ASHLEY YARBERRY
This is a figure ground drawing of downtown Royal Oak, Michigan. Royal Oak is classified as a suburb of Detroit, Michigan sitting at three miles north of the city. This city is best known for it’s young and trendy nightlife, as well as the cities trendy restaurants, shops, and businesses. The circled portion represents an area of mixed use including; residential, restuarants, retail shops, salons, and business offices.
This aerial view shows a city block in Royal Oak containing; residential, restaurants, retail shops, salons, and business offices. The block is on the corners of a very busy Main Street, 5th Ave, and 4th Ave. The buildings make up the entire block besides a small alley that passes throught the center.
This diagram shows the activity and youthful energy within the culture of this city. Train, car and pedestrian circulation is shown displaying the movement around the businesses. Normal traffic revolves around restaurants, retail shops, and bussiness offices. Other traffic may be connected to various community events such as block parties. The top right street that is blocked off with tents can demonstrate how the community holds events in the street.
This ANT map shows the intriguing factors that make Royal Oak, Michigan the social place it is. I found through historic context that the residents primarily come from middle to high class and tend to be younger creating a trendy downtown region. The downtown area of Royal Oak as shown, is a place for gathering, socializing, and community.
This image shows a few of the various events that happen in this urban area. Taking the findings of the actor-network map, Royal Oak is experiencing the life of the original use of a “shopping center” again. Posters are lined on the Goldfish Tea windows demonstrating the opportunities of community connections such as block parties, wine wednesdays, music and family fun. Lastly, the urban environment of trendy youth is connected with the symbol of a food truck.