7.9.09

convenience, surveillance, and crime.



the semester has started at su, and it begins with a rather dismal program: a convenience store + recreational area in an impoverished neighborhood. the diagram above (currently in progress) describes crime activity in the area of our site within the last year or so.

convenience stores are magnets for crime, so i'm working to prepare the little guy for a good ole fashioned drive-by (half kidding). i'm currently exploring the following issues:

1. surveillance (through achieving a type of self-policing)
-the panopticon
-actual surveillance systems (set up strictly to monitors, not to record activity)

2. transparency/light
-light transmitting concrete
-bright, sometimes ridiculously lit areas

3. respect for community
-keeping "patrician's snowflake bakery + limousine service" (though we are all sure that is a crack cover-up).
-using salvaged/re purposed materials from the site.

6 comments:

Temps said...

holy shit! This site study is looking fo realz. I love those red crime markers. Keep on doin this. Yellow lines duh.

Temps said...

This may be a stupid question; are all those blocks gov. housing?

VA said...

ughhhhhhh (in a good way)

Unknown said...

no, just the ones on the left and right of it, i haven't finished outlining all the houses yet.

laws said...

Sometimes, overt surveillance is the best crime deterrent. Personally, I like the light-emitting concrete.

klpolla said...

who knew syracuse was so dangerous.