C. van Erven
2022
In (re)CYCLE 6: Follow the light, we looked at Aurora not as a collection of separate sites, but as a neighbourhood people move through every day. Housing, public space, schools, the shopping street, station and open areas all sit close to one another, yet they do not automatically form a welcoming sequence. We wanted to understand where those connections break down and how a clearer network of spaces could make it easier to meet, move and feel at home.
Our starting point was a layered reading of the area. We studied its physical form and mapped everyday destinations such as the station, park, school and shops. We also looked at how activity shifts between morning, afternoon and evening, and what the sun path means for comfort, orientation and safe routes. Social indicators around volunteering, care, loneliness, migration backgrounds and recorded crime gave that spatial picture another dimension. Green space, heat and flooding risk completed it. Together, these maps helped us see that public space is shaped by much more than paving and planting.
The proposal connects an Aurora-focused area, public spaces and a mosque or prayer space with its facilities. The intention is not simply to make the area look better. We want the transitions between these places to feel legible and inviting, so that moving through the neighbourhood can also create opportunities for encounter. A route can be a passage, but it can also become somewhere to pause, rest, play or recognise a neighbour.
‘Follow the light’ refers to the literal role of sunlight, shade and visibility, but it also became a way of thinking about recognisable places. Green, shaded and well-connected interventions can support social contact when they respond to the conditions people actually face: heat, water, safety, care responsibilities and different rhythms of use. There is no single public-space solution that works equally well for everyone.
As part of the (re)CYCLE series, this is research through design. We are not suggesting that one physical intervention can solve complex social questions. Instead, the work gives residents and partners a concrete basis for conversation: where are the breaks in the urban fabric, which evidence should shape priorities, and how might public-space improvements support a more connected Aurora? The value of the proposal lies in making those questions visible and testable with the community.