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Where is it?

Tower Grove Park, Shaw neighbourhood, St. Louis

What is it?

Dance floor, salsa dancing

Who did it?

St. Louis residents

What purpose does it fulfil?

Community engagement, expression, physical release, interaction, salsa lessons, sharing culture

What rules does it break (if any)?

Sometimes the dancers spill into the street a little. I don’t know if they have a permit to set up a table and speakers.

Can it/should it be integrated into the formal framework?

I think in some ways it has become a bit more formal through consistency of location and time. Overall, I believe that there should remain a level of informality and intimacy, rather than creating an organised event.

How can the city accommodate informal initiatives?  

I think the city can create more spatial opportunities for informal initiatives. I believe by providing non prescriptive spaces, that open possibilities. Taking Tower Grove Park for example, there are 17 Pavilions in the Park, most of the are older and have picnic style tables that limit the activities that can take place in them. If you were to add a few new sculptural pavilions that have speakers built into the structure, that people could connect to, then you provide the place for an opportunity of engagement to people and culture.

Does it belong to any "family" of informalities?

I think it belongs to a few different families including Engagement, ‘people, place, and culture’, and Flexibility.

Are there example of similar informal interventions in different contexts?

I have heard of large dance lessons in parks before through community organisation. I think dancing and music is nearly always present in large parks/community areas in both organised and spontaneous formats. When I was in Mexico City, I remember on a few different occasions walking through a plaza and there would be a few people playing music and dancing. Also, when I was in Munich a group of dancers gathered in a gazebo and were dancing together. I think this is a common thread in many communal spaces throughout the world.