Experience architecture + urban spaces ‘live’ through your phone.
The pandemic took away our ability to travel but over the last two years I’ve visited more countries in the last 2 years than I have in the last 20 years. How did I do this? Well, I discovered live streamers who walk, cycle or use one wheel electric hoverboards to let you experience cities.
The first live streamer I found was on YouTube, ActionKid (alter ego of Kenneth Chin), is an American YouTuber and IRL (in real life) livestreamer. Kenneth explores and travels across New York City and other cities while interacting with his viewers. ActionKid’s tours started by walking the streets of Manhattan during lockdown and I got to see the empty streets of NYC and after months of live watching I saw the re-emergence of people coming back into the city. I would finish work each day and login (with the benefit of the UK/USA time difference) and I was ready to be entertained. Highlights for me were walking down 5th Avenue with no other person visible, the sheer scale of billionaires row (you could direct Kenneth to look up in the chat) and viewing the Vessel in Hudson yards, standing empty which is now a giant white elephant.
Through my phone I must have walked every street with thousands of other dedicated ActionKid fans as he walked different areas of the city each day. As with all good things the ‘live’ experience came to end as he got so successful that he attracted stalkers who would track him down as he went live and interrupt his broadcast. ActionKid now films his channel and uploads his videos the following day, sadly it’s just not the same anymore.
After exhausting YouTube I discovered TikTok live. This involved a great dealing of searching to find true streamers who explored cities and made things fun. I found ‘walking streaming’ too slow and ‘cycling while streaming’ too fast to experience cities so what did I do…..I found @Da’ron Burgundy (not his real name) who is a seasoned street veteran of over 30 years, born and raised in Los Angeles. His passion for urban exploring has earned him overnight viral fame. Da’ron narrates his adventures in his comedic style of ‘funny but not funny’ while he interacts with his audience on his live streams.
What is impressive is that he cruises through the city of L.A. during the day (live for around an hour) but also he explores the urban landscape at 2am on his one wheel electric board. Da’ron has killer spotify playlists that create a soundtrack for the viewers to listen too as you see the city from his perspective, passing by iconic architecture such as, ‘The Broad’ by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro and Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.
What I didn’t realize is the city life after dark and how the junction of West 1st Street and South Hope Street (Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Music Centre) is the place where car enthusiasts do donuts each weekend, all timed perfectly to end before the LA cops arrive. Groups of people film and stream these muscle cars which is frankly dangerous but it happens all the same.
After months of watching Da’ron I am amazed by the amount of red lights that drivers run at night, Da’ron tunes into the police radio and zooms through the streets to film the aftermath. A sense of excitement is created in the live stream with viewers actively gifting him virtual presents which can be turned into cash later. The spotify music playlist is one of the best I have heard and is played in tandem with the police radio. You get a real sense of being in the moment as it’s all happening in real time.
Some highlights of my moments on his live stream include being on the roof of the infamous Cecil Hotel, gliding through multi storey car parks gliding out into urban squares with Alexander Calder inspired sculptures and fountains surrounded by well lit trees. You can travel from great urban spaces to dark back streets in a matter of minutes.
At least once a day we get to see Skid Row (Central City East). Da’ron seems comfortable on his hoverboard but as you move past the makeshift structures that cover whole pavements (sidewalks) block after block you are shocked at the sheer scale of the homeless problems in L.A.
However, the downtown graffiti is something special and as a tourist you would never have time to see all of the urban spaces without spending weeks walking the city, luckily you don’t have to do this, you can tune in live or even book a personal live tour with the man himself via Tik Tok. I feel as a designer who loves urban spaces live streams offer a safe space to experience the beauty of a city and sometimes it feels like a shared experience.
To find out more and experience the streets of L.A. live find him on Tok Tok or visit: https://www.daronburgundy.com
To watch ActionKid and see the streets on NYC visit: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=actionkid