Photos from the Neighborhood

I spent most of today exploring the neighborhood that will become my focus for this thesis project. I learned a lot about the users of these pedestrian stairs and experienced the staircases firsthand. Below are some photos from my explorations:

Establishing a Context

I finally discovered a final context that I am confident would make a great backdrop for my thesis: the public pedestrian stairs amongst South Side Slopes. I originally discovered this neighborhood when I noticed the amount of stairways in this area of Pittsburgh as visualized on http://www.communitywalk.com/pittsburgh/pa/pittsburgh_stairs/map/444504

Patterns and Infrastructures

 Today I wrote down some of the patterns I observed from my previous brainstorming. Overall I documented 7 patterns: 

1. The project should encourage ambient play
2. The project should be encountered in passing or by chance
3. The project should utilize an existing infrastructure
4. The project should ultimately strengthen a specific neighborhood 
5. The project should have a bigger goal than simple play such as scoring, points, badges, achievements, etc.
6. The project should encourage subtle mingling and person to person interaction
7. The project should explore a mixture of low and high technologies

Individual Thesis Meeting

Overall, my thesis advisor seemed happy with my brainstorming. One helpful piece of advice was to notice the patterns within my ideas, write them down, and try to create some new ideas following those patterns as guides. She also suggested I verbally express why I chose to refocus my ideas from person to person to person to physical environment interaction. I got some great advice that will definitely help in my next round of brainstorming.

General Brainstorming

From the readings I had done earlier this week, I was inspired to brainstorm some ideas of what this project can become. I've decided to use existing infrastructures such as bridges, bus stops, alley ways, door stoops, etc. as a venue for an ambient play project that connects residents with their neighborhoods.

More Reading

With the advice of my thesis advisors, I have been reading up on more ambient philosophies on play. Some books I've picked up at the library are Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga; Man, Play, Games by Roger Caillois, Rules of Play by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, and Play Ethic by Pat Kane.


Homo Ludens has been my biggest inspiration. This book truly changed my perspective on play: What play is and how people interact with things playfully (we play more than people realize!)