By: Noah Stewart and Michael Greeson
At the intersection of 10th and Guadalupe Street, there lay a 1 square block patch of dried grass, which goes by the name of Wooldridge Square. Although devoid of any nature after a record-breaking drought, this park remains alive in terms of human interaction. Here we found various subcultures of Austin clashing, and co-existing as they used urban space provided by the City of Austin as they pleased.
An off-white gazebo sits in this small valley of the square. Although the gazebo appears to tower over the homeless citizens who seek its shelter, it is dwarfed by the surrounding government buildings. Even from the lowest point in the park, the capitol building is visible, looming over the top of every building in between. The urban space is host to irony, as the government officials in the buildings surrounding the park observe the impoverished inhabitants of the park without aiding them in any manner. The park also represents the eternal struggle between rebellion and authority given its location between the Travis County Constable Office, the Travis County Jail, and the Justice of Peace.
Upon scanning the various corners of the intersection, we found a group of skateboarders. We approached them in order to inquire about their use of urban space. (View their location here.) The skaters happily showed us their different tricks, all utilizing the set of stairs in a different way. After observing, recording sound, and shooting video for a few minutes, a policeman arrived to enforce the law upon the urban rebels. We observed from a distance with a small portion of the group as the cop lectured the other skateboarders and apparently told them to leave. Both of us approached the policeman for an interview after he sent the skateboarders away but were turned down after being told that granting us an interview would oppose department policy. This clash between authority and rebellion was again exemplified in a different corner of Wooldridge Square.
Just a short walk away from the corner where the skaters were, we saw what we believed to be a police car a first glance. But upon inspection we realized that this car was not a police car at all, but “The Truth Enforcement.” The car was the exact same make and model as the vast majority of squad cars in the area, but instead of enforcing the law, this vehicle preached marijuana reform. The driver of this vehicle is using the urban space to protest solely by parking the car there. When he is around the vehicle, he is using the space to actively spread the word and hand out pamphlets.
After only an hour of observation at Wooldridge Square, we found that urban space is used for much more than the designer intended. Observing a landscape is just like reading a book in the sense that one must pay attention to each detail and read further in depth than what meets the eye.
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