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48x is an iterative approach to planning, design, development, and programming. The 48x framework includes the following phases:
- 48 hour site intervention
- 48 week semi-permanent installation phase
- 48 month site and programming plan
- 48 year vision
The four step process provides stakeholders a framework to implement immediate measurable change that works towards medium and long-term goals. Actions completed in the 48 hour intervention are analyzed post-intervention and findings are used to build a foundation for step 2. The same process is repeated for each step. A range of activities, programs, designs, building types, and funding mechanisms can be utilized during each phase.
By focusing on short-term action while providing the framework for larger conversations, 48x has the ability to break through conventional planning, design, and development processes that have now become ineffective or inadequate in many circumstances.
48x has been piloted during a revitalization project on Main St, Oyster Bay, Long Island.
The 48 hour intervention in Oyster Bay was executed on June 12 and 13, 2010. It occurred in the form of a downtown demonstration project, which transformed Audrey Avenue into an active and vibrant street. During the the first phase of 48x, DoTank:Brooklyn partnered with the Oyster Bay Main Street Association and Street Plans Collaborative, and the artist Billy Joel, to create the community’s first farmers market, as well as a motorcycle museum – 20th Century Cycles. Both the farmers market and motorcycle museum were projects that the community had been seeking to do for many years – the 48x project managed to catalyze those projects, which have now transitioned from pop-up to permancnece, and place them as anchors for further revitalization of the community.
Image from BillyJoel.com
48x was first conceived as a response for a design competition on reinventing the suburbs. DoTank:Brooklyn wanted to submit an entry that demonstrated how to actually transform the suburbs, rather than submit interesting, but not actionable, ideas.
A short film on the project can be seen here.
Download the Project PDF:
Click here
Media
- National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Story of the Week - 48x48x48: An Intervention in Oyster Bay
