susi, franziska, daria, nora, astrid & johanna

Largitzenstrasse has and always will have a special place in my heart. I’ve been living here with my girlfriend and sister for the past eighteen months – our first apartment together. It’s a small street in Basel, lined with colorful row houses and an atmosphere to match. Last year it was rezoned to be a “play street” – an official classification that demands fewer parking spaces, integrated benches, and a speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour (~12 mph). In practical terms it means that this is a family street and kids have the right of way. Each year there’s a street festival and residents close the road to all traffic and celebrate community with food, drink, and most importantly play.

When the street was rezoned, Johanna (front center) went about sewing a flag line that she and other residents hung across the street, from house to house, to salute the fact that Largitzenstrasse is a play street and to make it more visible in a decorative way. This original flag line did not hold up well against the elements and so Johanna invited other women in the neighborhood to help her sew one that would. As a result, I did not have to travel very far for today’s picture and I also got to know some of the people who make this street as wonderful as it is.

Johanna grew up in a village where everyone knows each other. What she values most about living here is the fact that kids can safely play with each other in the street like she did growing up while also being in the city close to all that urban living offers. Just out of frame: dads, children, sidewalk art, and a few cats going about their business.

[23] Friday, June 4, 2021