The spaces we live in shape our means and patterns of communication. It is well known that a place’s architecture and design may encourage or hinder social interaction.
Although urban ills such as exclusion, alienation, racism or criminality cannot be linked directly to the city’s face, specialists dare to affirm that the urban environment does influence significantly our moods, behavior and communication style.
Taking it to the street
If design and architecture matter, what can we do to bring city residents closer? How can we create public spaces that encourage interaction, peaceful exchanges and mutual respect?
Any attempt at exploring innovative uses of urban spaces should start by focusing on streets and public means of transport.
These are opened, neutral, dynamic, ever-changing and yet permanent, coherent, well-organized spaces. Streets and public means of transport are “non-destination” places which could sparkle the desired “all-inclusive” urban conversation.
The way in starts outside
Streets are places where all residents meet.
Certainly, using the term “meet” seems a bit exaggerated, when all people usually do is to un-noticeably pass one another. And yet theoretically, people of all ages, professions, social classes, races and ethnicities could talk to each other on the street if they wanted to.
These outside-by-definition spaces might hold the key to end social exclusion.
The explanation is simple. The protection of anonymity temporary frees passers-by from rules, roles and restrictions. People feel more eager to be themselves and take off their masks when in transit. They are thus more inclined to focus on their human dimension, rather than their title, income or social affiliation.
This is the reason why streets should be considered key entry points for knocking down the obstacles that keep apart the different communities of urban residents.
Meeting on the go
Public means of transport share most of streets’ special characteristics: these are opened and dynamic spaces with a huge potential for socialization. Transit time offers the willing a comfortable and safe excuse to chat. This is true for metros, trains and buses, but also applies to train stations and airports. People waiting or traveling would have plenty of time to interact with each other if unwritten social rules didn’t compel them to use their mobile phones or… stare at the blank walls.
Smart design: already here
What if the design and organization of streets and public transport deliberately favored social contact?
Could a new and different, catchy and techy urban look make people more eager to get to know each other?
As a matter of fact, there are already as many functional creative solutions as there are cities on Earth. To name just a few: streets transformed into art galleries, videomapping, opened-air cinemas, urban parks and gardens, outdoor sport facilities, street theatre and improvisation, urban games, etc.
Art, nature, or technology can be endlessly mixed and re-mixed in order to help reduce modern life alienation and stress.
Proposal for encouraging strangers to interact
The following proposal focuses on two simple, technology-enabled solutions aimed at enhancing social interaction between strangers in urban public spaces.
Idea 1: Smart Desks
Smart Desks could be placed on streets, parks and other public areas such as bus and metro stops, train stations and airports.
The happy and colorful two-person benches will invite pairs of city residents to take a seat, plug-in their devices and connect to each other.
What for?
People will be motivated to interact in order to:
-re-charge their batteries (pun intended)
-use the wi-fi and make free phone calls
-exchange vouchers and other freebies
How will it work?
The idea is to be required to „team up” with a city resident living in a different area or neighborhood.
The system will demand two access codes to be introduced simultaneously, thus making it impossible for one person to use the free services alone. Each person will be assigned a unique personal code, based on the city area he/she lives in. Only codes from different city neighborhoods will match. One won’t be able be to invite his next-door friend!
Thus, complete strangers will have a first reason to interact.
Conversation, give or take
Making people sit next to each other and surf the web is not enough to kick off dialogue. This is where the “gifts” system will come in.
The idea is to offer participants something valuable that they would want to exchange for free: vouchers, discounts, tickets, open-access invitations, product samples, etc.
The rules of the “freebies game” in a nutshell:
Every time a person will „log in” at a Smart Desk, there will be a fresh selection of vouchers and other freebies awaiting in her inbox. No user will be allowed to use the freebies for himself.The system will offer instead the option of real-time transfer to the person sitting next. (Actually, the menu will offer four choices: do nothing, give only, receive only and exchange). All „free gifts” generated at log-in time will expire in 2 hours.
With the aim of making the most of their one-time chances, people will have to engage their desk partners in a discussion about their needs and desires in order to figure out how they can best help each other. Hence, conversation!
Idea 2: The C-U-tube
The C-U-tube will be, quite literally, “the city’s Youtube”- big screens placed on streets, squares, inside public means of transport and other waiting areas that will display only resident-generated content.
What for?
Screens might seem superfluous today when most people own a TV-set and at least one mobile device. Nevertheless, we should not forget the poor and those who feel lonely. Commenting the latest events together with other people is therapy and the first step towards authentic community building.
How will it work?
No ads, no infotainment, no general news. Only user-generated content: text, photos and videos. The main goal of the C-U-tube will be the revitalization of local democracy and civic participation.
Involving the locals
A great part of the messages displayed on public screens will be petitions addressed to public servants. These opened letters will deal with day-to-day issues of concern to the people and the city’s administration. The idea is to make residents more aware of the surrounding problems and at the same time push authorities to respond and find solutions.
Additionally, the screens will display “personal public messages” from residents to residents. Examples of “personal public messages” could include questions&demands for advice, event invitations&open calls, hyper-local news and announcements, calls for humanitarian aid, opinion statements and comments.
The messages’ role will be to connect the locals in the same way a widely-shared Facebook post or viral video does- building a sense of belonging and strengthening ties and urban solidarity.
The benefits
If implemented, the C-U-tube will mobilize residents in order to:
- learn to address authorities and exercise their civic rights
- suggest ideas for improving their communities
- involve other people in their lifestyles, preoccupations and hobbies
- initiate events, campaigns or competitions
- share their thoughts and opinions on urban life
Conclusion
Modern cities need to get digital and at the same time remain opened to traditional forms of human interaction. The technology needed to bring residents together is already available. Connectivity is no longer a luxury. Many urban centers around the world have already placed smart devices on their streets, granting free access to information and the internet.The next logical step is to go back to neighborhoods and re-connect people to each other.
