SUSTAINABILITY

AND

URBAN ART

by alex clayton

parichehr Razmand

Melissa Rodriguez Zynda

and Sen Yang

table of contents

INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATIONS

OBSERVATIONS

EXEMPLARS

Preliminary concepts

low fidelity prototypes

Testing

ARDUINO PROTOTYPING

CODE AND SCHEMATICS

design alternatives

3

4

5

6

8

9

10

18

19

20conclusion and WORKS CITED

INTRODUCTION

The rise and growth of cities is increasingly of interest to various fields in academia, as well as to systems of governance and urban planning. We chose to investigate public, urban art as a way to facilitate community awareness and engagement. During the course of our research, we focused further on ways that public art could be used to encourage collective awareness and efforts to promote sustainable practices.

Transportation concerns--including public transportation, roads that alleviate congestion, and roadways and infrastructures that support pedestrian traffic--are central to discourses of contemporary urban development. Citing threatening greenhouse emissions data, Giovanni Pau posits that “[c]ooperative sensing, close loop actuators, wireless communication technologies and event-driven policies should all concur to build an optimized cyber-physical transportation network optimized for service and pollution,” and that these systems will likely require deep behavioral changes [1].

We explored exemplars, looked to existing public art projects in the Bloomington area, and generated forty concepts that focus on engaging public art. From these forty concepts, we chose eight to move forward into low-fidelity prototyping. We continued to refine our focus and iterate using rapid prototyping, which lead to the creation of an interactive mural that ambiently displays the ratio of vehicle to pedestrian traffic. We approached this space from the perspective of New urbanism, a popular design philosophy that encourages, among other things, walkable spaces, while keeping in mind the tenets of designing for slow change.

observations

exemplarsBeginning with the broad focus of community art that aims to promote community awareness and engagement, we conducted an investigation of existing work. This research took the form of a “quick and dirty” visual ethnography of public artworks in the Bloomington area. We looked at sanctioned and unsanctioned art, from works along the B-Line trail, Shower’s Plaza, and People’s Park, to graffiti, stickering, stenciling in alleyways and underpasses. Much of the art we observed bore messages related specifically to Bloomington area residents, i.e. relating to particular districts in town or the history of the area. However, we also observed that many pieces, even those with a clear message for behavioral change (e.g. the “Listen” stencil, the graffiti referencing “FREEDOM”) lacked an evident call to action. This helped us to understand that our design should clearly offer a way for patrons to interact immediately or overtime with the artwork and the message it conveys.

Additionally, we explored exemplars of public art projects outside of the Bloomington area, including the Crown Fountain in Chicago, the Cathedral of Junk in Austin, and various works by Simon Heijdens (Chicago, New York). The Cathedral of Junk was particularly influential for helping to refine our focus towards sustainable engagement. Other works, including many that incorporated light, inspired us to create a design using ambient imagery and fluctuating light. We found that people are very good at tuning out realistic imagery (due in part to the proliferation of textual, pictorial advertisements). Using light and abstract images are more likely to pique a citizen’s curiosity.

Other exemplars explored include: Contrex exercise commercial, Coke Together/slow change, Levi’s gear billboard, and China’s “Walk More, Drive Less” road graffiti campaign.

preliminary concepts

Media facadesCommunity photo display*

Light path on green-waysPublic lawn art

StickeringModern commissions

Mural by homeless personsPublic collection art (e.g. Paris locks)

University themed artMural of climate change*

Mural of cellphone useTotem of library use

Playful sculpture (e.g. Crown Fountain)Bus shelter of recycled materials*

Miller-Showers Park ExtensionTwitter prompted canopy lights

Variable wall art*Parking meter donation project*

Musical walking pathPopulation count mural

Sound pollution mural“Get Fit” tower

Architecture as public artStreet/neighborhood branded art

Be an artist while you wait*Photo art history*

Twitter paint ball dispenser*Wearable art

Artistic bus shelter advertisements“Smart” amphitheater

Interactive “tombstones” (art info displays)Community art classes

Clear trashcans (display trash)Hidden messages in artBusiness sponsored art

Community art scavenger huntLight pollution awareness

Art donation Community art/craft fair

Twitter message displays/word art

Each designer involved on this project created ten concepts based upon our individual field observations. The forty total concepts are listed to the right. We arranged these concepts on sticky notes and grouped them into the salient categories. From this configuration, we chose to move forward with art that fosters community engagement, meaning art that creates awareness and instills a sense of collectivity, or common ground/investment.

Many of the concepts related to sustainable practices, which, while unintentional, helped to shape the trajectory of our final design. Additionally, we chose to focus our efforts on concepts that attempt to engage an entire community, in our case, the residents of Bloomington, Indiana. We wanted our concept to appeal to people with little knowledge of art and yet be sophisticated enough to not alienate art aficionados.

Of the forty original concepts, we chose eight to advance to low-fidelity prototyping. Those concepts are marked with an asterisk (*).

Parking meter donation system: paper, markers, coins, a wall

Artist while you wait: sticky notes, art supplies

Community photo display: sticky notes, sketching tools

Variable wall art: wall, paper, markers and sketching tools

Bus shelter of recycled materials: CD case, floppy disk, wine corks, soda tabs, bottle caps, adhesives.

Twitter powered paint ball dispenser: colored paper, cardboard, paper

Photo/art history: sticky notes, sketching tools

Ambient traffic mural: foam core, cardboard, clay, pipe cleaner, wire.

low fidelity prototype

low fi testing

Participants from our target user base were enlisted to test the eight low-fidelity prototypes. These prototypes served as easy-to-construct, cost-efficient boundary objects that facilitated discussions of the concepts with the participant [2].

Ultimately, foam medallions were adopted to represent the number of cars and pedestrians present in stead of the previously shown clay figures, which were deemed distracting. The mural image transitioned from blue to red (using wizard-of-oz techniques), depending on the ratio of pedestrian-to-car traffic, indicated by the medallions placed by the participant.

The participant stated that it would be easier to make the connection between traffic and the mural if he were walking rather than driving. When asked if the mural would entice him to drive less, he answered, “If I need to drive, I’m going to drive,” but it would make him feel better about his decision when he actually chose to walk. Reactions were generally favorable, suggesting the concept’s ability to promote community awareness about transportation and its environmental impact in an ambient way.

We chose to continue to iterate on this concept and incorporate a microprocessor for added interactivity.

arduino prototyping

To further test the interactivity of this concept, we iterated and created miniature intersection with proximity sidewalks and lanes for vehicles. By sending a signal through a conductive material and measuring how much current returned, we could determine if more objects (cars or people) were touching a particular surface. Based on the ratio of sidewalk placed objects (pedestrians) to road-placed objects (cars) a mural would display particular ambient imagery.

To detect proximity, we used the CapacitiveSensor library by Paul Badger, an Arduino Uno, and several conductive surface materials including binding wire, gum wrappers, aluminum foil, simple wires.

We eventually decided to use copper tape as our conductive, proximity detecting surface. Copper tape is relatively inexpensive and readily available at craft stores (typically sold in the stained glass section or used for the wiring in doll houses). The cross shape at the center of the intersection senses car traffic and the L-shapes on the corners represent sidewalks and sense pedestrian traffic.

Watch a video of the test.

(Links to videos of the build are underlined.)

Each circuit (the street and sidewalk) were connected to an Arduino Uno using alligator clips, jumper wires, and 10K resistors. The separate circuits were then each linked to an LED (one on pin 13, one on the breadboard) that responded to changes in the current running through them.

Watch a video of the test.

After testing the connections using the two separate LEDs, we decided to use one RGB LED as our output. We intended to point this LED at a reflective wall (foam core covered in aluminum foil) but later decided to encase the LED in frosted plastic to create a light sculpture. Based on the low-fidelity test of this concept, we determined that a mural might be too ambient and easy to ignore. We modified this idea to be a light sculpture placed in a public park in a well trafficked area of town. We hope this alternative design will make the concept more visually appealing and distinct from the rest of the cityscape, demanding attention.

Watch a video of the test.

Each of the three corner structures (the fourth corner is home to the public park) were crafted from foam core, styrofoam, and construction paper. Business logos from the establishments that inhabit them were pasted to their sides to give participants a visual cue as to their location.

Our intention was for this prototype to represent a popular, well trafficked intersection in downtown Bloomington. The intersection we chose already has a public park on one corner, where we positioned the light sculpture.

To make our prototype identifiable with this intersection, we included miniature signs and features of the cityscape.

We developed two sets of code to use with this prototype. The first code, listed in the schematics and code section below, makes the sculpture burn solid green or solid red, depending on the ratio of pedestrian to car traffic. The second program allows the sculpture to burn a combination of green and red. The intensity of each color increases and decreases with the corresponding ratio of traffic.

Ultimately we decided to use the program that burns solid red or solid green due to the positioning of the separate diodes within the RGB LED. Because of the way the diodes are spaced, it is difficult to see the transition between colors depending on the location of the observer.

The CapacitiveSensor library used in this project allows nearly any metal object to be turned into a proximity sensor. Because of the close placement of the road and sidewalk wires, we needed to calibrate the program at every step as we constructed the elements around the intersection to adjust to the proximity of neutral objects (trees, stop signs, buildings).

Each of the four corner sidewalks were connected by more copper tape running on the underside of the intersection base. Because these connections pass under the street sensing wires, the edges of the road tend to register both car and pedestrian traffic.

We used copper tape adhered to the bottom of Hot Wheels cars and Lego men to serve as vehicles and pedestrians for our sensors.

While most metal objects used with CapacitiveSensor can detect a human from several feet away, we needed to set the thresholds of our roads and sidewalks very high to compensate for their close proximity with each other. Because of this unusually high threshold, we left copper “tails” on our cars so the two metal strips actually make contact.

Watch a video of the test.

As stated, we positioned our light sculpture within an existing public park in a well trafficked area of town. To better indicate its location and context of use, we created a park setting. Construction paper was used to differentiate street and sidewalk spaces without interfering with the copper connections.

We wrote auto-calibrate commands into the program used, however, these were ineffective. Because of the close proximity of the street and sidewalk sensors, the thresholds need to be calibrated by hand before each use of the prototype. Additionally, copper tape is extremely delicate, so check for tears in the connections if a circuit does not seem to be working properly.

Because the sidewalk connections run beneath the road sensors near the edges of the intersection, we attempted to use a shielding mesh to see if this would dampen interference between the two circuits. The mesh, however, pulled away too much current and destabilized the signals returning to the serial monitor.

The CapacitiveSensor library works by sending current through any metal object, or, in this case, series of metal objects. The Arduino measures the returned current upon uploading the sketch. After uploading, any conductive object that comes into contact with the circuit acts as a sync, drawing away current. This registers in the serial monitor as a change in returning current, and the difference is indicated in the appropriate column of the serial monitor. The more objects that come in contact with the circuit, the more energy is drawn away, and this registers greater and greater differences in current.

The final prototype of the light sculpture was housed in a tent-like structure of frosted plastic sheeting. This material helped to diffuse the light from the LED, making the transitions between the green and red diode more apparent.

It was mounted into the park quadrant of the intersection, corresponding to the location of People’s Park in Bloomington.

To better illustrate how this concept is supposed to work, we created a stop motion video using the prototype and sensing parts (Hot Wheels cars and Lego men) as our miniature participants.

Watch the final video demonstration.

code and schematics

Because this was, in many ways, a project inspired by physical computing and the philosophy of Arduino development, all of the code and schematics are available here and online. We used the CapacitiveSensor Arduino library by Paul Badger and modified it to create two versions: one where the RGB LED fades between red and green and one where the transitions between colors is much quicker.

The schematic below shows two sets of leads coming from pins 3 & 4 and pins 7 & 8. These are connected using jumper wires or alligator clips to our copper street and sidewalk sensor strips.

We explored some other possible design solutions aimed at promoting walking over driving.

One alternative is simply to explore other shapes for the sculpture. The frosted tent allowed us to diffuse the light and house the breadboard, however, other designs could be used, such as a crystal shape engraved with other sustainable calls to action or tree shaped designs.

Alternatives

Another area we explored is changing the medium in which the light is displayed. An alternative to our current design is to instead make the light be on a billboard where it’s easier for drivers to see their impact.

This could be done in larger cities that use digital billboards and solar power to run them. The size of the sculpture could vary based on location.

A concept allows pedestrians “send” colors to a mural and collectively construct an artwork. As a person walks on the sidewalk a circle of color follows her steps. When the person passes the board, the color passes from the ground up to the mural, contributing to an image. We believe this concept can not only encourage walking rather than driving, but also provide safer environments for pedestrians by making them more visible.

Every person walking on this path will have a color circle below their feet, following them according to pressure / weight. When they are walking, the colors disappear. They have to observe others’ colors. The billboard would show any color, or a new color that needs to be combined, and the requirement for pedestrians is to find out who has that color and approach that person, jump together, and get some rewards.

CONCLUSION

This project was a synthesis of the prototyping course as a whole. The methods we employed ranged from low-fidelity prototyping to Arduino prototyping and physical computing.

We began by exploring urban art, and refined this to focus on art that fosters community awareness and engagement. Through ideation and contraction of our concepts, we chose to explore ways in which urban art can be used to encourage walking and walkable spaces and discourage driving culture, which is so prevalent in the United States.

Our final prototype is a light sculpture that displays ambient colors depending on the ratio of pedestrian to car traffic. Based upon our low-fidelity testing and modeled upon the usefulness of our exemplars, we believe that this concept, though simple, can have a lasting effect on the walking culture of a community. Over time, we hope that people will see their actions

Works Cited

[1] Giovanni Pau. 2009. Vehicles and the environment: the long journey from today’s liabilities into tomorrow’s assets. In Asian Internet Engineering Conference (AINTEC ‘09). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 42-43.

[2] Michael McCurdy, Christopher Connors, Guy Pyrzak, Bob Kanefsky, and Alonso Vera. 2006. Breaking the fidelity barrier: an examination of our current characterization of prototypes and an example of a mixed-fidelity success. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ‘06), Rebecca Grinter, Thomas Rodden, Paul Aoki, Ed Cutrell, Robin Jeffries, and Gary Olson (Eds.). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1233-1242.

Introduction image from http://maxboam.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/greensourcerecar.png. Accessed 12/6/12.

Exemplar images from http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images_652_526821_jaume-plensa.jpg, http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/25871604.jpg, and http://www.simonheijdens.com/projects/Tree/5.jpg, respectively. Accessed 12/6/12.

reflected in the states of the sculpture, and be inspired to make more sustainable choices. A simple design can be beautiful and have a deep impact.

As our second Arduino project, we were familiar enough with physical computing that we were able to explore several options for sensing traffic. Through this project and our process, we have learned that encouraging sustainable practices is a slow process, but showing people specific ways in which they can change is more likely to elicit behavioral change than simply showing people a problem. We also explored several alternative designs, and we believe that this concept can be iterated upon and eventually implemented in a real urban setting.

As always, we thank William Byrd for his passion and patience. Thank you to Shaowen Bardzell, for introducing the value of physical computing and Arduino prototyping.