The Main Street Corridor from 30th to 51st contains several prominent examples of various street furniture and amenities. To create a taxonomy of street furniture types, I sub-categorized the elements into “seating,” “bicycle,” and “various” multi-use types. Further, I organized each ensuing board according to relationships between each element as an “object,” “site,” and “user.”

My chosen seating examples include bench seating with aggressive skateboarding and loitering deterrence (Westport Rd. and Main), a well-designed “outdoor room” (43rd and Walnut), and the gathering space/memorial at  Murray Davis Park (40th and Main).

The bicycle subheading includes the KC BCycle bike share kiosk (31st and Main), the mobius-strip bicycle racks at Capital Federal Bank (43rd and Main), and the meta-sculptural bicycle rack at 43rd and Walnut.

The “various” multi-use subheading includes the trash, recycling, and periodical containers at 39th and Main; the sculpted stone planter at 33rd and Main; and the Main Street MAX transit stop at Armour.

The underlying relationships between each element of street furniture/amenity involve “proxemic” spatial relationships.  The term proxemics, coined by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in The Hidden Dimension, describes the spectrum of distance that defines the functional space of each element.  I define each element on the proxemic spectrum between “intimate,” “”personal,” “social,” and “public.”  From this analytical starting point, the elements are further defined by their attention to accessibility, human interaction, and aesthetic continuity.  Displayed diagrammatically on the “user” board, each element comprises these themes with varying levels of success.  Overall, the elements which emphasize accessibility for differently-abled individuals, “sociopetal” (inward-facing, interactive relationships), and aesthetic continuity contribute most positively to the public realm.