Cafe Du Monde: Serving Up a Dialogue in Downtown Los Angeles

This action took place on the evening of August 13th, 2009. Jules Rochielle and The Portable City Project served up Dialogue at 114 5th Ave in Downtown Los Angeles.

A portable cafe' was setup in an adjacent alleyway. Music was played, pedestrians are residents were engaged in discussions about their city. Our conversations linked New Orleans to Downtown LA- we served up discussions re housing, dislocation, racism, development, and other topics.

Participants chaulked tresponces onto the architecture in a sanctioned activity of free expression in public space. Our "waitstaff" hosted over 1000 people that evening.

Our idea is to create a city that people want to partiicipate in. Our method is to host and serve up discussions that make people want to become engaged- even if only for a moment.

Many moments can radically change our urban experience and remap the way we perceive or community.