spaces

When first trying to investigate how we can define community, what it really is, we first thought of the structures in which we live, work and go to school. We were very attracted to looking at these spaces without any people in them. Like that eerie feeling you get, when you are driving down the road early in the morning, and you are the only one around. It just doesn’t feel right, and why is that? We weren’t sure and that’s why we embarked on this project. We wanted to find out what attracted us to these spaces that exist even when people are not around. Empty parking lots, stores, buildings, all these structures that make up our society and are always there. No matter the time of night or day, they are always there, concrete. And by investigating our initial and gut attraction to these spaces, we began to really think about what makes up community. We realized that while these structures are inherently important, they are not what community is. Even though it may have been a little backwards, by looking into our initial idea a little further, we actually came out with something more tangible. It’s the idea that people are what make up community, but that these structures, which we inhabit, are also important and viable. The structures are what bring us together as a community; they are what allow for a community to exist, even if they are not, by themselves, the community.