This project positions itself to tackle the New York City vacancy crisis through the virtual occupation of Jackson Heights, Queens. Beginning with an extensive research of character on-site, a sensorial language was developed in conjunction with a digital model of the region surrounding the 82nd Street stop of the MTA 7 train. From this, a collaborative virtual street is proposed, where community members can engage in-situ using Augmented Reality (AR) and global users can interface remotely using Virtual Reality (VR).
We proposed a vacancy-occupying competition on this platform, in the hope that every actor in the process can benefit. The landlords can lease their property with market price to a well credit organization, and the community members benefit from having their desired proposal; Start-ups and institutions get a chance to realize their program, and financial supporters get a grounded system they can easily track the grant usage and see the effect.
Partner: Taylor Urbshott, Chen Yang.
