The Social life of small urban spaces- William H.

Whyte
- We are so accoustomed of seeing the city's positive that we tend to overlook the
emptiness it contains.
- Plazas in NewYork, became a public domain on frequent days
- Time lapse cameras captured patterns and what people did*
- Recording the site throughout the day through visuals could provide a clear
timeline for documentation.
- User behaviours are keenly observed and noted to true extent. Like the girl
watchers.
- Whyte makes use of nodes such as poles, statues, benches etc for conversing.
- People tend to sit most where there are places to sit, evocative fountains or
follies won't suffice if there are no sitting spaces.
- Sitting spaces have to be socially comfortable.
- Choices will matter such as whether these are in sun, shade, front, back, side,
in group, alone.
- Ledger surfaces can be diverted from antropometry, based on user's sitting
pattern, comfort level and organizing choices.
- Forced choice is rarely chosen
- Semi-open spaces can be considered in designing public spaces which provide an
in-between realm
-Capacity to recapitulate is self-leveling. Underuse, not overuse is the major
problem.
- The undesireables- groups which are conciously prevented from public spaces
(drinkers, addicts, vendors, scavengers)
- If guards/ people looking after the space are given roles, they tend to look
after the space
- Area where street and plaza meet is a key to success or failure. Ideally the
plaza to street transition should be such that it is hard to tell where one ends
and the other begins.
-Sidewalks become an integral part, so do curbs, a convenient rendezvous point
- Avoiding sunken squares which might lead to dead spaces, spaces that are in the
public's view is used, although exception occour (Rockfeller center)
- Triangulation: a process in which an external stimuli causes people (esp.
strangers) to interact which they otherwise won't.
- Can installations enhance triangulation?
- If street entertainers become a part of plazas, their acts contribute to the
space's vitality.
- Odds and Ends
- I end, then in praise of small spaces- it is not just the number of people using
them, but the larger number of people who pass by and enjoy them vicariously... For
a city, such places are priceless, whatever the cost. They are built of a set of
basics and they are right in front of our noses. If we will look.