the everyday edge

The everyday edge is not a particular place. Instead it is the agglomeration of the many metaphorical boundaries between our everyday spaces: a crosswalk, a curb cut, the space between inside and outside, and the threshold or sometimes plaza between the public sidewalk and the private office. It is a boundary between the safety of the sidewalk and the untamed dangers of the automobile road. It determines the limits of public and private. It is also the informal stage where we perform our public life and share this with each other. The everyday edge is the third place, between home and work where we see the same person on the corner everyday, and on some days stop to talk or just say hello. These acts are the essence of our participation in a democratic society, and the design of the everyday edge is the hidden curriculum of democratic education. The daily performances of everyday people manifest the care we show to our home and society. Some of these spaces are left over, abandon by formal use, and become new homes to the underprivileged. Everyday people contribute pieces of paper from their pockets, a paper bag from the grocery store, a traffic cone abandon by construction crews, and many plastic bags and wrappers. Little hollow spaces collect debris, build soil, and slowly everyday plants take hold.