Entrance to Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (Credit: Monica Huzinec)
People across the country have been making efforts to improve the future of America. Their ideas consist of encouraging equality across cultural groups, creating energy efficient ways of living, helping the homeless, and providing affordable housing, amongst others. Although these innovative ideas are now being implemented in single cities and states, they have the ability to be reconstructed and redesigned across the country; ultimately creating a better future for our country and its future generations.
There is no better way to shape the future of a country than by starting with its youth. Children across school districts are now being taught the theories of the Common Core Curriculum and their learning is mostly based on examinations. However, one local professor from Brooklyn College (CUNY), Laurie Rubel, teamed up with Sarah Williams, from MIT’s Civic Data Design Lab, to design “City Digits” a math curriculum in which High School students can use real life data in order to learn the concepts of probability. Using both graph and data analysis along with probability, students collect filed data on who plays the lottery and record and share local lottery stories via an online map. With this map, they are able to analyze and visualize lottery spending patterns around the city. Through this program, children are not only gaining mathematical skills but are also learning about the neighborhood they live in as well. Cynthia Smith and Laurie Rubel were interviewed for the book “By The People: Designing a Better America” about their project and the transcription can be read at the following link: https://goo.gl/MzBLH1
Display of the City Digits High School math curriculum at Cooper Hewitt Museum designed by Sarah Williams and Laurie Rubel. (Credit: Monica Huzinec)
The different areas of policy associated with the Polis Station on display at Cooper Hewitt Museum (Credit: Monica Huzinec)
Outside of New York, Chicago tackles the issue of Police violence and the mistrust of policemen throughout the country. In attempt to bridge the gap between citizens and the authority figures in Chicago, the “Polis Station” was designed by the Studio Gang Architects. The design of the station/community is aimed to make Polis a site of social connection where officers and neighborhood residents can find many opportunities to interact with each other. Polis hopes to provide a safe space in the neighborhood and open conversation between community members and police officers. The complete project outline can be found at https://goo.gl/aBhqdQ.
A map depicting where all areas of policy will be implemented at Polis Station. (Credit: Monica Huzinec)
This specific project is one that should be adopted within New York City. Throughout the recent years, there has been a growing tension between police officers and the residents of New York. Due to the tensions there has been a growth of protest, violence, and outrage being expressed by citizens. An adoption of the Chicago Polis Station can prove to be essential in New York City as well as other cities. A safe space of conversation could hopefully ease tension between the two groups and open up new ideas to prevent future issues between them.
Outside of cities, farmers, designers, and hackers have teamed up to design a new way to evolve agriculture. The development of “Farmhack” was started in 2010 by the National Young Farmers Coalition, GreenStart, and Greenhorns. Farmhack is an open platform for community-based sharing and collaborative research that is used to develop and design open-source agricultural tools. As of now, over 150 tools have been developed. The Farmhack community meets and holds workshops and events to advance farm-tool prototypes and gather the best ideas for a climate-ready agricultural system. Shown in Cooper Hewitt Museum, was the Culticycle (one of the 150 projects created by Farmhack). The cycle is a pedal-powered cultivating tractor designed for removing weeds from organically managed crop fields. The wheels of the cycle can be 3D printed to allow for customization of the machine based on the types of crops and a DIY autopilot enables farmers to map the machines actions and field topography. To view all of the Farmhack tool designs visit https://goo.gl/ZcEIbg.
The Culticycle created by Farmhack on display at Cooper Hewitt Museum. (Credit: Monica Huzinec)
These are just three of many projects that are being developed throughout our country today. Every day, in new places, new ideas are constantly being formed by regular individuals. These small ideas have the potential to grow and spread from one place to another. It is these project designs that will eventually shape the future of our country for the better and provide citizens with a United States filled with more equality, less violence, greater education, and a cleaner more productive environment to live in.
Monica Huzinec 2/19/17
