Perhaps someone has already done this, but I started to draft a little blurb to send to the guy at the Chicago Weekly who wanted to cover our project. Is this what we're going for? If you have any thoughts, feedback, or additions, please post them to the blog (or e-mail me) ASAP!
Also, Becca, Rachel, Mary and I will go going to the retirement home at 64th/Woodlawn tomorrow to hear some oral histories from the "old timers". If anyone wants to join us, we'll probably be heading over there at around 3:30. We haven't decided where we're meeting yet, but feel free to give me a call at (646)-373-1471 if you'd like to come along.
- Emma
THE BLURB:
The class is working together as a group to develop a project that will publicly address concerns we have regarding development in the Woodlawn community. As we envision it, the result will be a site-specific event that will draw members of both the University and Woodlawn communities to an empty lot located on the southeast corner of 63rd street and Ingleside avenue.) At this space, we will create the floor plan for a residential apartment building and place a variety of domestic furniture to symbolically highlight what may have once been on the site. Food will also be a central component of the event, as we hope it will help draw more people to the site. At the site as well as at several peripheral locations, we will distribute pamphlets explaining our project as well as the history of the area. The aesthetic of our promotional material will play off of MAC Management's graphic and corporate identity. We hope that this tactic will ensure greater visibility for our project as well as call attention to present-day changes in the housing market that threaten to and actually do displace people from their communities. Nevertheless, our goal is not to simply make a visual statement but rather to draw people together in a way that promotes and encourages discussion, conversation, and perhaps even argument over the issues at hand.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
C.O.U.C.H. Flickr
In response to the growing need for a good photo hosting site, I created a flickr for the group. To access it/post items, just go to flickr.com and sign in, using couch.project as the user id and flickr as the password.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Mock flyer
I've been trying to think of some different ways we can advertise/subvertise our project, and I came up with this mock flyer. My goal was to spoof the bullshit hospitality of furniture/real estate companies and the sort of "flyer aesthetic" on campus. Let me know what you think and if you want to use something like this with our other ads.
"Creative Destruction"
In another class I’m taking, we have been discussing the idea of "creative destruction", which was put forth by Neil Brenner and Nik Theodore in the introduction to a volume they edited, titled Spaces of Neoliberalism: Urban Restructuring in North America and Western Europe. In the book’s introduction, "Cities and the Geographies of Actually Existing Neoliberalism”, Brenner and Theodore discuss the economic and political policies of the 90s, which essentially dismantled the Keynesian structures of government that had been in place since the Depression. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the results: corporate taxes were cut, public welfare and aid programs were curtailed, capital was withdrawn from “blighted areas”, and spaces opened up that allowed private interests and groups to fill the gaps the government had vacated. What Brenner and Theodore mean by “creative destruction” is the process by which existing structures or institutions are selectively favored and upheld or, alternately, destroyed. In the latter case, there is still room for a creative impulse, but resources may be diverted away from one space in favor of another. Of course, this brief overview doesn’t fully explain the extent of the changes wrought in this period, but it is worth considering the links between the last process I noted, in which spaces were either invested in or dis-invested from, in relation to our project.
What happened on 63rd street, as outlined by Will in his presentation, is a particularly potent example of the concept of “creative destruction”. The choice to take down the El involved a calculated decision; judgment was passed on the area. It drew attention but, ultimately, it was deemed not worthy of money or interest. Yet there was also a creative process that accompanied this destruction. The energy and resources that might have been invested in the area took a different trajectory and were invested elsewhere in the city. Many of Chicago’s current divisions seem to stem from this differentiated application of value across urban space.
Of course, what we’re now seeing in Woodlawn is yet another form of “creative destruction”. Depending on your viewpoint, I suppose you could see the new investment, building, and other activity as either creative or destructive. I would suggest that the neighborhood simultaneously belongs to several different real and imagined realms, straddling them all at once. It is an imagined, barren nothingness, yet its empty lots embody a real sense of vacancy. It is an area with an almost mythical past of commercial activity and intense social agitation, but it is also a grouping of actual spaces of habitation, work, worship, and community. It seems apparent that our project will be addressing these issues of the imagined versus the real Woodlawn, but it is also worth considering how these notions are produced, why we have them, and how spatial bias and appropriation operates, both in the past and the present.
If you read all the way through this…well, I didn’t expect you to, but thank you. If you have comments, etc., please let everyone know.
What happened on 63rd street, as outlined by Will in his presentation, is a particularly potent example of the concept of “creative destruction”. The choice to take down the El involved a calculated decision; judgment was passed on the area. It drew attention but, ultimately, it was deemed not worthy of money or interest. Yet there was also a creative process that accompanied this destruction. The energy and resources that might have been invested in the area took a different trajectory and were invested elsewhere in the city. Many of Chicago’s current divisions seem to stem from this differentiated application of value across urban space.
Of course, what we’re now seeing in Woodlawn is yet another form of “creative destruction”. Depending on your viewpoint, I suppose you could see the new investment, building, and other activity as either creative or destructive. I would suggest that the neighborhood simultaneously belongs to several different real and imagined realms, straddling them all at once. It is an imagined, barren nothingness, yet its empty lots embody a real sense of vacancy. It is an area with an almost mythical past of commercial activity and intense social agitation, but it is also a grouping of actual spaces of habitation, work, worship, and community. It seems apparent that our project will be addressing these issues of the imagined versus the real Woodlawn, but it is also worth considering how these notions are produced, why we have them, and how spatial bias and appropriation operates, both in the past and the present.
If you read all the way through this…well, I didn’t expect you to, but thank you. If you have comments, etc., please let everyone know.
more logos
there's a small version of the logo. if you need a big one, it's here:http://christopheraque.com/COUCH/COUCH-logo.jpg
illustrator logo
yo,
i uploaded an illustrator version of the logo, so we can reproduce this as big as we want since it's all vectored and stuff. or at least that's how my limited graphic design knowledge goes.
i'll post a jpeg version later (once i figure how)
chris
download:
http://www.christopheraque.com/COUCH/COUCHlogo.ai
i uploaded an illustrator version of the logo, so we can reproduce this as big as we want since it's all vectored and stuff. or at least that's how my limited graphic design knowledge goes.
i'll post a jpeg version later (once i figure how)
chris
download:
http://www.christopheraque.com/COUCH/COUCHlogo.ai
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Banner Pricing
Or, at the Fedex/Kinkos in HP, Color is 12.99/sq.ft and B&W is 8.99/sq.ft.
Office Depot is not cool enough to do prices per square foot, so here's the list:
2x4 : 59.99
2x6 : 89.99
2x8 : 119.99
2x10 : 139.99
3x4 : 89.99
3x6 : 129.99
3x8 : 165.99
At Bronzeville Signs & Printing, Vinyl Color and B&W is 7.00/sq.ft., and if we need a heavier vinyl it's 9.00/sq.ft.
I checked mostly for Hyde Park or internet printing services, and these are the cheapest I found. We'll probably need to place our order fairly soon. Does anyone know how big the MAC signs are? If possible with the design group and advertising group, I'd like to place our order by the end of the week.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
V & Me
Well there is furniture to be found on craigslist, however, I now second Vicki's notion that Gas money would be an appreciated item on budgetary Koncerns, and that we might use a truck, her & I, and go blitzkrieg it one day because i'm sure the freebies seem like ripe strawberries.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/zip/669911306.html uh ye ye pulp
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/zip/670462986.html schnauzer
Free for the taking, we put the couch outside so anyone can come by and take it. It's located on 1098 spring green dr. Joliet.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/zip/669911306.html uh ye ye pulp
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/zip/670462986.html schnauzer
Free for the taking, we put the couch outside so anyone can come by and take it. It's located on 1098 spring green dr. Joliet.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Stores on 63rd
So I found some useful map images of 63rd street after talking to the people in the Maps collections. The first one is from the 1930s and it gives a breakdown of the stores along the street as well as who owned them at the time.http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/maps/chisoc/G4104-C6-2W9Q4-1930z-U5.html
There is also a set of map images copyrighted in the 1950s but were apparently made in 1926. You can access them through this website:
http://sanborn.umi.com.proxy.uchicago.edu/
Click on Browse Maps, then select the state (Illinois), the city (Chicago), and the date (1905-1951). At the top under "Select a volume" select vol. 16 1926-Oct 1950, the plate numbers we would probably use are 27-32 and 40-46. No blueprints though, but from the looks of it they were mainly retail shops, a barber shop, and even a gallery.
If anyone wants to (and would like to do me a big favor since I'm finishing my BA that's due tomorrow) you can get a better image through microfilms. I have the microfilm call numbers, so if anyone is up for the task, message me and I can give them to you. Sorry I couldn't find any blueprints (or any maps later than 1930).
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Possible Spaces
Here is a satellite view of Woodlawn taken from Google Maps:
View Larger Map
It looks like anywhere between Ingleside and Woodlawn, on either side of 63rd, would be best. Emma emailed me about going today to scout spaces, but we haven't connected yet... so if anyone wants to go down and do some scouting, that is where I would suggest looking.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bylaws and such
They're so...official-sounding...
Bylaws for COUCH
Article I: Name
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be COUCH (Council On Urban Collective Happiness).
Article II: Purpose
Section 1. COUCH seeks to involve University students in the discussion and actions pertaining to the area’s ongoing development. We strongly believe that all students have a right to be involved in local affairs, especially on issues that pertain to housing. We recognize that students, as residents of the South Side community and users of its real estate, are entitled to have a say in the future of their neighborhoods. To these ends, we seek to connect students with those who are involved in local real estate to ensure that both parties’ needs are met and that their interests align.
Article III: Membership
Section 1. Any students interested in contributing to the realization of COUCH’s mission and goals are encouraged to join. However, voting membership is limited to currently registered U of C students.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1. COUCH’s executive positions shall be limited to the offices of Administrative Assistant, Treasurer, Event Coordinator, and Public Relations Chair.
Section 2. Officers must be currently registered students at the University and display a strong commitment to COUCH’s mission in the form of either past or present, active engagement with policies and issues involving student housing.
Section 3: All officers are expected to maintain good relations with community developers while promoting the goals of the organization.
o The Administrative Assistant is responsible for keeping notes and records of all meetings, including meetings between members of COUCH and those unaffiliated with the University, and making this information available to other members of the organization. He or she is also in charge of completing any basic clerical duties that may arise (copying, scheduling, etc.)
o The Treasurer’s duties entail the general management and allocation of COUCH’s funds. He or she oversees the creation of budgets as well as the deposit and withdrawal of the organization’s funds.
o The Event Coordinator supervises the planning, promotion, and production of any events COUCH chooses to hold. He or she also delegates planning responsibilities to individual members or groups of members as he or she sees fit.
o The Public Relations Chair is the public face of COUCH. He or she recruits new members, develop relationships with those outside the University, and help develop visual material and advertising for the organization.
Section 4. Officers shall be elected on a yearly basis, beginning in the last two weeks of spring quarter. Nominations from all members for all positions shall be posed, a meeting shall be called, and a majority vote shall elect a new officer. Officers may hold office for only one academic year.
Section 5. An officer can be removed with a majority vote by all members. Alternately, he or she may step down at any time. Nominations shall be made for his or her replacement, and a majority vote by all members will determine
Article V: Elections
Section 1. All members of COUCH shall be voting members. Elections for executive positions are to be administered as described above in Article IV, Section 4. If a member is unable to attend an election meeting, he or she may designate (in writing) a proxy
Article VI: Handling of Funds
Section 1. All funds collected will be deposited in COUCH’s ORCSA account by the Treasurer.
Section 2. The Treasurer shall be the primary officer designated to handle organization finances. Only the Treasurer may deposit or withdraw funds from the organization account, but he or she must have the consent of the other executive officers in order to do so.
Article VII: Amendments
Section 1. If a member wishes to amend the bylaws, he or she must notify all members of the organization to arrange a meeting, during which the amendment shall be drafted and a vote shall take place to approve the amendment. The Secretary shall be responsible for drafting the new bylaws or amendments.
Section 2. Amendments to the bylaws must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of the organization.
Bylaws for COUCH
Article I: Name
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be COUCH (Council On Urban Collective Happiness).
Article II: Purpose
Section 1. COUCH seeks to involve University students in the discussion and actions pertaining to the area’s ongoing development. We strongly believe that all students have a right to be involved in local affairs, especially on issues that pertain to housing. We recognize that students, as residents of the South Side community and users of its real estate, are entitled to have a say in the future of their neighborhoods. To these ends, we seek to connect students with those who are involved in local real estate to ensure that both parties’ needs are met and that their interests align.
Article III: Membership
Section 1. Any students interested in contributing to the realization of COUCH’s mission and goals are encouraged to join. However, voting membership is limited to currently registered U of C students.
Article IV: Officers
Section 1. COUCH’s executive positions shall be limited to the offices of Administrative Assistant, Treasurer, Event Coordinator, and Public Relations Chair.
Section 2. Officers must be currently registered students at the University and display a strong commitment to COUCH’s mission in the form of either past or present, active engagement with policies and issues involving student housing.
Section 3: All officers are expected to maintain good relations with community developers while promoting the goals of the organization.
o The Administrative Assistant is responsible for keeping notes and records of all meetings, including meetings between members of COUCH and those unaffiliated with the University, and making this information available to other members of the organization. He or she is also in charge of completing any basic clerical duties that may arise (copying, scheduling, etc.)
o The Treasurer’s duties entail the general management and allocation of COUCH’s funds. He or she oversees the creation of budgets as well as the deposit and withdrawal of the organization’s funds.
o The Event Coordinator supervises the planning, promotion, and production of any events COUCH chooses to hold. He or she also delegates planning responsibilities to individual members or groups of members as he or she sees fit.
o The Public Relations Chair is the public face of COUCH. He or she recruits new members, develop relationships with those outside the University, and help develop visual material and advertising for the organization.
Section 4. Officers shall be elected on a yearly basis, beginning in the last two weeks of spring quarter. Nominations from all members for all positions shall be posed, a meeting shall be called, and a majority vote shall elect a new officer. Officers may hold office for only one academic year.
Section 5. An officer can be removed with a majority vote by all members. Alternately, he or she may step down at any time. Nominations shall be made for his or her replacement, and a majority vote by all members will determine
Article V: Elections
Section 1. All members of COUCH shall be voting members. Elections for executive positions are to be administered as described above in Article IV, Section 4. If a member is unable to attend an election meeting, he or she may designate (in writing) a proxy
Article VI: Handling of Funds
Section 1. All funds collected will be deposited in COUCH’s ORCSA account by the Treasurer.
Section 2. The Treasurer shall be the primary officer designated to handle organization finances. Only the Treasurer may deposit or withdraw funds from the organization account, but he or she must have the consent of the other executive officers in order to do so.
Article VII: Amendments
Section 1. If a member wishes to amend the bylaws, he or she must notify all members of the organization to arrange a meeting, during which the amendment shall be drafted and a vote shall take place to approve the amendment. The Secretary shall be responsible for drafting the new bylaws or amendments.
Section 2. Amendments to the bylaws must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of the organization.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Chalk Machine
Here are some options for the chalk machine. Also, I contacted places where I thought we might be able to borrow or rent one, such as UC Facilities. I have yet to hear back from them. Each line is the link to a product online, as well as a summary below it of price, the width of the chalk line, and the carrying capacity.
- http://www.atafa.com/sports/products/Dry_Line_Marking_Machines_lb_Field_Equipment_Baseball-10346.html 179.15 (4") 25 lb
- http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_i_1?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=dry%20line%20marking%20machine&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Adry%20line%20marking%20machine%2Ci%3Asporting 205.54 (4") 50 lb
- http://www.opentip.com/Sporting-Goods/Dry-Line-Marking-Machine-Lb-Capacity-p-102594.html 201.15 (4") 50 lb
- http://www.opentip.com/Sporting-Goods/Lb-Chalk-Line-Marker-p-90235.html 56.40 (2") 6 lb
- http://www.opentip.com/Sporting-Goods/Alumagoal-Allsteel-Dry-Line-Marker-Lb-p-618569.html 78.70 (4") 25 lb
- http://www.opentip.com/Sporting-Goods/Alumagoal-Allsteel-Dry-Line-Marker-Lb-p-618568.html 120.53 (4") 50 lb
- http://www.newstripe.com/product.php?proid=6&catid=1&sub_catid=3&page=NewLiner%E2%84%A2%20Standard 118.00 (4") 25 lb
Methods of Advertising That We've Talked About So Far
Anotha List, boiiii
- Maroon (Pricing: here)
- Hyde Park Herald ($5.97/line (about 24 characters) for a 1 week run, and $5.54/line per week for a 2-6 week run.)
- Flyers (Cost of Printing + Manpower to put them up)
- Giant Arrows of Peat (Cost of Moss + Manpower)
- Facebook Marketplace (Free)
- Uchicago Marketplace (Free)
- T-Shirts? (Price Dependent on Method)
- Hijacking Billboards (Cost of Paint + Tickets, if we get caught as I'm sure those get tagged all the time)
- Craigslist (Free)
- Chicago Reader (The basic price of your ad ($31) includes up to 25 words in print. Additional words cost $1 each. Be sure to include a phone number or some other way for people to respond.)
Things That Are By All Means Declared Dead
Shit, I'm a listmaster, son. I create lists like no one else can create lists. Dead ideas:
- Being Lame
Things That Are More Or Less Up In The Air
Some of these might be actually dead by now, but just to have a space to talk about these proposals and perhaps revive them, here is a list:
- Outdoor Furniture
- Storefront
- Block Party
- Band
- T-shirts
Things That Have Been Pretty Much Decided Upon
This is the list of things that we said we are for sure going to do:
- Publication
- Chalk Outline of Blueprints
- Website (Done)
- RSO (Almost Done)
- Listhost (Done)
- Subversive Advertisement
- Some Sort of Outreach Effort
Sunday, April 27, 2008
First Post: Information on C.O.U.C.H Site
So, everyone. Here it is, our site. Not the biggest place, but the rent's cheap.
Anyway, this blog will, over the course of the term (and beyond?) become our forum for coordinating logistics, ideas, philosophies and whatever else regarding the C.O.U.C.H. project. Once I have a full email list, I will add everyone as authors. Also, I'm waiting for NSIT and ORCSA to approve my host request, so in a few days this site will also be hosted at couch.uchicago.edu, in the hopes of making it easier to find. In addition, I submitted a listhost request, which should come through in a few days. I think having both might be a bit of overkill, but oh well.
I'm not really sure what else there is to put on this right yet, before anyone else is added. I feel like I'm making a speech but my audience hasn't shown up yet. Yeah, alright, then.
*Update*
The listhost is up and working, and everyone's been invited. Although if you're here and reading this you probably already know that.
*Update Two*
We can't get an RSO webpage (ie, couch.uchicago.edu) until we're approved, so once that all falls together I will get that set up. Until then, we'll remain at couch-project.blogspot.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
