BLOCK PARTY!
ANYWHERE
WORKSHOP
ON-GOING
Making a good city is a complex process. Sometimes you have to work with what’s existing, sometimes you have to build consensus, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Urban areas in America have experienced a dramatic transformation over the last two decades with rapid population growth and the resultant explosion in new buildings and businesses. At the same time, the changes have made it difficult for some of the longest standing residents to remain in these growing areas. Amidst this challenge, how would you envision your ideal city of the future? Cities grow and change through the balancing act that is land use design, but change is also driven by each resident, entrepreneur, or developer.
'Block Party’ is a collaborative city building exercise. We ask the participants “What does your ideal neighborhood and city of the future look like?”
Each participant is given a blank city block. Drawing from a finite pool of pre-made buildings, they populate their block with their ideal home type and neighboring building types. Block Party aims to engage the participants in the balancing act of land use design by placing them in a position of choice between personal wants and community needs. A key aspect of the exercise is the limited quantity of each building type, and the order of participation, which together simulate the role of financial privilege against the real estate supply & demand.
Block Party is a kit-of-parts workshop toolkit that can be deployed with any group of participants. We look forward to our next engagement!