I had long assumed that people read my book and that was that: they'd read it and take away whatever people get from any book.
Of course I knew that I had received many multiple-copy orders from university and college book stores, from municipal authorities for elected officials, staff and citizen, and from public-spirited individuals who wanted others to read it. But I assumed that in classrooms or group situations (e.g. a planning commission) the book was used in a "read-and-discuss" mode.
But I recently learned that several instructors — 3 actually, so far — at universities and colleges went further and have the students read and then create local versions of City Comforts. I was both flattered and excited to see a whole dimension I hadn't ever considered —students' Philadephia City Comforts, Auburn (AL) City Comforts and Spokane City Comforts. One great example:
In his "People and Design" course, Dr. Berman has explored graphic design and interactive maps with his students. In the 2010 course, students completed a City Comforts exercise where each student chose to either create an individual poster or contribute to an interactive class map. The class map uses Google Maps, original photographs, images and videos from the web and hyperlinks to create an absorbing story of the details that make Philadelphia uniquely comfortable from attractive new trash cans to decorated parking lots. Browsing the map reveals the aspects of Philadelphia that different students found noteworthy, and the student comments reflect individual attitudes and perceptions of city life. In his 2010 assignment for the City Comforts exercise in the People and Design course, Dr. Berman discusses geotagging, use of cell-phones and the joy of finding the best aspects of city comforts.
Browse the Class Map to see all the student-selected images and comments
from http://wic.library.upenn.edu/wicideas/mashup/bermancitycomforts.html
Drilling down into Professor Berman's class map is striking to find:
A range of 'comforts' shown by Prof. Berman's students
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So I am setting up a new page to share how others use my little book. Please write to me with your own experience.