The Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) was founded in 1980 in order to build a community within the Phinney and Greenwood neighborhoods in Seattle1. It is located at 6532 Phinney Avenue North. The PNA provides many opportunities for community members to meet and collaborate together to build a strong neighborhood. To create a cohesive space for the community, all sectors of the community must be considered. Often children are left out in this process. However, within the Phinney Neighborhood Center, one can easily see that children have been considered as valuable community members.
The site was visited in on January 7th. On the site, there are two PNA buildings; the main PNA center on the top slope, and the lower PNA center where the preschool and playground are located. (As shown in Site Map above) A set of pedestrian stairs is located in between the two buildings. The design of the stairs illustrate children’s involvement – the mosaics which cover the stairs are painted by children in the neighborhood (Slide show, photo 5 and 6). By doing so, that children collaborate and articulate beauty into the neighborhood. On the side, there are two different playgrounds located on the opposite views in front of the Phinney Neighborhood preschool: one built on the slope with slides for the older kids (Slide show, Photo 4) and one with boundary shields providing toys for younger kids (Slide show, Photo 3).
The playgrounds show that children are considered in the design of the neighborhood center. These are the space for the children. On the other hand, by painting the mosaics on the stairs, the children also actively involved in the creation of community space. The PNA site is essentially a space designed for the children and by the children.
View Children's Visualization Involvement - Phinney Neighborhood Center in a larger map
Resources:
Phinney Neighborhood Association: http://www.phinneycenter.org/
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