Participatory Design
UC Santa Cruz
I worked with local community groups from 1973 to 1980, documenting community organizing around the issues "liveable spaces", sweat equity, urban homesteading and advocacy in both Somerville, MA and New York City.
The Value Proposition
Agassiz Community Open Space
Video documentary of my local community's successful efforts to save its last open space and turn it into a neighborhood recreational park. Was used to raise additional funds.
Urban Homesteading
Video documentary of the Peoples Development Corporation's successful self-help programs working with neighborhood coalitions in Lower Manhattan, South Bronx and East Harlem, NYC. Focus on "sweat equity" construction, alternative power sources (wind and solar" and rooftop gardens.
My primary contribution was as a video documentarian and advocacy journalist. The finished videos were used to raise awareness and generate funding.
Walking the Walk
As part of the community of artists, I "pioneered" a loft space in New York starting in 1978. Eventually our collective efforts to create a Loft Law (1982) helped turn abandoned industrial spaces into safer, more affordable, legal housing.
Of course, those loft spaces are now exteremely expensive. Life goes on...