Brooklyn Below

2024.2

Exploring hidden railway histories in Downtown Brooklyn

Mobile AR, Geospatial AR, Unity, iOS

This project tries to create a "critical play" experience that addresses real-world concepts and happens around Downtown Brooklyn (where the NYU Tandon is located). Being a train and public-transit enthusiast, I used Geospatial AR to create a self-adventure/guided tour experience that visualizes the massive amount of subway tracks running under Downtown Brooklyn, as well as showcased a couple of historical locations and abandoned/demolished stations around the area, sharing interesting pieces of subway history in engaging ways, while also initiating thoughts on the development and changes of urban environment.

Demo

The Subway, Downtown Brooklyn, and NYU

370 Jay St in Downtown Brooklyn is one of NYU Tandon’s newest buildings and is also where my master’s program, the IDM, is located. However, before NYU renovated the building, it was built and served as the headquarters of MTA, which runs the NYC subway. In the Jay St-MetroTech Station right below the building, there is a door on the platform that was used to transfer the tokens carried by “Money Trains” into the building to be counted.

It’s not just 370 Jay St that has a piece of interesting history. Having always been the hub of transportation between Brooklyn and Manhattan, the neighborhood of Downtown Brooklyn is filled with countless subway lines, dismantled elevated railway tracks, and abandoned stations. Although the majority of them are not noticed by the masses, they are proof of the urban development and renewal process and demonstrate just how much history lies in the most familiar and unexpected places around us.

Geospatial AR

Using Google’s Geospatial API in Unity, I was able to create AR applications that are anchored to real-life locations and architectures. By navigating Google Earth blocks in Unity, I placed colored lines representing subway tracks underground to show the expansiveness of the subway. In addition, I also placed 3D objects including subway tokens and station signs of abandoned stations in corresponding places of interest. When the user explores the area and discovers an object, they are able to walk to it and open the detailed information to read about the history behind it.

Enlin Li

Brooklyn, New York, United States