1) Visit the NYC Hurricane evacuation site (Links to an external site.)
and locate which zone you live in.
My apartment, where I live is located in 9 W 31st St, which does not have any evacuation zone.
My studio/gallery, which is located in 1716 Summerfield St, also is not included in evacuation zone.
2) Which zone do you live in (1-6)? How close is the next nearest zone?
Both of the estates I am renting in NYC Area has no evacuation zone.
3) What does it feel like to learn what zone you inhabit?
I feel safe that I am living in safer areas. But my life in New York will be hugely affected as all the infrastructures of New York are deeply connected to each other can one damage can disable so many of it.
4) Do you feel prepared for the next hurricane in New York? What designs and information would be useful to you to be more prepared?
I am not prepared at all, my transportation is solely depending on subway, which I cannot prepare by myself. Great drainage system design can be very helpful and it would be nice to know the hurricane, or any natural disasters, in advance so I can be at least aware of it.
5) How important do you think it is for designers to consider/encourage resiliency among people in their work? Why? What is an experience you have had, or an object/design that you have, that supports social resiliency in you? (i.e. makes you feel stronger, not alone, connected to the earth, other people, animals, the planet, prepared, capable and able to deal with changes etc.)
I never had such experienced where natural disaster struck my daily life. But I was very shocked when I heard about New York metro being disabled for months after the hurricane. This will affect tons of people and their works.
If you haven’t heard of it before, read an introduction to the Sixth Extinction
and then visit artist Maya Lin’s project What’s Missing
After exploring Lin’s site,
6) What is one species that you learned about on this site that has gone extinct?
Himalayan Quail, extinct in 1876, which is quite recent.
7) What is one species that has recovered “from the brink”?
Wild Turkey was recovered, also American Alligator was recovered too.
8) What did you learn on the “what you can do” page?
Unsustainable life we are living is accelerating the extinction. Though it would be hard for me to be a vegan but I will reduce my meat consumption as well as use less single-use products. Because meat requires more resources and landfill is destroying the habitat of animals. It is also important to educate people and be vocal about these issues.
9) What do you think of this site — as an artist’s project?
The site was aesthetically pleasing and has many design factors; but in term of user interface, it lacks of self explanatory and navigation which can give unclear message to its users. I believe that the core purpose of the site is not to show off one’s motion graphic skills but to educate people. In that perspective, the web site of Lin is not so successful.
10) Post a sketch of a design idea that you think would help a person sense a systems connection between their life and that of the animal facing an environmental threat. How does your design idea not just raise awareness or make a person feel guilty/sad, but inspire them? What materials would you choose to use to make this design?
One I designed is a traffic light with monitors telling driver how many animal they have killed by just driving and how much pollution they are responsible that day.
