IfYouWereMayor.com is very keen to know how creative Charlestonians can be, since our research has found that Arts & Culture is one of the top five categories that make a city livable. As we countdown to the Art Matters Mayoral Forum, organized by the Charleston Regional Arts Alliance, (and scheduled for June 9th at the Woolfe Street Playhouse), we thought we would try a few angles to spark your imagination and get you busy posting at IfYouWereMayor.com. We’ve been enlisted as the landing spot for ideas that can be part of that discussion. You certainly wouldn’t want the candidates to take the Arts for granted – Charleston’s Art is one of its greatest assets.
To get those of you with right brain tendencies geared up to actually post some IDEAS, we wanted to share some creative ideas that were part of the Miami Foundation Public Space Challenge (here). The Miami Foundation more than doubled the resource pool, to $305,000, for this year’s challenge – to uncover and realize “the best ideas for creating, improving, and activating parks, plazas, and local gathering places.”
First of all, we found the structure of the challenge interesting, with ideas organized by the kind of enhancement proposed:
•beautification
•child- or senior-focused
•gardens/farmers’ market/healthy eating
•physical activity/exercise
•public comfort (shading, seating, etc.)
•gathering space; safety
•signage/wayfinding
The New Tropic newsletter (link) parsed several themes from the numerous ideas. First of all, people married issues of transportation with improving the shelters provided for bus transit users, including USB charging stations for electronic devices, solar-power integrated into bus shelters, and bus stops that highlight neighborhood features. More performances in public spaces were seen as a plus, with one idea suggesting that performances could be in non-traditional places and highlight the cultural, social, and historical significance of specific locations.
Several ideas focused on the Miami River, its water quality, its potential as a recreation resource (such as a floating pool), and demonstration projects for more awareness of the area’s freshwater resources. Food figures into the equation with several ideas to connect people through food projects and healthy eating. And there was even an idea for mobile/modular parklets that would provide charging stations, sun shades, and seating so a pop-up park where people could meet and mingle in new ways could happen anywhere in the city.
Reading through the feed of ideas, it was easy to imagine “Charleston” substituted for “Miami” in so many instances. The possibilities are almost infinite. What ideas could you “take to the streets” of Charleston? GET INSPIRED!
