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What would you do with 15m² urban space?
Engaging citizens to think about liveable cities in a different way
Problem
Problem
We are so used to cars dominating our cityscapes that we rarely question if this is the best way to use our public spaces. We wanted to develop a simple yet engaging activity to show citizens a different perspective of space management and a way to create livable cities.
The idea
The idea
The main tool we used during this activity was the imagination of the citizens. We drew a 3 meters wide and 5 meters long rectangle on the street, and asked the passersby: What would you do with 15m2 urban space? What does the city need?
Our graphic designers or the passersby themselves drew their ideas in the rectangle, filling the space with colorful drawings. This question also highlighted the real needs of the citizens – they wished for more trees, bike racks, public toilets, water fountains, benches. Some creative minds even drew a tiger, a spaceship runway, and a submarine. There was one thing no one ever mentioned: a parking lot.
The idea
The main tool we used during this activity was the imagination of the citizens. We drew a 3 meters wide and 5 meters long rectangle on the street, and asked the passersby: What would you do with 15m2 urban space? What does the city need?
Our graphic designers or the passersby themselves drew their ideas in the rectangle, filling the space with colorful drawings. This question also highlighted the real needs of the citizens – they wished for more trees, bike racks, public toilets, water fountains, benches. Some creative minds even drew a tiger, a spaceship runway, and a submarine. There was one thing no one ever mentioned: a parking lot.
The effect
The effect
We revealed that the rectangle was exactly the size of a parking lot, and that we had more than 5000 parking lots in the city center – that’s how much space we devote to parking cars. We thanked them for their ideas, asked them to sometimes imagine the streets without parking cars, and to think about how we could use that space differently.
The effect
We revealed that the rectangle was exactly the size of a parking lot, and that we had more than 5000 parking lots in the city center – that’s how much space we devote to parking cars. We thanked them for their ideas, asked them to sometimes imagine the streets without parking cars, and to think about how we could use that space differently.
Results
Results
This simple game could inspire citizens to think about our streets and spaces differently, and we could start a conversation about livable cities. This low-cost activity can be used anywhere, and if there is no rain, the chalk drawing remains visible for some time, reminding citizens of their ideas.
Results
This simple game could inspire citizens to think about our streets and spaces differently, and we could start a conversation about livable cities. This low-cost activity can be used anywhere, and if there is no rain, the chalk drawing remains visible for some time, reminding citizens of their ideas..
We used this idea in a campaign.
More ideas…
