Urban and streetscape design are intrinsically related to community development and street life. By simply adding a little recess to a sidewalk or to a blind wall, a whole street can enliven and turn into a platform of expression. This simple design twist holds the potential completely reinforce its users’ cohesiveness by spontaneously breaking barriers.
This footage of a street jam was taken in London and shows how music allowed socialization between strangers in a transitory, urban space. This kind of interaction can’t be programmed per se, but urban designers can encourage their springing by finding the right design balance and allow for such informal cultural expression to take place.
Unstructured street performances are still rare in the Middle East. There are many cultural and climatic factors that could explain this observation but at scapeworks, we believe that urban interventions should somehow contribute to the burgeoning of enhanced street life by taking simple design actions such as increasing areas of pedestrian density and enhance walkability.
