ANAGHA GS S8 B.

ARCH ROLL NO:05


William Hollingsworth
"Holly" Whyte (October 1,
1917 – January 12, 1999)
was an American urbanist,
sociologist, organizational
analyst, journalist and
people-watcher.
1917 : Whyte was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania
1939 : Graduated Princeton University
1941-1945 : Served in Marine Corps
1946-1958 : Fortune magazine
1956 : Whyte wrote bestseller, The Organization Man, a compilation of
interviews from CEO’s that explored the corporate ethic.
1969 : Whyte assisted the New York City Planning Commission in drafting
a comprehensive plan for the city.
1980 : The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, the book summarizes
Whyte's finding from plazas, particularly those in New York City.
1988 : City: Rediscovering the Centre, presents Whyte's conclusions
about jaywalking, 'schmoozing patterns,' the actual use of urban plazas,
appropriate sidewalk width, and other issues.
 For sixteen years William Whyte walked the streets of New York and other
major cities. With a group of young observers, camera, and notebook in hand,
he conducted pioneering studies of street life, pedestrian behavior, and city
dynamics.

 Whyte and his team trained Super 8 cameras on plazas, streets, playgrounds,
and other small urban spaces and simply watched via time-lapse photography
what people did.

 What they found led to changes in the way we view the social settings of
cities.

City: Rediscovering the Center is the result of that research, a humane, other
amusing view of what is staggering obvious about the urban environment but
seemingly invisible to those responsible for planning it.
  The Social Life of Public Spaces. Whyte wrote that the
social life in public spaces contributes fundamentally to the
quality of life of individuals and society as a whole. He
believed that we have a moral responsibility to create
physical places that facilitate civic engagement and
community interaction.
 Bottom-Up Place Design. Whyte advocated for a new
way of designing public spaces - one that was bottom-up,
not top-down. Using his approach, design should start with
a thorough understanding of the way people use spaces,
and the way they would like to use spaces. Whyte noted
that people vote with their feet - they use spaces that are
PERSPECTIVES easy to use, that are comfortable. They don't use the
spaces that are not.
 The Power of Observation. By observing and by talking to
people, Whyte believed, we can learn a great deal about
what people want in public spaces and can put this
knowledge to work in creating places that shape livable
communities. We should therefore enter spaces without
theoretical or aesthetic biases, and we should "look hard,
with a clean, clear mind, and then look again - and believe
what you see."
 THE ORGANIZATION MAN • People became convinced that organizations
and groups could make better decisions than
Author William H. Whyte
individuals, and thus serving an organization
became logically preferable to advancing
Country United States one's individual creativity.
Language English
Subject Business, management • Whyte felt this was counterfactual and listed
Publisher Simon & Schuster
several examples of how individual work and
creativity can produce better outcomes than
Publication date 1956 collectivist processes.
Media type Print
Pages 429 • He observed that this system led to risk-
averse executives who faced no
consequences and could expect jobs for life
 While in Fortune Magazine, Whyte did extensive interviews with
if they made no egregious missteps.
the CEOs of General Electric and Ford.

 Whyte's book led to deeper examinations of the concept of • He also thought that everyone should have
"commitment" and "loyalty" within corporations. more freedom.
 The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by Whyte is a concise,
observational study of people’s relationship with spaces and how it can
change (for better or for worse) when the space itself is altered.
 While most of his studies/findings are based on the New Yorker’s
relationship to its own small spaces, his conclusions are general
enough to be applicable to other cities in the U.S. or abroad.
Demographics of plaza users - Whyte suggested that the effective market radius
for a plaza is about three blocks. Size of group is associated with the plaza's
success: the best-used plazas have about 45% of people in groups while the
least-used plazas have about 32% in groups.
Gender differences - The most-used plazas have a higher proportion of women.
Men tend to take the front-row seats, while women favor places that are slightly
secluded. The most conspicuous of men are the girl watchers.
User behavior - When people engage in conversation, they do not move out of
the main pedestrian traffic flow; most conversation observed were smack in the
middle of the traffic flow. Rarely do people stop to talk in the middle of a large
open space. People also tend to sit in the mainstream — sometimes making it
difficult for others to get around them. People are most likely to face inward with
their backs toward the street.
 PROJECT
METHODOLOGY
 Sittable space - Whyte examined many correlations between plaza use and the physical
environment. Plaza use did not correlate with the shape of the plaza or the amount of
open space. One of the major factors in plaza use was sittable space. Whyte argues that
seating should be designed for people to sit, not for "architectural punctuation". People
will sit on steps, ledges, etc if the dimensions are right. Whyte advocates the use of
movable chairs which provide the most flexible choices for seating.
 The role of natural elements (sun, wind, trees, and water) - People like the option of
sitting in the shade when there is sun. People like to sit under trees with a view of the
action; thus, trees should be related closely to the sitting spaces. People like water
(waterfalls, rapids, water tunnels, streams, fountains, pools). Whyte argues that water
should be touchable.
 Food - "If you want to seed a place with activity, put out food." Well designed food places
can help give life to a space.
 Relationship of the space to the main pedestrian traffic flow –

"Now we come to a key space for a plaza. It is not on the plaza. It is the street... The
relationship to the street is integral, and it is far and away the critical design factor. A good
plaza starts on the street corner.“
Seating facing the street is desirable since the activity on the street corner is part of the
show people like to see. The transition between the street and the plaza "should be such
that it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins." If steps are used as part of this
transition, they should be low and inviting. Sightlines are important — if people do not see
the space, they will not enter it. Plazas that are sunken or elevated too much are usually
less used.
• Capacity - One difference between plazas and museum environments is the difference in leveling capacity. According to Whyte, plazas
tend to be self-leveling. People tend to keep crowding at a manageable level. This process does not appear to work as well in exhibit
settings where visitor capacity must often be controlled to prevent crowding.

• Triangulation - A stimulus provides a social bond between people. Strangers are more likely to talk to one another in the presence of
such a stimulus. The stimulus might be musicians, or street entertainers, or apiece of outdoor sculpture. Museum professionals will note
the relation of these stimuli to landmark exhibits which have a similar effect.
 "What attracts people most, it would appear, is other
people."
 "It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people.
What is remarkable is how often this has been
accomplished."
 "We are not hapless beings caught in the grip of forces we
can do little about, and wholesale damnations of our society
only lend a further mystique to organization. Organization
has been made by man; it can be changed by man."
 "The street is the river of life of the city, the place where we
come together, the pathway to the center."
 "If there's a lesson in street watching it is that people do like
basics -- and as environments go, a street that is open to
the sky and filled with people and life is a splendid place to
be."
 "The human backside is a dimension architects seem to
have forgotten."
 "Up to seven people per foot of walkway a minute is a nice
bustle"
 "So-called 'undesirables' are not the problem. It is the
measures taken to combat them that is the problem."