ABSTRACT
Suddenly and unexpectedly, the Skate Spot had become a tangible manifestation of the interests, anxieties, and injustices that led Adrienne Gagnon and Manuel Cordero Alvarado to found DownCity Design (DCD) in 2009. Since thier founding, DownCity Design has focused much of our work on empowering young people to become active, engaged citizens who shape the built environment of Providence. Three or four skaters are particularly helpful, sharing what they appreciated about the park and their modest wishes for improvements to the site. As they shared their discoveries with one another through brief precedent study presentations, they began to gravitate toward what they called "convertibles" — objects that could provide seating to the lunch crowd, then transform into platforms with grind rails for skating. The Skate Spot's location off a major thoroughfare in downtown Providence made it a highly trafficked, intensely used installation, and subject to much scrutiny.
