Walkable Planets
I want to create scale solar systems in the city, one neighbourhood at a time. Last summer I started the project in the downtown west end. I put up a series of metal street signs that looked like parking signs, but they were really planetary wayfinding signs, set at relative distance from one another at a scale of one-to-five billion. That put the Sun at Bloor Street and Neptune at Queen, with the other planets in between. The project got lots of attention, including from the city's transportation department, which kindly asked me to take down my signs. This summer I want to put the signs up in another couple neighbourhoods -- this time in schoolyards, parks and on private property (with permission), where city transportation officials won't feel compelled to ask me to take them down. The aim of the project is to get folks outside, walking along a linear route, learning about the scale of the solar system and planets. I am also keen to connect with local teachers to get kids and their families to use the series as a learning opportunity. Most importantly, I want to provide yet another fun, random reason why living the city is awesome.