Hi, it's Bryce Dallas Howard here, guest hosting today on TED Talks Daily.

Here's a talk from TED fellow and artist Matthew Mazota

about physically changing public spaces in order to build new ways to hold public dialogue and bring people together.

For me, public space is political. I work with communities around the world, and as we know,

every community has problems. Some of these problems are solved through the ballot box or

city hall meetings or community efforts, like bike lanes and potholes and school

budgets but some problems are beyond the reach of these structures like food deserts community well-being

and the loss of cultural identity these problems cannot be solved with the existing tool sets

i believe that public space is the most potent place to discuss these issues,

because it contains the richest diversity of perspectives,

and that's what makes it so powerful.

The existing parks, town squares, and sidewalks are not enough, though,

which is why I'm interested in creating a new type of public space,

one that's built by the community and designed specifically for their needs.

I start by listening and by setting up actual outdoor living rooms,

complete with couches, tables, chairs, rugs, and lamps,

as a way of holding meetings to learn about the issues directly from the community.

I use this technique to capture the voices and ideas of people that might not have time or feel comfortable in more formal meetings.

So why get someone to sit in a love seat in the middle of the street?

In York, Alabama, the residents bear witness to the abandoned houses that cover the town,

which are a constant reminder of the white flight that took place after segregation ended,

when white homeowners left the area and let their houses fall into disrepair.

...