The Problem:
The fabric of any city has underutilized and neglected spaces. These vacant pieces of the city are often intended for development at some point in the future but currently site empty and unused. Left unattended, they can become dangerous and unwelcoming areas along the streetscape. Through small acts of community we can repurpose these empty spaces and imagine for ourselves a better streetscape.

The Challenge:
Design one or more pieces of "street furniture" that can be easily distributed to vacant sites and parks throughout the city for two months during the summer. Your goal: to initiate a dialogue about how we use our space and encourage community participation in the decisions that affect our civic life. As such, these installations are intended to be temporary and inexpensive. Designers should consider what will happen to the materials at the end of the two month time period.

As such, for anyone interested in a little design work in your free time, consider the street furniture competition. Please visit http://www.afh-chicago.org/Street_Furniture_Comp.pdf for further information on submittal requirements but designs will be due no later than 5p, Friday, February 26th via email to [email protected].

Winners, decided by a jury, will be announced at the March chapter meeting (Tuesday, March 16th, 6:30p). Winning designers will have at least one piece (potentially more) of their street furniture built and distributed to a park space in the spring for a period of two months. Best of luck to any of you who are interested! If you have questions, please direct them to Kathryn McRay at [email protected] or Laura Bowe at [email protected].