1. Proposed Site- 14th Street 14A/D bus route from 1st to 8th Ave.
2. Exploring14th street by 14A/D bus instead of L train, bodily restrictions and spatial restrictions the riders feel in the bus, how the body, bus, and the 14th street connect and disconnect at the same time
3. Drift, overlap, construction and deconstruction
4. Critical questions
- What is so significant about 14th street? – L train is the only horizontal route on subway map. What are the popular stops and who gets on/off from those stops? How does this route add to, or lessen the movement of the crowd? How do buses describe the idea of draft by Corner’s essay?
- Why do the buses go from this place to that? Who chooses the routes and by what criteria? -(Perec 52). Who decides which stops goes by bus and which stops to train? By what criteria? Which stops overlap? How does our body feel about the decision? of landing in the same spot with a mass crowd vs. alone?
- Why do people choose L train over 14A/D bus, even though they share the same route and bus system costs less to operate? What is the purpose of having two same routes with different transportation?
-Characteristics and disadvantages of buses: revealing riders, dim light, less space, human to human contact with the driver and the riders, more intimate, less familiar, lower class based, irregular schedule, etc
-Did the establishment of buses flourished the 14th street or did 14th’s development lead to building of transportation?
5. Research- ride on the 14A, 14D bus and L train and observe. Accessibility, the riders, alternate routes, coinciding routes where transferring from bus to the train or vise versa is possible. Search on MTA.info, attractions along or near 14th street
Quotes from outer source (Urban Omnibus)
Byron and Conte noted that lower-income residents of the city typically don’t have a strong voice in transportation planning issues, particularly in comparison to real estate developers, and are often left with slower, less-reliable transit options.
An imbalance in efficient transit access is one of the reasons Byron and Conte are strong supporters of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT is bus service that acts like a subway, with dedicated travel lanes and platforms for efficient entry and exit. Just like the subway, you pay your fare before getting on the bus. BRT is more practical and cost-effective to build and operate than the subway — $1 million per mile to build here in New York City, as opposed to an approximate $1 billion per mile cost to build a subway — so why isn’t there more BRT in New York?
http://urbanomnibus.net/2011/08/fast-tracked-who-decides-where-the-subway-goes/
This is a very interesting proposal. I wonder if adding "walking" as another point of contrast to your analysis would be productive--e.g. another layer to your map of this space/modes of transportation?
ReplyDeleteAs you begin mapping, keep your focus on the body--how it engages with the city. How riders (of bus and subway) inhabit these spaces differently, how bodies stand differently, how they adhere to certain rituals of riding, in these spaces.
I will be interested to see how you use the concept of drift--since generally it implies a kind of wandering associated with walking, with no set route in mind, while buses and trains have a pre-determined path that you cannot deviate from.
A fascinating topic!
I really like your topic, very interesting! The two different ways of traveling the same route will give you a lot of things to write about. You should go there and observe people's movement, how people engages to those transportation and more ~~~
ReplyDeleteI know you are a good writer! can't wait to read your essay! good luck:)