Interim Review November ’21

My Intervention is related to waste, how we can use it, and how it can support my Climate Activist.

Site Analysis

The idea for my intervention started as I was doing the mapping exercise. When we first walked alongside the river, I noticed a number of litter left on the streets, some also dumped in the river. And the closer we were getting to the industrial area the more litter and other sort of waste was found, like a broken windscreen and other metal scraps dropped by some bushes.

When I was working on the underground map, I thought immediately that one layer of the Earth build-up should be added- a layer of waste, which is a layer of this century.

I have then started researching how the City deals with the waste and I found out that in this area there is actually a number of recycling centers and other waste management facilities, for example, Veolia Energy Recovery Facility, which uses non-recyclable waste to generate electricity and hot water, which is then distributed by the Energy Lines supporting part of the city.

As a part of my site analysis, I have also looked at the Flow in the area. The river flow, which speeds up where the cascades are, and which sometimes carry the dumped litter, represented by the black arrows. As we know, in Sheffield, the river doesn’t always stick to its riverbed. Therefore red and yellow lines represent the water flow and flood risk – yellow lines are representing low risk, red medium. This important aspect will determine where the Intervention will take place. The arrows and crosses represent the waste and its flow. As mentioned, there is a number of waste management and recycling centers in the area, so the arrows represent where the waste goes. Crosses are indicating the waste I found on my way. The flow of this waste will depend on the wind, or whether it will be picked up or not.

I have then looked at the Flow of people and the atmosphere of the place focusing on the 2 particular areas which are the potential sites. I have divided the flow of people into two groups: green lines indicate routes where the flow is slow and relaxed – people taking a recreational walk, with a dog, or with a friend. Blue lines indicate the busy routes, where people are in rush, or just passing by with no interest in stopping (making their way to work or any other destination).

I also looked at the atmosphere of the space. Green is a sort of a positive atmosphere and energy, where people meet up, do activities, and generally feel comfortable in the area. Blue, however, is a little bit more negative. This color indicates the areas which feel rough, like narrow streets, and also where most recent crimes had happened.

Climate Researcher / Activist

My Climate Activist is Dr Carissa Honeywell who is involved with Foodhall, which is a social eating project that brings people together and deals with the problem of food waste (using food waste from local traders).

The Intervention

In the interview, Carissa expressed her concerns over the problem of social isolation and mental well-being. My intervention is therefore to create a community, which will respond to this problem. The aim is to create a place where people will feel safe, comfortable, where they can unite and maybe even find a way to deal with their mental health problems through Art Therapy, using any sort of waste (ARTCYCLING). They can build their own community using the salvaged materials, or salvage an empty building and reuse it – in the way like the Ruin Bars in Budapest. The bars are actually located in ruins, using salvaged pieces of furniture, ornaments, or other junk, creating a very unusual atmosphere (eclectic style). These bars are very popular and are the heart of Budapest’s nightlife.

Another way of bringing people together and maybe even helping them manage with their mental health, is the floating garden, which they can look after. The floating garden can be placed anywhere on the canal, and the raft can be made of waste materials, such as plastic bottles which will allow the raft to float on the water. The grown vegetables can be then supplied to the Foodhall. A number of herbs and vegetables can easily grow in water. This includes some of the food scraps, that can regrow new leaves when placed in the water.