PUBLIC SPACE 1 - Stuyvesant Town

WHERE:

Stuyvesant town near playground and fountain (the oval)

STUYVESANT TOWN

HISTORY:

Built in 1943 by an insurance company-MetLife. Stuyvesant Town has its unique historic, cultural and architectural background.

After world war II, lots of veterans and their families resided in there first.

With the passing of the nation’s first fair housing law made the apartments available to tenants of all races.

The design concept was influenced by the architects

in 20th century. It’s called “Superblock”, which is the “tower in the park”, was from Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier.

CON.

Stuyvesant Town, now is developed to be one of the largest residential communities in New York City ,with 80% for over 20000 apartments and 180 buildings and another 20% for lawns, trees, playgrounds etc. It stretches from 14th Street to 20th Street on 1st Ave. and mainly there are 12-floor red brick apartment buildings. Most people living there are the middle-class, elderly people but there are more and more non-resident students now. 75% of apartments are for sale and 25% are for rent. MetLife wants to make $5billion by selling over 100 apartments, which make it the most luxurious place to live now.

OVAL

SUNDAY GREEN MARKET

EVENTS

WHEN:

4:00pm,Sunday The sky and everything looks fresh after rain.

WHO:

Lots of young kids aged between around 5-13,elderly people, middle-aged parents with their children.

YOUNG KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS

ELDERLY AND MIDDLE-AGED PEOPLE

WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW PEOPLE ARE USING THE SPACE:

1. Young kids are playing football, riding bicycles, chasing the pigeons and after each other, play around with their parents.

2. Elderly people are sitting on the bench and relaxed; some are talking to each other; some are taking their carts to go grocery shopping.

3. Some are going for a walk with their dogs. The atmosphere is quite relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable.

CHANGES:

1. There is a green market every Sunday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.By the time I went to the oval, they were ready to leave. 

2. Nobody lay down on the lawn sunbathing

and I didn't see any young people skateboarding like before probably because it just rained and the weather is getting cooler. The ground is wet as well.

YOUNG PEOPLE

CONCLUSIONS 1. There are more kids during this time of the day. It’s

weekend and they probably finished their homework and wanted to come out and play with their friends and families.

2. There are some elderly people because they can go out for a walk, talk to their neighbors and have a fresh air after rain.

3. There are not many people young people because of the weather and time.

4. We can do something on the street or playground with children near oval. Some people are sitting on the bench and don’t move.

5. People seem friendly, happy and playful.

SOURCES

http://www.stpcvta.org/news.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuyvesant_Town http://goingcoastal.wordpress.com/

2008/05/22/preserving-stuyvesant-town/