Fostering Community

Centennial Place, Atlanta Georgia

Images courtesy of apartments.com.

Above illustration by Brittany Stiles.

This is not a community environment.

• A community is generally about a group of individuals who have the power to influence each other and their environment. Inhabitants' influential power is minimal when they are a few among 200 other tenants. People have more incentive to engage their community when all/most members share ownership of the community.
• Complex spans nearly 60 acres (forrent.com) - does not relate well to the individual.
• A community is also about some sort of permanence. For many, apartment living outside of large cities is generally reserved for temporary stays. Concern for the local community is minimal when life in the apartment complex is simply a temporary means to another place of residence or a more permanent place of residence.
• Garage access to the apartments prevents neighborly interaction.
• Yards maintained by the apartment staff prevent neighborly interaction as well as public identity within the community. One's yard is one's public facade.
• The apartments have no character or identity beyond their controlled yards and brick facades.
• Though there is a pool as well as a fitness center most people are too busy to engage in these activities. The social atmosphere of a fitness center is to workout and move rather then engage in conversation.
• The complex advertises its proximity to city attractions: "Located just minutes from Centennial Olympic Park, Georgia Aquarium, CNN, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, exquisite Atlantic Station, theaters and fine dining" (forrent.com).
• The purpose of an apartment or any residence is to have a private space away from public interactions.

Dr. Follicles Barbershop

Photos courtesy of Dr. Follicles.

Above illustration by Carlos Smith.

This is a community environment.

• " 'young blokes' - men in their 20s, 30s and 40s - flock back to the barber's chairs they once wriggled in as kids" (The Age).
• Barbershops are about familiar faces, and local people.
• Magazines within the barbershop foster conversation about the current tabloids and political issues.
• The barbershop is characterized as an unofficial meeting place, therefore a symbol of community (Rengel, 259).
• The barbershop is tied into the neighborhood's identity, those who visit are part of that identity.
• Low expense- a meeting place for people of many financial standings.
• Close proximity's coupled with mirrors and chairs oriented towards each other foster communication; conversations flow freely with all parties within view.
• Environment that fosters casual conversation rather than forced meetings.
• Zones of space (isles, rows of seating) relate to human scale (Specter, 21 and Rengel, 15).
• Barbershops are often privately owned. Patrons have direct interaction with the owner(s) therefore a direct impact on how he/she handles business.
• The barbershop is an acceptable context for people to socialize at all ages.
• "A lot of guys don't feel comfortable in a hair salon with all that chrome and pretention" (The Age). This quote represents the natural and casual atmosphere of Dr. Follicles.
• Music and a complimentary beer come with every haircut (The Age).
• Conversation in a barbershop compliments the purpose of getting one's hair cut. "It has a specific use reinforcing and justifying its social function" (Specter, 17).
• Socializing compliments an experience whereas socializing because one lives among 200 tenants is forced interaction. One does not need to advertise places for people to gather. "People gather naturally in places where the action is. The sense of liveliness is the essence of the successful urban space" (Specter, 14).

Citations:

Specter, David. Urban Spaces. Conneticut: New York Graphic Society, 1974.

Rengel, Roberto. Shaping Inerior Spaces. New York: Fairchild Publications, 2007.