Pockets of Information
Community Care in a Speculative New York
Introduction
We have no law but the single principle of mutual aid between individuals…You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.
“Pocket of Information” imagines how data could be shared in the aftermath of severe flooding and climate change in New York City. It is a garment-based resource map inspired by WWII bomber jackets, which were lined with maps to assist pilots in case their planes went down. Instead it is a chore coat, a garment associated with care and maintenance, with the map on the exterior of the jacket so others can view and benefit from the information.
The year is 2124, and New York City is experiencing the aftermath of extreme climate change. The sea level has risen, submerging coastal areas and flooding subway lines, changing which parts of the city we have access to. Many more folks have turned to local communities and resources to help them since larger governments have failed them.
Octavia is a bike messenger who travels across the city and transports food and other resources from community gardens to community fridges and pantries. She has taken it upon herself to help share information with the folks she works and interacts with. She has added a map to her jacket, showing where folks can find food and how to safely navigate the city. She embroidered the jacket, so that as conditions change, and as people give her updated information, she can easily add and remove data as needed. The buttons on her jacket are made from NFC tags, which contain additional resources that can be viewed by scanning a button with a smartphone.
The Jacket
When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep.
Materials
The jacket is sewn from fabrics that are natural fibers and dyed with plant-based materials. The main jacket fabric is linen dyed with onion skins, and the map fabric is cotton dyed with oak galls and dipped in iron. All thread and embroidery floss used is cotton and the water is made from 100% silk organza. The use of natural fibers and dyes means that the jacket is completely compostable; once the jacket is threadbare or torn beyond repair, it can be added to a compost pile to help nourish our gardens.
The pockets were cyanotype printed using local plants. The quotes on the arms of the jacket are pulled from what we consider to be foundational solarpunk texts. They were chosen to help inspire us all to reimagine our relationships to nature, each other, and ourselves. We hope that our future is solarpunk, a movement associated with repair, reuse, and optimism.
The sewing pattern used is the Paola Workwear Jacket , a free PDF pattern by Fabrics-store.com.
Digital Maps
She prays for her city to help her somehow because God hasn’t come through yet.
The map below shows our current city. According to public datasets, there are 618 community gardens, 111 community fridges, 995 miles of bike lanes, and 304 square miles of land. Click on the map below to zoom in and out and interact with it.
Year 2024
The map below shows a speculative future New York in the year 2124. Future climate change projections show that by the mid-century, temperatures and sea level will rise and precipitation will increase. By the 2050s, heat waves are very likely to become more frequent, more intense, and longer in duration; heavy downpours are very likely to increase in frequency, intensity, and duration; coastal flooding is very likely to increase in frequency, extent, and height as a result of increased sea levels. 25% (73 square miles) of New York's land mass will be inundated. 75 community gardens and 16 community fridges will be lost to flooding and rising sea levels. 23% (231 miles) of bike lanes will be underwater.
Of the 543 community gardens that remain, Octavia’s map shows gardens that provide one or more of the following:
- Food
- Chickens
- Fruit trees
- Rainwater capture systems
- Solar panels
- Greenhouses
- Compost systems
- Garden hosts a farmer’s market/farm stand
Octavia has chosen to embroider the safest bike lane routes in the city. Her map shows protected (class I) bike lanes, which are physically separated from vehicle traffic.
Click on the map below to zoom in and out and interact with it. Click on each garden point to see what services the garden provides.
Year 2124
Use the swipe tool below to explore the difference before and after these changes to our city.
What was Lost
“All that you touch, you Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.”
This collection of data objects visualizes and memorializes what could be lost without sufficient climate interventions.
Community gardens
Each seed planted in the pot represents one of the community gardens that were destroyed. Each garden had the potential for being a source of food for its community. This memorial exists both in the growth of this mini garden, but also in its harvest. The pea shoots are edible, and can be added as microgreens to a salad, or planted into a garden to be allowed to grow to full size. This memorial can both nurture us and give us the space to remember each garden that was lost.
Land
25% of the landmass of NYC will be lost to the rising sea levels. We display this loss in two jars, one representing 2024 and one representing 2124. The 2024 jar is filled to the brim, and the 2124 jar is 75% full allowing us to see what we lost in the empty space in the jar. Maybe the jar is 75% full, maybe it is 25% empty, but either way we can reflect on what we have and what was taken away.
Community fridges
Each button in the sewing kit represents the 16 fridges in the flood zone.
Bike lanes
This rug in progress is made of a scrap fabric braid. Each inch of the braid represents one of the 231 miles of bike lanes lost. The act of braiding and measuring the braid helps us reflect and think about the length of bike lanes that were destroyed. By using scraps, we are elevating our discards into a useful object.
The Aftermath
What kind of footprint does our data, our research, and our information sharing leave on the world?
This jacket (without the buttons) is made of natural fibers and is entirely compostable. Here we begin the process of composting our scraps, showing how we can use this project to eventually nurture our gardens.
Resources
If we want change, or good fortune, or solace, we have to create it for ourselves.
Datasets:
NFC Button Resources:
About the Artists
Only people who actually love New York, versus those merely occupying and exploiting it, should dictate what it is and becomes.
Claudia Berger and Gabriella Evergreen are librarians who integrate data with textiles and fiber arts to create data physicalizations. They are interested in how crafting data physicalizations can make stories more tangible, and exploring research questions in the digital humanities through this lens.
