7.06.2011

Cafes with free WiFi


Image showing the spread of Starbuck coffee stores throughout NYC

First, the practical info:

1. Sack's Coffee, College and Derby; 7 blocks south of campus.
2. Cafe Mediterraneum, Telegraph at Dwight; 5 blocks south of campus.
3. Mudrakers, Telegraph at Stuart; 8 blocks south.
4. People's Cafe, Shattuck (east) at University, 1 block west of campus.
5. Berkeley Espresso, University at Hearst; 2 blocks west of campus.
6. Tully's Coffee, Shattuck at Center (just outside of the BART station)
7. IHouse Cafe, at the head of Bancroft (AirBears only)
8. Boalt Law School cafe (haven't been there; I assume it has AirBears)

Other coffee shops provide Wifi access with a purchase (Peet's), or Wifi access that is unreliable (Strada and Cafe Milano, both on Bancroft way). These are all good potential places to meet as working groups as well.

Now for the critique:

How do coffee shops indicate class and gentrification?
How do they operate as neighborhood nodes?
Planners have been criticized for proposing cafes as the universal urban design solution for promoting a sense of public space, community, and place. Is that a fair criticism? How would you qualify it?

Image from www.citykin.com

1 comment:

  1. I have an additional question to Pietro's set: what are your thoughts on the growing presence of cafes that explicitly forbid computer usage and thus openly do not offer wifi? Do you have any experience with these? Does this indicate an additional level of class/culture/gentrification etc.?

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