An unusually designed bike rack
The bike rack is symmetrical, forming a rough shape of the letter “T.” The design accommodates two bikes, one on each side.
Bike rack on Georgia Tech campus, near Tech Square
Month / September 2016
Objectively Observant
There are bright green leaves hanging down from baskets filled with a brown substance, which are strung by a thin wire to a grey iron bar connecting a red canopy overhead to the building. There are small black chairs arranged around a small silver table, facing inward. The tables are enclosed by a black metal
fence with traces of rust and discoloration. Beyond the fence there are
numerous trees planted at equal distances from each other along the side of
the road. The trees are surrounded by light brown square tiles. The leaves and
branches of the trees move gently with 
the breeze, and the pots with the
leaves spin slightly back and forth. There are green metal benches with curved backs next to the trees on the sidewalk. There are multiple light posts with symmetrical vertical grooves along the length of the pole. There is a parking meter, with a blue sign above it pointing straight down with the words “Pay Here” on it. There are multiple cars lining the side of the road by the parking meter.
One of the cars is white with dark windows, black mirrors, and the word “Fiat” written in silver letters against a small red circle on the very front of the car. The next car is a black SUV, with two silver door handles on each side. The rims are silver, with significant discoloration as a result of the layer of dirt or other debris coating them. There is a silver Toyota symbol on the front of the car, slightly inset from the rest of the front bumper. The symbol is formed by a narrow vertical ellipse intersected by a wide concave hyperbolic shape, forming what appears to be a “T.” The next car is a silver Volkswagon sudan, much smaller than the SUV behind it. In front of the Volkswagon there is a white sudan with white door handles. In front of the sudan is a white Jeep with a metal rack of some sort affixed to the back.
Next to the white Fiat, there is a bike rack with a bike on it, held in place by a large D-shaped black object, presumably a lock. The bike rack itself is attached to the ground by four large bolts, one on each corner. A person wearing jeans, a mint-green collared shirt, glasses, and a backpack rides up and dismounts his bicycle, and proceeds to place his bike on the bike rack, attaching a D-shaped black object to the rack and the bike, intertwining them. The seat of the bike is covered with a loose fitted light brown transparent material, which moves slightly in the breeze, presumeably a brown plastic bag, possibly to keep the seat dry should it rain.
Between the bike rack and the parking meter there is a yellow monolith protruding from the ground, roughly a third the height of the trees and planted near it, and two thirds the height of the lamp post. The yellow object is rectangular, and has two smaller rectangles protruding from it. On the smaller protrusion is written “Technology Square” with “tech” and “square” in black, and “nology” in a very faint color, barely visible without close inspection. On the other protruding rectangle are the names of various buildings, with an arrow pointing forward at the top. This can be assumed to be a sign indicating the directions for specific destinations on campus.
Across the street there is a white box with a black and white striped rectangular object attached to it. Many cars take turns driving up to this black and white object, stop briefly, roll down their windows, have the driver reach out for a few seconds, and then the black and white object raises, hinged where it is connected with the white box, and the cars drive through. After they pass the black and white object, it lowers back into place, obstructing any cars who would wish to follow them without first repeating the ritual. Beyond the object there is are many cars with no visible persons inside, all stationary with no sign of moving in the foreseeable future. The area beyond the object is surrounded on once side by a black gate, most likely made of iron, with vertical thin bars between each post, and on the other side by a metal gate with interwoven metal strands, forming a loose mesh.
There are countless people walking by at a steady rate, and a steady stream of cars travelling the road. A few people are even biking along the road in the bike lane. One woman, wearing a short sleeveless dress that goes down to just above her knees, approaches the parking meter with a blue card in hand. She inserts the card and pushes some buttons on the meter, and then walks away. A line has now formed at the machine, several people long. In the background there are numerous buildings made almost entirely of brown brick except for the light blue/green tinted glass windows. They are each several floors tall, and have people walking in and out in large numbers.
A Glimpse Of Tech Square
I chose Georgia Tech for my unit 1 site for a number of reasons, but primarily location and ease of parking as I can park in my office lot. As a result of limited time, I conducted my hour long observation during my lunch break at Rays New York Pizza on the edge of Tech Square. This part of Georgia Tech experiences heavy traffic at all times of day and night, both pedestrian and automotive.At the time of day during which I was there, the pedestrians were composed primarily of businessmen from nearby offices and Georgia Tech students going out for lunch. There is a distinct sense of purpose in the air, and very few people are loitering about, if any. There seems to be an understood rule of keeping to oneself, and not distract those passing by. Surprisingly, despite the busyness of it all, it has a pleasantly relaxing and peaceful atmosphere about it.
Architectural Exclusivity
Knitted Armrest Cover on a bench at Cal Anderson Park by Mark Atwood
In Sarah Schindler’s article on architectural exclusion, she introduces a form of exclusion that is not widely acknowledged or regulated. Schindler states that people have historically used laws and threats to bar select individuals from accessing certain areas, but over time these methods of exclusion have become outlawed. She goes on to describe another method
of exclusion by the name of architecture. An example of architectural exclusion Schindler uses is a park bench divided into seats.
While at face value it appears to be a functional improvement, the true purpose of this design may in fact be to prevent the homeless from sleeping on the benches. Many implementations of this form of exclusion are often overlooked as “features of a place—innocuous and normal,” and given no heed (I A). Schindler states that many architectural designs feature elements that “function to control human behavior or hinder access” (I A). There are also numerous examples of physically exclusive architecture, such as gated communities or walled off parts of town. One way roads are also frequently used to manipulate traffic patterns and channel them towards certain parts of town.
Article source: http://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/architectural-exclusion
Exclusive by Design
This text describes the concept of a less direct and poorly regulated form of discrimination through architecture. Schindler proposed that “by including these features in a common interest community, a developer can deter unwanted potential residents.” This is a form of discrimination because it prevents certain demographics from having adequate political influence. Residents are unaware of this form of discrimination because they believe “the plan and structures of cities are created for purposes of efficiency or with the goal of furthering the general public interest,” and the possibility of ill intent does not occur to them. Just as architectural discrimination is overlooked by the populace, it is overlooked by laws and regulations. Schindler proposes that architectural exclusion should be “subject to scrutiny that is equal to that afforded to other methods of exclusion by law.”