Taking It to the Streets: Part 1 of 2

**Guest Post by Bushwick Sunrise**

“I am from the streets.” That may mean different things to different people. Growing up in Brooklyn, though, that phrase has carried a specific meaning. To be from the streets was to be a thug, a gangsta, someone down with real hardcore sh*t. In the streets there was no time to be polite, to read books, to live for tomorrow. Any given moment your life was on the line and to be from the streets was to always be ready to strike back when danger came your way.

This was the case with the streets of Brooklyn, and from my understanding, this was the case with the streets of many urban areas across the U.S. The injustice it has on inner-city residents is something that has been debated significantly for decades and a lot of great understanding has come from it. But what I would like to discuss looks at a completely different aspect of this issue and is hopefully something that would be to the benefit of all Americans, and not just those from the ghetto.

See, because “the streets” were always so rough-and-tumble, I was always encouraged to stay away. My family wasn’t wealthy enough to flee to the suburbs, so in order to live safely in the hood, I had to live a very cautious lifestyle. That meant no going to the park alone, no walking around after dark, no wearing red or blue shirts in public, no hanging with other kids my mom didn’t know, no carrying jewelry, sneakers or cash you weren’t willing to lose. Basically, like many other good kids, I had to live in a state of subconscious paranoia hoping the streets wouldn’t get to this innocent bystander.

In all this tumult over my safety though, I missed out on something special the streets had to offer. Yeah I got to focus more on school, was able to maintain a positive mindset, made it out alive and healthy, etc., and I am very much grateful for all those blessings. But because I chose to not embrace the streets, I missed out on the opportunity to have *unplanned, spontaneous social interactions* with new people within my community.

Anyone who has gone to a large college in a campus away from home may know what I am talking about. Back when I was in college, I used to meet new people EVERY DAY. Whether it was in the dining halls, parties, classrooms, sporting events, dorm halls, fraternities, etc, I would always have interesting interactions with someone I never met before and my social network was constantly expanding. I loved college life, but it only lasted four years. Now I am thinking, why didn’t I get to live this way growing up in the BK? Because I embraced campus life, while I avoided street life in fear of its dangers.

Unfortunately this missed opportunity isn’t limited to me. Almost ALL Americans don’t get to live a life of regularly occurring spontaneous interactions, the way we do in our college years. Since the end of World War II, Americans have abandoned their cities, which fostered density, diversity and opportunities to be around new people. The middle class has fled to a homogeneous life in the suburbs, where the single-family houses are lined up behind white picket fences, people remain isolated and protected commuting in their cars, and everyone else in the town is white and wealthy like you are.

In the meantime, our cities deteriorated severely. The parks where community members once played became the neighborhood’s most notorious drug spots; beautiful antique townhouses were neglected and often burned down for insurance money; illegal guns flooded the streets and at least every other week one would wake up to a shootout. To live “in the streets” and thus a life of spontaneous interactions was to be a ruffian who could hold his own.

These are the negative connotations street life acquired. So instead of embracing positive aspects of the streets; such as community, openness and interaction; Americans have moved away from it to become isolated coach potatoes who spend almost all their lives in their house, car and office, as this 2004 study by UC Berkley shows. It is no surprise that Americans are facing record levels of obesity and are turning to dating websites more and more to find meaningful relationships.

After over 60 years of neglected cities and suburban living, it seems like Americans may finally be ready for a change. According to this article in the New Republic, Americans are migrating back into the dense, urban cores of metropolitan areas. Some cities continue to decline, e.g. Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland, but many others have made a rebound, e.g. San Francisco, Washington and Boston. The biggest turnaround is my very own NYC, which currently has a record population and has undergone a record decline in crime.

One of my goals/visions/dreams is to tap into this new found interest in cities and help foster a cultural shift toward street life. Not street life in the sense of the gangbanging and vandalism of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, but one with (nonviolent) spontaneous interactions in our street spaces, parks, community centers, etc. When given right conditions, I believe Americans would happily engage in a more social, community-oriented lifestyle, much like in college campuses. And this would take place in our dense, urban areas, which have the infrastructure to cultivate this environment.

Luckily, I’m not the only one fighting for this. People advocating for better city schools, lower crime, funding for the arts, relocation of jobs and offices into city centers, etc. are all essentially helping this cause. By making our urban areas more pleasant, safe and resourceful, we are taking the first steps into reversing America’s trend toward a more physically inactive and isolated lifestyle.

There are two specific movements though that I know of that are directly furthering the bigger picture of community, spontaneous interaction and street life. These include advocates of “Livable Streets” and organizations known as TimeBanks. This post I’m writing is long enough already, so I’ll explain these two movements, their effects on street life, and my participation in them in part 2. This post though basically outlines my thoughts on street life and the current state of America, so please post your complements, criticisms, questions, whatever. I’m here to discuss this with all of you!

**Editor’s Note: Check back later in the week for part two!**