Detroit, MI
Fall 2024
As the capstone studio of the Urban Technology program, UT 430 asked us to imagine the Detroit neighborhood of Little Village see the benefit of a targeted initiative of our choosing.
Little Village is a growing cultural and arts corridor on the city’s east side centered on an exhibition space in an old church and a half dozen new development projects by a local Detroit art gallery. The area is comprised of longstanding residents and homes, newer apartments, and dozens of open, undeveloped lots.
Given the delicate nature of reinvesting in a community without pushing out existing residents we opted to focus on lower cost, short term, actionable additions that could be incrementally trialed, allowing for community feedback and data driven proposals for future large scale projects. This encouraged us towards what we dubbed Small Scale Social Infrastructure or SSSI.
Our proposal combines the amenities and interpersonal connections traditionally found in libraries with a redesigned digital community posting system anchored by a communal park-like outdoor space.
My individual contributions included background research, strategic design iteration, designing and modeling custom displays and elements of the physical space, as well as deck design, team cohesion, and group operation logistics.
TYPOLOGY
Strategic Design, Modeling, Prototyping
ROLE
ROLE
Strategist, Designer
COURSE UT 430
MENTOR
Bryan Boyer
TEAM Noah Young, My Dao, Yichen Hu
& Nate Coplan
Context
Free Open Air Library
Map
Little Free Libraries
Community Posting Boards
Photos not my own courtesy of Library Street Collective