So, there are a few examples of how redevelopment issues are being addressed around NO with the "PitchNOLA 2012" Lots of Progress and Idea Village "Water Challenge" initiatives going on around town. These have ties to similar "public input" redevelopment projects such as 2012's "Love Your Block" and 2011's Urban Innovation Challenge. What are the motives and people behind these initiatives, what the process is to make changes thru them, who guides these processes? At the bottom of the PitchNOLA site there is a pdf by Jericho Road and Tulane City Center that describes potential plans for abandoned lots around town.
This Wednesday we will discuss these and other ways that participatory urban environment sculpting takes place.... how this is done outside of these formalized processes. This will be merged with the Saturday "do stuff" meetup idea and start the process of building something, beginning the 2nd phase of class more focused around materials + methods of building. Relevant reading not online = stay up on the news/what your neighbors are yelling about/what you pass by every day but don't think about.