This article aims to discuss the purpose and repurposing of alleys, within the urban context. The term ‘alley’ originates from the mid-14th Century French term, alee, referring to ‘an open passage between buildings’ (Etymonline, n.d). Known as ‘ capillaries” of the city’s circulation system (Martin, 2000, p.40), alleyways act as the secondary, or even tertiary connection route through a city.
The Importance of Alleys:
Within the context of the urban landscape, alleyways tend to situate on the ‘back side of residences, away from the formal control of the front yards and street-scapes’ (Martin, 2000, p.39). Thus, they are reflective of how each neighbourhood or residential block maintains them, or neglects them. When defining what an alley is, using experiential or atmospheric categories can help distinguish an alley from, perhaps, a street. These categories are: ‘utility, hiddenness, and revealingness’ (Martin, 1996, p.138), as shown in the figure of the elemental alley below.
The simultaneous juxtaposition of an alley being an ‘innocent refuge for young resident children’ (Martin, 1996, p.138), but also a place for ‘lurking criminals’ (Martin, 1996, p.138), suggests a rather worrying range of activities that can take place in an alleyway, thus, identifying which aspects of the alley can be repurposed may decrease the range of contrast in the activities. For example, the character of an alleyway can be attributed to ‘its degree of enclosure by plants, fences, walls and other structures’ (Martin, 1996, p.138). However, the privacy of the alleyway is determined by the way in which the combination of these aspects work. For example, if the alleyway was completely enclosed with industrial materials, it would lack a sense of intrigue or curiosity from the general public. However, if the same space was enclosed with landscaping and foliage, it would evoke a sense of exploration and discovery within the passerby. Although the alleyway is regarded as the equivalent of a street’s afterthought, it still remains a crucial part of the urban grain, therefore, when such spaces are neglected, they ‘offer distorted mirror images of the main street system’ (Clay, 1997, p.139).
Repurposing Alleys:
Although alleys are reflective of a diverse range of cultural and social landscapes, the variety causes inherent neglect. If planners and architects were to lean into this variety and repurpose these spaces to provide a holistically positive atmosphere, the result could present us with an improved social landscape, thus creating a more experiential approach to the urban grain, as it acts as an example of place-making.
At certain times, however, all an alley needs is more of a beautification, reflective of the residential character. Interestingly, the example project below, located in Middlesbrough, England, is a result of one resident’s initiative to envision a better space for all their fellow residents (Duell & Harding, 2013).
This project transforms the neglected atmosphere created by previous anti-social behaviour, into a place that allows young people to explore within the now-extended, bounds of their homes. The implementation of certain landscaping features, such as the foliage arch, creates intriguing thresholds, holistically improving the experiential nature of the place, thus acting as a true sign of place-making.
Another example, which juxtaposes the need to landscape an alleyway in order to improve it, is the Ferry-Patterson Block, located in Eugene, Oregon. The distinction between this project and the aforementioned Middlesborough project lies in the fact that this alley acts as a ‘de facto street’ (Martin, 2000, p.43).
The image above is from Michael Martin’s ‘Endangered Landscapes: Residential Alley Transformations’, page 43. Essentially, the alley runs along the inside of the two blocks, uniting them together to create one block. Instead of ‘accommodating the service and parking needs of the street-facing properties’ (Martin, 2000, p.43), the residents of this space rejected the acknowledgement of this space as an alley and started utilising it as a street, but on a small scale.
Thus, this proposes the argument that, in order to repurpose an alley, the beautification of it may not necessarily be the priority, but rather, assimilating the alleyway by treating it like a street and changing the perspectives of the existing residents may be more impactful. In essence, the two examples above propose a contrast between an ‘Alley-First’ Approach, or a ‘People-First’ Approach, i.e. improving the alley first, or the mindset of the residents first.
However, perhaps, the ‘People-First’ Approach can only be applicable to this particular example, or similar examples, due to the fact that the alley inherently has physical features that resemble a street, thus making it easier for the residents to acknowledge it as one.
Examples of the physical features of a street state that it should ideally be ‘territory explicit and well defined’ (Martin, 2000, p.44), however, if identified as an alley, it should be a ‘commingling of properties’ (Martin, 2000, p.44). However, as seen in the diagram below, the Ferry-Patterson Block has a blend of both of these aspects. The image below is from Michael Martin’s ‘Endangered Landscapes: Residential Alley Transformations’, page 43.
There are more ways in which an alley can be repurposed, such as placing public installations that feature art, but also as a functional piece, such as seating. However, the above-mentioned case studies offer two contrasting perspectives through a ‘People-First’ or ‘Alley-First’ Approach.
References:
- Clay, G. (1997). The Alley Revisited. Landscape Architecture, 87(8), 140–139. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/44677503 [Accessed 25/12/24]
- Duell, M. & Harding, E. (2013) Gardening? It’s right up our alley! Community transforms Victorian passageway behind homes into oasis of greenery. Daily Mail [online] Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397899/Community-transforms-Victorian-passageway-Middlesbrough-homes-oasis-greenery.html [Accessed 25/12/24]
- Etymoline. (n.d). alleyway (n.) [online] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/alleyway [Accessed 23/12/24]
- Martin, M. (1996). Back-alley as Community Landscape. Landscape Journal, 15(2), 138–153. Availablet at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43323397 [Accessed 25/12/24]
- Martin, M. (2000). Endangered Landscapes: Residential Alley Transformations. APT Bulletin: The Journal of Preservation Technology, 31(4), 39–45. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1504675 [Accessed 25/12/24]
Image URLs:
- https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Back-alley-as-Community-Landscape-Martin/4a954893939b8737a12d62df8cf785a1feb973dd
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397899/Community-transforms-Victorian-passageway-Middlesbrough-homes-oasis-greenery.html
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397899/Community-transforms-Victorian-passageway-Middlesbrough-homes-oasis-greenery.html
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/1504675?searchText=alleys&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dalleys%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A85650bd8e2041f21aa4126f3b0e59dbf&seq=4
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/1504675?searchText=alleys&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dalleys%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A85650bd8e2041f21aa4126f3b0e59dbf&seq=4
