Patterns Patterns Patterns

Degrees of Publicness directly links to privacy on Facebook. Its the people with completely public profiles, for the world to see. These are the extroverts. Then the middle group, those who have maybe 5-10 photos available to view without a friend request. You can see their name, where they are mutual friends, and usually their school. Then you have the introvert user, who may not even be searchable via regular search, or those who only appear to friends of friends. These people have almost nothing public on their profile except their name, possibly one photo and some location data.

These setting allows users to either restrict the different traffic “passing by”, and only communicate and interact with people they choose to. This is the preverbal “virtual boonies”.

I looked at the Small Public Spaces pattern my Christopher Alexander. This seemed especially relevant with covid happening, and every dining space losing that “intimate” feel. Since people now have to be in the street, you find that locations with parklets are getting the most traffic, and that is because people feel more comfortable in a designated space. This designation connects them with the restaurant, and they feel less exposed. Even makeshift barriers seem to give people comfort, despite strangers being closer than 6 feet away. You can especially see this on 16th and Valencia streets on Friday and Saturday nights. The street is closed to cars, tables spill into the street, and it’s like we have all forgotten that we are only supposed to be going out for necessary reasons. There is a variety of rope, cone, and half-wall barriers that are emboldening people to risk being mask-less and I think this stems from the idea that Alexander talks about, that people don’t want to be far away from others because they feel deserted, so even in a time of global sickness and death, this pattern persists.

I also looked at Common Areas patterns. I have recently been looking at studio apartments to move into and the flow of space is incredibly important since the main living area doubles as a family room and sleeping room. The apartments where the main area was in the middle felt like it wasn’t the space to spend most of your time. They felt like large hallways. Then there are the shotgun apartments, with a long hallway leading to the main room. off this hallway are the closets, kitchen and bathroom. These make you feel claustrophobic until the hallway finally opens into the main room. It is about finding the balance between the spaces, even in a studio, that is arguably more important than a family home, due to it being not just the main space, but the only space.