I’m a walker. I love the outdoors, and there’s no better way to really take in all the sights and sounds other than a nice walk. I have alot of free time between my morning and night class in TUCC, so I usually kill time by walking around the Logan’s Square area, and that’s where I got the idea for this project, but decided to add a little twist.
1) COMMUNICATION: The people who participate in this experiment will be given a laptop and a GPS device, and here is where the twist comes in. Participants will engage in Geocaching, an activity which is along the lines of a technologically structured scavenger hunt. The laptop will allow them to print out the map created for the activity, as well as access the coordinates that must be input to the GPS to pinpoint the exact location of the cache through the Geocaching website in order to find it using real-time mapping software. Using these two technologies will allow the user to determine the direction which they need to take, as well as navigate the lesser known streets with precision
2) RULES: The object of the activity is to take in the sights and sounds a city-goer might normally overlook, but the rules to the activity, instead of providing a more structured experience, serve to add more of an exploratory aspect. When the participant approaches the corner near where the cache is located, they are implored to pull somebody off the street to help them locate it. After the team locates the cache, the participant must ask their teammate to relate an experience they have had near the location where the cache was found. Also, the participant must find all caches in one day to evoke the experience of aimlessly wandering center city in a historical sightseeing tour
3) NARRATIVE: Each spot has great historical significance to Philadelphia; Mutter Museum, The Free Library, Pennsylvania Hospital, Rittenhouse Square, etc. I hope that, by each individual asking their teammate to relate to them an experience they have had around that area, that it brings to light the experience of living in the city. Instead of just being recognized as street corners and geographic landmarks, I hope that these places can be transformed into stories and human connections can be made from them. I relate this to what Martijn DeWell says about subjective landmarks, how something familiar can be transformed into a different experience because of how it relates to a particular person. 17th and Market would evoke completely different images for somebody if they were implored to thoroughly navigate the area and hear a story about why it is significant. Also, it is much easier for a person to feel enveloped in the culture of the area by walking through it instead of taking SEPTA or driving around the city.
4) ASSESSMENT: I think this could be an interesting experiment because it forces individuals to interact deeply not only with the terrain, but interact with those around them. It also will spread the idea of Geocaching, since the individuals chosen off the streets will be encouraged to pursue the idea out of, what I can only hope is an interest in the idea after seeing it be enacted. Most importantly, the idea of this project enacts the Semiotic method discussed in class. It makes us think why we would want to traverse all this distance on foot and what the benefits would be. It is only by doing that we realize how this activity could help us realize something we have never considered before; how to bring a fresh idea to a city we have experienced a hundred times over.
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