MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Negotiating Encounters: NYC public spaces Urban actors such as people who frequent public parks, nannies, street vendors, and many others are a vital part of the city landscape and the urban fabric, and yet they are often unnoticed. These invisible actors help to keep public spaces truly open and democratic—as Jane Jacobs would put it, “safe, active, and vibrant.” They are at the core of society, and thus its beliefs and values. An entirely new range of social movements, networks, and organizations has emerged in cities, often as collective efforts. We present three research projects that study several groups of invisible urban actors: park visitors and nannies. We will tackle the concept of strangers in the city and how these actors are both integral and negotiated aspects of urban life. In the case of park visitors, we seek to understand how these actors have evolved, how they engage with each other and with personal technology in the park, and how they relate to the surrounding urban space. With respect to nannies, we investigate the importance of their work and the nature of the dynamics between mothers and their nannies within a relationship that requires trust but is often characterized by a power struggle. The final project returns to a park setting and examines the interaction between resident artists and visitors to an island outside of the city, proper. We are trying to understand the context and purpose of Governors Island as it relates to the residential and tourist interactive context of New York City. The discussion will focus on the urban culture research methodology: direct observation, interviews and informal discussion. Background and theory for the three researches will be presented to grasp the importance on research tools for urban cultures.