InstaBlog: A Humble Rock

By Blair Lorenzo  |  Tuesday, January 15th, 2019
Author's note: Warning—this is a blog-style post based on a social media post. Beware typos and poorly elucidated thoughts. For more polish, perhaps try an article!

Seen while walking on New York's Lower East Side: a rock.

All too often, we can get lost in the complexities of urbanism: inequality, over- (and under-) investment, aging infrastructure, the climate, the complex interplay of urban design and human behavior, the list goes on and on and on.

All of which makes it very easy to miss this humble rock. I know I almost walked past without a second glance. But stop, pause, and examine all the things that this rock allows (with credit and apologies to William H. Whyte): sitting, tying shoes, pausing for conversation, eating lunch, public art (the quality of which your mileage may vary), and so on and so on.

The rock doesn't turn anyone away. It is weatherproof (at least on the human scale!). It is inexpensive. It is unobtrusive. Put simply: it is amazing. And yet, I would hazard a bet that most who pass it don't notice that it exists—even when they use it.

Maybe every street could use a rock.

Based on an Instagram post.
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