What is the "Bump Rate?"

"Bump Rate" measures the likelihood of "bumping" into someone you know, someone you'd like to know, someone you didn't even know you'd like to know.

Atlanta has a great bump rate don't you think?


Photo-bomb-doggy-bump on Memorial. Thanks Wonderroot and MARTA, Fahamu, Fabian and Joe.

Who you bump into:
You might know them well or not. You might just know their name or not, perhaps just the first name. You might have forgotten their name. You don't know their name but you've bumped into them so often you are embarrassed to ask.

It doesn't matter, a bump is a bump. You know what I mean?

The Architecture Tourist asserts that the higher the Bump Rate, the better the space.

Because a bump is one of those unexpected pleasures you only get if you go out. And you never know where a bump might lead.

Where do you to bump? Here are some of my places.

1. Octane Coffee for caffeinated-hipster-bumps.
2. Colony Square for noon-ish-mixed-use-bumps.
3. Walton Street at lunch for daily-downtown-bumps.
4. Jalisco at Peachtree Battle for longstanding-family-dinner-bumps.
5. Ansley Kroger.for what's-for-dinner-bumps.
6. BeltLine for BeltLine-bumps.
7. Art shows for common-interest-bumps.
8. Ponce City Market for where-did-all-these-people-come-from-bumps.
9. Piedmont Park for Atlanta's-best-people-attractor-bumps.
10. Atlanta Streets Alive for pedestrian-bike-bumps.
11. Everywhere for networking-bumps.
12. Your bumps?

"Bump rate" isn't my idea. I first heard it when Fred Kent spoke to the Midtown Alliance. Fred is from the Project for Public Spaces.


Here's Fred at the Fox.

I called PPS and talked with Nate Storring. Nate thinks "Bump Rate" came up as a measure for a public space project at Harvard. Nate also mentioned a World Bank Paper "BOOSTING TECH INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS IN CITIES."

It takes academics to put our instincts into words. Atlanta's tech, startup and co-working communities are all over this. Page 19 has this little nugget, with the idea that a "collision" might produce a chain reaction.

Collisions are random encounters with people one

would normally not meet. The theory of

collisions argues that these encounters

bring new ideas, perspectives, and value

for creating opportunities and innovation

(Kaplan 2012). The more collisions

individuals have with people with

different ideas, the more creative and

innovative these individuals may become

(Satell 2013). Hence, the potential for

collisions stimulates innovation and

entrepreneurial opportunities (Roberts

2014). Networking assets (as defined

in the following section) increase

the potential for collisions, acting as

a multiplier of the existing elements

produced by the agglomeration effects

in the city innovation ecosystem (see

Figure 3.1 
-BOOSTING TECH INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS IN CITIES.

Rare white-Caddy-bump at King Memorial Station.


A one-off downtown tour produced many common-interest-bumps.


Creative Mornings is a bump rate bonanza.

You know what I mean.

You cant bump unless you go out. Please say "hey" if you bump into me.

Thanks Fred, thanks Nate, thanks  Atlanta bumpers.

If Atlanta Had "The Bean," Where Would We Put It? "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor

We bonded with The Bean and want one for Atlanta.

It's a people attractor that belongs to your eye, personal and infinite, a giant fun-house mirror, interactive without electronics, every view different, democratic free fine art, and it makes makes you look thin. "Cloud Gate" by Anish Kapoor.

We want one. Where to put it? I'll get to that in a sec. Your suggestions welcome.


Pretty much love at first sight. I'd seen pictures, read a little. The urbanists, public space lovers, and others were all agog. But I didn't get it. Now I'm total agog.

In nearby squares there's a giant Calder, a huge Picasso, and a colossal Chagall mosaic. I love them but they just sit there.

We had the stiffest legs from driving to Chicago for a wedding. We checked into the W Chicago - City Center and figured we'd go for a walk and get some dinner.

We headed east toward the lake to Michigan Avenue and The Art Institute of Chicago. I knew the Bean was over there somewhere.

This way:

We went east on Adams and got to Michigan but couldn't see the Bean so I scouted ahead. "Here it is," I signaled to JoAnn.


Our first Bean selfie.


Our first under-Bean selfie, see JoAnn behind me with raised arms? It feels non-Newtonian under there.

You just can't grok it in a still picture.



Where should we put Atlanta's bean?

Should we put it into a great public space or can use to make a great public space?

#TerrysTinySuggestions

1. Piedmont Park across 10th street from Grady Stadium. Piedmont Park is Atlanta's greatest public space and serves as a BeltLine destination.
2. High Museum where the Rodan is. The Woodruff Art Center's Sifly Piazza is wonderful once you are up there but it doesn't "show" on the street. It needs a come-hither feature.
3. The proposed Buckhead over-400-park. Buckhead is trying to make a people-attracting city center and needs it so much.
4. Decatur Square where the bandstand is. Downtown Decatur is already a great family friendly public space.
5. Centennial Olympic Park so you can catch it on the way to the Aquarium, the Hall of Fame, Civil Rights museum, the World of Coke. Not my preference but tourists would remember it.
6. Woodruff Park needs something to attract smiles. The waterfall calms. The Bean energizes. Maybe put the Bean in front of the waterfall?
7. Sweet Auburn. We've expended so much effort to make it a great space fitting it's stature. I don't think a Bean could do it. But Edgewood desperately needs a terminated vista, a come-hither landmark.
8. Tech Square on the southwest corner where Fifth Street T-bones West Peachtree.
9. Ponce City Market? Doesn't need it but...
10. Where else?

Important note: "...with the final figure standing at $23 million in 2006. No public funds were involved; all funding came from donations from individuals and corporations." - wiki. 

Maybe we can get a deal on the 2nd one.

Bonus: from the Bean you can see the Frank Gehry designed Pritzker band-shell from the side.


From the amphitheater it looks like an elegantly crumpled giant chewing gum wrapper about to break over you like a giant wave. From the side it's all curvy-business