“…Under the seeming disorder of the old city, wherever the old city is working successfully, is a marvelous order for maintaining the safety of the streets and the freedom of the city. It is a complex order. Its essence is intricacy of sidewalk use, bringing with it a constant succession of eyes. This order is all composed of movement and change, and although it is life, not art, we may fancifully call it the art form of the city and liken it to the dance — not to a simple-minded precision dance with everyone kicking up at the same time, twirling in unison and bowing off en masse, but to an intricate ballet in which the individual dancers and ensembles all have distinctive parts which miraculously reinforce each other and compose an orderly whole. The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any once place is always replete with new improvisations.”
― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Observations
I partnered with Lacie on this assignment to observe the city through the journey of someone else. In a city like New York it is very easy to follow someone, however the difficulty stems from being able to keep up pace. We weren’t necessarily spotted but there were times that people began to take notice and would quicken or slower their pace.
While I followed Lacie it was easy to notice that she felt a little uncomfortable (obviously we felt like creeps as we felt it was a little similar to stalking).
From this analysis I think it’s easier to understand that the way people start to observe others begins with the intent they have while they are doing it.
Subjectivity
I would say that my experience was very similar to if I was walking by myself, throughout this exercise I separated the assignment from my head space. More than anything following someone else allowed me to observe the way that people navigate the sidewalk and city. People’s pace and rhythm truly depend on where they are going. There were some who were on their way to something, resulting in a fast and erratic pace. There were others who were out at the farmer’s market, strolling and taking time to browse.
