Assignment 2: Adam

Photo 1: “No Parking on Sidewalk” on W Peachtree Street outside Civic Center MARTA station. The automobile demands its own space, and drivers have to be reminded of this consistently. The automobile driver requires specific, frequent, and large signage to remind him/her of what he/she is permitted to do. Signs are an extension of the spatial requirements of the automobile; they take up space, the block views, they are “ugly”, but they are incredibly necessary and often helpful. In this instance, the sign reminds us that a car at rest, especially when placed in the wrong location, can make a mess of traffic directly and indirectly (what is that car doing on the sidewalk?!?! – BAM, I hit a pedestrian).

Photo 2: This view east on Ralph McGill BLVD from Piedmont Ave intersection is not exactly inviting to the pedestrian. It is basically a drag strip, or a landing strip – it is more like an Interstate highway than a city street – and five lane surface roads are not exactly uncommon. This is a space made exclusively for the automobile in motion; it is wide, it is straight, and it is smooth. As the American has become increasingly hurried, roads have evolved to accommodate the moving vehicle at higher speeds. Between the hours of 7-10am and 4-7pm this is hardly enough asphalt to contain the chaos, despite three cars visible at around noon. It is borderline efficient at peak hours, and a boring wasteland in between. The automobile consumes vast amounts of potential space.

Photo 3: View north along tracks in parking lot at West End MARTA Station. Connections between mass transportation lines are often inefficient, thus the “Park and Pool” concept is applied along the train line. This photo relates to the spatial logic of the automobile on a few levels: 1) the actual parking lot – the physical area taken to keep cars at rest; 2) perceived advantages of leaving car here as opposed to destination: a) based on feeling that parking at final destination will be difficult or more costly (in parking fee and fuel), and/or b) based on sense of impending traffic congestion along route; and 3) the very presence of mass transportation (i.e. MARTA) is an effort to alleviate the spatial requirements of the automobile within the region.