunts Point, he devotes the majority of his time and energy to the business. The challenge? According to the New York City Bodega Owners Survey published by the Bodega Association of the United States, Inc. bodega owners face many challenges. Of the 376 bodega owners who participated in the survey, 61% admitted that their business is in risk of closing now or in the near future. Why? Increased operating costs for small business in NY (including insurance, energy, labor, accounting, advertising, etc) Downturn in economy Unable to compete with larger franchise stores Higher rents & unreasonable lease terms Unable to gain adequate capital to expand or make capital improvements to remain competitive Negative change in quality of life in the community (crime) Unable to make enough profit due to competition from other businesses Increased taxes and fees Immediately upon entering the bodega, customers are tempted by bananas and “tortilla” pastries. Why? “We are Latinos, we like to eat what we eat at home, bananas, tortillas, chips”, says Carlos, and confesses that everything is purchased at Jetro Cash & Carry, a wholesale grocery, foodservice and catering supplier located on 149th Street, while he draws the way raising his hand in the air. Though there is one exception—the empanadas that

[27]

[FIG 12] FIELD NOTES . AMY FINDEISS opposite page


53% EATING ENVIRONMENTS

STATES REQUIRE CHILD CARE FACILITIES TO FOLLOW FEDERAL DIET GUIDELINES WHEN PREPARING MEALS AND SNACKS. [12]

Carlos prepares everyday. These homemade specials are placed proudly in a prominent location on the counter. Why chose Jetro when the Hunts Point Market is just around the corner? Carlos explains that the markets sell mostly fresh food, not what his clients want. Flavio, Herbal Life’s Shop Owner At Lafayette Avenue,

2/3 HOMES

OF ALL TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED BY AMERICANS COME FROM FOODS PREPARED IN THE HOME. [12]

between Faile Street and Bryant Avenue, is Flavio equipped with his Herbal Life products. He is not from the neighborhood but recognized Hunts Point as a lucrative business opportunity for the natural products that changed his life. Why? Because even for a seemingly naïve observer, the obesity epidemic is obvious. Obesity is defined by body mass index (BMI), calculated using an individual’s height and weight. Any adult with a BMI greater

16 SCHOOLS

STATES REQUIRE NUTRITION STANDARDS FOR COMPETITIVE FOODS AND BEVERAGES AT SCHOOL. [12]

than 30 is considered obese. Children’s BMI also incorporates age and gender into the equation. A child with a BMI greater than 95th percentile for age and gender is considered obese. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in 2007, the obesity epidemic is rampant in the South Bronx where nearly:

7

DINNER

STATES, INCLUDING NEW YORK, ARE AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS TO SERVE DINNER IN ADDITION TO SNACKS WHERE MORE THAN 50% OF CHILDREN QUALIFY FOR FREE OR REDUCED PRICED SCHOOL MEALS. [12]

1 in 3 children in Head Start programs 1 in 4 children in public elementary schools 1 in 6 public high school students 1 in 4 adults in the South Bronx is obese. [20] Unfortunately the business endeavor has proven more difficult than Flavio imagined. He is frustrated. “It’s not the money, my products are cheaper than eating pizza or hamburger, it’s that people like unhealthy food,” Flavio professes. “People know that they can go to the doctor and the doctor gives them some medicine and they can still keep eating this food, cause the doctor will take care of them!” Flavio says that the environment doesn’t help. “If everyone around you is obese, you don’t know there is another way of living, and kids follow this pattern too. They learn from their parents eating habits and these bad habits are passed from generation to generation.”

[28]

F O O D F I G H T S . O B J E C T I V E E N V I R O N ME N T


“What shall we have for dinner?”—a seemingly simple question for some individuals in reality is a complicated and divisive negotiation whose answers solidify one’s location in the societal hierarchy. “What shall we have for dinner?” is a recurrent reminder of insecurity-insecurity in food, shelter, income and other basic needs. Indeed the food and food practices that allow one to answer the question, “What should we have for dinner?,” are reflective of and reproduce social relations of power. [09] Beatriz and her friend, Hunts Point Residents Just around the corner from Flavio’s Herbal Life shop, Beatriz works as a care provider for an older gentleman. She is from Ecuador and is trying to lose some weight. Her friend has a small carriage and we ask what is she selling. Shyly she responds, “Tamales.” Everyday she travels to Hunts Point and sells her tamales from 6am until noon. The conversation evolves around food. Why Latinos would rather eat junk food than prepare meals for themselves with the cooking knowledge they carry from their homelands? Beatriz confides in us that she could cook more traditional meals for the man that she cares for everyday. However, he would rather eat hotdogs, pizza, bacon, etc. Beatriz explains that a friend’s mother could not believe her eyes upon her arrival in New York from Honduras. This woman raised her daughter on homemade food. Now, her daughter barely cooks. Her grandchildren’s diet primarily consists of junk food. Soda and chips are the daily afterschool snack purchased at a nearby bodega. “When it’s time for dinner they are already full with chips and soda, and won’t eat healthy food.” Beatriz believes that Hispanic-American individuals, born in the United States and those that immigrated long ago, have grown accustomed to junk food. They have lost the habit of cooking. “Here even eggs are made artificially, they give something to the hen so she can have eggs without the cock. One, two, three eggs. One right after the other one!” exclaims Beatriz, noticeably frustrated. “The incentives don’t help,” adds Beatriz, “People with food stamps and Medicare just do not have any incentive to promote healthy eating habits.”

[29]


[FIG 13] EMERGENT FOOD ECONOMY illustration by amy findeiss

Jose and his friends, Hunts Point Residents and Street Merchants Jose has lived in Hunts Point for 29 years. Upon first glance, it is obvious that Jose has friends all over the neighborhood. We met him on the Hunts Point Avenue where he was talking to his friend, a street merchant selling fruits and vegetables. Jose is an incredibly friendly man and a self-proclaimed good person, who lives a good life. He helps his friends, but has also worked very hard. His wife cooks meals for him. Jose also shares his wife’s cooking with his friends, many of whom are without jobs or illegal immigrants who are denied access to food stamps. He believes himself to be a fortunate man- he loves homemade food and his wife likes to cook. Jose explains that the majority of younger women don’t enjoy preparing and cooking meals. Jose’s friend, a street merchant busy selling fruits and vegetables, describes his home- 5 bedrooms rooms, a living room and kitchen complete with a refrigerator, washing machine and a good space for cooking. He shares his apartment with 2 other couples and 3 single individuals-all related or almost. Each bedroom is equipped with a mini-refrigerator. “So each one can have his private food storage”, says the street merchant. A woman who is like his sister cooks for him and everyone else living in the apartment. [30]

F O O D F I G H T S . O B J E C T I V E E N V I R O N ME N T


Maria, Cuban Food Deli Cook Tempted by the open kitchen and the sign promising “Cuban Sandwich,”we hurried into the deli and ordered. While Maria prepared 2 pork sandwiches, we started chatting about food and cooking in Hunts Point. Men say that woman don’t want to cook. Is this true? Maria smiles and without hesitating explains that there is difference between women her age (around 50 years old) and younger generations born in the 1980s. Maria cooks and enjoys eating homemade food. She knows how to combine the ingredients so that meals are nutritional. However, younger generations don’t want to cook; they would rather order food to be delivered. This is the issue. Consequently kids’ diets consist primarily of pizza and hamburgers. “You can eat pasta with tomato sauce and that is healthy, but if you make mac and cheese that is not healthy anymore. It’s about how you cook, how you combine the ingredients.” Maria knows—her sandwiches are delicious. The long queue of men craving for her food know too.

Beyond demographics—want versus need...and then desire. Food insecurity in Hunts Point is not the result of scarcity. Food insecurity is the result of uneven resource distribution which privileges certain sectors of our societal hierarchy— those living above the poverty line, persons with white skin, those households occupied by a married couple. “Thus if hunger represents a “sign of absolute powerlessness” then this data suggest that persons with disproportionately less power include those marginalized because of social characteristics related to class, race, gender, and the intersections of these social factors. [02]

[31]


IN CONCLUSION

Food is power. And currently the scales of power in our Nation, as illustrated in Hunts Point, are grossly imbalanced. The major obstacle to achieving equality in health status is a belief in its impossibility, based on a deeper belief that progressive social change is impossible. It is not. [10]

MOVING FORWARD

If a successful ethnographic investigation consists of entering an environment with a topic and leaving with a question, then we offer the following: How might we absolve Politic from the role of urban planner? And in doing so, give agency to the community in order for individuals to emerge from the system to construct an environment that addresses their immediate needs with consideration for future desire?


W O R K S C I T Ed

01 Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage, 1992. 02 Counihan, Carole. The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power. New York: Routledge, 1999. 03 New York State Department of Transportation (2006, August 21). Bruckner-Sheridan and Access to Hunts Point Peninsula EIS. Presentation to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, New York, NY. 04 New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2000-2008 Asthma Hospitalization Tables and Figures. Rep. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 05 Fernandez, Manny. "A Fumeless Delivery Truck Plies Hunts Point Streets." New York Times [New York] 02 Oct. 2008. 06 Galtung, J. "Violence, peace and peace research. Journal of Peace Research 6.3, 1969, 167-191. 07 Geertz, C. Thick description: toward an interactive theory of culture. In R.M. Emerson (Ed.), Contemporary field research: perspectives and formulations (2nd ed. pp. 55-77). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press Inc. 08 Mitchell, D. Cultural Geography; A Critical Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2000. 09 Freedman, Darcy. "Politics of Food Access In Food Insecure Communities." Diss. Vanderbilt University, 2008. 10 Hofrichter, R. The Politics of Health Inequities: Contested Terrain. In R. Hofrichter (Ed.), Health and Social Justice: Politics, Ideology, and Inequity in the Distribution of Disease, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 2003, 1-56. 11

Senyei, Kelly Ann. ""Perfect Storm" of Factors Leading to Expanding Waistlines in the South Bronx." 27 Mar. 2009. <kellyannsenyei.com>.

12 Story, Mary, Karen M. Kaphingst, Ramona RobinsonO'Brien, and Karen Glanz. "Creating Healthy Food and Eating Environments: Policy and Environmental Approaches. " Annual Review of Public Health 29.1 (2008): 253-72. 13 French, Simone A., Mary Story, and Robert W. Jeffery. "Environmental Influences On Eating And Physical Activity." Annual Review of Public Health 22.1 (2001): 309-35. 14 "Hunt's Point Neighborhood in Bronx, New York (NY), 10459, 10474 Subdivision Profile - Real Estate, Apartments, Condos, Homes, Community, Population, Jobs, Income, Streets. " City Data. 23 Feb. 2011. 15 "Hunts Point, Bronx." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 23 Feb. 2011. 16 New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. HPD Design Guidelines for New Construction. 1 August 2000. 17 "NYC Zoning - Glossary." New York City Department of City Planning. NYC.gov. 3 April 2011. <http://www. nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/zone/glossary.shtml>. 18

Bloomburg, Michael, Mayor of the City of New York R. Hunts Point Vision Plan. Rep. Hunts Point Task Force, City of New York, Fall 2004.

19 DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Hunts Point Food Distribution Center: Organics Recovery Feasibility Study. Rep. New York: New York City Economic Development Corporation, 2005. 20 New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Obesity in the South Bronx: A Look Across Generations. Rep. New York: Bronx District Public Health Office. 22 "Section 8 Assistance窶年ew York City Housing Authority." New York City Housing Authority. NYC.gov, 2011. <http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/ html/section8/section8.shtml>.

[FIG 13] FIELD NOTES . AMY FINDEISS opposite page

[33]



[35]

INFRaSTRUCTUReS OF pOWeR aaron cansler + benjamin winter



E x p l oring institution a l p ow e r r e l a tionshi p s in H unts Point

Our group was formed with the intention of exploring the roles of various institutional structures in their relationship to food production, distribution, and consumption. Our research focused on both the Hunts Point neighborhood and the regional smallscale food producers that serve it (or could serve it better).

Some initial questions:

What is the reach, limitation, and jurisdictions, of these various power structures? In what way do they interact with each other, e.g. economic development corporations and the city council, etcetera? Where are the infrastructures of power neglecting or jeopardizing the health and wellbeing of individual residents? Where are the conflicts of power?

[37]


meeTINGS aND INTeRVIeWS

We began by looking at the ways in which local governmental structures connected to the community. We attended meetings of the local Bronx Community Board 2 and New York City Economic Development Corporation, and we made connections with members of these influential groups. There were insightful interviews, including one with Community Board 2 Chairperson, Orlando Marin, which gave us a much clearer picture of the formal and informal workings of local hierarchies.

FOOD FIGHTS

INFRASTRUCTURES OF POWER

DESIGN REALITIES of the HUNTS POINT COMMUNITY FOOD ECOSYSTEMS

MARCH

[02] VISUAL INTERVIEW SUMMARY

2011

AARON CANSLER and BEN WINTER

M FA TRA N SDISCIPL IN A RY DESIGN , PA RSON S THE N EW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN

“It’s not“It’s not about money, it’s about money, it’s about community.”

Bronx Community Board 2 Chairperson

about community.”

BRONX COMMUNITY BOARD 2 CHAIRPERSON

“The city gives too much away.” (Referring to subsidies)

“The city gives too much away”

FirstFirst generation Puerto Rican Generation Puerto Rican

Bronx resident/native

“I won’t shop in my own community” “I won’t shop in my own community.”

Bronx Resident/Native Real estate developer

Married with two children

Married with Two Children

TWO HOUR INTERVIEW @ BRUCKNER BAR & GRILL

5 3

1

Bronx 1 History

2

Personal History 2

3

Unhealthy Lifestyles 3

4

City Planning 4

5

Business Improvement District 5

6

Non-Profit Groups 6

7

South Bronx Greenway

6

4

7

[38]

4

6 2 1

1

7

ORLANDO’S DRAWING 2

“Not-for-profits born out of “Not-for-profits born out of political desires.” political desires.” (Hard to collaborate) (hard to collaborate)

Real Estate Developer

ORLANDO’S DRAWING 1

DATA COLLECTED BY

FOOD FIGHTS . INFRaSTRUCTUReS OF pOWeR


[ 0 1 ] C O M A P P I N G V I S UA L I Z AT I O N T O O L

[03] HUNTS POINT VISION PLAN MEETING

[39]


FOOD FIGHTS

INFRASTRUCTURES OF POWER

DESIGN REALITIES of the HUNTS POINT COMMUNI

&

HUNTS POINT RESIDENTS AND THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTER 1 Produce market facilities are inadequate and merchants are being wooed to move to modern facilities outside New York (NJ & PA).

Produce Merchants

M Food Distributor Cooperatives

2 City has serious funding concerns about many of the infrastructure improvements being requested by food center merchants. 3 Hours, location, and wholesale quantities severly limit individual access and use of the Food Distribution Center. 4 Economic and industrial developments can have negative impact on local environment and quality of life (traffic, pollution, etc). 5

Small businesses and grocery vendors don’t have the resources or relationships to command affordable, quality goods at markets.

Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation

6 Non-profits with good ideas have limited influence because they are dependent on funding and approval from the city. 7 Competing influences and interests of community groups inhibit Community Board from making collective decisions (197a plan). 8 Poor public attendance and community representation at full board and committee meetings.

Mem

Committees

DISJUNCTURE

Co

mm un

ity

Bo

ard

9 Community Board members missing discussion of important legislation becuase committee agendas are not available.

9

Executive Officers

10

[04] DESIGN OPPORTUNITY MAP

[40]

FOOD FIGHTS . INFRaSTRUCTUReS OF pOWeR


2011

MARCH

ITY FOOD ECOSYSTEMS

DATA COLLECTED BY

AARON CANSLER and BENJAMIN WINTER

M F A T RA N SD ISC IPL IN A RY D ESIG N , PA RSO N S TH E N EW SC H O O L F O R D ESIG N

1 Fish Merchants

Fish Market

2

Meat Merchants

Meat Market

Food Distribution Center Lease

5

Food Distribution Facilities

Local Economy

Hunts Point Vision Plan

Industry

Business

New York Economic Development Corporation

3

Chamber of Commerce

Real Estate Services Work Force One

4

BEST Academy

Economic Development

6

W

ork

for

ce

De

ve

lop

me

nt

Business Outreach Center

7

k

y

or

Bu

ca te

ps rou tG

rofi

te

ipa

rtic

Pa

Mothers on the Move

vo

2

The Point

n-P No

Hunts Point Resident

Ad

8

Sustainable South Bronx

W

mbers

d#

Produce Market

Community Development

emeRGING INSIGHTS

Additionally, we began to look at the affects of policy on a city, state, and federal level. Attending meetings of the New York City Council Contracts Committee and Food Systems Network NYC helped to contextualize our interests, and began to suggest specific problem areas where a design intervention might prove beneficial.

[41]


ORLANDO MARIN

HANNAH GELLER

Community Board 2 Chairperson

JEANNE HODESH

Greenmarkets Publicity Coordinator

Regional Farmer, Fishkill Farms

JENNIFER SUN

Vice President of Development, NYCEDC

MICHAEL MORRIS

Wholesale Greenmarket Coordinator

[05] INTERVIEW SUBJECTS

[06] NYCEDC PUBLIC HEARING

[42]

FOOD FIGHTS . INFRaSTRUCTUReS OF pOWeR


SIGNalS

One signal that we kept picking up over and over again from a variety of different sources was the issue of food distribution to New York City. There is an abundance of food being produced by small-scale growers, but the process of getting it into the city is problematic. This creates a situation where farmers exist in an uncertain market, New York City's institutional food buyers don’t have enough information to purchase regional food, and low income areas don’t have effective tools to bring in inexpensive and healthy food to their communities.

[07] VISUAL MEETING SUMMARY

INFRASTRUCTURES OF POWER

DESIGN REALITIES of the HUNTS POINT COMMUNITY FOOD ECOSYSTEMS

2011

MARCH

FOOD FIGHTS

DATA COLLECTED BY

AARON CANSLER and BEN WINTER

MFA T RA N S DIS C IPL IN A RY DES IGN , PA RS O N S T H E N EW S C H O O L FO R DES IGN

How might we better aling the interests of Hunts Point and local food producers? Poverty & Demand

“Hunts Point Renovation WILL include a wholesale local farmer’s market!” Distribution contracts as well as direct purchasing contracts must mandate local food procurement.

pm Supportive but want assurances that local food preferencing won’t increase costs and reduce purchasing power of limited funds of Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Legislation should set firm targets not make suggestions about food procurement. Legislation should also include lnaguage about sustainability, not just locality of food sourced by city agencies.

CONTRACTS COMMITTEE

.... .... “Certainty of market is the biggest obstacle for upstate farmers distributing directly to New York City.”

g tin ee M Paula Segal (CUNY Law Review Special Events Editor) “Hydrofracking is as much a threat to New York’s foodshed as to our watershed.”

A local food mandate even as modest as 5% could make all the difference in the world to local food producers

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011 PUBLIC HEARING ON FOOD POLICY LEGISLATION

Int. No. 452: “Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the purchase of New York state food.” Int. No. 461: ”Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing packaging reduction guidelines for contractors with city agencies.” Res. No. 627: “Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend the General Municipal Law to allow New York City to institute procurement preferences for the purchase of food originating within the New York region.” Res. No. 628: “Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Govenor to enact legislation that regulates the amount and type of packaging used to encase goods procured by the State and all localities.”

[43]

rn

ed Ken Jaffe (Upstate Farmer)

Ad jou

Re vie w

Th eG ree nh orn s

La w CU NY

Fo rum

Ba um

So lid W ast e

Ad vis ory

....

....

Bo ard

....

.3:

30 “Mandate distributors supply local food or incentivise upstate famers to deliver direct to the city. We need assistance.”

Br oo kly n

O ffi ’s or ay M

Be ef

ce

of

Christina Grace (Urban Food Systems Manager)

W om en ’s C ity Clu b

on C

ha yC nb tio du c

In tro

Slo pe Fa rm s

len ir D

ar

Hannah Geller (Policy Analyst & Local Famer)

Concerned about cost and reporting requirements of local food mandates. No systems in place and limited resources to report the source of all food purchased for the city.

Am eric an Fa rm lan dT rus t Fo od Ba nk for Ne wY ork Cit NY y SE nv iro nm en tal De fen W se eA Co CT un cil

ly ea eM

:0 ..1 .... .... .... .... .... .... gi ns Be g tin ee M

tra NY ct SD Se rv ep ice art me s nt of Ag r icu Sc ltu ho re ol an Fo dM od Fo ark cu ets s

0p

m

Poverty & Supply


Some further questions:

Who are the small-scale regional food producers, and by what distribution process does their food make its way to New York? What are the barriers, on both sides of spectrum, that prevent healthy regional food from being distributed effectively to individuals and institutions? How might we facilitate this process to the benefit of all parties involved? How might we increase “certainty� in the production, distribution, and consumption chain by connecting groups together?

D E S I G N O PP O R T U N I T Y

While pursuing interventions into the distribution process, we came across a few other organizations and private businesses that were seeking to act upon the same insights that we uncovered. Specifically, proposing alternatives to the current process of individual farmers selling at the retail level in a disorganized fashion. However, all of the proposed alternatives were aimed at groups on the upper end of the economic spectrum, and none sought to address the possibility of connecting regional food producers with low-income communities to the benefit of both.

[44]

FOOD FIGHTS . INFRASTRUCTURES OF POWER



FOOD FIGHTS

INFRASTRUCTURES OF POWER

DESIGN REALITIES of the HUNTS POINT COMMUN

DISTRIBUTION DISJUNCTURES

1

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN:

3

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN:

5

INCONSISTENCY:

Design opportunities in New York City’s regional food distribution system.

2

INCONSISTENCY:

4

PROHIBITIVE EXPENSE:

6

PROHIBITIVE EXP

Local farmers forced to make complex decisions about distribution strategy without enough information.

Local farmers have a fickle relationship with Wholesale Greenmarket and complaints about its infrastructure.

PRODUCTION

Extremely variable needs make it difficult for local farmers to establish relationship with alternative distributors It is costly and time consuming for local farmers to buy gasoline and maintain a delivery vehicle.

Lack of consistent s Greenmarket due to flaws and uncertaint

It is costly for local f highway tolls and pr to park commercial

DISTRIBTUTION

Foreign Farms & Processors

Wholesale Importers & Distributors

Large Corporate Farms

On Site CSA

3

Hunts Fo Distributio

Farm to Chef Distributors

Rural Markets Small Local Farms

2 1

5

Pick Your Own

4

[08] DESIGN OPPORTUNITY MAP

6

DeSIGN OppORTUNITy

After identifying that there was a specific infrastructural and communication gaps between regional small-scale local food producers and the consumers in NYC that they were trying to connect with, we began to narrow our focus to look at ways that we might address these disconnects. We interviewed people on [46]

FOOD FIGHTS . INFRaSTRUCTUReS OF pOWeR

Whol Greenm


APRIL

NITY FOOD ECOSYSTEMS

2011

:

7

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN:

PENSE:

8

INCONSISTENCY:

supply at Wholesale o infrastructural ty about demand.

farmers to pay roblematic for them vehicles in NYC.

Lack of consistent demand at Wholesale Greenmarket due to infrastructural flaws and uncertainty about supply.

AARON CANSLER and BENJAMIN WINTER

MF A TR A NS D I S C I P L I NA R Y D E S I G N, P A R S O NS TH E NE W S C H O O L F O R D E S I G N

9

INFRASTRUCTURAL GAP:

10

INFRASTRUCTURAL GAP:

7

DISTRIBUTION FLOWS

Lack of access, refridgeration, and consistent demand discourages bodegas and delis stocking produce.

CORPORATE

Greenmarkets lack basic services for handling garbage, severe weather, and overnight lodging for local farmers.

WHOLESALE

FOREIGN LOCAL INCONSISTENT

RETAIL

NYC Institutions

NYC Procurement

Super Markets

s Point ood on Center

lesale market

NYC agencies lack the necessary information to track food purchases in order to preference local farmers.

DATA COLLECTED BY

Bodegas & Delis

Jetro

9

8

Restaurants

Retail Greenmarkets

10

both side of the process, including Michael Morris, coordinator of the Hunts Point Wholesale Greenmarket, and Hannah Geller of Fishkill Farms, a small farm in upstate New York.

[47]

New York City Consumers



B I B L IOG R A P H Y

01 Bronx Community Board 2: Demographics. Rep. New York: New York City Department of City Planning, 2006.

01 Bronx Community Board 2. <<http://www.bronxmall.com/commboards/cd2. html>>

02 Christine, Quinn C. et al. Food Works: A Vision to Improve NYC's Food System. Rep. New York: New York City Council, 2011.

02 Five Borough Farm. <<http://www.designtrust.org/ projects/project_09farm.html>>

03 Fickenscher, Lisa. "Food Fight at Hunts Point Market." Crain's New York Business [New York] 1 Aug. 2010, Small Business sec. <<http://www. crainsnewyork.com/article/20100801/SMALLBIZ/308019963>>

03 GrowNYC. <<http://www.grownyc.org/>>

04 Hirsch, Joe. "New Market Sells Produce to Public Wholesale." The Hunts Point Express [New York] 30 Sept. 2009. <<http://brie.hunter.cuny.edu/ hpe/?p=2170>> 05 Hirsch, Joe. "Aspiring Businesswomen Get a Head Start." The Hunts Point Express [New York] 12 Jan. 2011. <<http://brie.hunter. cuny.edu/hpe/?p=5337>>

04 Hunts Point Economic Development Corpertation. << http://www.hpedc.org/index.php>> 05 Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Alliance Incorperated.. << http://www.terminalmarkets.com/huntspoint. htm>> 06 New York City Coalition Against Hunger. << http://nyccoalitionagainsthunger.wordpress. com/>

06 Holloway, Marguerite. "The Green Power Broker." The New York Times [New York] 12 Dec. 2008, The City sec. << http://www.nytimes. com/2008/12/14/nyregion/thecity/14majo.html?pagewanted=>> 07 NYC Organizational Chart. NYC.Gov, 2008 <<http://www.nyc.gov/html/ om/html/orgchart/org_chart.html>>

07 New York City Council. <<http://council.nyc.gov/html/home/home.shtml>> 08 New York City Department of City Planning. <<http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/home.html>>

08 Oros, John. "Landmark Building Becomes Job Hub." The Hunts Point Express 23 Dec. 2010. << http://brie.hunter.cuny.edu/hpe/?p=5101>> 09 Radivojevic, Iva. "Will Green Carts Survive?" The Hunts Point Express [New York] 9 Nov. 2010. << http://brie.hunter.cuny.edu/hpe/?p=4710>>

09 New York City Department of Education: School Food. <<http://www.opt-osfns.org/osfns/>>

10 Severson, Kim. "School Food Chief Is Out." New York Times [New York] 14 Jan. 2009, Diner's Journal ed., Dining & Wine sec. << http:// dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/school-food-chief-is-out/>>

NYC.gov. << http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/?front_ door=true>>

11 Smerd, Jeremy. "Push for Local Food Thickens Plot at Hunts Point." Crain's New York Business [New York] 22 Nov. 2010, Small Business sec. << http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101122/SMALLBIZ/101129972>>

10 New York City Economic Development Corporation. <<http://www.nycedc.com/Pages/HomePage. aspx>>

12 Verhovek, Sam H. "After Year as Cooperative, Hunts Point Assesses Gains." The New York Times [New York] 16 Nov. 1986, Archives sec. << http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/16/nyregion/after-year-as-cooperativehunts-point-assesses-gains.html>>

[49]

11 The Point Community Development Corperation. <<http://www.thepoint.org/index.php>>


[50]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


[51]

NeTWORKS OF HealTH francis carter, minh-nguyet le + jayson rupert


[52]

F O O D F I G H T S . N E T W O R K S O F H EAL T H


S ocioeconomic status underlies three major determinants of health : health care , environmental e x posure , and health behavior .

Reimagining the Hunts Point food systems requires a closer look at the Networks of Health and the totality of how this system serves and functions within the community. The rates of obesity, diabetes, and asthma for residents living in Hunts Point are alarmingly high. Additional health concerns specific to the Hunts Point Community are the statistics for HIV/

H U N TS P O I N T T I R E R E PA I R S H O P WO R K E R

Aids, alcohol and drug dependency, depression, access to prenatal care, and lack of insurance. (New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2006) What became clear is that our research required a deeper look into the myriad of social, cultural, economic issues that underpin each of these public health issues. Looking at the urban ecosystem of health, we looked broadly across systems of policy, education, behavior, environmental factors, and issues of accessibility.

One's income, their environment, social class, citizenship, education, family and friends – are major determinants of health. While complex and interrelated, we began to identify factors that might support, mitigate, or inadvertently create barriers to health. While we found countless organizations that were supporting the community’s health, we also found countless system inefficiencies and mechanisms of ‘negative reinforcing loops’ that seem to lock individuals into a tireless cycle of hardship and poor health. Many of these negative loops can be attributed to industrial gain and ineffective policies and programs that are seemingly at odds with one another. It is no wonder that people choose to ‘opt-out’ of that system. In order to understand those system ‘disjunctures,’ we realized we would need to shift our thinking toward the individual needs of the community members.

[53]


b e hind th e st a tistics .

The complex and interweaving relationships between health, socio-economic status, and the environment are all contributing factors that effect one’s decisions about food, nutrition, and exercise. We began by identifying all the instrumental factors that might support, mitigate, or provide barriers to healthy food options in the Hunts Point community. We began by casting our net wide, looking at levels of influence on the relationship between food and health - from the federal level (SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.), city based initiatives (Health Bucks, Greenmarkets, etc.), to the various community based organizations operating in South Bronx (The Point, business incubators, etc). Through collaborative discussions, we began drawing connections between these related areas, allowing us to aggregate the broad areas into four major groupings or ‘lenses’ that would serve as a framework to expand upon: 1.) Lifestyle/Behavior, 2.) Access, 3.)Prevention/ Treatment, and 4.) and Policy. Through these four lenses, we generated a list of specific research questions that were formulated around these system ‘disjunctures’ that underpin our area of study. We also collected prior studies, reports, case studies, and best practices to build upon. k e y insights

The socio-economic status of an individual is the main contributor to the choices, limitations, and barriers to health, nutrition, and wellness. This is potentially exacerbated by cultural and language barriers. With the highest unemployment rate in NYC among the population aged 16 and over, the community members rank unemployment as their highest community concern. Other key findings included: 1] Malnutrition is increasingly associated with ‘empty calories’ chemically processed foods with high sugar and fat content that are cheaper due to agricultural subsidies and mass production. Corporate advertising further reinforces ‘fast food’ consumption behavior. 2] Many Hunts Point residents are suffering from nutrient shortages, even when their daily caloric needs are met or exceeded. (Birn et al. p.315) 3] We assumed there was an ‘invisible’ population or ‘outliers’ of the statistical data that are unaccounted for and trapped in high risk situations outside the legal systems and programs. [54]

F O O D F I G H T S . N E T W O R K S O F H EAL T H


4] People make decisions on how they live their lives based on their social context. When low quality housing conditions and neighborhood stores, high prices, and difficult work shifts all become obstacles to nutritious meal preparation, people tend to have worse diets ( Birn et al. p. 347). 5] In the Hunts Point environment, there are few outlets for stress relief, therefore thenumber of people abusing alcohol, food, and drugs is likely higher than the city-wide average. These abuses are the coping mechanisms people become dependant on in order to deal with difficult circumstances. (Wilkinson 61). 6] Convenience foods are heavily advertised in the Hunts Point community, making it hard to resist the temptation of prioritizing ease over health. Compounding this, long work hours, expensive child care, and parks that are in either poor shape, unsafe, or don’t exist, all inhibit regular exercise. (Raphael p.660) th e s y st e M H A S F A I LE D .

We then identified key ‘agents’ to approach with our questions and speculations. We shifted our focus towards the Hunts Point community and expanded our ‘lenses’ into ‘assemblages’ that include: 1) Education, 2) Lifestyle/Behavior, 3) Access 4) Support, and 5) Funding. We were specifically interested in addressing potentialities that could exist in the Hunts Point marketplace that might activate community partnerships while exploring ideas mechanisms that could leverage communitybased projects.

Of utmost importance was to provide future pathways, and employment for the Hunts Point community so that projects could be implemented for and by the community residents. We then began reframing our research questions around these areas of potentiality in order to better understand the individual experiences that affect health and education disparity, and the various socio-cultural and economic barriers that influence the daily life of the Hunts Point resident.

[55]


NETWORKS OF HEALTH M A P P I N G T O O L : RE LATIONA L ASP ECTS OF KEY STA KE H OL D E RS AND ORGA NIZATIONS. Key INSIGHTS

Through interviews with experts in private practice and public health, we determined it would be a tremendous challenge to bring together various local and state agencies of government. Directing our focus towards the individuals in the community and their behaviors would likely be a more effective attempt to propose change on such a limited time frame (Holloway, Parkinson).

Community and empowering the individual became the central to our visual diagram. 1] A recent study shows that education and exposure to healthier food and food sources does help. (Meeghan et al, p.468) Health & nutrition pedagogy and outreach as a critical piece to research further for best practices. 2] ‘Bottom-up’ local movements like the Sustainable South Bronx, and after schoolprograms are critical in community building and empowerment. 3] The environment shapes the health and lifestyle of its inhabitants which reinforces the current health trends for the community. [56]

FOOD FIGHTS . NeTWORKS OF HealTH


4] A large percentage of the population is not applying to federal aid programs that are in place to help. 5] Bodega owners stock what the shoppers want. Shoppers want cheap, food that tastes good and satisfies. This develops into a negative reinforcing loop of poor nutritional habits within the community. SCeNaRIO bUIlDING: UNDERSTANDING DAILY LIFE

In order to bring us closer to the daily life of the Hunts Point resident, we developed a scenario building tool that would help us imagine new situations within the Hunts Point community. The intent was to create a generative tool that would help assess a new idea. It would help to evaluate our research insights, and generate further ideas and questions.

We developed personas for imaginary residents with distinct relationships and characteristics. Through the act of mapping a journey and their various interaction points within the community, the team can envision a possible future, and discuss interventions with a visual language. We also juxtaposed ‘five levels of influence’ on health related behaviors (taken from the public health model), as a means for assessing a specific idea, and visualizing it. We believe it will help our team to explore various interventions and ideas through common interests and variables. The variables of the scenario (time, place, or persona) can be interchanged and tested against different hypotheses, and then assessed through specific criteria such as the public health criteria listed above, or even another set of criteria.

[57]


mOVING FORWaRD

Further input from residents and experts within the community will greatly improve further iterations of this tool. Through role playing and scenario planning, we are hoping to recontextualize our ideas towards actionable forms, whether they are sustainable action plans, initiatives, programs, or even simple health behavior choices at an individual level. WoRKS CitEd

01

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Community Health Profiles, Hunts Point and Motthaven, 2006

02 Birn, Anne-Emanuelle, Yogan Pillay, Timothy H. Holtz. Textbook of International Health: Global Health in a Dynamic World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009 03 Meehan, Maggie , Yeh, Ming-Chin and Spark, Arlene, 'Impact of Exposure to Local Food Sources and Food Preparation Skills on Nutritional Attitudes and Food Choices Among Urban Minority Youth', Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 3: 4, 456 — 471, 2008 04 Wilkinson, Richard. Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality. New York: Routledge, 1996. 05 Raphael, D. Social determinants of health: Present status, unanswered questions, and future directions. International Journal of Health Services 36(4): 651-677. Schneider, Mary-Jane. Introduction to Public Health. Sudbury: APHA Press, 2011 iNtERViEWS

06 Holloway, Kasey. Personal Interview. March 4. 2011. 07 Nelson, Zena. Personal Interview April 2, 2011. 08 Parkinson, Jay, MD. MPH. Personal Interview. March 3. 2011

[58]

FOOD FIGHTS . NeTWORKS OF HealTH


[59]


[60]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


[61]

pSyCHOGeOGRapHy and DaIly lIFe howard chambers, elie kahwagi, amanda lasnik, rachel lehrer + grace tuttle


[01] Saturday afternoon Bryant street


P sychogeography is the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment , consciously organized or not , on the emotions and behavior of individuals . Guy Debord Ps y chog e ogr a p h y a nd Ev e r y d a y Lif e

Intrigued with the notion of how the physical environment affects sense of self, and is therefore expressed back onto the environment, the five of us formed a group focusing on “Psychogeography and Everyday Life.� We were drawn to the topic because of its lack of clear definitions, which allowed us to philosophically and creatively consider the issue of food access in Hunts Point. We began the exploration of our topic, Psychogeography and Everyday Life, with only a general understanding. Initially drawn to the topic by the variety of options, we were able to think creatively and exploratory about the notion of access to healthy food in Hunts Point. Our initial questions consisted of: 1- What makes Hunts Point different from other large, poor, urban neighborhoods? 2- Is there something distinct that we could locate in the environment, in the daily habits of its residents, or in how the residents thought about their environment and daily habits that will illuminate the relationships between the neighborhood, food insecurity, and obesity? It quickly became apparent that to begin to answer these questions we would need intense and dedicated fieldwork. While doing a full ethnography was not possible in the limited time we had, we began to combine sight visits, interviews with residents, and other first hand research.

[63]


On our first outing into Hunts Point, we were struck by the physical environment of the area. Hunts Point must sustain many side effects associated with the infrastructure of food distribution resulting from the location of the Hunts Point Market at the very South East end of the neighborhood. But the issue is much larger than the inconvenience of the market’s location. The by-product of the market being large enough to feed 80% of New York City is the existence of wide roads that service the immense trucks that pass through the neighborhood day and night. These trucks, of course, bring more than just wide roads, but also pollution, noise, traffic and a general sense of anxiety for pedestrians. There is an overall sense of bleakness throughout the community. It is important to note that we made our first visit in January, when it was cold and barren. This may have added to the starkness of the neighborhood, both residential and heavily industrial. But not everything is industrial and grey in Hunts Point. The neighborhood boasts stunning views of Manhattan, especially from the new park by the water. However, while the city is not geographically very far, there is a sense that Hunts Point is worlds apart from Manhattan.

[64]

F O O D F I G H T S . P S Y C H O G E O G R AP H Y A N D D A I LY L I F E


[02] The Bruckner Expressway


[03] DOCUMENTING INTANGIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE

Neighborhood Watch WESTCHESTER + KELLY

i wish this was...

SAFETY FACTOR

Neighborhood Watch FOOD DRIVE

i wish this was...

SAFETY FACTOR

Neighborhood Watch RODGERS PLACE + WESTCHESTER

i wish this was...

SAFETY FACTOR

[66]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


Bound a ri e s

Keying off this sentiment, our group explored the notion of boundaries and permeability. We sought to critically explore how we could begin to understand what it was like to live in Hunts Point. We came to the theory that, in a way, Hunts Point functions as an island, invaded daily by the trucks needed to cart in and out Manhattan’s provisions. What acts as a service to Manhattan, functions as a boundary in Hunts Point. These roads do not connect Hunts Point residents with the rest of the city as much as they divide the lived space of the area. Roads, ideally meant to bring things together, function as walls, isolating residents. Residents in the nation's poorest congressional district, receive little from the market other than a great burden.

[04] walls and fencing AT the Spofford Detention Center + Obstructed sidewalk

[67]


[05] DIAGRAM OF SENSORY INPUTS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF IMPACTFUL COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE

[68]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


SeNSeS

Our interest in understanding the physical environment from a Hunts Point resident’s point of view meant defining a filter through which to process this information. Initially we felt that the senses — sight, smell, and sound — would give us clarity in processing this information. Senses, while not objective, are informed by the way we think about them. They are constructed thought scientific as well as physiological structures. The aggregation of the senses was our connection between the physical environment and the perceived environment. We began examining what these sensory outputs could tell us about the psychological effects of the environment through research in scientific journals and articles about how the environment and the senses inform and control self worth. Our research led to fascinating links between depression and noise pollution; broken windows theory and behavioral phenomena, and how smells, both appetizing and putrid, can affect eating habits.

PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION

EMOTIONAL MANIFESTATION

EMBODIMENT

PARKS. SCHOOLS. BODEGAS. CHURCHES.

CREATION OF THIRD SPACE

SENSE OF COMMUNITY. CALM. ESCAPE. HOPE.

NOISE

SLEEPLESSNESS. ADD. HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. LOW SELF-ESTEEM. STRESS. HEADACHES

BAD SMELL AND AIR POLLUTION

MEMORY DISRUPTIONS NAUSEA. INTOXICATION

BOUNDARIES

ENTRAPMENT DANGER. FEAR ISOLATION

PLANES TRUCKS WASTE HEAVY TRAFFIC ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE FENCING/WALLS FRISKING SIGNAGE

[69]

ACTION

CRIME GANGS LITTERING VANDALISM


Physical environment

SIGHT

SMELL

SOUND

Senses Scientific/ Psychological data

Philosophy

Perceived environment Self-worth Industries Interviews

Crime

Daily routines

Police

Roads Boundaries

Consumption

Demographics

THIRD SPACE

HOME

Daily life Research

[70]

Lenses

Agent

Product

F O O D F I G H T S . P S Y C H O G E O G R AP H Y A N D D A I LY L I F E


P e rc e iv e d Environ m e nt

Our professors advised that we needed theoretical underpinnings for our research into the senses and daily life. Henri Lefebvre’s The Production of Space (1974) yielded tremendous structured insight into social space. Using his ontological triad on the three notions of social space, we were able to begin to parse apart the intertwining worlds of perceived, conceived, and lived space, helping identify areas that may be structurally weak, or easily changeable. This gave us a motivational push to understand the notions of space, the body, and agency in Hunts Point. Representational Practice —LIVED

Representation of Space —CONCEIVED

[06] Opposite page: Map of research process

[07] This page: Layers of physical space from

Social Practice —PERCEIVED

an experience perspective

[71]


A

HUNTS POINT COMMUNITY FOOD ECOSYSTEMS

TITLE: LAYERS OF INFLUENCE

2011

M F A T R A N S D I S C I P L I N A R Y D ES I G N , P A R S O N S T H E N EW S C H O O L F O R D E S I G N

PL E A SA NT

FOOD FIGHTS

LOCAL MONASTERY

CHARTER SCHOOL

AFTERSCHOOL CLUB

NEW PLAYGROUND

BARBED WIRE CHURCH

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

GROCERY STORE

GRAY INFRASTURCTURE

SUBSIDIZED HOUSING

AUTO REPAIR

EMPTY LOT

AUTO REPAIR

LOCAL RECYCLERS

CONSTUCTION

LOCAL RECYCLERS

CONSTUCTION

SCHOOL

OPEN SKY AND LAGUARDIA TRAFFIC

FENCES

LOCAL MONESTARY

LOCAL MONESTARY

AFTERSCHOOL CLUB

AFTERSCHOOL CLUB

INSPIRATIONAL MURAL

BARBED WIRE CHURCH

WIDE ROADS

BODEGA

LIQUOR STORE + SCHOOL

BACK LOT

SHOES FROM WIRE

I R R I TATE D

EMPTY LOT

CHARTER SCHOOL MURALS

AUTO REPAIR

LOCAL RECYCLERS

EMPTY LOT

[08] REPRESENTATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD SPACES THROUGH A COLORED SPECTRUM, TRASH PILE

TRASH PILE

TRASH PILE

[72]

TRASH PILE

TRASH PILE

REPRESENTING IRRITATING TO PLEASANT STIMULI

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


pOlICe FRISKING

Through attending community board meetings and speaking with residents in Hunts Point we learned of the pervasive influence Operation Impact is having on a subset of the community. Operation Impact was instituted by the NYPD in 2003 to increase police presence in criminal hot spots in NYC. Through our conversations with a community board member and residents we began to make correlations between increased police presence and spatial and behavioral impediments caused by the perceived or actual harassment experienced by residents. In large part, the complaints seemed to stem from the perception that the police lacked awareness and respect for the community. In fact, two-thirds of the police officers enforcing Operation Impact and patrolling neighborhoods are out of the newly graduated police class. Unfortunately, resident complaints and reporting done by local news sources report that the unintended consequences of Operation Impact is the harassment experienced by the community. The New York Times reports that 8,038 people were stopped in the 41st

[09] DIAGRAM OF HENRI LEFEBVRE'S

Precinct, Hunts Point in 2009. 59% of those stopped were frisked

TRIAD OF SOCIAL SPACE FROM HIS

and in 38% of those instances force was used and yet, only 4%

BOOK PRODUCTION OF SPACE

of those people were arrested. We are very concerned that the

Sensory organs

community has no recourse against being harassed by police officers despite only 4% of those stopped being involved in illegal activity.

TRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL DUALISM DUALISM

Hands PERCEIVED GesturesSocial practice uses the body SPACE

Spacial practice Spacial practice

Natural space Physical space Natural space Physical space SOCIAL SPACE SOCIAL SPACE

Mental space Mental space

THREE MOMENTS OF SOCIAL THREE SPACE MOMENTS OF SOCIAL SPACE

Hands

Sensory Gestures organs

Representations of space Representations Le of spaceCorbusier

PERCEIVED SPACE

Social practice uses the body

CONCEIVED SPACE

Representations of the body Representations of the body

CONCEIVED SPACE

Le Corbusier

Representational spaces Frank Representational Llyod spaces Wright Frank Llyod Wright

LIVED SPACE LIVED SPACE

Bodily lived experience Bodily lived experience

TIME

MODERN

THE PRESENT

Absolute Space

Abstract Space

Differential Space

Absolute Space

Abstract Space

Differential Space

TIME

MODERN

[73]

THE PRESENT


[10] Textural and colorful areas of the community that enliven the infrastructure

[74]

F O O D F I G H T S . P S Y C H O G E O G R AP H Y A N D D A I LY L I F E


D a i l y Lif e

Using the senses as a filter through which to examine the perceived environment we began to form hypotheses on how daily life in Hunts Point functioned in relation to self worth. In an effort to connect sense of self with food consumption we developed a series of talking points that would aid us in gathering perspective from the community themselves. The underlining question for the talking points is to get at the heart of how the emotional life of the residents impact the food choices they made. We were particularly interested in the notion of third spaces – not home, or work, but a third space where people connect – and how these spaces have an impact on what type of food is consumed. With fast food chains and mom-andpop-shops serving similar meals, we questioned the options available to residents. Various constraints with the project began to illuminate the reality that we were not going to be able to conduct many interviews or gain access to the inner lives of Hunts Point residents. Due to the deterioration of the partnership that had initially introduced us to the neighborhood, we were left without an intermediary. However, we were able to glean insightful knowledge from a few interviews, the most fruitful was a conversation in a nail salon. Adjusting our tactics to rely less on informants, we recognized that there was a distinct design opportunity to make cultural probes. These probes or information gathering frameworks could be implemented or exist on a theoretical level. Due to time constraints, the probes would serve more as interventions into existing psychological infrastructure, rather than function as information gathering tools.

[75]


[11] OBJECTIVE ENVIRONMENT IN QUESTION

01 SU B S ID I Z ED R ESI 01 D SUB ENSI TID AL IZB ED UI R LD ESIDE IN G N T IA L BU ILDIN G 02 CH U RC H

02 C H UR C H

03 M U R A LS

03 MUR ALS

04 SNEAKER S ON 04 A WSN I REAKER E S ON A W IRE 05 SCH O O L/ SC H OO 05 LSC PH LAY OOGL/ R SC OUN H OO D L PLA YG RO U N D 06 WIDE STR EET/ I06 N DWUSTR I D E STR I AL EET/ TR AFI NDU FIC ST RIA L T RA FFIC 07 EMPTY LOTS

07 EMP TY LOTS

08 B ODEG A

08 B O D EG A

How doesHow noisedoes noise contributecontribute to your to your state of mind? state of mind?

09 SU PE R MAR KET09 SUP ER MAR KET 10 AIR P LAN ES

How do subsidies How do subsidies limit agency?limit agency?

10 AI R P LAN ES

11 CONSTR UC TI O 11 N C ON STR UC TI ON 12 TR AS H

12 TR ASH

13 POLIC E

1 3 P OLI C E

D o

How does convenience How does convenience affect consumption? affect consumption?

How do wide How streets do wide streets create boundaries? create boundaries?

Why aren’t Whythe aren’t the playgrounds playgrounds being used? being used?

How does How does construction construction work work create boundaries? create boundaries?

[76]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


Do police provide safety or act as a boundary?

How does the path to and from school affect children’s well being?

How safe does it feel? And how does time of day affect level of safety?

What role does the church play in the community?

How does trash affect your emotional state?

What message are the murals communicating?

[77]


F IE LDW ORK CASE Kim, a Hunts Point resident, section 8 recipient, and mother of two sons, spoke freely about her fear of the environment outside

conc l usion

her home. She described her equal

The flexibility of our research process allowed us to

fear of police officers and gang

simultaneously investigate subjects on dramatically different

members and spoke of both groups

scales and continuously incorporate new information.

limiting her access and mobility

Our flexibility as a team was a major asset and created an

to move freely outside her home.

environment where central insights were informed by disparate

She also spoke about rampant

networks of information. We began a subjective investigation

body modification amongst women

of boundaries in the environment, which was reinforced months

in the neighborhood, cooking

later by our ethnographic research into policing practices. Our

three meals a day from home

ability to cogently incorporate police policy into our research

and her excitement over moving

was only due to our inquiry into urban theory. Our flexibility

to a new Section 8 apartment

also allowed us to synchronously consider the past, present

with a backyard and a driveway

and future states of Hunts Point. In considering the future of

where she could have BBQs. Kim

Hunts Point, the term ‘third space,’ which we were introduced

really reinforced our interest in

to through our theoretical readings, became a reoccurring

intangible boundaries.

framework made only more potent by the construction of the Greenway, a major infrastructural development in Hunts Point. Walking around Hunts Point again, three months after our first visit, the snow has melted and the city has begun planting the trees that will make up the Greenway. However, while the space might appear more verdant, little else has changed. As a team made up of individuals, we are each committed to proposing interventions that deal with the third space of the sidewalk but that also seek to dig deeper than the concrete.

[78]

F O O D F I G H T S . P S Y C H O G E O G R AP H Y A N D D A I LY L I F E


[79]


Bibliography - Psychogeography and Daily Life -

Books 01 Kozol, Jonathan. Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. 02 Kozol, Jonathan. Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope. New York: Harper Collins, 2000. 03 LeBlanc, Adrian. Random Family: Love Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx. New York: Scribner, 2002. 04 Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1991.

Articles/Reports 01 Coates, Peter A. “The Strange Stillness of the Past: Toward and Environmental History of Sound and Noise,” Environmental History, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 636-665. 02 Johansen, Thomas K. “Aristotle on the Sense of Smell,” Phronesis, Vol. 41, No. 1 (1996), pp. 1-19. 03 Low, Kelvin E. Y. “Presenting the Self, the Social Body, and the Olfactory: Managing Smells in Everyday Life Experiences,” Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Winter, 2006), pp. 607-631. 04 Plessas, Demetrius J. “Airport Noise: Some Analytic and Policy Perspectives,” Land Economics, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Feb., 1973), pp. 14-21. 05 Schell, Lawrence M, and Denham, Melinda. “Environmental Pollution in Urban Environments and Human Biology,” Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 23 (2003), pp. 111-134. 06 Simonsen, Kiersten. “Bodies, Sensations, Space and Time: The Contribution from Henri Lefebvre,” Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, Vol. 87, No. 1 (2005), pp. 1-14. 07 Stent, Gunther S. “Epistemic Dualism of Mind and Body,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 142, No. 4 (Dec., 1998), pp. 578-58. 08 Waskul, Dennis D., and Vannini, Phillip. “Smell, Odor, and Somatic Work: Sense-Making and Sensory Management,” Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 71, No. 1 (Mar., 2008), p. 53-71. 09 http://www.human.cornell.edu/hd/outreach-extension/loader. cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=47467 10 http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/studies/report-13449.html 11 http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/68/1/243.full 12 http://cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn/news/report/2004/Urban/view/31.pdf 13 http://hungerreport.org/2010/stories/report/on-the-margins-in-urban-america

[80]

F O O D F I G H T S . P S Y C H O G E O G R AP H Y A N D D A I LY L I F E


14 http://www.ssbx.org/pdf/Warnke%20Community%20Consulting.pdf 15 http://www.nyu.edu/steinhardt/iesp/cip/MOM.pdf 16 http://faculty.fordham.edu/kpking/classes/uege5102-pres-and-newmedia/ Jonathan-Kozol-Amazing-Grace-Presentation-M-Costantino.pdf

Websites http://blogs.childrensaidsociety.org/childrensaid/ http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/fresh/index.shtml http://www.foodsystemsnyc.org/taxonomy/term/137 http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Libraries/Initiative_Docs/2011_Economic Security.sflb.ashx http://www.cnntwist.com/hunts-point-hunts-point-hookershookersatthepointhalf-and-half/ http://www.nypress.com/article-12205-hunts-point-hustle.html http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2010/11/11/2010-11-11_drug_bust_ drains_hunts_point_of_32_in_satans_bloods_gang.html http://brooklynfoodcoalition.ning.com/page/foodworks-a-vision-to-improve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-categorization_theory http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Interpersonal%20 Communication%20and%20Relations/Social_Identity_Theory.doc/ http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=9976 https://eric.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10036/116130 http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-City-Food-Shapes-Lives/dp/0099531682 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A15FD395417738DDDAA0 894DF405B808DF1D3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd8jAWeVTXA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IRUhp4N00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmOXNRJq1f8 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_n10_v59/ai_17598379/pg_4/ http://www.amazon.com/One-Nation-Standard-Ex-Liberal-Hispanics/dp/ B000VYM1WK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297664433&sr=8-1

[81]



[83]

FOOD SySTemS aabhira aditya, jacqueline cooksey, steven j. dale, bland hoke, mai kobori + eulani labay



F OR F A R TOO L ON G, WE'V E IGNORE D A GROW ING C R ISIS IN OUR C ITY A N D A C ROSS TH E NATION. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quin

Food systems are complex, interconnected and widespread networks of individuals, organizations, and consumables. In researching the urban food ecosystem in Hunts Point, the Food Systems group sought to understand three segments of the system: the influences public and private organizations have on food distribution, large aid organizations’ influence on the distribution of food to low income populations, and the infrastructure of food. The team used various research methods including literary research, data visualisation, fieldwork, interviews, and observations.


nE oF FtEn RiCiPAntS to Y

PREGnAnCY mothER moth ER on onLY LY

“PRE-n “PREnAtAL”

t tREEt, oR /1/11

“miD CERti CER tiF FiCA CAt tE ”

nt t: ntAC

i YR

mothER moth ER Who Who iS BREASt BREASt FEED FEEDin inG G An AnD Chi ChiLD LD

1.5 YRS

“Chi hiLD LD””

ConSUmPtion

FOOD SYSTEMS

65% Women’s Centre referrals 10–15% come from other WiC programs.

teStIng re teS reQUI QUIred red eVery three month monthS S

A Ation AnD oRiES

FOOD SYSTEM?

APPointmEnt With WiC

6 monthS

3 month WoRK iS PERSon hiLD.

onS

FinD oUt Yo Y U’RE PREGnAnt

2 YRS

2.5 YRS

2010 made apply for ch chIIld benefIItS ea benef eaSI SIer er.. the S Sy yStem can no noW W be oVerr errIIdden dden,, alloWI allo WIng ng mo moS St ch chIIldren to part partIIcIpate pate..

1. Why every three months? 2. Is the blood work relevant anymore since the restrictions of needing to be at a health risk has been lifted by the govt?

mothER’ ER ER’S FooD PACKAGE

“FULLY” BREASt FEEDinG? Eligible and receives the most in “mothers” food package

3 YRS

3.5 YRS

4 YRS

4.5 YRS

“moStLY” BREASt FEEDinG? Eligible but receives less in the food package

“SomEtimES” BREASt FEEDinG? illegible

5 YRS


the major majorIIty of pregnant Women mISS m ISS o oU U t on the n U tr trII ent entS S choo chooSI SIng ng to WaIt Unt ntIIl the baby IS born and opt ptIIng for formU formUla oVer brea breaS St feed feedIIng ng..

1. What % do not return 2. What was the reason for not staying with the program? 3. What benefits have been missed participant? G O V e R N m e N Tfrom a S S Inot S T abeing N C e pa RO GRamS 4. What were the motivations for applying Nutrition Food access programs include SNAP (Supplemental for WIc WIc once the baby was born? Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps) 5. What % that come into the pre-natal designed to stage provide households with electronic are low-income online applicants? benefits they can use at most grocery stores; and WIC (Women, infants, children), which provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. [01] JACQUELINE COOKSEY WIC SYSTEM

Who ARE Yo Y U APPLYinG FoR? (can be both)

ChiLD’S FooD PACKAGE

adUlt Who Who can apply of behalf of chI chIld: mother otherS S, fatherS, foSter randparentS S, parentS, grandparent adopt doptIV IVe e parentS parentS etc

Eligible and contains the largest food package If a mother IS breaS breaSt feedI feedIng then She She can apply for herS her Self and for her ch chIIld. tWo appl applIIcat catIIon onS S re reQUI QUIred red

Foo ooD D ALLo ALLoCA CAtion tion PACK

Foo ooD D ALLo ALLoCA CAtion tion PACK

Foo ooD D ALLo ALLoCA CAtion tion PACK


DID YOU KNOW Mom goes to bed after cleaning at midnight. Mom cooks dinner, puts children to bed.

APPLICATION FOR SNAP BENEFITS

2. Apply online, by fax, email or in person at local office 1. Individual or families apply for SNAP

4. Screening

6. Orientation

5. Eligibility interview (two in separate locations, fingerprints required during first)

3. Apply online, by fax, email or in person at local office

8. Eligibility determination

7. Work registration

KEY

APPLICATION FOR DAY CARE BENEFITS

INDIVIDUAL APPLICATION PROCESS

3. On site visit to ensure good fit

CONSUMPTION

FOOD SYSTEMS

4. Apply

6. Receive vouchers in mail

KIDS GO TO DAY CARE

APPT. WITH WIC OFFICE

5. Receive benefits 4. Waiting list

Mom takes lunch break and commutes to WIC local office

RETAILER’S APPLICATION SNAP PROCESS

1. Receive application at start of school year

3. Eligibility determination sent in the mail

2. Apply online, separate applications for each school

1. Get a USDA Account

DROP KIDS OFF AT SCHOOL

5. Free breakfast

New York City afterschool participation exceeds the national average, more than one in five children are unsupervised during the afternoons.

Congress authorises a specific amount of funds available and therefore it is not funded on an individual basis. If the allocated funds are met, then following applicants go on a waiting list.

FACT TWO

Home visits and a overly rigorous verification process can be disconcerting for families who are reminded of procedures with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

6. 6–12 months eligibility ends FACT ONE

65% of teachers indicate that children regularly come to school hungry due to not getting enough food at home.

STAFF & FOOD

FACT TWO

Teachers believe only half of their students who qualify are enrolled in free and reduced price breakfasts. However, there is a lot of stigma attached to the program. Although the enrolment process is relatively easy, due to logistics of transportation, lack of awareness, and students failing to show up to eat breakfast on time, the program still struggles.

FACT ONE

Staff will have to be trained on what goods can be sold. Strict rules apply.

3. Complete Your Application

FACT TWO

FACT ONE

Juice (single strength), milk, breakfast cereal, cheese, egg, fruit and vegetables, whole wheat bread, fish (canned), legumes dry OR canned OR peanut butter.

Mom commutes to work by train Almost 1.5 hr

APPLYING FOR SCHOOL MEALS

Findings suggest the primary reasons people who are eligible for the program don’t apply is because of the complex bureaucracy. Frustration and humiliation are often critical factors.

FACT ONE

ALLOCATED FOOD

1. Contact your state or local agency to set up an appointment

FACTS AND INFORMATION

WHAT ARE THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS WITHIN THE FOOD SYSTEM?

5. Get accepted

2. Bring required documents to appointment

APPLICATION FOR WIC BENEFITS

TIMELINE OF SINGLE WOMEN’S JOURNEY

A full eligibility review is a complicated procedure, and often applicants have no way of knowing if they will be approved until well into the application process.

FACT TWO

“When you get WIC, they give you a day and a time when it’s convenient for you and you go in. But I just can’t take a day out of my work [for Food Stamps]. Because I work Monday through Friday, and my kids go to day care, and I don’t do enough hours as it is, because I have to drop them off and pick them up before the daycare closes, because they have a cutoff time… So I can’t take a day off to do that.”

School day ends

RETAILERS APPLICATION PROCESS

FACT ONE

Mom picks up children from ‘after school care’

Mom commutes home by train Almost 1 hr

2. Visit ACS office for eligibility interview

You receive stamps/coupons for every $1 you spend (a maximin of 20 per person, per visit) to be used to buy additional fresh food from the market.

Alcohol, cigarettes, hot food at point of sale, non-food items, vitamins, medicine, pet food.

Hunts Point Farmers Market: Msr Raul Del Valle Square At Southern Blvd. and E.163rd St

USES EBT CARD

Mom needs food for dinner and buy toiletries

1. Get list of participating day care centres and ACS offices online

EXCLUSIONS

Farmers Markets offer Bonus Points

The largest percentage of welfare recipients who joined the workforce entering into the “Wholesale retail and trade” category, with supermarkets being the third most populated.

Mom tried to buy breakfast goods at local bodega but store currently doesn’t take food stamps.

2. Apply Online/Check Status of Application

4. Hand in required documents

Single mom gets children ready for school.

[02] JACQUELINE COOKSEY AND STEVEN DALE SNAP SYSTEM (TIMELINE)

[70]

F O O D F I G H T S . F O O D S Y S T EM S


DID YOU KNOW Farmers Markets offer Bonus Points

Mom goes to bed after cleaning at midnight.

You receive stamps/coupons for every $1 you spend (a maximin of 20 per person, per visit) to be used to buy additional fresh food from the market.

Mom cooks dinner, puts children to bed.

6. Orientation

bility ew parate ns, required first)

8. Eligibility determination

7. Work registration

USES EBT CARD

Mom picks up children from ‘after school care’

FACT ONE

“When you get WIC, they give you a day and a time when it’s convenient for you and you go in. But I just can’t take a day out of my work [for Food Stamps]. Because I work Monday through Friday, and my kids go to day care, and I don’t do enough hours as it is, because I have to drop them off and pick them up before the daycare closes, because they have a cutoff time… So I can’t take a day off to do that.”

Mom commutes home by train Almost 1 hr

5. Get accepted

isit to d fit 4. Apply

6. Receive vouchers in mail

KIDS GO TO DAY CARE

ALLOCATED FOOD

Juice (single strength), milk, breakfast cereal, cheese, egg, fruit and vegetables, whole wheat bread, fish (canned), legumes dry OR canned OR peanut butter.

School day ends

2. Bring required documents to appointment

your state or ncy to set up pointment

APPT. WITH WIC OFFICE

5. Receive benefits 4. Waiting list

Mom takes lunch break and commutes to WIC local office

3. Eligibility determination sent in the mail

Apply online, separate ications for each school

DROP KIDS OFF AT SCHOOL

FACT ONE

65% of teachers indicate that children regularly come to school hungry due to not getting enough food at home.

5. Free breakfast

STAFF & FOOD

Staff will have to be trained on what goods can be sold. Strict rules apply.

3. Complete Your Application Mom tried to buy breakfast goods at local bodega but store currently doesn’t take food stamps.

4. Hand in required documents

Single mom gets children ready for school.

FACT T

New York participa average, children during th

FACT ONE

Congress authorises a spe amount of funds available therefore it is not funded individual basis. If the allo funds are met, then follow applicants go on a waiting

6. 6–12 months eligibility ends

Mom commutes to work by train Almost 1.5 hr

ne/Check plication

Alcohol, cigarettes, hot fo point of sale, non-food ite vitamins, medicine, pet fo

Hunts Point Farmers Market: Msr Raul Del Valle Square At Southern Blvd. and E.163rd St

Mom needs food for dinner and buy toiletries

ation year

EXCLUSIONS

[71]

FACT TWO

Teachers believe only half their students who qualify enrolled in free and reduce breakfasts. However, there of stigma attached to the Although the enrolment p relatively easy, due to logi transportation, lack of awa and students failing to sho eat breakfast on time, the still struggles.

FACT ONE

The largest percentage of recipients who joined the w entering into the “Wholes retail and trade” category, supermarkets being the th most populated.


OTHER

FOOD INDUSTRY

CORPORATE

GOVERNMENT

RESTAURANT

FARM

NON PROFIT How does FBNYC choose its operating locations (warehouse in Hunts Point; main office in Lower Manhattan; Direct Services in Harlem)? How does FBNYC filter who to give food to (policies, application process for a prospective agency member)? What is your relationship with Hunts Point Market? What quality and quantity of food FBNYC receives from Hunts Point Market? What quality and quantity of food do they give to agency members; is there a hierarchy? WEST HARLEM Which policy makers, organizations, etc. are you working with in Hunts Point?

HUNTS POINT COOPERATIVE MARKET FBNYC WAREHOUSE (HUNTS POINT)

FBNYC MAIN OFFICE (LOWER MANHATTAN)

FBNYC DIRECT SERVICES

FBNCY AGENCY MEMBERS DISBALED OR IN RECOVERY

PROGRAMS

SOUP KITCHENS

HUNTS POINT

PROGRAMS

SHELTERS

CENTERS

OTHER AREAS

SHELTER CLIENTS

How would you describe your relationship with FBNYC? WEST HARLEM What are the benefits of giving to FBNYC (tax cuts, etc.)? What quality/quantity of resources do you give to FBNYC? What does it take to give directly to community organizations? In what ways does Hunts Point Market interact with the community? What percentage of the Hunts Point Market staff live in the community?

FOOD PANTRIES

JOINT FOOD PANTRIES/SOUP KITCHENS

did your organization start up? WESTHow HARLEM What do you look for in a partner organization? How did your organization come to be affiliated with FBNYC? What is required in order for an organisation to become a FBNYC agency member (application process, storage requirements, compensation, etc.)? What types of resources (food, Direct Services, etc.) do you receive from FBNYC? How would you describe the quality of resources you receive from FBNYC?

CENTERS AND SHELTERS

CENTERS

Cardinal McCloskey Ruth Fernandez Family Residence (see below) Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church Thessalonia Baptist Church

Hunts Point Alliance for Children

L

St. Margaret's Episcopal Church

Adults

United Bronx Parents, Inc. (Outpatient Clinic - Chem Depndency) General Development and Orientation Council, Inc. (Pychosocial Club - Mental Health) Ruth Fernandez (Family Homeless Facility - DHS Referred)

Project Fill at Bright Temple AME Church A New Beginning International Ministry Resurrection And Life C&S

Children

Disabled

Seniors

Sheltor clients

What can you tell us about FBNYC and Hunts Point Market, and their impact on the WEST HARLEM community? What types of resources (food, Direct Services, etc.) do you receive? How would you describe the quality of resources you receive? How do you compensate your benefactors? What other benefits are you looking for that are not offered by this organization? Can you describe the process of how your resources get to you?

[03] EU L A N I L A BAY A N D A A B H I R A A D I TYA FO O D C H A R I TY SYST E M

[72]

F O O D F I G H T S . F O O D S Y S T EM S


ch a rit y org a ni z a tions

The Food Bank of New York City, known as the primary food

C? c.)? YC? ions? munity? ommunity?

charity for the entire city, has its warehouse in Hunts Point. The Food Bank offers services that improve prospects for food access (such as nutrition education or community supported agriculture); but its programs in Hunts Point are limited to emergency food programs (such as food pantries and soup kitchens). Grassroots and community organizations, such as the Hunts Point Children’s Alliance and The Point Community Development Corporation, tend to lead the way in promoting healthy diets and lifestyles to local residents.

NON FBNYC

Soup Kitchens The United Church Food Pantries Word of Life Christian Fellowship International Lutheran Transfiguration Food Pantry Richardson World Child Care

What can you tell us about FBNYC and Hunts Point Market, and their impact on the WEST HARLEM community? How do you see your organization in relationship to FBNYC and Hunts Point Market? How do you get your resources? What types of resources (food, Direct Services, etc.) do you receive? How would you describe the quality of resources you receive? How do you compensate your benefactors?

Programs Citymeals On Wheels

[0 4 ] D ETA I L FO O D C H A R I TY SYST E M

[73]


E day in NYC? LET’S USE CARROTS TO SYMBOLIZE all the food that exits the open-ended food cycle. Local Law 42 was recently passed to study options to compost this daily pile. Will it end up in Hunts Point? “Anaerobic digestion and thermal processing are new techniques that could convert a lot of our waste into a gas that can be used to generate electricity.” City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn

WHAT IS GAINED AND LOST AT VARIOUS STAGES IN THE FOOD CYCLE

FOOD SYSTEMS CONSUMPTION [74]

FOOD FIGHTS . FOOD SySTemS


electricity.” City Council Speaker Christine C. Qu INFRaSTRUCTURe OF FOOD

This topic expounded on the tangible nature of food through the lens of the food cycle. During our initial examination of the food production, distribution, and consumption, we asked, “What is gained and lost at each phase of the food cycle?” This inquiry was posed as a method of investigating the food cycle in a dialectical manner. WaSTe (GaINeD)

Throughout the food cycle, waste is generated at every stage of production, T E Xdistribution, T A L Wconsumption, A Y S G Oand E Spost-consumption. HERE

Unlike the packaging, pallets, and containers that facilitate the dispensation of food, the organic waste in New York City is largely neglected as a marketable resource. Small scale initiatives such as the Community Compost Program at Union Square capture .04% of residential organic waste, while on a larger scale, technologies such as an anaerobic digester may provide energy and usable compost material from waste produced by the Hunts Point Terminal Market. The food system waste stream is an open ended stream of opportunity for New York City, however it is fraught with challenges due to the urban environment through which it flows.

IMAGES CAN ALSO GO HERE

WHAT IS GAINED AND LOST STAGES IN THE

FOOD SY

CONSU

[75]


PRODUCTION

DISTRIBUTION

CONSUMPTION 100%

store frozen canned cooked dry cook+drain

What happens to my nutrition depending on how you eat me?

raw 100%

freeze 95%

cook+drain + reheat

canned * 80%

* Statistics obtained by USDA Table of Nutrients Retention Factor (2003) ** Based on canned carrot - no sodium additive

cook 65%

dry 60%

cook + drain 51%

50%

0%

cook + drain + reheat 11%

WHAT IS LOST AT VARIOUS STAGES IN THE FOOD CYLCE ?


N utrition ( l ost )

To simplify the loss of nutrition, a carrot was used to represent nutrition of produce depending on how the vegetable is processed for sale (frozen or canned) and how it is prepared (cooked, dried, cook and drained, etc). To corroborate this quantitative set of data, our team set out to do fieldwork research by employing ethnographic research methods to understand the local realities of healthy food access in the Hunts Point area. Observations and interviews with grocery store shoppers, bodega owners, and a nutritionist allowed us to gather compelling insights on the infrastructure of food in the Hunts Point community. The prevalence of high-energy density foods with low nutritional content contributes to the overall picture of unhealthy habits and behaviors identified by other teams.

[77]



DeSIGNING meTHODS OF SyNTHeSIS

Research results were corroborated using an interactive game system designed to help connect the accumulation of information collected by the 3 subgroups over the course of eight weeks. The topic of food systems was covered broadly, with the subgroups diving in at different levels into complex systems. By doing so, the information was plentiful but highly specialized and isolated. The team developed and iterated a system of establishing connections, links, and rule sets to create a new way of interacting as a team. This was partly due to the challenges of using time efficiently, while also prototyping new methods of collaboration. The resulting game we developed was dubbed Spark, because it rapidly generated new meanings and connections on the fly while synthesizing transversal relationships across data sources. The resulting framework enabled the team to distill a series of speculations, leading to a hypothesis: The quality of food in Hunts Point is impacted by food assistance programs.

Community / Public

Charity

Food Infrastructure

MAP

CODIFY

ASSEMBLE

[79]

ITERATE

REFINE


bIblIOGRapHy - FOOD SYSTEMS -

articles/ books 01

Afterschool: A Valuable Support to Kids and Families in All Communities. Publication. Aftershcool Alliance, 2010. Print.

02 Ahmadi, Brahm, and Christine Ahn. "Beyond the Food Bank." Backgrounder. Food First, 30 Sept. 2004. Web. 20 Feb. 2011.

HUNTS POINT ALLIANCE FOR CHILDEREN (HPAC) INTERVIEW Diana Lessard, Food Coordinator 889 Hunts Point Ave. Date: March 7, 2011

03 ya. "Small Longwood Church Feeds the Hungry." The Hunts Point Express. Film & Media Department LEADER IN FEILD at Hunter College, 27 June 2009. Web. 20 Feb. OF HUNGER, INTERVIEW 2011. Joel Berg, Author

04 Barlett, S., and Burnstein. Date:L. March 3, 2011 Food Stamp Program Access Study: Eligible Nonparticipants. Rep. 2004. Print 05 Berg, Joel. "Chapter 10: The Charity Myth." All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America? New York: Seven Stories, 2008. 191-216. Print. BODEGA + ASSOCIATED SUPERMARKET INTERVIEW Hunts Point Community, Bodega Ower, Shoppers, etc. 724 Hunts Point Ave. Date: March 5, 2011

06 Dreier, Frederick. "Food Distributors Struggle With Thanksgiving Meals." The Bronx Ink. Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 16 NUTRITIONIST INTERVIEW Dec. 2009. Susan Web.Poindexter, 20 Feb.Food 2011. Educator for Food Related Diseases

07 Hanson, K., Date: and March E. Golan. 7, 2011 Issues in Food Assistance-Effects of Changes in Food Stamp Expenditures Across the U.S. Economy. Tech. Economic Research Service, 2002. Print. 08 Miller, Winter. "Supplies Dwindle at Food Pantries as Financing Bill Stalls in Washington." The New York Times 18 Oct. 2007: B1. NYTimes.com. The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2007. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. WOMAN, INFANT, + 09 Nilsen, S. Food Stamp Program: Payment Errors and Trafficking Have CHILDREN (WIC) INTERVIEW Declined despite Increased Program Participation. Rep. GAO, 2007. Print. Teresa, WIC

10

[05] INTERVIEW SITES

East 149th St Ovwigho, P.234 Life After Welfare. Rep. Vol. 7. Maryland: University of Date: March 2, 2011 Maryland School of Social Work, 2002. Print.

Documents 11

Christine, Quinn C. et al. Food Works: A Vision to Improve NYC's Food System. Rep. New York: New York City Council, 2011.

12

Bronx Community District 2: Profile. Rep. New York City Department of City Planning. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/lucds/ bx2profile.pdf>.

13

DSM Environmental Services, Inc. Hunts Point Food Distribution Center Organics Recovery Feasibility Study. Rep. 2005. Print.

14

R. W. Beck, DSM Environmental Services, Inc., and R.S. Lynch & Company. Hunts Point Anaerobic Digestion Feasibility Study. Rep. SAIC, 2010. Print.

15

Who Feeds the Hungry?: Mapping New York City's Emergency Food Providers. Food Bank For New York City. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www. foodbanknyc.org/download.cfm?downloadfile=765B9E41-D8AD-EDF996E1A149C6225395&typename=dmFile&fieldname=filenamehttp://www. nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/lucds/bx2profile.pdf>

16

YearBook09-10 Part2.pdf. Bronx, NY: The Point Community Development Center. PDF.http://www.thepoint.org/documents/YearBook09-10 part2.pdf <http:www.thepoint.org/documents/YearBook09-10%20part2.pdf>

Interviews 17

Berg, Joel. "SNAP." Personal interview. 3 Mar. 2011.

18

Berg, Joel. Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY. 9 Mar. 2011. Lecture.

19

Cohen, Debby Lee. Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY. Personal Interview. 13 Feb. 2011.

[80]

FOOD FIGHTS . FOOD SySTemS


20 Cohen, Nevin. Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY. 8 Mar. 2011. Lecture. 21 Lessard, Diana. "Hunts Point Alliance for Children." Telephone interview. 2 Mar. 2011. 22 Lopez, Marie. "WIC." Personal interview. 28 Mar. 2011. 23 Marie. "WIC." Personal interview. 1 Mar. 2011. Websites 24 "Accepting SNAP Benefits at Farmers Markets - Responsibilities." Home Page. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/fm-scripBonus_Incentives.htm>. 25 "C-Town Supermarkets for Savings - WIC Information." C-Town Supermarkets for Savings - Home. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. <http://www. ctownsupermarkets.com/Home/WICInformation.aspx>. 26 Food Bank For New York City. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www. foodbanknyc.org/go/news/find-help> 27 "Food Bank For New York City: Where Our Food Comes From." Food Bank For New York City. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.foodbanknyc. org/our-programs/food-sourcing-and-distribution/where-our-food-comesfrom>. 28 "Food Bank For New York City: Food Program Locator." Food Bank For New York City. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.foodbanknyc.org/go/news/ food-program-locator>. 29 "The Application Process For TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid, and SCHIP: Applying for Benefits: What Families Must Do." Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, HHS. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. <http:// aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/app-process03/Chapter3.htm>. 30 "Eligible Food Items." Home Page. Web. 29 Feb. 2011. <http://www.fns. usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm>. 31 Hellmich, Nanci. "Teachers Say They Often Feed Students Who Come to School Hungry - USATODAY.com." Your Life: Health, Fitness, Food & Self - USATODAY.com. Web. 5 Mar. 2011. 32 "How...When...Where Guide to Food Pantries in the Bronx." Information for Families. Information for Families, Inc. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www. informationforfamilies.org/Theres_No_Place_Like_Home/Pantry_Bronx. html>. 33 Hunts Point Alliance for Children. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www. hpac10474.org/>. 34 Hunts Point Produce Market. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www. huntspointproducemkt.com/>. 35 Web. 25 Feb. 2011. <http://www.urbanjustice.org/pdf/publications/better_ recipe_full_rpt.pdf>. 36 Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://www.familywelfare.umaryland.edu/reports/life7. pdf>. 37 "Who Gets WIC & How to Apply." Home Page. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. <http:// www.fns.usda.gov/wic/howtoapply/whogetswicandhowtoapply.htm>. 38 "WIC Food Package Maximum Monthly Allowances." Home Page. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/benefitsandservices/ foodpkgallowances.HTM>.

[0 6] S PA R K I N P R O C ES S

[81]


[ T R A N S P O LL I N A T I O N ] THE FOOD SYSTEM GROUP FACILITATES A DAY OF EXCHANGE

Within the studio, the Food Systems group was the largest, consisting of six team members and each with different areas of research. We felt that we needed to design a tool which would enable each of us to share our research findings in a way that was insightful and revealing. Thus we created Spark, a tool for generating a series of collaboratively constructed assemblages of insight. The assemblages created through Spark are distilled into a working hypothesis that incorporates the group’s diverse findings, from macro to micro levels of scale. The Food Fights studio officially transitioned from research to design [0 7] D U R I N G T H E G AM E O F S PA R K

speculations at week 10. Based on our previous experience of using Spark to communicate diverse and extensive research topics, the Food Systems group volunteered to help facilitate an exchange of knowledge amongst the diverse research groups. For this pivotal moment, we aimed to both refine Spark and develop an additional exercise, Speed Idea Dating, to converge new groups around common interests and adjacent possibilities. To build enthusiasm and success through these activities, we kept the following goals in mind: 1. Foster dialog efficiently using systems and rule sets. 2. Progress the studio through an intentionally designed day. 3. Conduct action research on collaboration. In studio-wide context, the goal of Spark was to facilitate

[08] MAKING ASSEMBLAGES

conversation between the five separate research groups (Food Systems, Infrastructures of Power, Psychogeographies, Objective Environments and Networks of Health) and to identify and define connections, insights, and assemblages between them. All students began by individually responding to prompts meant to identify issues and key players discovered in our research. We each used this material to generate 10 cards of our most compelling insights, or ‘sparks’ and, culling from other cards generated by our respective research groups, chose our top 10 cards to play in the game. To play Spark, we broke out into mixed teams that included one member from each research group. In turn, each student played a card and gave a brief introduction to their insight, building upon other cards and creating connections between research findings. By the end of the activity, each team had marked key assemblages that cut across their original research areas.

[82]

F O O D F I G H T S . F O O D S Y S T EM S



DIVERGENT THINKING

Objective Environments

Psychogeographies

Infrastructures of Power

Networks of Health

Food Systems

I D E A T I O N

9 AM INTRO

10 AM GENERATE CARDS

11 AM SPARK GAME

LUNCH


CONVERGENT THINKING Designing methods of synthesis

The goal of Speed Idea Dating was to mix the entire class in a fluid environment to exchange ideas, generated either through Spark or through previous hunches or potential design directions stemming from the research phase. During two minute intervals, individuals pitched their ideas to their ‘partner’ student and vice versa. The process was repeated 19 times with successive partners. [ 0 9 ] FA C I L I TAT E D R E S E A R C H S Y N T H E S I S D AY

12 AM LUNCH

1 PM SPEED IDEADATING

2 PM CONCLUSIONS

END


- EARLIEST BIRTHDAY STARTS

- MAKE A

- EACH PLAYERS PLAYS MOST

- MAKE A

- PLAYERS BRIEFLY EXPLAINS WHY THE CARD IS COMPELLING

3

x 10

x 10

2

x 10

OF INSIGHT

- IDENTIFY AND CIRCLE - WIZARD DOCUMENTS THE RESULTS

4 x 10

x 10

- MAKE A TO THE CHALLENGE

5

1

challenge cards: WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW challenge response cards intervention opportunity cards

ROUND 1: FAVORITES ROUND - COMPELLING CONTENT

ROUND 2: ALL CARD ROUND - PLAY

GAME ASSESMENT - ASSEMBLADGES

[ 1 0] S PA R K CO N C E P T MA P

[ 1 1 ] S P E E D I D E AT I N G C O N C E P T M A P

[86]

F O O D F I G H T S . F O O D S Y S T EM S


The thought behind this activity was that it would create an environment where good ideas begin to stick together, while others are bolstered by latent research; those with similar or adjacent interests might find each other faster and more effectively to act on their intrinsic motivations. Through this exercise, we anticipated that patterns would emerge within the ideas that were iteratively pitched, resulting in clusters that could be identified and formulated into design projects. We concluded the day by each naming our latest idea and pinning it to the wall. Together as a studio, we reviewed the ideas and began to organize them by theme. Over the following week, this mood board served as a starting point for the collaborative development of our design concepts.

[ 1 2 ] S P E E D I D E AT I N G I N P R O C E S S



[89]

eaT Up aaron cansler + benjamin winter


Has healthy affordable food.

?

[ReGIONal FaRmS]

[HUNTS pOINT]

Needs healthy affordable food. [90]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up!


[eaT Up] ALI G N I N G I N T E R E S TS OF F OOD PR ODUC ER S A N D C ONSUME RS

DeSIGN OppORTUNITy

Our research into infrastructures of power revealed significant problems with food access in and around the Hunts Point neighborhood. Low-income residents of this community often lack access to healthy food because it is too expensive, too time-consuming to prepare, or simply unavailable in their area. Similarly, small and mid-size regional farmers, who struggle to supply the sort of healthy food that is needed, also face limited access to this market because demand is inconsistent and unpredictable. Despite a shared interest in doing business together, Hunts Point residents and regional farmers remain largely disconnected. Our design seeks to align the interests of these producers and consumers of food and to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between them. There is considerable work already being done to increase access to "local food" in New York City, but rarely are these efforts directed toward low-income communities. Our design takes best practices from a number of relevant precedents and integrates them in such a way that they will benefit neighborhoods like Hunts Point.

[91]


D e S I G N p R e C e D e N T [01 ] T H e m a R K e T m O D e l

The Hunts Point Wholesale Greenmarket. GrowNYC's Wholesale Greenmarket (incidentally located in Hunts Point) provides a place for small and mid-size regional farmers to connect with wholesale buyers in New York City. This is an important access point for both buyers and sellers of regional food, but persisting uncertainty about supply and demand at the market is limiting its use. From the individual consumer's perspective, the market also has its limitations. Individuals, particularly low-income individuals, do not often have the need or the ability to purchase in wholesale quantities, and even if they did, the Greenmarket's distant location and inconvenient hours would significantly discourage it.

[f ]

[f ] [f ]

[f ] [f ]

[m]

[r] FaRmeR

maRKeT

ReSTaURaNT

INSTITUTION

[f ]

[r]

[m ] [i ]

[r]

[i]

DISTRIbUTOR

[d ]

pRODUCTS

[

]

[d]

[r]

INFORmaTION

[

]

[92]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up!


D e S I G N p R e C e D e N T [ 0 2] T H e D I S T R I b U T O R m O D e l

Basis Farm-to-Chef Regional Food Distributor. Basis farm-to-chef takes a different approach to connecting regional producers to city consumers. Basis attempts to provide more certainty, consistency, and convenience by collecting goods from a number of small and mid-size regional farmers and delivering them directly to New York City buyers. While it offers a limited home delivery option for retail customers, Basis also serves mainly wholesale buyers. Its distribution services also come at a price, which low-income residents may be unwilling or unable to pay. As a result, specialty distribution services like those provided by Basis are rarely marketed in communities like Hunts Point.

[f ]

[f ]

[f ]

[f ] [f ]

[d]

[i]

[r]

[r]

FaRmeR

[f ]

[i]

INSTITUTION

[i]

[r]

[93]

DISTRIbUTOR

ReSTaURaNT

pRODUCTS

INFORmaTION

[d ]

[

]

[r]

[

]


D e S I G N p R e C e D e N T [03] C O l l e C T I V e p U R C H a S I N G

GROUPON.COM : Collective Buying Power. While Hunts Point residents do not necessarily have the economic capital to purchase in wholesale quantities or command the services of speciality distributors, they do possess significant social capital. Evidence of this is apparent in the neighborhood's strong activist community, as well as examples of local families working together to maximize food subsidies. This social capital can be leveraged to overcome any shortage of economic capital. Groupon does this by organizing individual consumers into collective buying groups which receive discounts for buying en masse. If adapted for regional food purchasing, such collective buying groups would allow retail customers access to wholesale discounts.

[s]

[r]

[r]

[s] [r]

[w]

ReSTaURaNT

STO Re

[r]

CONSUmeR

[c ]

[s]

[w]

pRODUCTS

[

[c]

WebSITe

]

INFORmaTION

[

]

[c] [94]

[c]

[c] [c]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up!


D e S I G N p R e C e D e N T [ 0 4] C O l l e C T I V e p R e p a R a T I O N

Sunward Cohousing: Communal Meal System. Individuals in Groupon's collective buying groups are kept anonymous and disconnected, but if they were willing and able to have a more direct relationship, they could potentially leverage their social capital to even greater mutual benefit. Cohousing communities with communal meal systems do this by combining collective purchasing with collective preparation. For example, the residents of Sunward Cohousing share the responsibility for cooking and cleaning up after every meal they eat together. By sharing these responsibilities collectively instead of duplicating efforts individually, Sunward is able to provide regular, home cooked meals at a much lower cost and in a fraction of the time required to prepare meals individually.

[g]

[g] [g]

[g] [g]

Sunward

COHOUSING [h]

[h]

[h] [h]

GROCeR

HOUSeHOlD

[g ]

[h]

[ h]

INFORmaTION

[

[95]

]

pRODUCTS

[

]


N O C

[96]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up!

P M SU


P

ON TI UC OD PR

ON TI BU RI ST DI

N O TI

THeSe aRe THe INTeGRaTeD aND mUTUally ReINFORCING DeSIGN elemeNTS OF a NeW FOOD aCCeSS SySTem.

CONSUmeR GROUp

COmmUNITy GROUp

ReSTaURaNT bUyeRS

INSTITUTIONal bUyeRS

"eaTS" paCKaGe

DelIVeRy TRUCK

DISTRIbUTION CeNTeR

ONlINe plaTFORm

HUNTS pOINT FOOD CeNTeR

ReGIONal FaRmeRS

pRODUCT FlOWS

SeRVICe OpTIONS

[97]


HOW IT WORKS

BENEFITS

SIGN UP

WHAT'S FRESH

WHAT'S COOKIN'

JOIN US

FAQ'S

ABOUT

BENEFITS

SIGN UP and EAT UP!

FARMERS EATERS

LOGIN

You spend too much time, money, and effort on buying, cooking, and cleaning up your meals.

With a little help from your friends, you could eat better, faster, and cheaper ... So go on, EatUp!

username:

password:

DeSIGN elemeNTS [o5] U S E R I N T E R FA C E :

eaT Up ONlINe plaTFORm

By integrating the beneficial services of its precedents, EatUp provides a food access system which is greater than the sum of its parts. Here is how it works: A number of small and mid-size, regional farmers receive wholesale orders through the EatUp website and deliver them to a temporary packaging facility in Hunts Point. The ingredients of these wholesale orders are then organized into made-to-order packages of "Eats" that are designed around recipes, which are both healthy and easy to prepare. These recipe-ready "Eats" are then distributed among collective consumer groups (and any other wholesale or institutional buyers who are interested) who share in the cooking, eating, and savings however is most convenient for them. EatUp's website provides a simple interface for both farmers and residents to select their desired services and tailor them to their needs.

[98]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


DeSIGN STRaTeGy

It would be naive to suggest that simply launching the EatUp website would cause Hunts Point residents to immediately self-organize and adopt this system. That is why, in addition to the basic design of EatUp, we also propose a detailed implementation strategy. Our intention is not to create another non-profit organization to compete for resources with community groups already working in the neighborhood. Instead, we have designed a system that builds on existing infrastructures, leverages established relationships, and allows residents to look out for themselves. In the early stages of implementation, EatUp would operate as centralized body, promoting and coordinating its services with the help of local community groups. However, once fully implemented, ownership and operation of EatUp would be fully

[o6] O P E R AT I O N A L C O N T E X T:

INFRaSTRUTUReS OF pOWeR

distributed among its resident users in Hunts Point.

[FRACTURED POWER]

[ CO N S O L I DAT E D P OW E R ] TeRmINal maRKeT

ReGIONal FaRmeRS COmmUNITy bOaRD 2 THe pOINT C.D.C. SUSTaINable SOUTH bRONx HUNTS pOINT ReSIDeNTS HUNTS pOINT e.D.C. WHOleSale GReeNmaRKeT CITy aGeNCIeS

[99]


SySTem eVOlUTION

CONSUmeR GROUpS

pOWeR bOOST

pRODUCTION

eaT Up

Regional farmers

EatUp pilot

EatUp hires

Ea

organization is

local residents to

"l

established, and

organize goods

truc

its website goes

into consumer

st

online.

packages of "Eats."

deliv

Consumer groups

Representatives

Con

begin to organize

of the consumer

can

around community

groups pick up

"E

organizations.

and prepare their

dir

CONSUmpTION

ReGIONal FaRmeRS

2

DISTRIbUTION

1

Farmers make

Far

register goods

deliveries to EatUp's

to h

they can

temporary facilities

p

regularly supply.

at the Wholesale

deliv

Greenmarket.

by l

own "Eats."

Neighborhood

Community groups

Emp

leaders like

like The Point

org

Community Board 2

facilitate pick up

W

publicize EatUp

and preparation

hel

services.

of "Eats."

[100]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up!

be E


EatUp evolves over time from a centralized system to a distributed cooperative as social and cultural conditions in the neighborhood change.

4

5

6

rmers can start

Number of farmers

All goods are

Regional farmers

have their goods

and available

picked up and

gain a consistent,

goods increases

delivered by a

reliable, and

vered to the city

as distribution

broad network of

growning

local residents.

improves.

resident distributors.

new market.

3

picked up and

atUp provides

EatUp turns over

EatUp becomes

EatUp dissolves its

lease-to-own"

ownership of

an entirely

pilot organization

packaging

resident-owned

and prepares to

tart their own

operations to its

food service

scale to new

very operations.

local employees.

cooperative.

communities.

nsumer groups

Consumer groups

As consumers

The Hunts Point

n receive their

self-organize

become owners,

community becomes

Eats" delivered

around less formal

the services they

a center of not only

rectly to them.

networks as EatUp

provide each other

food distribution

gains popularity.

support themselves.

but food power.

ployment service

Capacity building

Community

Parsons has the

ganizations like

organizations like

development groups

unique opportunity

Sustainable South

like Hunts Point EDC

to make this

lp train locals to

Bronx train locals

help incorporate

design speculation

EatUp employees.

to be EatUp owners.

EatUp Coop.

a reality.

cks for locals to

Work Force One

[101]



[103]

blaNK plaTe howard chambers, amy findeiss mai kobori + eulani labay


BL A N K

P L A TE

R EI MAG I NI NG O U R R E LAT IO N S H IP TO FO O D

[104]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up


[ BLA N K PLA T E : R E I M A G I N I N G OUR RELATIONSHIP TO FOOD] T hird places host the regular , voluntary , informal , and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work . O l denb urg

W e invit e y ou to sh a r e a t a b l e with us

Our project brings creative culinary workshops to Hunts Point, to inspire teens and transform the neighborhood through new relationships to food. One of the main lenses upon which we focused was a highlight of the senses. Each person gains information and insights through one, a few, or all of the senses at once. All too often, we rely too much on words and language to gain information and understanding when in reality, it is a collection of our five senses that informs us of our world and our relationship to it. Food is one of the most basic, elements in our world that ignite all of our senses. Furthermore, food can very well be designed to unveil insights in a manner that most other vehicles of insight and education cannot. Lastly, food is a natural magnet for social gatherings and interaction such as a family meal, holidays, celebrations, etc. In our process, food was used to meet with people, experiment with new uses and serve as a platform to engage with people in new ways.

[105]

Howard Chambers | Amy Findeiss | Mai Kobori | E


O PP O R T U N I T I E S : W e ’ re H ungry for M eaningful D ialogue

In our investigation, our group identified these specific opportunities that could be enhanced, amplified and boosted with new financial sources: • Food-related discussion in Hunts Point often seems onedimensional and focused on problems. We see it instead as an opportunity to co-create and stir up innovative ideas through creative exploration. • Hunts Point is in need of additional resources to help implement food-related programs for local residents. The Transdisciplinary Design program, being new, is in need of an initiative that establishes a long-term commitment to the community. • The Point Community Development Corporation already has programs in place which the New School can help amplify into larger opportunities, through an initial blueprint that can be used year after year. We believe that this type of project will make The Point a magnet for community involvement and will serve as a model for other communities in the country.

[106]

F O O D F I G H T S . EA T U P


We are designing creative culinary workshops that inspire and transform Hunts Point teens through new relationships with food, with imaginative sensory reframing.

[107]


[108]

F O O D F I G H T S . EA T U P


S Y S T EM : A R ecipe for F ood C ulture

Given the neighborhood’s proximity to heart of NYC’s food system and its momentum in initiating community improvement, we see in Hunts Point the potential to become a hub of urban food culture and expertise. We have identified a channel through which a flow of resources can create this ripple effect: funding > organization > program > agents of change F unding : S ources for S ustenance

Through attending community board meetings, conversations with other students working locally and brief interviews with experts running successful programs, we found a number of individuals and organizations dedicated to the success of the neighborhood. For our vision to get off the ground, we knew it needed targeted and diverse sources for in-kind and monetary contribution. We identified known sources and potential ones, each with a realistic capacity to participate. One of our interests was to represent these relationships visually to create connections and find areas of opportunities that could be both a tool for ourselves as we plan our program, but also a blueprint for the community to use for future interests. Areas of potential that we hope will really offer viable change are commitment from The New School and its various schools within—such as Milano and Parsons. Another area of potential funding are access to innovative grants that feature design in reinventing community, such as Design Ignites Change. We hope that these opportunities will amplify and support leaders acting as grassroots change-makers that currently exist but need help.

[109]


ORGaNIzaTION: A PLACE SETTING

We came to know The Point Community Development

ORGANIZATION: A PLACE SETTING

Corporation as we began our investigative journey into the community. Through multiple visits we confirmed a partner whose values aligned very much with our own, and we discovered an existing program that can be amplified called No Beef Thursdays. No Beef Thursdays is a weekly event that gathers teens at dinnertime, while they are engaged in enrichment activities like the ICP Photography program, Social Circus, and A.C.T.I.O.N. We believe that this service could be expanded in a way that could transfer the excitement that exists around the parkour and aerial dancing to an activity that reimagines meals. pROGRam Planning

Workshop

Our program is developed through three phases: Planning,

Event

Documentation and Event. Here’s an example of how it works. Workshop, and Reflection

pHaSe 1: plaNNING: CO-CREATION

• Our Parsons graduate student, Ben, collaborates with Adam from The Point and local chef Juanita to design the workshop. • A series of exercises creates a theme that frames the learning experience and the conversation that follows. This season’s theme is Urban Dinner. pHaSe 1: plaNNING: OUTREACH - MEET MARIA!

• Meet Maria. She’s an 11th grade student at Hunts Point High School, where she saw a poster about this new food workshop for teens at The Point. • She loves to cook, so she signs up!

[110]

FOOD FIGHTS . eaT Up


p H a S e 2: W O R K S H O p : L E A R N I N G

• The workshop begins with Maria and the others sharing their past experiences with food.

Event

Planning

Workshop

Planning

Workshop

Event

Documentation and Reflection

Planning

Workshop

Event

Documentation and Reflection

• Next, Juanita leads the discussion on where certain foods like artichokes come from, and different ways to prepare them. p H a S e 2: W O R K S H O p : C R E A T I N G

• Ben leads students in an activity: blindfolded, students experience ingredients through touch, taste, smell, and even sound! • Through exercises like this one, Maria and her peers are opened up to all kinds of opportunities of understanding and experimenting with food. p H a S e 3: e V e N T : T E E N S H O S T D I N N E R

• Halfway through the program, Ben and Juanita help the group brainstorm a direction for the final event, encouraging them to rethink what a dinner party could be. • The students decide they want to reimagine a picnic for Hunts Point. p H a S e 3: e V e N T : M E E T & G R E E T

• The event is attended by teachers, advocates and family to their dinner event. • The President of Community Board 2 approaches Adam, Juanita and Ben with an idea for the program. They agree to meet the following week to discuss the possibilities.

[111]

Docum and R


AGENTS OF CHANGE I ns p ir a tion : A T radition of F eeding the S enses

The tone and intent of our project were inspired by precedents of transformative experiences that were carefully designed. In the documentary Wasteland, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz collaborated with members of a struggling community to create striking works of art that ultimately changed their views of their own lives. The design team Warm Engine transformed a dining experience into a fantasy by breaking down the conventions of eating and by isolating the senses. Elastic City organizes group walks and, through their choices of themes, sites and cues, activate participants in a poetic exchange with their environment.

S tr a t e gi e s : K ey I ngredients for C hange

Our mission is aspirational, yet grounded in three key strategies. Partnerships form a long-term commitment between community, research, and industry in Hunts Point. Community Outreach The program’s events have a high level of energy and visual impact that can attract a wide circle of donors, media and other supporters. Skills Development prepares teens to become culinary visionaries and mentor incoming students.

[112]

F O O D F I G H T S . EA T U P


WASTELAND - DOCUMENTARY FILM

ELASTIC CITY -SENSORY-GUIDED WALKS

WARM ENGINE - FOOD EVENTS

[113]


V ision : R eimagining O ur F uture

Through careful design, creativity and inspiration can create a transformational shift. We’ve designed a flow through Hunts Point’s food ecosystem that starts with a drop in the water and produces ripple effects. This is because it connects to several other areas of potential development, such as food production and distribution. Over time, these initiatives can launch in coordination with each other, cultivating a truly food-centric community in Hunts Point.

Bibliography

Books 01 Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place. Cambridge: Ds Capo Press, 1999. 02 Berg, Joel. "Chapter 10: The Charity Myth." All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America? New York: Seven Stories, 2008. 191-216. Print. 03 Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1991.

Articles/Reports 01 Coates, Peter A. “The Strange Stillness of the Past: Toward and Environmental History of Sound and Noise,” Environmental History, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 636-665. 02 Waskul, Dennis D., and Vannini, Phillip. “Smell, Odor, and Somatic Work: Sense-Making and Sensory Management,” Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 71, No. 1 (Mar., 2008), p. 53-71.

Websites http://insideschools.org/?fs=72 http://www.wastelandmovie.com/gallery.html http://elastic-city.com/ http://www.warmengine.com/

[114]

F O O D F I G H T S . EA T U P


[115]



[117]

HUNTS pOINT: 2032 steven j. dale + bland hoke


[118]

FOOD FIGHTS . HUNTS POINT: 2032


[HUNTS POINT: 2032] A R E T R O S P E CT I V E F R OM THE F UTUR E

Rumors and news stories have steadily surfaced throughout 2011, claiming the New York City Terminal Produce Cooperative Market at Hunts Point in the South Bronx might relocate to New Jersey. Constructed in 1967, the produce market encloses roughly 440,000 sq. feet and is a conduit for 60% of New York City's food supply. This massive infrastructural hub presents a dual identity: it employs over 3,000 workers and generates 2.3 billion dollars in revenue for the city annually. However, the market impacts the adjacent community with its pollution, safety concerns and noise, perpetuating an environmental and social justice schism. This engine has driven the city's food distribution for years and its age is showing: over 50% of the produce is stored in refrigerated trucks outside the market and an estimated 320 million dollars is needed to upgrade its grossly outdated and inefficient infrastructure. The State of New Jersey has mounted a campaign to lure the market over the river, offering the owners of the Cooperative a combination of tax incentives, ownership perks, and a 200 million dollar construction subsidy to build new facilities. The South Bronx and Hunts Point community now face the possibility of what many cities across the United States have experienced: rapid change triggered by massive infrastructure dismantling. Consider cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, once thriving metropolises that have seen their populations and industries dwindle. Rapid change shocks systems and communities are forced to adapt to new conditions. The challenge and responsibility unfortunately is often unplanned, and in the hands of the community left behind. With similar instances having occurred not so far away, and not so long ago, we were surprised to find many had not considered:

What if the market left Hunts Point?

[119]


SySTemS OF FOOD + WaSTe ReSeaRCH

Precedents from near and far. In our research on food systems in Hunts Point, food waste surfaced as one of the most abundant yet unclaimed economic resources. The subject of closed-loop food systems led us to several wellknown examples, including Hardwick Vermont, Growing Power and Hantz Farms. It was our hunch that these nascent, holistic systems will soon become the norm as a variety of incremental political, socioeconomic and environmental drivers lead to massive change. These drivers include rising fuel and transportation costs, denser populations, healthy locally grown food, urban agriculture, stricter waste management policies, landfills closings, new technologies for organic waste processing, rising obesity rates, and food as an economic platform.

60% Alternative Routes

NYC

40% Hunts Point

FOOD

CONSUMERS

LANDFILL [120]

FOOD FIGHTS . HUNTS pOINT: 2032


First, we asked:

How might we design a replacement economy should the produce market leave Hunts Point? As we continued our research we realized we were asking the wrong question, as we did not have the expertise, time or resources necessary to create a comprehensive or actionable plan. Further, this type of plan is typically grounded in deep community participation, informed stakeholder interviews, and a multi-year process we were not privy to. Thus, we settled on a series of design-led interviews with experts, presenting a speculative closed-loop food system with many leverage points to ensure its probability. Each interview shed light on the issues at hand including food systems and policy, urban planning, food access, sustainable food, recycling, waste transportation systems, landfill systems, institutional waste reduction, economic development, scenario planning, science & innovation, venture capital, gardening and education. Each iteration of our speculative closed-loop system acted as a litmus test and revealed insights not only about our concept, but also ways in which it could be disseminated and presented to an audience. Our constant reframing and refining led us to a breakthrough midway through the project: a strategy for both the scenario itself and for its dissemination as a tactical tool for provoking previously unconsidered ideas.

What if we piled up all the residential and commercial food waste produced in ONE day in NYC?

LET’S USE CARROTS TO SYMBOLIZE all the food that exits the open-ended food cycle. Local Law 42 was recently passed to study options to compost this daily pile. Will it end up in Hunts Point? “Anaerobic digestion and thermal processing are new techniques that could convert a lot of our waste into a gas that can be used to generate electricity.” City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn

WHAT IS GAINED AND LOST AT VARIOUS STAGES IN THE FOOD CYCLE

FOOD SYSTEMS CONSUMPTION

[121]


o

c on soc

201 4.

Hun pro t’s Poin te t pilo sts wit comm t u h bec progra in mon nity a ms tart ths of t pro use of 201 in b he c 7. odo lems, n onstru g ctio oise r pr EVN n oble p o l lutio ms. tran Root n an G s d pub discipl roup f in l o won ic perce ary tea rms a der. m ptio n of to shi ft was te to

Qu inn ayo elected r, pu due shing foo d

The SSB expert t X Poin , Gro ea w team t, and m ing and works any o a d con iscipli cross n n recy ection es, iden s c and ling, fl betwe e e l The ocal op xible sy n y s CSA imagi en infra te n s opt farm w e a hig truc ions ith o h-de . wne ns rshi p

201 8.

BioB incr arges m e org asing fl ove th a e o Poin nic was w of t con t. New e to H u t t allo ain leec echnol nt’s w o h ride ing co and o gies d m and the bar mute ors, r g s ship ustain es safe s to ably gro . R ly w

201 9.

Com the postin g e Gro fforts o law pa u s gro p. Com f the E ses du V we xpo posta N Ro e to nen ot ble tia pr

[122]

FOOD FIGHTS . HUNTS pOINT: 2032

202 2.


ems , TImelINe aS NaRRaTIVe: SPECULATING THE FUTURE TO SPARK SYSTEMS CHANGE TODAY

The tangible artifact we produced consisted of a timeline poster detailing a series of hypothetical milestones over the next 20 years if the produce market relocated to New Jersey in 2011. The purpose of the scenario was to plant a seed of possibilities by pointing towards a future largely focused on local food production. By communicating the scenario in the form of a familiar, narrative-based visual artifact, we felt the experience would provoke inquiry and inspire speculative thinking to affected stakeholders and beyond. Ultimately, we created a retrospective from the future. The next step for the scenario is to release it into the wild, because it is this strategy that may result in tangible action. By actively envisioning a future in which the market has left Hunts Point, we are creating a safe environment to contemplate the possibility of such a reality actually happening and externalizing that possibility to people who may be affected.

[123]


food for thought .

A big challenge we faced was: How do we present our story in an engaging way, while implying that our scenario is only one of many possible futures? What separates our speculation from the traditional development plan? As our ideas evolved, we realized our role as designers was not necessarily to predict the financial feasibility of a plan as an accountant would, the structural integrity of a building as an architect would, or the optimal layout of a street grid as an urban planner would.

Instead of codifying what it will be, we realized our value lies in using a body of research to imagine and craft possibilities. Rather than creating a traditional development plan which is often designed by consensus and represents the perspectives of a limited few, we planned to perform the scenario as a narrative and disseminate a video of its presentation into the real world today. The timeliness of the upcoming market vote and the growing intensity of political and economic debate act as a backdrop that further blurs the line between fact and fiction. Conceptually, our position is one of no position and serves precisely as a mirror to see ourselves. It is meant to highlight the nature of cyclical patterns of change, and the idea that they can be used to view possible futures and provoke alternate paths today.

[124]

FOOD FIGHTS . HUNTS POINT: 2032


b i b l iogr a p h y

Interview: Nevin Cohen: sustainable food production, urban food policy & food access Interview: Chrise Direse: recycling, waste transportation & landfill systems Interview: Beth Silverman: economic development, New York City business & government Interview: Sarah Katz: composting, gardening & education Interview: Greg Blonder: scenario planning, innovation, science & venture capital Interview: Debbie Lee Cohen: education, food systems & institutional waste reduction Ansert, Rebecca. "Public Art Team Realities:united Sends Smoke Rings as a Reminder of CO2 Emission." The Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts. Green Public Art, 17 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 May 2011. <http:// www.sustainablepractice.org/2011/04/public-art-teamrealitiesunited-sends-smoke-rings-as-a-reminder-of-co2emission-2/>. "Art Shifts." Official Site of the City of Phoenix. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://phoenix.gov/arts/cp_41.html>. "Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems | Archive | Integrated Cropping Systems." Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems | a Sustainable Agriculture Research Center at UW-Madison. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cias.wisc.edu/category/ecologicalsystems/integrated-cropping-system/>. "Compost Now Available At Your Local Recycling Centre." Donarbon Ltd - Waste Management for Cambridgeshire, Skip Hire and Recycling. 7 Jan. 20110. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://www.donarbon.com/index.php?c=page>. El-Namaki, DR. M. S. S. S. "Developing and Promoting Technology and Technical Skills in Small-scale Rural Manufacturing Enterprises." FAO: FAO Home. FAO Corporate Document Repository. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://www.fao.org/docrep/s8380e/s8380e0b.htm>. Essential Urbanism. Web. Apr.-May 2011. <http:// essentialurbanism.wordpress.com/>. Fortune, Stephen. "Reimagining Waste Processing As A Public Art And Recreation Destination - PSFK." PSFK - the Go-to Source for New Ideas and Inspiration for Creative Professionals. 4 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www. psfk.com/2011/02/reimagining-waste-processing-as-apublic-art-and-recreation-destination.html>.

Miller, Chaz. "Food Waste Facts - Waste Age Magazine Article." Waste Age Magazine. Penton Media, 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. "NYCWasteLess: Organics in NYC's Residential Waste." NYC WasteLess. NYC. Web. 2 May 2011. <http://www.nyc. gov/html/nycwasteless/html/resources/wcs_organics. shtml>. Skeen, Michelle. "Virginia Tech Cuts Waste with Dining Services’ Composting Program." Blogs.roanoke.com. 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 2 May 2011. <http://blogs.roanoke.com/ ticker/2011/04/12/virginia-tech-cuts-waste-with-diningservices-composting-program/>. Tangel, Andrew. "As New Jersey Woos Hunts Point Produce Market, Change to Laws May Be on the Table." NorthJersey.com. 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http:// www.northjersey.com/realestate/120465589_Transit_hub_ tax_credit_may_be_expanded_.html>. Twilley, Nicola. "Urban Omnibus » Five Borough Farm." Urban Omnibus. Jan.-Feb. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <http:// urbanomnibus.net/2011/01/five-borough-farm/>. Yaro, Bob. "New York Needs An Olympic-Sized Infrastructure Investment." Center for an Urban Future. 15 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://nycfuture.org/content/ articles/article_view.cfm?article_id=1218>. Yepsen, Rhodes. "Composting And Local Food Merge At Urban Garden." Biocycle 49.11 (2008): 31. <http://www. jgpress.com/archives/_free/001765.html>. Biocycle. Web.

Miller, Chaz. "Circular File: The Remains of the Meal." Waste Age. Penton Media, 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.

[125]



[127]

WHaT'S THe pOINT? francis carter + kiersten nash



[ W H A T' S T H E P O I N T ] L E V E R A G I N G S I L E N T SOC IA L A GEN C Y TO R EF R A ME H ABITUS

We are all storytellers. These are the stories we tell ourselves. These are the stories we tell ourselves about each other. Stories define us. They are embedded in our psyche. They are part of our soma. They are inscribed in our landscape. Each memory is a negotiation of time and place, past and present, agency and structure, speaker and listener, spoken and unspoken, fact and fiction. Memories are born into and out of society. And currently the scales of power in our Nation, as illustrated in Hunts Point, are grossly imbalanced. Maurice Halbwachs, the grandfather of modern theoretical frameworks of memory, posited that memories are inherently collective, constructed out of shared data or conception. It involves reiterated practices of belonging and organized forgetting. “To forget a period of one’s life is to lose contact with those who surround us.” (Halbwachs, 30) The individual as inextricably linked to society. Halbwachs’ framework can be dissected into three primary components–individual, society and memory. However, in order to gain deeper insight into the tangled web of Hunts Point, we must employ a more explicit lexicon: I d e ntit y

Individual and society are inextricably linked. Therefore, identity is inherently a social construction. At its best, identity exceeds the actual and harnesses the potentiality of individual and collective capacity. Identity encompasses physical as well as psychological factors that influence attitudes, motivate behaviors and define culture.

[129]


Environ m e nt

Environment is a mnemonic landscape that embraces the perceived, conceived and lived aspects of space negotiated by ruling social forces. (Lefebvre, 1996) M e m or y

Memory, a diverse set of cognitive capabilities, is the living manifestation of social power that transcends time, constructs identities and permeates environments. Types of memory include but are not limited to episodic, autobiographical, traumatic, procedural, habitual and semantic. Memory serves as a feedback loop in this perpetual dialogue between identity (individual) and the environment (society). The dominant feedback in Hunts Point is currently negative. Explicit and implicit reminders of individual placement in the bottom strata of societal hierarchy are pervasive in and around the community. Law enforcement decorates the streets. EBT and WIC advertisements decorate retail facades. Local news channels broadcast tales of robbery, crossfire, and the asthma. National media aggrandizes prostitution. â€œâ€Śwhen it comes to influencing a cognitive map, what matters is not merely what is publicly discussed, but also what is not mentioned in public...The most successful ideological effects are those which have no need of words, and ask no more than a complicitous silence.â€? (Bourdieu, 1977) The collective memory of Hunts Point that feeds identity and constructs the environment straddles fact and fiction. As active and silent social agents navigating this narrative landscape, we personify the past, present and future. Stories are memories. Memories are power.

[130]

FOOD FIGHTS . WHAT'S THE POINT?


[FIG 01] FIELD JOURNAL . KIERSTEN NASH 2 FEBRUARY 2011

The violence of power, as outlined by Derrida, is the silent perpetuation of social injustices which have paralyzed Hunts Point. The Point is You. The Point is Me. The Point is your neighbor. Although we are all storytellers, the majority of us are Unheard, Uninvited And Silent. But according to Claude Lefort, the silent social agents are the most valuable assets within the democratic machine. It is precisely these community members that possess the knowledge capable of causing a delay in the feedback loop perpetuated by memory in the ongoing dialogue between identity (individual) and the environment (society). If a balancing feedback loop, in this case memory, experiences a delay, it is possible that the entire system will oscillate. If the delay is sustained over time, it is likely to cause significant change in the behavior of the system, i.e. identity and environment. According to sociologist Anthony Giddens, sustained dissociation with the established culture long enough to cultivate an unanchored subjectivity. Giddens also asserts that disassociation is advanced with relative ease given society’s current rates of mobility, information and communication. (Santos, 2001)

The Point is to find your voice. Mobility is not the first word that comes to mind upon reviewing the research presented thus far. However, the rate of communication amongst community members is relatively high. But the chatter is silent. Information is flowing not from individual’s mouths but from their fingertips.

[131]


[ F I G 0 2] TACT I CA L F R AM EWO R K

“When we change the way we communicate, we change society. The tools that a society uses to create and maintain itself are as central to human life as a hive is to bee life. Though the hive is not part of any individual bee, it is part of the colony, both shaped by and shaping the lives of its inhabitants. The hive is a social device, a piece of bee information technology

Own it. PREFERRED

that provides a platform, literally, for the communication and coordination that keeps the community viable. Individual bees can’t be understood separately from the colony or from their shared, co-created environment. So it is with human networks; bees make hives, we make mobile phones.” (Shirky, 2008)

Share it.

Text messaging is the most widely used mobile data service, with 74% of all mobile phone users worldwide, or 2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion phone subscribers, at end of 2007 being active users of the Short Message Service. (Wikipedia, 2011) A 2010 Pew Research report found that 44 percent of African American and 35 percent of Hispanic teens use their cell phones to go online, compared to 21 percent of white teens. (Sprung, 2011)

Imagine it. Construct it.

At Bronx Regional High School, 8 out of 10 randomly sampled students have smart phones with internet access, 50% own a BlackBerry. (Sprung, 2011) Eight of the 10 Bronx Regional students interviewed said they use their phone for texting a lot more than calling. More than half the students said they send and receive Write it. Speak it.

at least 100 text messages per day. One student, 18-year-old John Cain, said he sends and receives at least 300 text messages each day, which equates to approximately 109,500 text messages per year. (Sprung, 2011)

People are talking…silently. Live it. Breathe it. E X I STI N G

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody. (Jacobs, 1961)

[132]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


[FIG 03] "SO IT IS WITH HUMAN NETWORKS; BEES MAKE HIVES, WE MAKE MOBILE PHONES." SHIRKY

[133]


[ F I G 0 4 ] A R C H I T E C T U R E O F PA RT I C I PAT I O N

DeSIGN STRaTeGy

What’s The Point? redefines the community board as a responsive social organism, nourished by the silent agents through social media, that permeates that perceived, conceived and lived environment. What’s The Point? reflects the past, present and future memory of Hunts Point. BEYOND

TaCTICal FRameWORK

If design is the ability to take something from an existing state to a preferred state, as suggested by Herbert Simon, then let’s consider how we might we shift the dynamic and ignite new voices into the current conversation? BOROUGH

[Ignite: Focus the conversation] A series of workshops with community groups such as Urban Word NYC and Beats, Rhymes and Life, whose members are active community members, aim to hone the dialogue within the context of defining Hunts Point (i.e., What’s The Point?). Participants will explore areas COMMUNITY

of primary interest through a mapping exercise that begins to contextualize the larger meta-narratives. Particular attention is given to the topics outlined on the Bronx Community Board 2 upcoming meeting agenda. Participants form groups around selected sub-topics in order to further develop associated questions and provocations that might best ignite a community

NEIGHBORHOOD

response. A singular sub-topic is selected and amended to the over arching question “What’s The Point?” [Invite: Build An Architecture of Participation through the Logic of Complexity (Shirky, 2008)] “In a group, other people’s relationship to you isn’t all that matters, instead of counting people, you need to count links between people”. (Shirky, 2008)

ME I N TE R P E R S O N A L

What’s the Point? is a loose framework that fosters development through performance and community through participation by uniting existing networks of communication through the use of computers, mobile phones, and for those without digital capacity, spray paint, chalk, and markers as the transitional YOU INDIVIDUAL

objects of critical participation.

[134]

FOOD FIGHTS . WHaT'S THe pOINT?


Based on our selected sub-topics of focus we strategically

RESEARCH PRECEDENTS

canvas the community.

TXT UA L H EA L I N G , PAU L N OT ZO L D 1 5 MAY 2 0 1 1 I N T E RV I EW

Following are a few of the gems that paul imparted:

Bus Stops & Empty Storefronts

Use the community as facilitator/host

Vinyl aerial maps of Hunts Point are applied to the glass

Impact of the performance transcends the event

partitions of bus stops and empty storefront windows

Open ended statement are best devise when attempting to solicit a response

throughout the neighborhood. Above each map, "What's The Point?" (including the sub-topic selected from the

Yes or no questions are the worst devise for initiating a conversation

workshop) invites community members to reflect on their individual opinion. With a dry erase marker a dry erase

Yes, individuals will inherently test the system. Embrace it. It builds trust.

marker, citizens highlight areas they value within their

Kinda like fishing—throw out the line and

community, by physically mapping the neighborhood with

get a few bites equals a good day.

their personal perspective. The board is continually documented and updated with new

S PAT I A L CO N TXT, A N DA F R E N C H + S T U D E N TS 26 APRIL 2011 INTERVIEW

sub-topics. Messages can also be disseminated throughout the medium for further community engagement and cohesion.

Questions developed in conjunction with elementary school Say Yes to Education program: What do you like about Syracuse?

Buildings & Brownfields

What do you want to be? [received most responses]

By applying simple chalkboard paint along highly traveled sidewalks throughout Hunts Point, we are able to engage

What should we do with the abandoned houses?

community members in an active dialogue. "What's The

Why smoke?

Point?" follow by the sub-topic selected from the workshop,

Couple hundred responses received in all

is stenciled on the exterior façade inviting community members to contribute their voice to the conversation. Using chalk pieces

Tweet, Text Each individual who answers a question will receive an automatically generated response with inviting to view the video display at the museum.

(in a container attached to the wall), individuals inscribe their

Primary responses via text

opinion on the landscape. Brownfields, bodegas and other major pedestrian intersections serve as possible installation sites. The board is continually documented and updated with new sub-topics. Messages can also be disseminated throughout the medium for further community engagement and cohesion.

[135]

May 4 Compilation of the community’s responses to the questions will be on display for the public via video projection on the Everson Museum exterior.


[ F I G 05, O6]

Community Board Façade

BUS STOPS & EMPTY STOREFRONTS BUILDINGS & BROWNFIELDS

A location, date and time are selected from the Bronx Community Board 2 meeting calendar. What’s the Point?, the corresponding sub-topic, and performance particulars are disseminated through various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and of course, text messaging. The seed is planted. A mass of community members gathers outside of 1029 East 163rd Street, home to the Bronx Community Board 2. [Insight] At this stage, two things are important to consider. First, how might we establish the trust necessary to foster engagement? Second, as outlined by Foucault, fearless speaking is not spontaneous rhetoric. So, how might we prepare fearless speakers to emerge from a sea of silent social agents in order to embrace their new role as community participants?

PLAY! Within the framework of a game, we safely test individual boundaries. It’s not pure and simple. But if everyone comes out at the other end, we will have established trust that tempers anxiety, fosters play and spawns creative risk. Our ringleader is an active community participant from the workshop, who has a pulse on, can communicate with and inspire participation form the community. The players are those gathered in addition to those students, wanderers, teachers, business persons, mothers, fathers, et al. that begin to fill the space. The stage is set. And the question is posed. Large, bold letterforms spelling What’s The Point? are emblazoned on the architectural façade of the 1029 East 163rd Street via light projection. As encouraged by the facilitator, players furiously text their responses. VOICES EMERGE! transforming the identity, environment and memory of Hunts Point. [136]

FOOD FIGHTS . WHaT'S THe pOINT?


[ F I G O7]

[Change] Data is aggregated to inform the political players with seats at the community table as a virtual portal for continued discourse. Performances are repeated until culture is affected. ONWaRD

“The major obstacle to achieving equality is a belief in its impossibility, based on a deeper belief that progressive social change is impossible. It is not.” (Hofrichter, 2003) Shifting cultural paradigms is a daunting task that demands careful negotiation, reflexive ideation and repetitive performance in order to challenge the visibility and credibility of authority. This is the first step towards an interactive culture that inhabits the perceived, conceived and lived space of Hunts Point. The following outlines the agenda moving forward: Cultivate Relationships with Engaged Social Agents silent as well as active Establish Trust Workshops in conjunction with The Point CDC Refine Framework Prototype Develop Metric of Success and Test Prototype Lay Foundation for Participation: Launch Prototype Reflect...and repeat.

[137]

C O M M U N I T Y B O A R D FA Ç A D E


[138]

FOOD FIGHTS . WHAT'S THE POINT?


B I BL I O G R AP H Y

Bauder, Harald, and Mauro Salvatore. Engel-Di. "Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography." Critical Geographies: a Collection of Readings. Kelowna, B.C.: Praxis, 2008. 23-27.

Hofrichter, R. The Politics of Health Inequities: Contested Terrain. In R. Hofrichter (Ed.), Health and Social Justice: Politics, Ideology, and Inequity in the Distribution of Disease, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 2003, 1-56.

Bourdieu, Pierre. Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1977.

"Hunts Point, Bronx." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 23 Feb. 2011.

Counihan, Carole. The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage, 1992.

Fernandez, Manny. "A Fumeless Delivery Truck Plies Hunts Point Streets." New York Times [New York] 02 Oct. 2008.

Lefebvre, Henri, Eleonore Kofman, and Elizabeth Lebas. "Lost in Transposition-Time, Space and the City." Writings on Cities. Cambridge, Mass, USA: Blackwell, 1996. 3-62.

Foucault, Michel, and Colin Gordon. Power/knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977. New York: Pantheon, 1980.

Meadows, Donella H., and Diana Wright. Thinking in Systems: a Primer. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Pub., 2008.

Freedman, Darcy. "Politics of Food Access In Food Insecure Communities." Diss. Vanderbilt University, 2008.

Mitchell, D. Cultural Geography; A Critical Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2000.

Gabriel, Trip. "Speaking Up in Class, Silently, Using the Tools of Social Media." The New York Times [New York] 13 May 2011: A1+.

Phillips, Patricia. "Creating Democracy: A Dialogue with Krzysztof Wodiczko." Art Journal 62.04 (2003): 32-47.

Galtung, J. "Violence, peace and peace research." Journal of Peace Research 6.3, 1969, 167-191. Geertz, C. Thick description: toward an interactive theory of culture. In R.M. Emerson (Ed.), Contemporary field research: perspectives and formulations (2nd ed. pp. 55-77). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press Inc. French, Simone A., Mary Story, and Robert W. Jeffery. "Environmental Influences On Eating And Physical Activity." Annual Review of Public Health 22.1 (2001): 309-35.

Santos, Myrian Sepulveda. "Memory and Narrative in Social Theory: The Contributions of Jacques Derrida and Walter Benjamin." Time & Society 10.163 (2001) Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: the Power of Organizing without Organizations. New York: Penguin, 2008. Story, Mary, Karen M. Kaphingst, Ramona RobinsonO'Brien, and Karen Glanz. "Creating Healthy Food and Eating Environments: Policy and Environmental Approaches." Annual Review of Public Health 29.1 (2008): 253-72. Winnicott, D. W. Playing and Reality. New York: Basic, 1971.

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted." The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2010. Harvey, David. Spaces of Global Capitalism. London: Verso, 2006.

[139]



[141]

GReeTINGS FROm HUNTS pOINT eulani labay + kelly tierney


[142]

F O O D F I G H T S . G R EE T I N G S F R O M H U N T S P O I N T


[ G R EE T I N G S F R O M H U N T S P O I N T ] W E LO O K A T T H E PR ESEN T THR OUGH A R EA R V IEW MIRROR, W E M A R CH B A CK WA R DS IN TO THE F UTUR E. Marshall McLuhan

In our hope to create and share memories and promises made to the community of Hunts Point — the results of which define many of its challenges — we aimed to design a mode of discovery about a condition of the people and the environment that is parallel to that of many other urban neighborhoods. Our goal was to bring a level of awareness outside the immediate Hunts Point area, so that people throughout New York City would come to realize the effects of policy and planning on this particular community. It became clear to us as we spoke to people outside of Hunts Point that there was a lack of awareness and direct relationship with the area. Without a portal into the community, there had been few entry points into the conditions and circumstances of the area and its residents.

HUNTS POINT: LOOK CLOSER

As a part of initial research in Hunts Point, Kelly created the journal Hunts Point: Look Closer, as documentation of her first visit to the area. By sketching her observations, she found that she could thoughtfully process an interpretation of the neighborhood. When sharing this with a few people familiar with the area, they expressed excitement over the idea of sharing the story of Hunts Point beyond the Bronx. In her own experience sharing the story of Hunts Point with her aunt, Eulani realized that many well educated, well intentioned long-term residents of New York City — even those with activist inclinations — were unaware of the dichotomies that define and create obstacles in this neighborhood. She was drawn to the idea of using tactical media to create transparency around these issues, so that New York City residents could become aware of them and respond in their own ways.

[143]


THE SYSTEM

G R EE T I N G S F R O M H U N T S P O I N T

We asked: How might we broadcast the story of Hunts Point to a wider audience? Our communications are designed as part

An invitation

portal for New Yorkers and visitors to look into Hunts Point;

We decided to use postcards as a means to share the narrative

and part mirror for Hunts Point to reflect upon itself.

of Hunts Point. These cards are designed to elicit feelings of intimate personal messages sent from a better place, a place worth noting and sharing. When choosing to bring attention to the challenges and issues within Hunts Point, we were very aware that we could not be the voice of the community. We did not have the right, the permission or the authority to do so. We could not speak for the community, only of the community. We chose to use historical references in narrative and aesthetics to allow the story of Hunts Point to speak for itself. For this first set of Greetings from Hunts Point, the historical themes illustrate promises made to Hunts Point and bring to light the realities of current conditions. 路 Greetings from Hunts Point, re: Terminal Market dichotomy 路 Subsidized Housing Hunts Point, re: subsidy traps 路 Bruckner Expressway, re: asthma rates in children [144]

F O O D F I G H T S . G R EE T I N G S F R O M H U N T S P O I N T


Present-day statistics narrate and illuminate some of the most striking issues in Hunts Point, such as its 27% obesity rate, double the rate in New York City overall.

[01] IMAGE TITLE

P L AC E M E N T AT A B O O K S T O R E

A Portal into Hunts Point The leading statement “Wish you were here...� functions as an unexpected prompt to consider the realities of the community and acts as a pull into the community. Following this statement is a URL directing people to visit the online portal, a direct connection to events and organizations in the community. This portal is hosted on the blog site Tumblr, allowing anyone to suggest and submit events and artifacts like videos, audio, and photographs. Placement

P L AC E M E N T AT A CA F E

We hoped to generate awareness and change through discovery, first of the cards in unexpected places, then of the story of Hunts Point, and finally of the first-hand experience of the neighborhood. With the neutral language of statistics and a subtle tone that would provoke curiosity and engagement, we identified appropriate locations to place the cards for the first act of discovery. At bookstores, we targeted individuals who are already interested in related topics, such as housing and infrastructure in New York City; we also looked for references that were specific to the Bronx and Hunts Point. To reach a larger audience throughout the city, we placed cards in public spaces, such as restaurants and cafes. We aimed to capture tourists and other visitors to New York City by placing cards in the postcard racks of busy souvenir shops.

[145]

P L AC E M E N T AT A S O U V E N I R S H O P


VISIONS OF HUNTS POINT

Cue Cards While the postcards addressed the first part of our mission — to raise awareness and bring people into Hunts Point — it did not include a clear path to direct action by those in the community, for the community. To achieve this, we used memories of “the past” to create visions for the future. We used the aspirational theme of a Worlds Fair, set in Hunts Point in the year 2025, to contrast with the current conditions of 2011.

[146]

F O O D F I G H T S . G R EE T I N G S F R O M H U N T S P O I N T


Community Activity We created these cards as a mirror for Hunts Point to reflect on itself, by discussing both current critical issues and the hopes of and for the community. This second set of cards, “What I saw at the Hunts Point Worlds Fair 2025” uses similar tactics as the first set, but for different end goals. In this case, we hope to create a method for developing conversations around the future of Hunts Point, a structured open ‘space’ for dreaming and planning. The cards include provocative statistics and a prompt, “My vision for Hunts Point in 2025 is...”, followed by space to write or draw future scenarios. By sharing these ideas en masse — for example, posted together on a wall — the community can develop a shared vision of the future and use these, in turn, as prompts to create plans of action. Individually, these cards can be mailed to influencers within and outside of the community, creating a method for channeling these thoughtful visions to those likely to take action.

[147]


POSSIBILITIES

We hope that this project marks the beginning of a connection between Hunts Point and outer communities, and is also a starting point for envisioning future possibilities. We would like to see the online portal become an active resource for sharing experiences, discovering common interests, and developing the community through events and open dialogue. Ideally, a member of the Hunts Point community would be inspired to manage Greetings from Hunts Point postcards and Visions of Hunts Point cue cards, with an understanding of how this relatively simple system can be used to great effect. The project could evolve by having the community capture or create images, to be published as external and internal communications with a resident voice. The postcards could be used to promote a number of initiatives in Hunts Point, from family events to town hall meetings. And the cue cards could function as a kind of time capsule, enabling locals to collect, share and archive the current state and the visions for their community. These provocations create moments of discovery and insight, acting to facilitate change through understanding, vision and action. They are a means to create new memories and new promises for the future of Hunts Point.

Wish you were here... greetingsfromhuntspoint.tumblr.com

[148]

F O O D F I G H T S . G R EE T I N G S F R O M H U N T S P O I N T


[149]



[151]

FRISK zONe aabhira aditya, jacqueline oooksey. angeles cortesi, elie kahwagi + amanda lasnik


[01] Saturday afternoon Bryant street

[152]

FOOD FIGHTS . FRISK ZONE


[FRISK ZONE] T he N Y P D ’ s stop and - frisk practices raise serious concerns over racial profiling , illegal stops and privacy rights . T he D epartment ’ s own reports on its stop - and - frisk activity confirm what many people in communities of color across the city have long known ... NYCLU - Stop and Frisk Practices

Discussions with Hunts Point community members served as the platform for our design intervention. Taking a keen interest in the notion of tangible and intangible boundaries, our group chose to focus on the stop and frisk tactics utilized by New York Police Deparment's Operation Impact. Through discussions with Hunts Point residents, and attendance at a few community board meetings we learned that stop and frisk had become a major concern for a subset of the community as they literally felt as though they were being purposely harassed by police. Hearing these concerns, we developed our design intervention under the premise that police presence brought upon by Operation Impact, has created a divide in the community and is therefore altering the ways in which people move throughout the neighborhood. Our goal was to attempt to raise awareness of this community concern in a way that would speak to both Hunts Point residents as well as the police patrolling the area. G O V E R N ME N T S I G N S

We noted that almost all signage in the community is written as law enforcement telling citizens what not to do. This realization gave us the idea to flip the voice of the signs, shifting the narrative in a way that made it so the citizens are addressing law enforcement. People are used to having educational campaigns addressed to them, but rarely is there a campaign that speaks to legislators, political leaders or law enforcement.

[153]


[154]

FOOD FIGHTS . FRISK ZONE


FRISK ZONE

Essentially all of Hunts Point is a frisk zone as the entire community has been designated an Operation Impact Zone. By designating one specific area as a "Frisk Zone" we are sarcastically and ironically highlighting the issue by posting signs stating that this is a zone where you will be frisked. In reality, it is an awareness campaign of a community-wide concern. STOP & THINK

Stop & Think is the tagline to accompany the Frisk Zone, which is a play on Operation Impact’s Stop & Frisk tactics. Stop serves not as a means to eliminate police action, as Hunts Point is without a doubt a high crime area. Stop is a way to consider whether what they are doing is serving a greater good or only causing more of a divide in an already stratified community. Stop also serves as a warning for community members to consider why they themselves are being continually harassed or why they might see their neighbors being frequently stopped by the police. Think is to encourage law enforcement to consider the effectiveness of their strategies. Think also encourages citizens to be aware of their surroundings and understand what they can or cannot do within a frisk zone. signs

We propose installing provocative signs throughout Hunts Point on the street. Our signs aim to resemble signage done by city authorities, such as the "No Parking" or "No Standing." We’ve used a mixture of statistic data, community opinion and iconography to help deliver this message. A survey of NYCLU, Bronx Defenders and recent New York Times articles provided us with strong statistics illuminating the disparity and illegality of stop and frisk. We believe that the data speaks for itself as far as questioning the effectiveness of stop and frisk as a means for reducing crime while also making statistics tangible and contextualized in order to provoke surprise and critical thinking. By using irony and playful icons we aim to bring tacit knowledge to the surface – a step in leveraging the community’s voice.

[155]


[156]

FOOD FIGHTS . FRISK ZONE


[157]


CaRD CaSe

Because those who are routinely stopped and questioned are repeatedly asked to show identification to officers, the card case serves as an on-the-ground component of the frisk zone – a way to intervene into the current dynamic between citizens and the police. By providing Hunts Point residents with cases to hold identification cards, we allow the people to become part of the campaign, while hopefully reinforcing the notion that it is their responsibility to know their personal rights. The case also functions as a visual reminder for the police when they are stopping people and demanding identification. By seeing Frisk Zone written across the front of the identification, they are forced to make a connection between the content on the signs and the methodology of stop and frisk.

[158]

FOOD FIGHTS . FRISK zONe


TRaIl map

To identify the locations of the signage and the Frisk Zone, we mapped the areas where the frisking was most frequent. The first map shows these points in the 41st precinct as identified by the New York Times. We compared this to the locations of bodegas throughout the community (as shown in the map below).

[159]


[160]

FOOD FIGHTS . pSyCHOGeOGRapHy aND DaIly lIFe


When the previous two maps were overlapped (left page), we realized that the high frisking rates coincided with the bodega locations. This area, shown in our final map, became our zone of intervention.

[161]


Ph a s e 1

We see this as a three phase process, with the signs and the card serving as the first phase in an awareness campaign. Phase 1 shows the Hunts Point residents an instance where their reality becomes the narrative within their urban landscape. It also speaks to the law enforcement in the area, seeking to plant seeds of consideration. In the transdisciplinary design program we have been discussing how designers need to take accountability for what they put into the world, rather than merely reacting to the orders or requests they are given. We believe that police officers should also be given this level of expectation and ought to be aware how they are contributing to the disparity in the stop and frisk tactics. phase 2

This next phase involves action, where the tagline becomes STOP & ACT. It will involve a texting service that encourages citizens to document when they were stopped and frisked by police, offering a mechanism to flip the power of quotas into the hands of Hunts Point residents. If the community got into the practice of asking for badge ID numbers, and had a mechanism through which to document this data, it might serve as a way to help the community feel they have some form of recourse against continuous illegal harassment, while also keeping a record of those officers who routinely harass citizens under reasons classified as “other." This service would have to be supported by agencies such as NYCLU or Bronx Defenders in order to maintain credibility and remain sustainable. phase 3

Ultimately the goal is policy change, as eventually the numbers have to prove that stop and frisk strategies are not effective. Countless studies have highlighted the fact that stop and frisk and petty arrests do not reduce crime, and yet, the tactic has not only been utilized for almost a decade, it has been increasing city wide. Hopefully, by beginning with an awareness campaign, that then becomes an actionable tactic, and eventually comes back around to policymakers in time for the 2013 mayoral election, our design intervention will not only shed light on a community concern, but will ultimately shift the narrative to something more positive, more effective and more sustainable for citizens and the officers whose job it is to serve and protect. [162]

FOOD FIGHTS . FRISK ZONE


[163]


p r e c e d e nts [ 1] r e m e m b r a nc e

In 1993, artists Renata Stih and art historian Frieder Schnock scattered 80 signs and three billboards throughout Schöneberg, Germany. The result was a powerful mix of images, text and location in attempt to “restage the past within the present.” On June 4, 1993, the police in the Schöneberg district of Berlin received a number of telephone calls from irate individuals claiming that anti-Semitic signs bearing such provocative inscriptions as “Ban on Jewish musicians. 31.3.1935” and “Jews may no longer keep pets. 15.2.1942” were being bolted to lamp posts around the Bayerischer Platz. The police rushed to investigate. What they found, however, was not a group of neo-Nazis but the artist Renata Stih and the art historian Frieder Schnock in the process of mounting eighty plaques that together were to form a memorial network to the deported Jews of Berlin. “Art or no art,” State Secretary Armin Jäger decided, “the limits of good taste have been overstepped.” Despite the artists’ protest, the police dismantled and confiscated the seventeen signs which had already been put in place.

[ 2] C o p w a tch

CopWatch is s a coalition of NYC-based grassroots organizations that have joined forces to establish community control and police accountability. The coalition developped an outreach campaign encouraging community-based organizing to prevent police violence in Washington Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Bushwick with the intention to inform community residents that observing police activity is legal and can help in deterring abuse. Components of the campaign include: billboard advertisements, series of murals aimed at educating community members about their rights when confronted by law enforcement officers, and flyers. [164]

FOOD FIGHTS . FRISK ZONE


[3] z e ro ru p e e

5th Pillar, an Indian lobby group that campaigns on behalf of ordinary Indians, has introduced a novel anti-corruption tool: the zero-rupee, a protest note that can be handed over to any crooked bureaucrat who seeks a little extra payment. The bill, which like all Indian notes is graced with a picture of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, carries 5th Pillar’s email address and phone number and the solemn vow “I promise to neither accept nor give a bribe”. Volunteers hand them out near places where officials are often on the look-out for a backhander, such as railway stations and government hospitals. The success of the notes lies in the willingness of the people to use them. People are willing to stand up against the practice that has become so commonplace because they are no longer afraid: first, they have nothing to lose, and secondly, they know that this initiative is being backed up by an organization—that is, they are not alone in this fight. Once they realize that they are not alone, they also realize that this battle is not unbeatable. [4] ho l l a b a ck !

Hollaback is a movement dedicated to ending street harassment using mobile technology. Street harassment is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence and one of the least legislated against. Comments from “You’d look good on me” to groping, flashing and assault are a daily, global reality for women and LGBTQ individuals. But it is rarely reported, and it’s culturally accepted as "the price you pay" for being a woman or for being gay. By collecting women and LGBTQ folks’ stories and pictures in a safe and share-able way with their very own mobile phone applications, Hollaback! is creating a crowd-sourced initiative to end street harassment. Hollaback! breaks the silence that has perpetuated sexual violence internationally, asserts that any and all gender-based violence is unacceptable, and creates a world where we have an option—and, more importantly—a response.

[165]



[167]

peRFORmING INNOCeNCe rachel lehrer + grace tuttle


[168]

FOOD FIGHTS . peRFORmING INNOCeNCe


[peRFORmING INNOCeNCe] THE BALLET OF THE GOOD CITY SIDEWALK NEVER REPEATS ITSELF FROM PLACE TO PLACE, AND IN ANY ONCE PLACE IS ALWAYS REPLETE WITH NEW IMPROVISATIONS.

-Jane Jacobs

Hunts Point is rife with immobility. People spend limited time outside because they are fearful of police. Their freedom of movement is not what it should be. The outside is menacing so they move little throughout the neighborhood. Though largely unaware, the community’s movement is being restricted on an anatomical level as well. The very police that restrict their geographical movement does the same to their physical behavior. Not only is clothing, race and appearance profiled but this profiling is all justified by movement profiling. "" -

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED_ HEALTHY ENGAGED

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

[169]

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY ENGAGED_


[170]

F O O D F I G H T S . PE R F O R M I N G I N N O C E N C E


The rationale for stopping residents—the identification of movements that elicits “reasonable suspicion”--codes an extremely broad swath of movement as “suspicious” or guilty. Police have enumerated “furtive movement,” “appears to be casing,” “appears to be lookout,” and “apparent drug deal” as top reasons for stopping pedestrians. What this coding of movement does is to undermine both the protection against illegal searches and the assumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty, because a pedestrian's body is regarded as continually acting in a guilty manner. Under these circumstances, in precincts swarming with police officers, it can seem impossible to move innocently. This is fully understood by residents and results in antagonistic relationships between officers and residents. We have a vested interest in deconstructing the physical language that imbues a body with guilt and has justified an epidemic of stop and frisks, aggressive searches that many observers have called illegal. In the current police paradigm that uses physical movement to confer suspicion and justify stopping, it is almost impossible to move in a way that accords with innocence or doesn’t fall under the rubric of guilty movement.

[171]


RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED ENGAGED CITIZEN

RESTRAINED CITIZEN

EMPOWERED CITIZEN

PRESENT CONDITION IN HUNTS POINT

POSITIVE EXAMPLES OF URBAN SPACE

HEALTHY CITIZEN

OUR PROJECT

ULTIMATE GOAL

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

GREENWAY

FRISKING TERRITORY

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED FURTIVE MOVEMENT

PROTEST PLAY APPARENT DRUG DEALING is sMALL sECRETiVE MOVEMENTs iN AN EXCHANGE THAT POLiCE iDENTiFY As sUsPiCiOUs

TAKE A FOLDED PAPER THE SIZE OF A STAMP AND KEEP IT HIDDEN IN YOUR PALM WITH ONE FINGER AT A TIME. TRY TO TAKE IT IN AND OUT OF YOUR POCKETS USING A SINGLE FINGER AGAINST YOUR PALM.

CASING

CONGRATULATiONs, NOw YOU’RE THE MOsT sUsPiCiOUs

APPARENT DRUG DEAL

[172]

FOOD FIGHTS . peRFORmING INNOCeNCe


Keying off this sentiment, our group explored the notion of Through deconstructing these supposedly guilty behaviors we have arrived at a tool that creates awareness while simultaneously turning the sidewalk into a platform for demonstrating what amounts to a lack of freedom of movement in an unexpected, public and recreational way. We are proposing a strategically placed signage system which prompts people to engage in what we are currently calling “protest play.� In areas of high stop and frisks, our signs would direct people to perform behaviors that reinforce furtive movement, casing, drug dealing, etc... In contrast, in areas of Hunts Point undergoing Greenway development we would place signs encouraging movement that is oppositional to furtive movement, casing, drug dealing, etc... These signs will motivate people to share healthier public activity through addressing unsuccessful regulations. While creating embodied knowledge of regulations, these signs will also provide an opportunity for people to exercise in public and diversify the types of behaviors currently on the sidewalks.

[173]


RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

FRISKING TERRITORY

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

FURTIVE MOVEMENT

[174]

FOOD FIGHTS . peRFORmING INNOCeNCe


RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

GREENWAY

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

FURTIVE MOVEMENT

[175]


RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

APPARENT DRUG DEALING

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

CASING

[176]

FOOD FIGHTS . peRFORmING INNOCeNCe


RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

APPARENT DRUG DEALING

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY_ ENGAGED

CASING

[177]


Non-profit community organizations need to be more public, permeable, interpretable and understandable and they can do this by increasing the number of interfaces between them and the community. Our design can help organizations build community sustainability by being on the street and promoting a dialogue in creative and unexpected ways.

RESTRAINED EMPOWERED HEALTHY ENGAGED_ MEDIA STRATEGY

FUNDING

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

PHASE 1

[178]

PHASE 2

POLITICAL OUTREACH

PHASE 3

PHASE 4

FOOD FIGHTS . peRFORmING INNOCeNCe


R e l e v a nt R e sourc e s

Carbado, Devon W. "Racial Naturalization," American Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 3, Legal Borderlands: Law and the Construction of American Boarders (Sep., 2005), pp. 633-658. Chang, Ailsa “Alleged Illegal Searches by NYPD May Be Increasing Marijuana Arrests.” WNYC. 26 April 2011. http:// www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/apr/26/marijuanaarrests/ Ridgeway, Greg. "Analysis of Racial Disparities in the New York Police Department's Stop, Question, and Frisk Practices" California: RAND Corporation, 2007. Rivera, Ray, Al Baker and Janet Roberts. “A Few Blocks, 4 Years, 52,000 Police Stops.” New York Times. 11 July 2010. http://www. nytimes.com/2010/07/12/nyregion/12frisk.html

[179]



[181]

CONClUSION minh-nguyet le + jayson rupert


[182]

FOOD FIGHTS . CONCLUSION


[CONCLUSION] C ulture spreads like the surface of a body of water , spreading towards available spaces or trickling downwards towards new spaces through fissures and gaps , eroding what is in its way - Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guittari

The speculative projects presented are mix of community activism, perspective-shifting, sense-making, and ingenuity. The notion of authenticity is important to us, and the possibility of these speculative projects require the input and expertise of the Hunts Point resident. The collective interest and activity around low-income urban food systems abounds, yet there are still signs of many voids and missed opportunities. Consider these projects the beginning of an ongoing conversation – to be challenged, improved, and built upon. The speculations attempt to intervene at the local level, considering notions of scale and future phases of implementation—devising tactics and strategies that attack the underlying issues from many points of view. When looked at individually, each project may not be extremely influential, but collectively, across time and space, one can begin to sense their impact. Gilles Deleuze uses the metaphor of a rhizome, fasicular system, made of multiple roots and many nodes. They have no specific origin or genesis. And they constantly find new nodes from which to emerge—and create ruptures within the system. These lines of flight may break or die, naturally, but with persistence and passion, they will re-emerge, forever changing what they encounter.

[183]



Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.