Central Park: Democratic Playground
Delivered through an innovative “location aware” smartphone app (Detour), Central Park: Democratic Playground utilized responsive GPS triggers to adjust with the speed and the path of the user, creating an immersive, personalized experience.
Narrated by Adrian Benepe, who served as New York’s Commissioner of Parks for nearly a decade, Central Park: Democratic Playground is a 75-minute audio tour that explores the park through multiple lenses, including: Olmsted and Vaux’s vision, Benepe’s public space advocacy, and the eyes of a diverse range of New Yorkers who work or find leisure in the park. Interweaving Benepe’s personal experiences of the growing up near and working in the park with interviews, users contemplate shifting notions of the role of public space and nature, transcendentalism, the grid, and public health, all while while immersed in parklife: dancing with disco roller skaters, listening to musicians under the Bethesda Terrace, exploring the Ramble with a birdwatcher and a gay cruiser.
Written/Directed/Produced by Samara Smith for Detour
Public Experience
Central Park, 2016 – 2018 on the Detour App
