Weekend Assignment

I wanted to intertwine the urban algorithm with the whole psychogeography experiment to explore the neighborhood around my house on campus, near the corner of 15th St. and Norris. Instead of always heading east to cross broad towards campus for classes, food, etc. I decided I need to explore westward of my house, to see what the neighborhood had to offer my psyche. The rules I set forth consisted of turning right when I come to stop signs, turning left when I come to traffic lights.



I began on the corner of 15th and Norris, turned right and headed out west…







Apologies for the lighting... (camera phone)







My first eye pleasing observation, right on my block. A mural of multiple little scenes along the bottom of the house and steps.









Turning Left (south) on 16th St. and Norris














On 16th street I passed some real interesting artwork I had no idea existed only 2 blocks from my home...

I started thinking alot about what this mural might mean. especially when considering the location, the neighborhood, and the city...






"We must be the change we want to see in the world..."




*Note: not far from the previous mural.


The next intersection I came to was with Berks street, but it was a traffic light that you could not turn left on, and with my experiment's rules I could not make a right unless faced with a stop sign, so I skipped on to the next block, Montgomery, which was yet another light.

Making the Left off of 16th st. onto Montgomery
























A pile of various parts and pieces. Mostly cement. Pieces of a past structure or future building blocks...







It wasn't long before I discovered the flaw in my algorhithm's rules. As I came to the corner of Montomgery and 15th St. I noticed that I was making a giant loop right back to where I had started by making three consecutive left turns. I guess I should have planned ahead for something like this happening, but I thought I had just as a good a chance at coming across stop signs too...




Making the left onto 15th street from Montgomery












An interesting structure observed otuside a building on 15th st. heading back to Norris









Although the trip was short, I thought it was a valuable one. Not only did I learn a lesson in planning an urban algorithm, but it was the first time I just aimlessly walked around my neighborhood this year, taking in my surroundings, and I found a real enjoyment in it. It gave me an appreciation for the area and a desire to explore further and see what uncovered gems may lie just around the corner. . .