Assignment: Thoughtless Acts

Collaborators:

Thoughtless Fire Hydrants

David, one of my old students, rests on a nearby fire hydrant after his graduation. Our graduation was at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Oakland. By design, there aren't many places to stop and sit in this area of town. Police seem to want to keep people from hanging around street corners for some reason. 

It's hard to find a place to rest after huge events in Dolores Park. Street corners are places for traffic to flow, not to gather. Fire hydrant designers often discourage would-be-sitters by placing a huge nut and bolt at the top of the hydrant. Sitting becomes quite uncomfortable after only a few moments. However, in cases where a wheel-valve is used, sitters might find respite for longer periods of time. Designers could take context into account when designing their hydrants. Pokey-topped hydrants might be more useful in high traffic areas, while flat-topped designs might be more thoughtless-user-friendly near parks or other recreation areas.