To Lisa and Patty,
<an extra midterm response because I thought something was really interesting and wanted to write about it a little bit>
While listening to Lisa and Patty’s presentation on parks, and while hearing Rob’s comments about the use of public spaces in Amsterdam, several comments struck a chord with me:
- The use of public spaces in nonconventional ways
- There are places that the city hasn’t labeled as a “park” yet people use it as such
- The nature of people’s interaction with their environment
These statements exactly describe a discipline that I follow known as Parkour. It’s probably better known for internet videos in which young daredevils “freerun” by doing wild flips and dangerous maneuvers off and around buildings. However, the core philosophy, and the element of Parkour that I attempt to pursue, involves interacting with one’s environment in a way that utilizes the capabilities of the human body and three dimensions of the environment rather than the conventional walking in two. People vault, climb, roll, and maneuver around public spaces in an attempt to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible, using space in a very unconventional way and in many cases treating the city as literally an urban playground.
Perhaps the best way to demonstrate this idea is through seeing it in action:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98jCBnWO8w
- http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929#
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPIw3cv8Zls
- Also, definitely Google/look for videos by
- David Belle (the founder)
- Yamakasi (the main original Parkour group)
- and websites like Urban Freeflow (sold-out commercially but tones of literature and media
- and American Parkour
Anyway, this isn’t directly related to progressing anyone’s project or furthering research, but I thought it was cool and interesting and wanted to share. Thanks for reading!
