Exploring and Re-Imagining Downtown

The first Downtown Geographical Expedition, led by Kimi Eisele and Josh Schachter, was an exploration of downtown using a variety of mediums and concepts - memory maps, photography using polaroid film and digital cameras, radical geography, post-it art, and walking. Here are few highlights. I'll post the memory maps and the polaroids shortly. All of the photos (except the one below) were taken by Josh Schachter.

50 Steps
We did a photo exercise in which we started at the library and took a photo at every 50 steps. The exercise challenged us to see downtown in new ways. Here are 2 of the images I shot. To see all of my 50 steps pics, click here.

Pennington Street Garage
We ventured to the top of the Pennington Street Garage and commented on what we saw below. We envisioned the abundance of rooftop space being used for performances, gatherings, gardens. The bus station - already filled with mature mesquite trees and other vegetation - could be turned into a multi-use space - a garden of local foods, a cafe serving food made from the garden's harvest, and a gathering space or community center. So many possibilities...

Post-It Notes: re:visioning the Thrifty Lot
The Thrifty Lot - sold by the city to a developer for $100 - has been empty for four years. We covered the fence with post-its imagining what this space could be used for. Among the ideas were a playground, ice cream parlor, locally-owned businesses, and a rainwater harvesting demonstration site.















Scattering of Seed Balls - Re-Greening Downtown
As we walked around downtown, we scattered balls of clay and dirt containing seeds of native plants and even some watermelon! Jill created the balls using seeds from Native Plants.





We checked out the chess event at Hotel Congress
Another Downtown Geographical Expedition will be held on Saturday, May 31st. See the previous post for sign-up information.