Diversity Plaza
This is definitely an area of campus in need of some intervention.
(click on the panoramas for a better view)
(click on the panoramas for a better view)
Ok, as you can probably tell, I'm not a fan of this plaza's present state.
It's definitely a heavily-trafficked area. But that seems to be the only activity going on here.To be fair, it's been raining and cold today, so there wouldn't be anybody out playing frisbee here anyway on a day like this. But from all I've seen, it's just a thoroughfare. The concrete benches here are sometimes used, but nobody seems to stay here long...
It's a shame, because the buildings are actually pretty nice, and on the other side of the academic building is a plaza that people actually sometimes use.
Here are some a-frame signs for campus organizations. They tend to get knocked over very frequently.
So what does this site have going for it? Lots of people, lots of space, lots of visibility.
What's wrong with it? Several things I can think of:
1.)it's ugly- the landscape just doesn't make sense. It's asymmetrical in a meaningless way, and the green spaces here just aren't very inviting.
2.)it's uncomfortable- there are a few (very few) places to sit, but most are located in spots that aren't very comfortable due to the hard concrete benches and no shade.
3.) It's chaotic- when classes get out, there are huge masses of people pouring out of the buildings and the circulation is not very well-defined. There are big empty spaces and big crowded spaces and no obvious paths of travel and places for hanging out.
I'm sure there are more problems, as well as opportunities, that I'm missing. So, what to do about them?
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