Tipping the Balance
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Responses, reviews and pertinent information related to Nick Bigelow's BLA thesis Tipping the Balance for the Point Douglas neighborhood, Winnipeg, titled Tipping the Balance
Thesis pdf
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Review of "Tipping the Balance"
Chapter 1 - The Foundation
Chapter 1 focused on the concept of ‘tipping the balance,’ an idea that a successful design doesn’t mean wiping the slate clean and starting over, but that a few small changes will help implement big changes. How citizens will take ownership of their community and have motivation to strive to create a more successful community; whether that involves parks, public transportation, community centers, or just the general look and layout of the neighborhood. The idea is that the tipping point is a point of no return. How can you make people want to change their community? Its a series of smaller, most times unnoticable, changes that built up over time begin to correct either a rising or in our cose declining enviornment, city, community.
This chapter also says that the clients are the residents and community members of the local areas. The new design is intended for the neighborhood and not the developer. The clients and users should have a large say in the design and they should be leaders that strive to implement changes. A general program has been developed in the thesis with a basic outline of ideas and structures to be implemented; Linked park system, green infrastructure, reuse of existing structures, proposed development, community centers, lighting systems, residential codes, neighborhood marketing program, logos and slogans, social programs and organizations.
Also discussed is the site information and locations. The site is the Point Douglas neighborhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba, within the Red River Valley. A general history is provided in the paper. Much is talked about the trading economy that has been a major part of the area throughout the centuries. The Forks region, which is one of the oldest, is once again the ‘cultural center of Winnipeg.’ Many citizens are energized about creating complete and whole communities.
The Point Douglas neighborhood is elaborated upon describing the industrial and residential aspect of the community. Most of the residents live below the poverty line creating Point Douglas as one of the ‘worst’ neighborhoods to live in within Winnipeg. 40% of the residents are aboriginal or Metis. Unemployment is around 20% and all housing was built before 1946. The emphasis of this project is to create a successful change based not on the awards or aesthetic purposes, but on the effect of the design on the users of the design. “How do landscape architects and other designers change the general public’s quality of life?” (Tipping the Balance)
In chapter one, Nick talks about a lot of background information of the site and some pretty interesting questions to think on. First is the importance of adaptation. The ability to adapt is what separates humans from all other animals on the earth. If we are unable to adapt, then we are also unable to grow. He explains that change is not a linear process. It fluctuates with time so it can go in any direction. Referring to Malcom Gladwell’s book (The Tipping Point) he calls change a social epidemic. Gladwell explains change as a disease that is spread by leaders on the cutting edge. Sometimes the smallest change can cause something to boil over and lead to a point of no return called “the tipping point.” To me, design is like a thunderstorm. It can be seen instantly but it may take time to be appreciated by the users. The sense of neighborhood is very important to the Point Douglas area. Neighborhood associations are the backbone of urban environments. Residents of the associations are the neighborhoods biggest asset. The site information had some really interesting facts. The information was very thorough and easy to understand. The city of Winnipeg has come a long way; from fur trading post to rich and diverse center of commerce. Winnipeg is in the process of transforming its decaying industrial neighborhoods. The thing that surprised me was that the city does not have a major freeway system which tips the balance in the favor of the pedestrian and keeps neighborhoods connected. Also seeing that 30% of the residents use walking as their main source of transportation should provide cleaner air. The thing that I could relate to the most was how that design solutions never have a single answer, and just when you think you have found one, it can change in the blink of an eye. A question came up towards the end of the chapter that made me read it twice. How do Landscape Architects and other designers change the general public’s quality of life? After seeing and reading this question over and over, I think I realize what it will take to become a useful landscape architect.
Metaphorically Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point using conjunctions between economic rural design and the effects and reprocutions of say a lightning bolt. The book quotes one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s quotes saying “I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why thunder lasts longer than that which causes it, and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How? In Gladwell's book and in Nicholas Bigelow's thesis project on Douglas Park in Winnipeg Canada, we see this metaphor expressed as small interjects that are often very obvious to the eye and surrounding community but others goes completely unnoticed in the form of changing ideals a creating a better self worth. And as the small bolts of intervention begin to compound you see a change in the economic, environmental, cultural, and abstracts within the changing space. The idea is that after these slight changes are made the resonating effect on the community will support the ideals of a better community, the sustainability will begin to grow, hopefully exponentially, until the community can begin to support itself in a better more specifically pleasing way. That point of turn where change final begins in the opposite direction is seen as the tipping point.
Chapter 2 - Building Materials
As stated before the goals of the design in Douglas Point are to create a self sustaining foundation, by means of minimal intervention, in an already declining society, community or city in hopes of evetually finalizing a sense of real apprectiation and respect, almost revrence towards the community that you've brought back and can now inhabit. But what needs to be done specifically in the creation of such an important foundation. Nick's thesis draws on many of the conclusions drawn in Tipping Point and threw a serries of case studies including Bryant Park by Laurie Olin and Olin Partnership, the The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initative in downtown Boston, MA, as well as a in depth look into the City Wide Political Initiative in Bogotá, Colombia. All are studies and givin instances that reflect success in the thoery of minimal interventions and building a cohesive and respected foundation for self sustaianabiltity to grow.
Nick states a very valid point along the lines that the people are the reason for this known epidemic called the tipping point. The power of these social networks is essential to change and spreading of new ideas, whether it’s a simple design feature to better allow for circulation of people or information. Nick relates people and neighborhoods to hubs and nodes which is a very close analogy considering the complexity of human activity and the layers of neighborhood design. People, in relation to nodes, “gain their strength through links.” In other words, you would rarely see a family or single person live in a serene place away from others. There is that inhibition and need to converse or form links, thus large groups of people concentrate into neighborhoods. Hubs attract these people and give them places Nick uses churches, community centers, parks, and other various examples to show the power of hubs. Hubs connect these communities together and allow for information to be passed through people. “The power of the neighborhood resides in how linked people feel within the neighborhood.” This is the key to successfully designed neighborhoods, because people grow and become who they are by being around other people. If the link between the two is not well thought out, people are discouraged to leaving their homes, all because of poor sidewalk design or the failure to implement hubs with solidifying connections into neighborhood design. Not only are people connected through neighborhoods but they are also connected through functions. He relates this to the internet saying because of these functions the complexity level is far beyond anything else, so there is no right or wrong answer for the design process. The internet’s hubs are the search engines while the nodes are the millions of pages of information the net houses. It still resides on how the information is linked though. Much like people, it’s extremely important to design with the intent to connect people and give them places to release. Any other way would not be nearly as successful and serve the purpose to promote growth.
In chapter two: building materials, Nick starts to discuss theory research, case studies, summaries of them, and historical context. Within his theory research, the designer is given the utmost power to be a change agent. Ideas, products, messages, and behaviors spread like a virus. There are three laws; the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the power of context. He goes into detail with each of these. The Law of the Few is a law that speaks of the influence of people on change. The Stickiness Factor deals directly with the idea itself, and the Power of Context deals with the environment in which the idea is presented. Each of these laws has dramatic influence on the possibility of an idea becoming a tipping point. Surfing the internet would be much more difficult without search engines. Neighborhood features that function as hubs: community centers, parks, children’s playgrounds, children’s athletic games, school, work, coffee houses, bars that sell to minors, churches, drug houses, and gang hangouts. Hoover and Vernon describe the neighborhoods life cycle in 5 stages: development, transition, downgrading, thinning out, and renewal. These models have been broken down into four areas of study which we look for everyday in our work. Demographic/ecological, socio-cultural/organizational, political-economy and social movements. Nick then begins to explain his case studies in relation to Point Douglas; they are Bryant Park, Dudley Street, and Bogota, Columbia.
Chapter 3 - The Framework
In his introduction Nick talks about how no category can stand alone, and how it is the people of the community that will drive any change that will happen within the site. Relating back to a recent case study my group had done, we have found this to be very true. The designer can plan and design a site that he feels could be beneficial to the community, but if the community goes against the proposal it will never work. The designer should constantly work with the community, and the community should give the designer feed back in what they feel should be done on the site. Without this teamwork between the people of Point Douglas and Nick the design would never be as successful as it's about to be.
Nick has discussed how Point Douglas has turned its back to the river, and how this connection has to be reestablished. He is absolutely right because this connection could actually help in Point Douglas’s restoration process. Since only about 30% of people own cars and drive, this leaves a very large percentage of people to walk to work or other places, no matter what the weather is. During the winter while the river is frozen it can provide a skating rink and a direct link around the point. The summer will provide a chance for education with fishing and an option for some form of boat transport down the river.
In the beggining of the Framework section, Nick describes the tiping point as, "They are a phenomena built upon numerous circumstances each with a given weight on the end result." This aspect was revieled when Nick showed his timeling of Point douglas and the events that would take place within the time frame. The timeline began shortly after his thesis project began, and continued for about twenty years. Within the timeframe, there was definately the suggestion of the tipping point, and where the tipping point would occur in the timeline. There is evidence of the beggining that builds up to the first developement within the city, and gradually increasing to the tipping piont in the middle of the timeline, then slowly decreasing, as if the gradual incline of a graphic tipping point. I felt this was a great represention of a tipping piont along with the metaphorical qualities.
In this chapter, Nick bites down into the analysis of the site explaining his research on the natural environment, laws of nature, as well as the context of the region. He never lets up on his main point of change, even in this chapter, stating that the community itself is its only motivation and hope for future improvement towards the site. Nick touches base on climate, (still to be incorporated in the design - as stated during his presentation) Winnipeg's land and soil, the Red River as its 'hidden gem' as well as the history of buildings in Point Douglas. During his presentation he also explained the division of the neighborhood with the railroad, and how it shows the diverse and more 'worse' parts of the locale. An important component I thought Nick did well was explaining the pedestrian and vehicle traffic, showing changes in bus routes and use without vehicles. I think this chapter was set under great detail, in which was well done and a good example for the class to look back upon.
Chapter 4 - Construction
Chapter 5 - The Finished Product
