Thesis Thoughts

In planning for my thesis book, I've got a few ideas on where to start and currently my proposal is thus.

I want to explore the idea of communities and personal interactions as framed by the urban landscape. I find that in many cases, finding a sense of community, especially in a vast city like New York can be very difficult and we often find ourselves in communities dictated by who we work with and our circle of friends. While traditionally communities often form around two main ideas, shared interests and location, oftentimes we don't really even know the people on our street that we see everyday. So coupled to this sense of community is also my fascination with neighborhoods, how they form, what they mean and how we as urban residents use public space. So to some degree, I want to explore these intersections and come away with a greater understanding of how and why it all fits together and hopefully form some new connections.

I think this topic is stemming in part from the two magazines, Concrete and Intersect, that I just "completed." I've been playing around with the layout and some imagery and now would like to put a bit of research and substance behind those ideas. I've also studied a little bit of city planning and in truth, this city and all its people inspire me. On a more personal note, I had a hard time adjusting back to life in the US after three years in China, a country where I had a ready-made community (like it or not) since I was an expat. New York is a place where one can seemingly fit into many different situations and yet I found it more difficult to find a sense of place. So yes, while this is a personal exploration, I do think it pertains to a broader audience since I think I'm not alone in these feelings. Jane Jacobs is also a major inspiration and how she analyzed and rejoiced in New York life. I'm also looking at the work of Willaim H. Whyte and the Project for Public Spaces who really set out to understand how we use public space and when it works well, why.

I also really like the work of the photographer we looked at briefly in class who took pictures of everyone that passed him on the street and then selectively collaged them together. What was his name again?

In doing the research for this, in addition to looking through books on city planning, I also thought it might make sense to take an anthropological view of this. I'm very interested in getting out of the house and creating connections with strangers on the street and in stores. Since we get so stuck in our own worlds, part of the project might be to break out of that comfort zone and interview people. I kind of want to map neighborhoods as well. For example, if I take my own neighborhood, Park Slope, try and get at why it attracts, say, people starting families of a certain income bracket. Trying to look for patterns. I'd also like to record people's stories in an attempt to better understand the people around us. I'm thinking photo spreads and info graphics...

In any case, right now my thesis is very broad and I'm not sure it's entirely a "thesis" yet. I am a bit confused as to how to proceed and what the "plan" should be but in a very general sense, I'm feeling pretty good about my idea. Anyone, please let me know if you think this is on the right track. Since I'm interested in i) public space ii) natural and artificially created communities iii) community as a result of being an outsider iv) people and personal narrative........this could go in a bunch of different ways and to some degree, I'd like to break my book down into sections. So yeah, that's where I'm going. Thanks.