Identity
A specific interest in the field of cycles are the three areas to deal with the interaction between the people in the city and the city it self. The hypothesis here is that cycles as repetitive actions are involved in the construction of orientation, memory and identity in the urban context.
The following examples are taken from my master thesis “Cycles in urban environments”. The thesis developed from the project AKA www.jafud.com and is based on researching the topic in London.
Identity of the place or the genius loci can be mainly driven by the rhythm events fill and empty the space. As a very simple example can be named a local street marked. Every week the Saturday is the marked day. The road is traffic free for the duration of the marked while the stands occupy the street and the people gather round to do their weekly shopping and have a chat.
The example documents the street market at Queens Crescent in Kentish Town, London. How the identity of the place changes between the two aggregates of market day and local street day are best documented with photographs.
Image taken from cycles in urban environments – Market Day
Image taken from cycles in urban environments – Street Day
The changes reach from function e.g. the road, the walkways to role of the defining elements, such as local shops to distances, density and usage. Also certain secondary elements change dramatically. For example colors, materials and smells transform the space dramatically. These are the changes that follow directly from transformation. But from the repetition of the cycle, the space, in this case the road generates it special identity consisting of the two aspects of street day and market day.
