Aqua Line 1 Favorite 

Creative Time, Social Practice Archive: In 2000 Heavy Trash, an anonymous arts organization of designers, architects, and urban planners, implemented its Aqua Line project throughout various parts of Los Angeles. The project involved the installation of false "Future Station Location" signs in the downtown area, notifying passersby of the impending construction of a subway that would connect the downtown to the Westside. Appropriating the city's existing visual design, the signs displayed the specific stops the new line would connect—the result of extensive research by Heavy Trash. This level of realism only served to further the project's intent: to promote dialogue on the need for better public transportation for all citizens. The project also addressed the "not in my backyard" mentality of many local residents, which often impedes civic growth. Many homeowners in upscale neighborhoods fear such development will lead to an encroachment on their private space by low-income residents.