Category Archives: RSearch

May1

Participating in NAI

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NAIAl Leftridge, Ph.D,  is hosting an interpretive writing workshop in Minnesota this weekend. In the tourism field the word “interpretation” goes beyond conventional languages. It is the concept of conveying something to an audience through words, sounds, images, etc.  Mr. Leftridge and myself are members of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). This organization is the offspring of the Association of Interpretive Naturalists (founded in 1954) and the Western Interpreters Association (founded in 1965).  NAI views interpretation as a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the meanings inherent in the resource.  Individual members (5,00o+) include those who work at parks, museums, nature centers, zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, historical and cultural sites, commercial tour companies, and theme parks. Commercial and institutional members include those who provide services to the heritage interpretation industry. Additional information about  NAI can be found on their website. I encourage you to think about the  role it plays in the tourism industry and ways it might connect to your travels.

Mar27

The Social Life of Urban Spaces!

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Some rights reserved by Common.Wikimedia

Some rights reserved by Common.Wikimedia

As a college student several years ago, I studied Local and Urban Affairs which has now been renamed as Community Planning/Studies. I remember sitting in the class watching what I thought even at that time was a VERY old (most likely a VHS) version of an educational documentary on the design of public spaces.  It reviews public/group behavior and what makes a public space “desirable.” What I remembered most was the fact that we (the public) desired choices. In the video they talked about seating, and how the perception of control or ability to choose the location of a chair was important even if it was moved only a few inches for it’s original location-no more in or out of the sun.

The orator was William Whyte, who at the time was a Planning Commissioner for the City of New York. Later his work launched him to the forefront as a leading expert in the design of public spaces.

William passed away in January (2010), so in honor of his life’s work and as a continuation of my previous posts on public spaces-here is a link to his video, “The Social Life of Urban Spaces.”  Don’t say I didn’t warn you about it being old 😉