Matthew Mazzotta: Playful, wondrous public spaces built for community and possibility | TED Fellows

30,780 views

2021-06-06 ・ TED


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Matthew Mazzotta: Playful, wondrous public spaces built for community and possibility | TED Fellows

30,780 views ・ 2021-06-06

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]
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For me, public space is political.
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I work with communities around the world,
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and as we know, every community has problems.
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Some of these problems are solved through the ballot box
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or city hall meetings
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or community efforts, like bike lanes and potholes and school budgets.
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But some problems are beyond the reach of these structures,
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like food deserts,
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community well-being
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and the loss of cultural identity.
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These problems cannot be solved with the existing tool sets.
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I believe that public space is the most potent place to discuss these issues,
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because it contains the richest diversity of perspectives.
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And that's what makes it so powerful.
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The existing parks, town squares and sidewalks are not enough, though,
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which is why I'm interested in creating a new type of public space,
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one that's built by the community and designed specifically for their needs.
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I start by listening
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and by setting up actual outdoor living rooms,
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complete with couches, tables, chairs, rugs and lamps,
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as a way of holding meetings to learn about the issues
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directly from the community.
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I use this technique to capture the voices and ideas of people
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that might not have time or feel comfortable in more formal meetings.
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So why get someone to sit in a love seat in the middle of the street?
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In York, Alabama, the residents bear witness
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to the abandoned houses that cover the town,
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which are a constant reminder of the white flight that took place
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after segregation ended,
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when white homeowners left the area and let their houses fall into disrepair.
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Teaming up with the people of York,
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we transformed an iconic, pink-sided, blighted property in the middle of town
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into a new house, called "Open House."
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However, this house has a secret.
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It physically transforms into a 100-seat open-air theater for plays, movies, music
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or whatever the community would like to experience.
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And when it folds back up into the shape of a house,
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the image of the reclaimed pink siding reminds people of the past.
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After its opening, the mayor saw the potential in Open House
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and held the next town hall meeting there.
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The excitement of this unique gathering space brought new energy
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and gave a fresh viewpoint to collectively discuss the future of the town.
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In Cambridge, Massachusetts,
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to highlight the issues of energy, waste and climate change,
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we replaced a garbage can in a park with an anaerobic digester
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to transform dog waste into usable methane gas.
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Burning this methane lights the park
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and reduces greenhouse gases.
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By slightly changing an everyday experience in public space,
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the Park Spark Project provokes neighbors to have conversations
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about the natural and built systems around them
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and their connection to the environment.
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In Lyons, Nebraska, residents spoke about the loss of social life
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as downtown storefronts began to shutter their doors,
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a result of the slow violence of disinvestment,
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which has left many rural downtowns empty.
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To address this loss of human connection,
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we used an abandoned storefront to turn Main Street into a movie theater.
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The storefront wall is modified with hydraulics
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so that the awning and false front fold down over the sidewalk
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with the push of a button,
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providing seating for 100.
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As the community came together to build a storefront theater,
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an eccentric postman who makes sci-fi movies starring his cat
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proposed to make a documentary for the debut.
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And so that summer, we turned downtown into a movie set
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and the townspeople into actors
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to create the movie "Decades," a history of Lyons downtown
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from its founding to the present moment.
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On opening night, the main street,
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which is usually empty after dark,
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filled with people to watch the story of their town,
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leaving locals to question:
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How will we write the next chapter of Lyons?
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Well, the next chapter started with a series of movie screenings,
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public events and international musicians,
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as well as a low-budget film community that has blossomed in Lyons,
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bringing in people from all over the world
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and a permanent art gallery that has opened next door.
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My work harnesses the power of the built environment
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to focus on issues that communities and local governments
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have failed to address themselves,
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by creating projects so custom fit
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that the community naturally makes it their own.
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When people from all walks of life have a shared experience in these spaces,
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it can lead to a paradigm shift in how we see our home,
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our community and the world.
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For me, public space is political
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and becomes powerful when it sparks people's imagination to envision
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a new future.
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And although every place I've worked is unique,
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it all boils down to one thing:
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if people can sit together, they can dream together.
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Thank you.
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