MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Part of panel: negotiating encounters: NYC public spaces

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. LinDa Saphan

Prsentation 1- Michelle Salas

Bryant Park in New York City, known for its French garden design, used to draw visitors into intimate conversations. In the early 1990s the park was carefully redesigned to encourage interactions among people. Interactive activities are provided throughout the park, including reading rooms, checkerboards, ping-pong,and carousels placed to create opportunities for urban social mingling. But new technologies, especially smartphones, have changed the way that people engage or avoid engagement with each other in public spaces. People are now more distant from each other than ever and social interaction often seems unwanted. This research project aims to observe and understand visitors to Bryant Park, their relationship to the space, and their use of technology, particularly their smartphones. Through direct observation in the spring and summer of 2015 we collected data on the number of people who visited the park, the duration of their stay, and how they used personal technologies. Our data is expected to reveal new information about the diminishing role of face-to-face interaction with both people and the environment in urban spaces.