Friday, 10 May 2013

Pavement chalking anarchy… possibly

Here we go again with the ‘criminality’ of chalking on pavements… or do we?

The BBC, Mail, Telegraph, Indy and other sources report that a ten year old girl was reprimanded by passing police officers for chalking a hopscotch grid on the pavement. Tsk.

I’ve commented on a few examples before, but they’ve always been confirmed. Lots of people have jumped on the copper-bashing bandwagon in this instance but it’s worth noting that the force so far has not accepted any involvement:

‘We cannot currently trace any car being in the area at the time.’

Let's wait and see shall we. Rain may not wash this one away so quickly.

Previously:


10 May 2013 14:41:02 | Space and place

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Neglected space ‘Confused spaces’, ‘neglected spaces’, ‘spaces of uncertainty’… various terms are used and they can often tell us a bit about the limits of the planner’s role. I came across this striking example in Watford the other day. The two pictures are taken from opposite sides. The curved wall defines a spiral path down to a subway, condemning a near-triangular space above, without purpose. A sheet of corrugated plastic roofing betrays someone’s desperate, but perhaps comparatively sheltered, bedding place.
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Recovered possessions I have recently finished a short booklet on a theme familiar to readers of this blog – lost possessions. It comprises a light-touch essay, illustrated with a range of photos, exploring the curious tradition whereby people pick up items that others have dropped in public places, and place them somewhere to optimise the chances of rediscovery by the owner. I’ve long been fascinated by these acts of anonymous consideration. Co-editor Martin Dudley and I had an absorbing time selecting the images for the final cut: they include examples of sundry gloves, hats and scarves, but also a necktie, a vehicle registration plate, some shopping items and a notice about a lost i-Pod. We’re considering setting up a page somewhere to accommodate those images we could not include, and for people to add their own. In the meantime, here’s one of those that got away… I was rushing home from the station one evening, burdened with luggage, when I saw this child’s hoodie draped over a bollard. I failed to take the time to take a proper image, and have regretted it since. I promise you the photos in the booklet are of better quality, if not necessarily all quite so striking. We’ve edited and designed it using the Bookleteer process, and I’ll post here again when it becomes available in a week or so.

Kevin Harris

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