May 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 48

People for Parks:

Tech Edition

s director of strategic partnerships and business development at Soofa, Edward Krafcik is interested in improving
the health of communities through innovation. Working
alongside business leaders, real estate developers, social engineers, landscape architects and urban designers, Krafcik attempts to
reimagine our communal landscape as " smarter, more social and more
sustainable. " He finds, more often than not these days, that technology plays a leading role in achieving such aims. Products like the Soofa
Bench, a solar-powered bench that also acts as a charging station for
cell phones and other small electronics, are helping to bridge the gap
between technology, leisure and face-to-face social interaction. We sat
down with Krafcik to learn more about his vision of how tech and parks
can work hand-in-hand to bring people outside and draw them together.
Parks & Recreation magazine: There has been much
hand-wringing over how to get
people away from their screens
and out into nature and communal open spaces, but your
work helps bring tech and the
outdoors closer together. Talk
about why you think that's important.
Edward Krafcik: As a former
landscape architect, I certainly
can understand the fears around
integrating technology into outdoor environments like parks and
communal open spaces. However,
it's important to remember that
we live in a world today where all
of us in some way or another interface with technology. The notion of a park being a " refuge " today needs to be considered in the
context of our technology-centric
lives. From connecting with our
friends and meeting new people,
to getting around the city and experiencing new places when we
travel, we rely more than ever on
technology. Whether it's an app

46 Parks & Recreation

on our phone or the public Wi-Fi
network in our local coffee shop,
technology is important to our
everyday lives. That said, I don't
see technology as the enemy of
our great parks and public spaces, rather, I see it as a valuable
amenity that can be offered. Further, just because technology is
made available, it doesn't mean
that everyone will bury their
heads in their phones. It simply
provides them the same comforts
they are used to everywhere else
in the city. Another way to look at
it is to consider the growing generation of people who are highly
connected and ask the question,
" Are these people coming to our
parks at the same rate they
would if we offered amenities that met their technological needs? "
P&R: How have you
seen people interacting with tech like the
Soofa Bench in parks
and public spaces?

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Krafcik: As a young technology and design company, it's
extremely important for us to
observe how our products are
being used and interview those
who are using them. Some examples of what we've seen have
been kids at basketball courts
plugging in small scoreboards to
our bench's USB ports to keep
score over the course of an afternoon, people using our bench as
a place to meet up with friends,
young children explaining to
their parents how the solar panel is using the sun to power their
phones, and many similar stories. One of my favorite things
about our technology or any
Continued on page 48

May 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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