-This community-based art project effects two different communities: the homeless and those who have housing. Describe some of the ways you see it helping/hurting/changing both of these communities.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Reading and Response: Krzysztof Wodiczko's Homeless Vehicles Project
-This community-based art project effects two different communities: the homeless and those who have housing. Describe some of the ways you see it helping/hurting/changing both of these communities.
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I see this community-based art project having many positive and negative aspects to both kinds of people. The Homeless and housed may have different and maybe even equal views on these homeless vehicles. Those who have housing may think these these vehicles are sore to the eye and may be too much of a hazard for the road as well as pedestrians. Some may see it as helpful because it helps the homeless people sleep in a decent cleaner environment rather than outside their supermarket. From a homeless person's point of view, these vehicles may be too much extra baggage although it is designed to help them. They also might think this design is hurtful because it is not realistic for them to carry along all of their belongings and 500 cans. Overall i feel that this will mostly help the homeless because it gives them a place to call their own although it may just be a supersize shopping card. By the way I read how terrible the NYC shelters treat the homeless, i feel that this design will be very helpful to them.
ReplyDeleteThe Shelter Vehicle, a project designed to function for the homeless community in NYC promises a positive future. Effecting both the housed and homeless but in a beneficial way. The homeless benefit from the access of shelter that provides a sense of protection, storage, and mobility. All while the housed community benefit economically, where high priced surveillance is no longer need. The Shelter Vehicle masks the homeless keeping up with the visual order the NYC communities try to maintain. With both communities benefiting and keeping out of each others hair, the Shelter Vehicle promises a positive urban future.
ReplyDeleteThese vehicles would definitely benefit the homeless. After reading how homeless individuals are treated while being considered to be mentally ill was shocking. Along with how they're treated, they are forced to be mobile because of the surveillance they are under. With this vehicle, women can access their needs. People will also be able to live in better conditions than they do now. Along with attaching things, they can sell cans and so on. Sure the vehicle needs some improvement such as considering weather conditions, and sleeping capacity, but overall it would be an improvement in comparison to the conditions the homeless are under now. People in regular housing would also benefit because they wouldn't have to worry about the surveillance payment nor be paranoid of the homeless. It's a positive investment and a step towards considering homeless people as humans rather than harmful objects.
ReplyDeleteHomeless people now and in the old days have gone through a lot in their lives. Some have been beaten and abused. These homeless people are always on the move looking for new places to live but the police are often removing them from the streets not letting them settle in any one spot. In the recreational areas such as Tompskins Square this exact thing is happening. But now a new invention has been made to help the homeless find comfort in the way they live on the street. Some of them now have a bed to sleep on, and a place to put their belongings. Though it is not much it is still something that can help life on the streets be a little easier.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think that this idea was born from the best intentions, I also believe that it was born from the western idea that possessions fix problems. In reality, the last thing a nomad needs is more possessions. I believe that this is a short term solution to a long term problem. No one wants to see homeless people sleeping on their doorstep but that is the unfortunate reality of our culture and economy. We need to start thinking long term to approach these problems. I've found that short term solutions often can create long term problems. I forsee these vehicles being strewn about the streets, polluting space even more than the homeless themselves. This could potentially create an even greater class division than the one that already exists. It also is unrealistic to assume that the homeless would be willing to let go of their freedom to travel as they please without essentially dragging their home behind them.
ReplyDeleteThis project will be very beneficial to the homeless people in New York City. It provides an immediate shelter for those who are lacking one. It will help the homeless in their time of desperate need when times are trying; especially during the harsh winter. This vehicle would be illustrating another way the homeless adapt to their nomadic environments. This vehicle would also assist them with their scavenging by providing a place for them to keep the findings. This will enhance their survival efforts in the city. In a sense, this vehicle is a portable home that will help the people who choose to live this lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteThis project is intriguing in the way it could change homeless people's material existence, and the urban landscape. I'm fascinated by what objects I see homeless people create. Yes, most of it is intention-wise worlds away from the type of objects we seem to make here at school; objects intended for beauty, expression, and yes functionality. Anyways, it's always interesting to see the shelters and makeshifts that transient people create. There's the guy who walks around Washington and Union Square in this technicolor raggedy clown costume, complete with taffeta and maybe even balloons. Maybe you've seen him. On Bowery street the other day I saw what appeared to be a very sturdy shelter chained to a wall with an inner frame of some sort, covered in blankets and tarps. Necessity really is the mother of invention :/.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this article I got kind of excited thinking of how people could further tweak and customize these vehicles. I feel a little messed up for thinking that way, because homelessness is a really somber topic. But I guess it's just the inventiveness that I know will occur when (if?) these are put on city streets that's inspiring. Not like, celebrating homelessness or anything.
Because there is such a large homeless population in New York City and not all can access shelter, I find the homeless vehicles a fast solution to alleviate the burden these people hold within busy urban life. These devices will allow them to be more productive in their daily lives, and have access to shelter at all times, even in excruciating conditions. It caters to their nomadic lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this design is merely a proposal for future improvement, I still find it to be potentially more problematic, seeing as it is quite large and cumbersome. Therefore it may pose a more of disturbance to commuters, who are already displeased. It may also be impractical to expect these nomadic, free beings to be bound and constricted by a large contraption they are forced to haul everywhere.
Although there may be slight disadvantages, overall I find this project very beneficial to society.
I believe that this project is the beginning of a great future for the homeless people living in New York City. So many homeless people lack on space for sleeping and for protecting themselves. For homeless women who have kids it will be beneficial because they will have a place to stay and to carry things along with them. This is not only good for homeless people but also for all people living in New York City. Homeless people will have a shelter whenever they need it and would no more have to sleep in front of someone's house or inside the subway station. After all, I think that by adding a little bit of improvement to this project will make a successful community and will help many homeless in need.
ReplyDeleteIf you’re a New Yorker, you will see homeless people. If you’re not a New Yorker, you will still see homeless people. Regardless of where you live, encountering the homeless is inevitable. They will appear on streets, trains, outside of stores, under the bride, and sometimes even when you least expect it they will appear around the corner. Many people have experienced this, and most of the times, feelings of both disappointment and pity arise. Some may give the homeless a dollar or two, but other times, people will ignore them. However, ignoring them is not a solution. Regardless, they are part of the community, and solutions are being developed. One of these solutions is the mobile home developed in the Krzysztof Wodiczko's Homeless Vehicles Project. This project presents a probably solution, but also a distress in community as well.
ReplyDeleteThis purpose of building these temporary houses for the homeless is to mitigate the amount of people on the streets, and providing a shelter for them. Altogether, it is an ideal way to situate the homeless from dangers staying on the streets at night as well as protecting them from unforeseen weather conditions. This is also the city’s responsibilities, as stated on page 80 in Krzysztof Wodiczko's Homeless Vehicles Project, that the homeless are “refugees from the transformation of the city itself.” Because of the renovation of entire neighborhoods, people are forced to move and relocate. But they fail to find a home. Through this project, not only is it a helping both these refugees, but helping the city redeem itself for the fault that the government has created. In addition, it is helping the refugees by organizing their found items, such as bottles and cans. They rely on these recyclable five-cents cans every day, and in great amounts as well. It would make carrying the cans and bottles much more convenient, since it takes about 500 cans to make the walk worth it, as stated in the article. This project will help the housing since it provides a shelter for the refugees and they will no longer appear at the footsteps of the apartment buildings.
There are always two sides of a coin, and there is certainly for this ambitious project. One major problem would be budget: where would the budget come from to build these nomadic shelters? In the article, it uses different material to produce it. There is a bed, as well as materials that will provide insulation, such as “cotton and wood and aluminum.” How much more is needed is unknown, but the funding would be a problem. It would hurt the community, since I assume it is a voluntary project by artists and projects like these are usually supported through government finances or private sectors and communities as well. Another issue is where would the vehicles itself be located. The project eliminates the problem of keeping homeless on the streets, but it will be replaced by these vehicles instead.
The project will definitely change both communities. It will provide a stable shelter and safe keep of items for the refugees. Not only that, but the housing will appreciate the efforts placed into the project, and will motivate others to help out as well.
It is an ambitious project to situate the homeless. Projects like these are usually difficult to follow through, and even so, it takes much time, effort, and money to redeem on a large scale. Would it work? Probably. Is it a benefit to both the refugees and the housing? Yes. Can it be done, at such a large scale? Probably not. But who knows, tasks deemed impossible usually challenges the one with the heart set out to it. It could be anyone of us, all it takes is a great idea, and the will to do it.
Krzysztof Wodiczko’s Homeless Vehicle Project served two chief goals. The first and more obvious was to provide the nomadic homeless individuals of New York City with a means of survival – a vehicle which could be used not just as a physical shelter and space for their personal belongings, but could also make their job as collectors (which for most, was their only form of income) easier. The second transcended most other efforts to help the homeless such that it worked to galvanize their status as a community belonging to the city, and not as isolated individuals “exiled in their own city”.
ReplyDeleteThe more immediate ramifications of this project on the homeless would be the obvious advantages having a personal ‘space’ would offer them. They could use the vehicle as a storage facility for the cans and bottles they gather as collectors. More importantly, the vehicle would solve the problem of sleeping space for urban nomads who have commonly been evicted at night from public places such as the Port Authority bus terminal and Grand Central Station.
The larger ramifications of this vehicle on the homeless would be positive to the effect that they would provide these individuals a common ground on which to unite as a community and establish their identity as a part of the city more succinctly. Instead of being treated as unwanted individuals, they would be able to unite by virtue of their common ownership of such vehicles.
However, a vehicle such as this in a bustling metropolis like New York is bound to have some effect on the larger majority residing here – people with homes. After studying the design of the vehicle, it is clear that it would occupy a considerable amount of space, despite efforts to make it as compact as possible. Considering that a noticeable number of homeless individuals stay on the streets of the city, if each were to own such a vehicle, it could prove to be a hindrance to pedestrians and traffic alike. Columnist George Will pointed out on television that dodging homeless people and their demands for small change is an unwanted addition to the “already stressful lives of businessmen” when they approach their office buildings.
Yet, the pros of this venture seem to outweigh the cons considerably. While it cannot be denied that vehicles of this nature roaming the streets will prove to be small obstacles in the streets, it will not affect the lives and routines of the city’s more typical residents to a very high degree. Their introduction however, has the potential to drastically ameliorate the standard of living of the city’s homeless and to possibly spark a shift in their standing from being unwanted outsiders to being recognized as a part of the urban community of New York City.
We always see homeless people on city streets and in other public places. Some sleep in the New York City shelter system and others chose to sleep on the streets. People who walked by tried to avoid them, assuming that they are mentally ill or an alcoholic. With this vehicle, they will have a better shelter and also people around them would view them differently. They would have a place to keep their finding such as cans and bottles. Therefore, this vehicle is obviously beneficial to most of the homeless people out there who have no proper shelter. On the other hand, it would also benefits the community in a way that people wouldn't have to avoid them anymore. Also, the city environments would appear clean and organize.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I was shocked by how homeless people are treated at shelters where it's suppose to protect them. Along with this problem, I believe that this project of providing vehicles for homeless people will benefit them and also, New York City. This vehicle offers a comfort space and good conditions for homeless people to stay. Some people might think that this vehicle burdens homeless people more because they have to carry it with them, however this will bring more positive influences than negative results. Not just for homeless people, but also it will benefit New York City by making this city cleaner than before. There will be no blankets, cans, boxes, newspapers, etc., on streets anymore since now they have their own vehicles (space) to store their things in. Therefore, I definitely think that this project should get going with all of these benefits.
ReplyDeleteThe homeless vehicle project is a great, innovative way to supply the large population of homeless people in New York City with their basic necessities. The design can be adapted to different sizes and spaces, which makes it multi-functional and advantageous in such a crowded city. However, the amount of space each one of these would take up in relation to the amount of people on the sidewalks could create a problem. With the implementation of the homeless vehicles comes the risk of flooding the streets with them and bringing all sorts of spatial problems. Although they will undoubtably make a huge difference to the lifestyles of the homeless people of New York City, improving their quality of living as well as their sustainability, it might be detrimental to the social environment or street life that New York thrives on.
ReplyDeleteI think that the fact that they considering homeless people as citizens and not only as en infestation in very important. They realized they were people with needs and started to think in a way that could make their lives easier. Their way of communicating with them was exceptional, not only because of the collaborative work on both sides, but because they made homeless people feel like they matter.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, making the homeless' life easier can be worse, because if they in fact accomplish something great, more people will unite, and this way they can avoid taxes and other responsibilities. A solution for this could be to improve the causality of life and security in the shelters they have for the homeless. Having a roof over their heads might bring them hope. Also, activities could be made in order to motivate the homeless to reincorporate into the working life and become official citizens who give something positive to the community.
Garbage, Trash, boxes, pillows, newspapers, blankets ect.... The List goes on of dirty piles of homeless people things strewn on the streets or infront of your home. Whilst an immediate reaction would be to the homeless vehicle project of 'YES, WHAT A GREAT IDEA' lets clean up the streets and provide warmth, shelter, and a vehicle for all of these people I do believe this would be try for a Quick fix and not a long term solution. I am torn by my thoughts on these vehicles. I do believe in helping the homeless and to keep them moving, positive and warm but on the other hand I dont really believe a vehicle is the best and most improving facet to be putting time and money into to better the lives of a homeless person. These vehicles could end up as more trash and more of an eye sore to see strewn around NYC. What will happen when they start to rust and or break apart in 5, 10, 15 years? Will the homeless people start to collect them and trolly them together to bring them to the dump? or will they just abandon them and find a new home? What happens if they end up wanting one and then they need other things added to them?
ReplyDeleteIF you give a moose a muffin..... he'll want some jam to go with it?