New York: Community, Spaces and Performance

By Julian Stodd

In the Social Age, we exist in many communities, both online and real. The ways we come together, the importance of the spaces we create and inhabit, the ways we co-exist, all of this fascinates me.

I spent a week in New York, exploring different spaces and meeting people from various communities: artists, leaders, curators, performers, learners, gardeners, musicians. Each has a story to share; stories of spaces and places, connections and performance.
In this essay I'm reflecting on my adventure, looking at three aspects of the city: 'Spaces', 'Community' and 'Performance'.
It's a journey through architecture, history, hockey and skyscrapers, but most of all it's a story about communities and people.

There's no moral, no purpose to it, except to share my narrative of discovery and sense making, and hopefully, to share something of the energy and dynamism of this great city.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julian Stodd
• Release date: Jun 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9780957319950

Julian Stodd

Julian Stodd is a learning and development professional based in the UK, specialising in elearning, mobile learning, social media and learning theory. As founder and co-captain of SeaSalt Learning, Julian is heavily involved the strategic and operational development of learning solutions in a range of areas, working at a strategic level with global clients to understand how their learning needs can be met. Julian started out volunteering in museums at the age of twelve, doing every job imaginable, from conserving artefacts and cataloguing collections, through designing exhibitions, and into giving guided tours and working with school groups. He loved the opportunities to work with stories, to meet people, and to walk with them along a learning journey. Via a conservation sciences degree with archaeology, this led him into postgraduate research around educational theory, communication theory, psychology and design. Julian is grounded in understanding how people learn, whatever the technology, and what the barriers are that can prevent them from learning. Today, he writes widely in his learning blog around various aspects of learning: mainly e-learning, social learning and learning technology. Asked recently what the most important skill was for an aspiring e-learning specialist, Julian's answer was ‘storytelling’. At heart, everything revolves around the clarity and coherence of the narrative.

Book preview

New York

Community, Spaces and Performance

By Julian Stodd

© 2014 published by Julian Stodd at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Julian Stodd

ISBN : 978-0-9573199-5-0

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Discover more from Julian:

www.julianstodd.wordpress.com

www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JulianStodd

Contents

Introduction

Spaces and Community

Performance

Postscript: Homecoming

About Julian

Introduction

I've spent a week in New York, exploring different spaces and meeting people from various communities: artists, leaders, curators, performers, learners, gardeners, musicians. Each has a story to share; stories of spaces and places, connections and performance.

In this essay I'm reflecting on my trip, looking at three aspects of the city: 'Spaces', 'Community' and 'Performance'.

It's a journey through architecture, history, hockey and skyscrapers, but most of all it's a story about communities and people.

There's no moral, no purpose to it, except to share my narrative of discovery and sense making, and hopefully, to share something of the energy and dynamism of this great city.

Spaces and Community

The Highline in New York is one of my favourite urban spaces in the world: originally built to raise dangerous freight trains above the streets of Manhattan, by the 1980's the rusted iron and concrete