Three issues in the East Village
1. Trash Disposal
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According to the official website of the NYC.gov, the trash in the East Village is collected every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Recycling is collected every Wednesday. Therefore whenever the pick-up day is coming, thousand of large plastic bag of waste will be place on the street. Although it is for the convenience of collecting, it can still cause a lot of problems. First of all, the trash on the streets can pollute the public space. During summer time, the process of the rottenness will be speed up by the high temperature and cause the spread of bacteria and stinky smell. What is more, it is no better during winter, due to various kinds of reason, trash could be scattered all over the ground and got mixed with the snow. When the weather gets warmer, they will turn the melted snow into dirty puddles. Once the temperature drops again, the mixture would become black ice. All of those facts can make the cleaning even harder.
Cite Resource:
http://www1.nyc.gov/apps/311utils/addressinfo.htm
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2. Gentrification
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Before the 1960s, the East Village was still a part of the Lower East Side until the gentrification made its name. Gentrification is a shift happens in an urban community towards a wealthier residence and rising property values. What happened in the East Village back in the 1960s was a lot of hipsters, musicians, poets, and artists moved here due to its very low living standard. They opened many interesting galleries that were distinctive from those in wealthier neighborhoods. The hip culture they developed attracted more people to this area. And the name of the East Village was widely accepted during that time. However, when gentrification happens, the original residents often have to leave because they cannot afford the neighborhood anymore. It did happened to the people who brought this neighborhood name. Some people saw the potential of the neighborhood, they invest here and brought commercial here. They bought the buildings and raised the rent. Just like Mr. Goldin said,”‘As soon as they said ‘East Village,’ they tripled the rent.” Soon, the artists could not pay that much money to live here anymore. They had to move to the southern part of the Lower East Side, but since the gentrification keeps going, now most of them had to move to Brooklyn. In the Lower East Side, you can still see the remaining of the hey day of the neighborhood, however, in the East Village, there is barely any good gallery left.
Some people say that the East Village is already dead, but is gentrification really a bad thing? Can a neighborhood really be killed by it? It might just be a step of the neighborhood on the path to its future. It is just like man growing, we cannot say the man’s teenage-hood killed his childhood just because his childhood was great. The old days will end eventually, because the history will always keeps going forward. We do not have to be sad when those days become past, because we will always have today and tomorrow to live.
Cite Resources:
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/02/realestate/the-gentrification-of-the-east-village.html
https://cityofstrangers.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/bars-of-new-york-3-mars-bar/
http://petapixel.com/2014/04/04/pictures-ny-storefronts-document-decade-gentrification/
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3. Airbnb User
New York City has been a huge attraction to people all over the world for a really long time. If you have a chance to stay in a very old building in the East Village to taste the local atmosphere here, would not that be awesome? However, when that really happened, please make sure keep an eye on what you do here, please do not piss off the locals. The first picture attached above is a note posted in an 110-year-old tenement on First Avenue near East Sixth Street. All the “crimes” the Airbnb users have done are clearly listed on it. According to the problems the Airbnb users are causing, the New York officials already announced the decision to triple the force of the Professional Airbnb Troll to eliminate the illegal short term rentals in New York.
Cite Resources:
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/11/19/east_village_local_to_airbnb_users_you_guys_are_the_worst.php
http://evgrieve.com/2014/11/east-village-etiquette-for-airbnbers.html
http://ny.curbed.com/tags/airbnb
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Interview Questions:
-To the Airbnb users:
1.Why did you choose to live in the East Village?
2.How do you think of the behavior of the Airbnb users? Is there any problem to you?
-To the locals:
1.Have you ever been bothered by the Airbnb users? How? If yes, what is the problem to you?
2.What do you think made them choose here? Does it have anything to do with the gentrification?
3.How do you think the problem can be solved?
-To the land owners:
1.Why did you choose to do the short time renting business?
2.Have you ever concerned the behavior of the Airbnb users in your apartment(s)?
3.Have you ever gotten any complaint from your neighbors? How did you handle that?
4.Have you ever concerned the laws about this business?
-New York City Officials:
1.To what extent, the Airbnb users have been a problem to the government? Why?
2.Besides triple the force to crackdown the illegal short time rental, is there any way to solve the problem?
3.Can the behavior of the Airbnb users and the land owners be restricted by law?
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Focus: AirBNB Issue
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New York City has been a huge attraction to people all over the world for a really long time. If you have a chance to stay in a very old building in the East Village to taste the local atmosphere here, would not that be awesome? However, when that really happened, please make sure keep an eye on what you do here, please do not piss off the locals. The first picture attached above is a note posted in an 110-year-old tenement on First Avenue near East Sixth Street. All the “crimes” the Airbnb users have done are clearly listed on it. According to the problems the Airbnb users are causing, the New York officials already announced the decision to triple the force of the Professional Airbnb Troll to eliminate the illegal short term rentals in New York.
Cite Resources:
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/11/19/east_village_local_to_airbnb_users_you_guys_are_the_worst.php
http://evgrieve.com/2014/11/east-village-etiquette-for-airbnbers.html
http://ny.curbed.com/tags/airbnb
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Rapid Prototyping
1.Sketches
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- Similar to my second sketch on concept, yet I simplified the design into just adding simple patterns to the front and the back. I also brought the reflection on the relationship of how we perceive the world with our eyes and how we analyze the information we get in our brain. I believe that a good balance in this relationship can lead to appropriate behavior and a better life.
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- what I added to the second design based on the first design are a hand and a brain. the pattern showed a connection between what we think and what we do. The Airbnb users come to the East Village because they admire the image of this neighborhood. There is nothing wrong to have expectation, however one should also know that the image in our head is going to affect what we do. Even though the East Village is famous for its pretty rough and hip character, it is also a neighborhood of everyone, especially the locals. Therefore I suggest that the visitors should reflect on their behavior and the impact they are giving to this neighborhood and people who live here.
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- The point of this design is to remind people to restrict their behavior while they live in the East Village.
2. Final Piece
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The final piece can be given as a free gift to people who visit and live in this neighborhood. Since the cause of this garment is relatively low, it is affordable to give away. Also, it could be sold in a souvenir store in the East Village. A match flyer or video with more details can possibly produced with it as well.
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Three Black & White Design Sketches
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Mood Board
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Color Palette & Fabric Research
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Three Color Design Sketches
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Work in Progress Photos of Prototype
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Photos of Prototype on Mannequin (front, back, side)
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Final Documentation to the Public in the East Village
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Styled Photos
Final Styled Photo
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Conclusion
The project went very well eventually. However the audiences tend to be more interested in the appearance of the coat rather than the message it expressed. After a brief introduction to the issue and concept, the massage was understood clearly. That made me think more in terms of public presentation. It is not only the product itself that matters, but also the context in which you are showing. I believe if I show it in a parade or protest of Airbnb, the message would be seen and understood more easily and widely. Generally, a good way of presentation can make the design be understood better.
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Research Paper
The subject matter is interesting and very relevant to NYC today. I appreciate your work researching and iterating the design, until you arrived at the present design which is very expressive, well executed, and eye catching (a great conversation starter!).