YardShare aims to enrich urban experience by using private open spaces for small community events.
Inspired by the 100m restrictions enforced due to Covid19, YardShare is for people who live close to one another, allowing them to make the most out of their skills, crafts and talents, by opening their common front yards for sport classes, small markets, music concerts, art exhibitions and other countless possibilities.
The urban fabric of Tel Aviv is defined by small common buildings, surrounded by peripheral yards. Between the building's front facade and the sidewalk there are yards of 3-5 meters. Much of the greenery that defines the streets of tel aviv is grown in these front yards, but at the same time most of them are neglected, and used only to access the building by its dwellers.
After mapping various urban areas of 100m radius according to their statutory division, we found that about half of the area is private and half is public. Although a high percentage of public space, most of it is used for transportation and only a bit for human activities (sidewalks & parks). While The front yards are on private lots, they have a big influence on the human experience in the city streets, which is based on the human senses. We suggest that the way these areas are arranged and planned will also be thought from the human urban experience point of view, by allowing the public to enjoy the front yard scenery, shade or smell while walking along them, and by inviting the local community to visit and enter them occasionally, on YardShare events. In this way the space for human urban experience in the city almost doubles itself.
YardShare initiates a cooperative effort of housing residents to create stimulating activities in their front yards and aesthetically develop the spaces they share. The city of Tel Aviv, will offer support to those who choose to participate in the program by funding renewal of the yards according to the project needs, assisting with general production requirements, as well as other incentives within the municipality capabilities.
YardShare would give the city a new form of user experience, shaping the space and common social behaviour around the buildings. The building dwellers won't use the front yard only as a place to pass through, but also as a space to nurture, while the YardShare events would improve the sense of community and provide the dwellers of the neighborhood an opportunity to meet. These would elevate the human urban experience of local passersby and strengthen the locals who are motivated to participate in the program.
