Golden, Saul

English

This invited output describes the context and methodology behind a series of public-space-led events and debates on urban regeneration, organized by Golden in February 2013. Golden adapted Project for Public Spaces Ltd.'s "lighter, quicker, cheaper" methods for temporary targeted urbanism into a unique design consultation project that took place in the public realm of Belfast city centre. It provided an alternative outlet for debates and consultation on Government supported, Private Developer-led, proposals to create a new public square. The ‘positive occupation’ involved members of the public, design professionals, public artists, and representatives of the Department of Social Development (DSDNI); contributing to DSDNI’s formal consultation process. The project displays the first steps in demonstrating how more informal open-ended approaches to urban design decision-making might impact and improve the place-led qualities of new urban development, in contrast to more controlled or top-down statutory approaches. Golden's event received international recognition when shared through a peer reviewed presentation at the Future of Places, UN sponsored conference, in June 2013. The conference presentation preceded this commissioned piece for the Project for Public Spaces Ltd. Blog, which has a global reach and has elicited shares and commments on this project from across Europe and the Americas

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26 2ShareStarting With the Petunias: LQC Action forBetter Public SpaceBy Saul Golden on Aug 11, 2013 | 2 CommentsAn artists’ rendition of the official “Library Square” project design proposed by the local authorities in Belfast / Photo: Saul GoldenAs an architect and urbanist who has grown up and lived in cities most of his life, I consider the quality ofpublic spaces to be the key to successful urban environments. Earlier this year in my adopted home cityof Belfast, Ireland, a proposal to redevelop a small triangular street intersection into a new ‘new iconicmeeting place’ spurred me to organize a series of events leading to a pop-up occupation. This temporarytakeover, responding to what I perceived as a fragmented and top-down scheme, went from idea to‘activention’ in just one week, and was completed with almost no funding. I present this story as anexample of how effective ‘lighter, quicker, cheaper’ (LQC) urbanism can be in raising awareness anddiscussion about the places people share. Initiating this event is also part of my ongoing process oflearning new skills as an architect to create better places, and applying one of the key lessons I took fromPPS’s How to Turn A Place Around Training: to “start with the petunias!”The official proposal, called Library Square, is a £3million ($5million) joint government and private-ledscheme launched in November 2012. Glossy images and brochures promoted completed designs totransform the existing street into a ‘destination’ with literary-themed paving and fixed seating, treesculptures, retail kiosks, large video screens and Wi-Fi hotspots. During the project consultation period inearly 2013, I—along with other like-minded colleagues—spoke with local business owners, governmentrepresentatives and residents about alternative possibilities for activating the space that would expendfewer resources on expensive surfaces. We have argued for more spending to be focused on buildingpartnerships around the space, and managing street-level activity throughout the year in conjunction withexisting amenities.I was surprised to find that others—local business owners in particular—felt we should support any formof investment in the area, and were wary that negative comments might result in no investment at all. Isoon realized that starting out too negatively and playing the ‘expert designer’ card too strongly riskedalienating rather than encouraging discussion.Filter Blog Posts By TypeCampusesCivic CentersDowntownsEventsGreat Public SpacesHistoric PreservationMarketsMulti-UseParksPlacemaker ProfilesPlaces in the NewsPPS VideoProject UpdatesSquaresTrainingTransportationWaterfrontsFilter Blog Posts By AgendaArchitecture of PlaceBuilding Communities throughTransportationCreating Public Multi-use DestinationsPublic Markets and Local Economies87 ShareWork With Us Free Newsletter Stay ConnectedHome About Services Training Projects Placemaking Blog ResourcesShareProject for Public Spaces | Starting With the Petunias: LQC Action... http://www.pps.org/blog/starting-with-the-petunias-lqc-action-for-...1 of 4 11/12/2013 22:48“The lesson for me from this process was the importance of recognizing andreacting flexibly to key opportunities and people as they presented themselves.” /Photo: Saul GoldenThe local authority in charge of the project, Northern Ireland’s Department of Social Development (DSD)agreed to let me host a meeting in February, using their presentation boards for a public discussionbetween students of architecture and design, local people, and business owners. The discussionshighlighted the positives of the space within and around the proposed new square: its Victorian era settingand surrounding historic buildings. We focused on how existing amenities could support a variety ofstreet-level economic and cultural activities, and how public bodies could work with investors, propertyowners, and the public as partners in crafting a larger development vision. I had not planned on anyfurther interventions but, as often happens when more people who are willing to talk across personal andprofessional boundaries get involved, ideas became more fluid.Together with fellow architectArthur Acheson, Chair of NorthernIreland’s Ministerial AdvisoryGroup, I led an unplanned walkaround the site of the proposedsquare with some of the moreskeptical business owners. Weborrowed a table and chairs froman adjacent (indoor-only)restaurant and sat in the street,discussing the design proposalsover steaming cups of coffee.Passers-by turned their heads insurprise to see us sitting outside inthat particular street; most of themended up smiling. We felt thissuggested that, given the rightopportunity, more people mightjoin us. We agreed to take thenext step and create a full-streetevent before the close ofconsultations—which was thenjust one week away. The leapfrom talk to action occurredspontaneously through this and other encounters, some equally unexpected. The lesson for me from thisprocess was the importance of recognizing and reacting flexibly to key opportunities and people as theypresented themselves.Before taking over the street, we opted to get as much legal and local buy-in as possible. Occupying apublic space in any city can be extremely contentious, and doing so in Belfast is no exception. Belfast hasa long history of extremely negative sectarian conflict over sharing space as well as more recentexamples of global Occupy movements in public spaces and private buildings. Knowing more about theusual bureaucracy for road closures and blocking on-street parking spaces might also have beendaunting. When our aims for a temporary, ‘light-touch’ approach were explained to people, however, wefound that many doors opened to help.One unexpected experience was with the Police Service, who initially had some tough questions aboutour plan before agreeing to meet me at the site to see the proposals for themselves. After meetinginformally, again over a cup of coffee, the Constable responsible for the neighborhood took a supportiveapproach to lobby on our behalf, as well as to help close the street on the day of the activention. TheBelfast Central Library, which faces the square and is the reason for the square’s proposed name, alsoplayed an important role. The Library manger recognized how a successful space outside could bemutually beneficial for their patrons, as well as for their existing café inside. Within two days, we hadapprovals to proceed.I coordinated the activities, volunteers, and publicity; Arthur Acheson offered his support on behalf ofMAG, along with a tent, badminton set, and chalkboard! The restaurant owner agreed to provide moretables and chairs, and some food. We also had help from a network of contributors including the BelfastSchool of Architecture and local charity PLACE, Northern Ireland’s architecture and built environmentoutreach and education center. PLACE brought in their UK-wide initiative, Somewhere To… whichinvolves youths under age 25 in projects affecting their physical environment. PLACE also donated chairsand fake grass from another event and invited a street artist, Jane Butler, to develop specific chalk-artactivities for the day.Serendipitously, we learned that a poetry society, The Shalom House Writer’s Club, had a recital plannedin the Library on the day of our event, and we persuaded them to join us in the street for a live reading. Iknew from my training with PPS that Placemaking is all about getting the right people on board; what Irealized through this experience is that you never know where the right people will come from, so it’s bestProject for Public Spaces | Starting With the Petunias: LQC Action... http://www.pps.org/blog/starting-with-the-petunias-lqc-action-for-...2 of 4 11/12/2013 22:48Golden & his collaborators capitalized on existingplans for a poetry reading at the nearby library,convincing organizers to bring the event out into thepublic realm / Photo: Saul Goldento talk to everyone!With this support, the intervention ran smoothly onFebruary 21 , 2013. We limited what we brought,borrowing larger items from surrounding businesses. Weset out areas for play and seating: hopscotch and animpromptu badminton court in the street, an old guitar toone side for budding buskers, and an ‘outdoor café’ withthe donated furniture and fake grass. Our volunteer streetartist guided others to ‘cultivate’ chalk grass and flowersover the asphalt parking spaces and up some blank wallsfacing the square. Despite a cold February day, a steadystream of people joined in the poetry readings, games,guitar, art, and general conversation for a few hours,encouraged by more coffee from the Library café, andsandwiches donated by a local restaurant owner. We hadcurious members of the public ask about the official designproposals, along with a few harmless hecklers who onlyadded to a lively, interactive public display in a street mostoften used for car-parking. At the end of the day, we leftbehind only our inspirational and colorful chalk meadow.“At the end of the day, we left behind only our inspirational and colorful chalk meadow.” / Photo: Saul GoldenEven without slick marketing, we attracted attention to the space and had positive coverage in the localpress about the potential for the proposed Square be a better quality place without kiosks or overlyexpensive design gimmicks. Some key members from DSD even ventured out to visit the activated street,and saw for themselves what we were trying to achieve. Before leaving, they let us know there could bemore funding available to grow these types of events in the future, with a little more forward planning. Wealso received many useful comments, stories, and ideas from the public and volunteers about DSD’sproposals, including ideas for flexible uses such as street-markets or other cultural events that wecompiled and submitted to DSD’s consultation.In that one afternoon, we reached a wide audience—though we remain aware of limits to what influencewe might have over the official consultation process. In the months since the activention, there have beensmall positive steps to consider and take the comments we gathered into the next planning stages. Mostimportantly, running this event showed me, and I believe others involved, that limited time and resourcesare not barriers to taking action and raising issues about the use of public spaces. Already, mycollaborators and I are now considering larger, longer cultural events to demonstrate how LQCapproaches can be useful, agile, and visible on-the-ground methods to help people envision better qualitypublic spaces for their city. Whatever the outcome at Library Square, our work there helped to spark aconversation, and will contribute to more action around public space in the future. stProject for Public Spaces | Starting With the Petunias: LQC Action... http://www.pps.org/blog/starting-with-the-petunias-lqc-action-for-...3 of 4 11/12/2013 22:48After the event, ideas generated by thepublic were shared with the DSD. Click onthis image for a larger version of thisrendering of proposed future uses. / Photo:Saul Golden26 2Share—-Saul is a UK-licensed architect, and also a lecturer in architectureat the Belfast School of Architecture and Design. Originally fromNew York, studying and working in architecture led him to live andwork in a number of cities before settling in Belfast with his family adecade ago. Saul’s main practice and research interests incommercial, community and education sectors for over twentyyears include investigating how designers can learn to work moreeffectively with private-developers toward better quality publicspaces and everyday places in existing cities. He is grateful toeveryone who helped make the Library Square pop-up a success,and thanks PPS Ltd and others for much of his inspiration andtraining.Related postsDetroit Leads the Way on Place-Centered RevitalizationWhat is the Place for Public Space in our Cities?The Power of Place: A New Dimension for Sustainable DevelopmentNominate Your Public Space for the ULI Amanda Burden Urban Open Space AwardKeep your finger on the pulse–sign up for Placemaking News today! subscribe2 commentsJoin the discussion…Best Community Login ⤤Share• Reply •Jen Stencel •  4 months agoWhat a perfect storm of one thing leading to another. I can envision how it must havelooked when tables and chairs are dragged out into a public space- I think people wantthat- as surely the smiles reflected. Imagine the engagement if a bit warmer.Inspirational!- thanks  • Reply •Arthur Acheson •  4 months agoThanks Saul,A great occasion and let's officially declare this to be "good work".............but I wouldsay that wouldn't I?I plan to use your articulate article to encourage and inspire local Councils with whomMAG is working across the country.Now, how do I get them all Linked In..........?  Subscribe✉ Add Disqus to your sited1★Share ›Share ›87Project for Public Spaces | Starting With the Petunias: LQC Action... http://www.pps.org/blog/starting-with-the-petunias-lqc-action-for-...4 of 4 11/12/2013 22:48

Starting With the Petunias: LQC Action for Better Public Space

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Starting With the Petunias: LQC Action for Better Public Space

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