http://www.pps.org/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-pop-up-cafe/ http://www.pps.org/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-pop-up-cafe/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:29:23 +0000 Project for Public Spaces http://www.pps.org/?p=73207 The New York City Department of Transportation has been partnering with local restaurants to install pop-up cafés in parking spaces for the last two years now, creating vibrant public spaces that the whole community can enjoy. These spaces, active during warmer weather, can be installed with a minimal amount of time and money (a strategy that echoes PPS’s Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper approach).

Have a seat and stay for awhile.

Establishments that apply to participate in the program have to meet design guidelines, but can spend as much or as little money as they want (cost has averaged at $10,000). The spaces must be maintained by the sponsoring restaurant and are open to all members of the public, regardless of whether or not they buy anything.

Take a look at the little time-lapse video below from the NYC DOT that shows a day in the life of one such pop-up café, on Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village. The founding spirit behind our work here at PPS, William “Holly” Whyte, would surely have enjoyed observing the social life of this small urban space.

(h/t @MikeLydon)

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PPS’s Fred Kent joined Brian Lehrer and New York World reporter Yolanne Almanzar for the segment, which you can listen to in its entirety below.

The scene at Zuccotti Park back in October. Photo: Sarah Goodyear

Here’s some of what Fred had to say about the Occupy Wall Street presence in Zuccotti: “We need those places to express ourselves without any hesitation…. We’re moving through an era right now of massive change in a wonderful way. And the feelings that they have are manifested all over the world. It’s a great time. What do we get out of it in the end is what we’re trying to figure out.”

Fred suggested that if the park’s occupation is creating a need for more public space in the area, perhaps nearby streets should be closed to create that.

The founding inspiration behind PPS is the work of William “Holly” Whyte, whose 1980 book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces revolutionized the way people saw the parks and plazas around them. Here’s what Whyte wrote about the public’s right to use those spaces — words that have often been quoted since the Zuccotti occupation began:

The public’s right in urban plazas would seem clear. Not only are plazas used as public spaces, in most cases the owner has been specifically, and richly rewarded for providing them. He has not been given the right to allow only those public activities he happens to approve of. He may assume he has, and some owners have been operating on this basis with impunity. But that is because nobody has challenged them. A stiff, clarifying test is in order.

One disturbing finding that has emerged as the result of the reporting done by WNYC and the New York World: it is very difficult to get information about exactly what benefits developers have gotten in return for the public spaces — some of which are not very accessible or pleasant to use. It is as true now as it was more than 30 years ago, when Whyte wrote those words, that “a stiff, clarifying test is in order.”

You can read an in-depth account of what the New York World found in the course of their reporting here. They’re going to keep digging, and we’ll keep you in the loop.