I recently volunteered for ACT- The Boulevard, a pop up placemaking event in City Heights, creating and facilitating an interactive art piece. The idea to put up painted doors on the sidewalk was originally spurred by organizers as a way to hide a line of U-Haul trucks parked right up against a well traveled sidewalk. However, it became so much more. I was asked to take the lead on this project and quickly started brainstorming with the others how this space through art could lead to greater human connection. We came up with the interactive art piece that prompted the people passing by and getting off the bus at the adjacent bus stop to engage with the piece and one another with the statement "I come from...and I live next door" in different languages. We placed a map of the world and handed people dot stickers to place on the map.

The interactive art piece quickly transformed this space that was once dominated by huge trucks lining a sidewalk to a place of community connection. People who would normally just walk quickly by pass the row of trucks, slowed their pace and stopped to look at the art and ask what was going on at the site. We then engaged the residents by asking them to put a dot on the place where they come from originally. What happened next was simply beautiful and showed the power and importance of creating places and opportunities for people to interact with their neighbor.

Lessons Learned

Transforming spaces to places can connect neighbors who are complete strangers. Additionally, the connection can continue outside of the place that has been transformed.

At any given time there were two or three people at the doors participating in the activity and engaged in conversation with one another. One beautiful moment I witnessed was one woman from Zambia and one from Detroit were placing their dot on the map at the same time (City Heights is the hub of cultural and ethnic diversity in San Diego, with over 30 different languages spoken and people from all over the world). They started talking with one another and found out they only lived a few blocks from each other in City Heights. They came were from different parts of the world, but lived "next door." They soon left the location walking together continuing their conversation as they left the place. A well done placemaking effort has ripple effects of impacts outside of the transformed place.

People expressed a great sense of pride in where they come from and providing opportunities to celebrate their identity in a new place (public space) which may seem or actually be foreign is so important in converting spaces into places.

A group of teenagers from Ethiopia stopped by and showed great excitement to be participating in the activity. In this place they were able to be proud of where they come from and "leave their mark" with pride for all to see in the community. Time and time again, as people placed the dot where they came from you could see them exhibit great pride and belonging as their identity was represented in the place.

This event highlighted the issue that most of the spaces around us are set up for people to move quickly through them, prevents people from connecting with one another, and lack markers of community identity and expression.

As artists, as planners, as developers, as well intentioned people with paint brushes, we have the ability to transform spaces into places where neighbors connect and diverse identities can be celebrated. All it takes is a few creative ideas, paint, and some people willing to share their time and talent.