The people of the South End deserve a space to come together. A space for brainstorming projects, hosting existing community organizations, cooking food with neighbors, and enjoying leisure time. This dynamic community center is a platform for residents to renovate and redesign the community around them. The South End Think Space (SETS).
What Is SETS?
- Residents of the South End will renovate and redesign 78 Summer Street
- Residents will brainstorm plans for projects that aim to improve conditions in the South End
- SETS will host existing Waterville organizations to bring cultural and practical offerings into the neighborhood
- SETS will be a casual hangout space for community building
- SETS will focus on youth engagement alongside the South End Teen Center (SETC)
Why is SETS important?
In September 2017, there was a community meeting in the South End to brainstorm solutions to neighborhood issues. Residents formed valuable ideas for neighborhood-based projects, and they left the space with a greater sense of the people with whom they share so many unique challenge; however, it didn\’t seem realistic that another meeting would occur. This gathering occurred in the grass outside the South End Teen Center — a space that is unsustainable in any neighborhood. At SETS, community members can continue these robust conversations to form projects that will address the issues in South End. This is the very essence of the SETS initiative: using the attractive qualities of pragmatic problem solving to strengthen community bonds and improve the quality of life in the South End.
What\'s our inspiration?
Theaster Gates working with UChicago students to rehab the neighborhood
This project draws heavily on Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates. In 2006, Gates started using repurposed materials to resurrect a strip of abandoned houses in Chicago’s South Side. He called these homes the Dorchester Projects, and they became community sites for cultural exchange and neighborhood interaction. SETS will serve as the South End platform for neighborhood exchange.
Gates\’s deeply intentional renovation process aims to “[insert] the place with a distinct local history of the city, and of labor.” Members of the South End will follow Gatesian ideology by renovating and redesigning the SETS home, allowing residents to take ownership over their own imagined space.
Theaster Gates
Inspiration for collaborative work space
This project was founded upon principles of “Ethical Redevelopment”, a term coined by Place Lab: a team of mindful urban thinkers led by Theaster Gates and the University of Chicago. SETS will use multiple Ethical Redevelopment principles to connect residents with SETS.
Inspiration for leisure and casual work space
Potential Team Members
Waterville Creates! — Urban Design Cooperative — SENA —Waterville Historical Society — Colby Cares About Kids — The Reddington Museum — Waterville Residents — Colby Art Museum — Colby Office of Civic Engagement— Waterville City Council — Herring Gut in Port Clyde