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The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
In 1980, William H. Whyte published the findings from his revolutionary Street Life Project in The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Both the book and the accompanying film were instantly labeled classics, and launched a mini-revolution in the planning and study of public spaces. They have since become standard texts, and appear on syllabi and reading lists in urban planning, sociology, environmental design, and architecture departments around the world.
Project for Public Spaces, which grew out of Holly's Street Life Project and continues his work around the world, has acquired the reprint rights to Social Life, with the intent of making it available to the widest possible audience and ensuring that the Whyte family receive their fair share of Holly's legacy.
From the forward:
For more than 30 years, Project for Public Spaces has been using observations, surveys, interviews and workshops to study and transform public spaces around the world into community places. Every week we give presentations about why some public spaces work and why others don't, using the techniques, ideas, and memorable phrases from William H. "Holly" Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.
Holly Whyte was both our mentor and our friend. Perhaps his most important gift was the ability to show us how to discover for ourselves why some public spaces work and others don't. With the publication of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces and its companion film in 1980, the world could see that through the basic tools of observation and interviews, we can learn an immense amount about how to make our cities more livable. In doing so, Holly Whyte laid the groundwork for a major movement to change the way public spaces are built and planned. It is our pleasure to offer this important book back to the world it is helping to transform.
Project for Public Spaces, which grew out of Holly's Street Life Project and continues his work around the world, has acquired the reprint rights to Social Life, with the intent of making it available to the widest possible audience and ensuring that the Whyte family receive their fair share of Holly's legacy.
From the forward:
For more than 30 years, Project for Public Spaces has been using observations, surveys, interviews and workshops to study and transform public spaces around the world into community places. Every week we give presentations about why some public spaces work and why others don't, using the techniques, ideas, and memorable phrases from William H. "Holly" Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.
Holly Whyte was both our mentor and our friend. Perhaps his most important gift was the ability to show us how to discover for ourselves why some public spaces work and others don't. With the publication of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces and its companion film in 1980, the world could see that through the basic tools of observation and interviews, we can learn an immense amount about how to make our cities more livable. In doing so, Holly Whyte laid the groundwork for a major movement to change the way public spaces are built and planned. It is our pleasure to offer this important book back to the world it is helping to transform.
125 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
William H. Whyte
22 books49 followersWilliam Hollingsworth "Holly" Whyte (1917 - 12 January 1999) was an American urbanist, organizational analyst, journalist and people-watcher.
Whyte was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and died in New York City in 1999. An early graduate of St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, he graduated from Princeton University and then served in Marine Corps. In 1946 he joined Fortune magazine.
Whyte wrote a 1956 bestseller titled The Organization Man after Fortune magazine sponsored him to do extensive interviews on the CEOs of corporations such as General Electric and Ford.
While working with the New York City Planning Commission in 1969, Whyte began to use direct observation to describe behavior in urban settings. With research assistants wielding still cameras, movie cameras, and notebooks, Whyte described the substance of urban public life in an objective and measurable way.
These observations developed into the Street Life Project, an ongoing study of pedestrian behavior and city dynamics, and eventually to Whyte's book called City: Rediscovering the Center (1988). City presents Whyte's conclusions about jaywalking, 'schmoozing patterns,' the actual use of urban plazas, appropriate sidewalk width, and other issues. This work remains valuable because it's based on careful observation, and because it contradicts other conventional wisdom, for instance, the idea that pedestrian traffic and auto traffic should be separated.
Whyte also worked closely with the renovation of Bryant Park in New York City.
Whyte served as mentor to many, including the urban-planning writer Jane Jacobs, Paco Underhill, who has applied the same technique to measuring and improving retail environments, Dan Biederman of Bryant Park Corporation, who led the renovation of Bryant Park and the Business Improvement District movement in New York City, and Fred Kent, head of the Project for Public Spaces.
His books include: Is Anybody Listening? (1952), Securing Open Spaces for Urban America (1959), Cluster Development (1964), The Last Landscape (1968; "about the way metropolitan areas look and the way they might look"), The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1980; plus a companion film of the same name in 1988), and City: Rediscovering the Center (1988).
Whyte was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and died in New York City in 1999. An early graduate of St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, he graduated from Princeton University and then served in Marine Corps. In 1946 he joined Fortune magazine.
Whyte wrote a 1956 bestseller titled The Organization Man after Fortune magazine sponsored him to do extensive interviews on the CEOs of corporations such as General Electric and Ford.
While working with the New York City Planning Commission in 1969, Whyte began to use direct observation to describe behavior in urban settings. With research assistants wielding still cameras, movie cameras, and notebooks, Whyte described the substance of urban public life in an objective and measurable way.
These observations developed into the Street Life Project, an ongoing study of pedestrian behavior and city dynamics, and eventually to Whyte's book called City: Rediscovering the Center (1988). City presents Whyte's conclusions about jaywalking, 'schmoozing patterns,' the actual use of urban plazas, appropriate sidewalk width, and other issues. This work remains valuable because it's based on careful observation, and because it contradicts other conventional wisdom, for instance, the idea that pedestrian traffic and auto traffic should be separated.
Whyte also worked closely with the renovation of Bryant Park in New York City.
Whyte served as mentor to many, including the urban-planning writer Jane Jacobs, Paco Underhill, who has applied the same technique to measuring and improving retail environments, Dan Biederman of Bryant Park Corporation, who led the renovation of Bryant Park and the Business Improvement District movement in New York City, and Fred Kent, head of the Project for Public Spaces.
His books include: Is Anybody Listening? (1952), Securing Open Spaces for Urban America (1959), Cluster Development (1964), The Last Landscape (1968; "about the way metropolitan areas look and the way they might look"), The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1980; plus a companion film of the same name in 1988), and City: Rediscovering the Center (1988).
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
January 28, 2008
I'm pretty sure this is just a transcription of the film. That being true, you're better off spending an hour watching it on the tube, where Whyte's humor and insight are a bit more charming and biting.
October 15, 2011
Although Whyte's Social Life of Small Urban Spaces was first published in 1980, this book doesn't feel dated at all, reading it some 30 years later. (The exception is the appendix with Whyte's tips on conducting time lapse filming). Just as Simon Garfield's made me take a closer look at the fonts around me, Whyte's book made me look more critically at the urban spaces around me - the plazas, the street corners, the atriums - and to think about whether these were good public spaces or no and what made them this way. Factors like the sun, wind, trees, water, the presence of food or elements that draw people's attention like retail (vs banks and travel agents) and street performers make a difference. As does the amount of sitting space and how it is configured. Whyte states (I imagine in a deadpan manner): "[sitting heights are not critical] Another dimension is more important: the human backside...Thus to another of our startling findings: ledges and spaces two backsides deep seat more people comfortably than those that are not as deep....The benefit of the extra space is social comfort - more room for groups and individuals to sort themselves out, more choices and more perception of choices."
We think of cities as these overcrowded spaces teeming with humanity but our belief is shaped by just a few key choke points like the subway station at Penn Station or Times Square. There is in fact a lot of empty (underused) space in cities and it is, counterintuitively, the spaces that are well-used and fairly dense that people are attracted to and find pleasure in. People are drawn to people. The question that Whyte tries to answer is what makes a space attractive for people. How do you create that buzz about a place? You'll never look at an urban plaza the same way again after reading this book.
We think of cities as these overcrowded spaces teeming with humanity but our belief is shaped by just a few key choke points like the subway station at Penn Station or Times Square. There is in fact a lot of empty (underused) space in cities and it is, counterintuitively, the spaces that are well-used and fairly dense that people are attracted to and find pleasure in. People are drawn to people. The question that Whyte tries to answer is what makes a space attractive for people. How do you create that buzz about a place? You'll never look at an urban plaza the same way again after reading this book.
December 28, 2021
I truly love the premise of this book. It was simple yet so impactful.
“People tend to sit most where there are places to sit”
A simple conclusion right? Whyte drew some key insights through continuous observation and data gathering in his text. The discussions around the need for seating that’s socially comfortable was truly fascinating. For the author, this entailed choice: sitting up front, in back, to the side, in the sun, in the shade, in groups, off alone. All important when designing public spaces.
Whyte’s book also made me appreciate the various reports and studies a city government may require of the developer during the application phase. This often includes sun/shadow studies, pedestrian level wind study, landscape and lighting plans, heritage impact studies, arborist reports, etc. All of which were briefly mentioned by the author at various parts of the text. Additionally, zoning by-laws, building codes, design guidelines and standards and other non-statutory planning tools can help create great public spaces.
“People tend to sit most where there are places to sit”
A simple conclusion right? Whyte drew some key insights through continuous observation and data gathering in his text. The discussions around the need for seating that’s socially comfortable was truly fascinating. For the author, this entailed choice: sitting up front, in back, to the side, in the sun, in the shade, in groups, off alone. All important when designing public spaces.
Whyte’s book also made me appreciate the various reports and studies a city government may require of the developer during the application phase. This often includes sun/shadow studies, pedestrian level wind study, landscape and lighting plans, heritage impact studies, arborist reports, etc. All of which were briefly mentioned by the author at various parts of the text. Additionally, zoning by-laws, building codes, design guidelines and standards and other non-statutory planning tools can help create great public spaces.
March 14, 2024
I did not know what to expect but I was impressed. Found this by doing some digging about public life and third spaces out of personal interest. Here are some things this book will teach you:
What to do if you accidentally film a heroin dealing operation
The heights people will sit at given a wide range of options
The best doors to use for high traffic environments
Relatedly, why sometimes doorways are more crowded when there are fewer people
NYC zoning laws and incentives
The impact of sun on plaza usage
etc etc etc. It’s impressive how fascinating this man can make reading about urban public spaces.
What to do if you accidentally film a heroin dealing operation
The heights people will sit at given a wide range of options
The best doors to use for high traffic environments
Relatedly, why sometimes doorways are more crowded when there are fewer people
NYC zoning laws and incentives
The impact of sun on plaza usage
etc etc etc. It’s impressive how fascinating this man can make reading about urban public spaces.
December 22, 2007
the accompanying documentary is a classic, endearing black and white film about how people interact with structures and public space in cities. both film and book are wonderful.
February 8, 2024
i learnt that we're all basically tiny little predictable ants living amongst concrete buildings. I think i should be given my architecture masters degree now.
December 3, 2022
I guess it’s interesting as historical document (which was my main motivation to read it), but if you have read Jacobs or Gehl, there’s no new stuff in here’s
February 19, 2023
forward-thinking for its time; occasionally boring but cool to see how his research directly led to open-space zoning provisions amendments in new york; good timing with the appointment of new york’s first public realm director
August 31, 2018
A fantastic short read on how the design of small urban plazas and parks impacts use. Based on actual in-the-field observations, both quantifiable and subjective, of how people use these spaces (primarily in New York City) in the 70s. This was a time when NYC was associated with "dirt, decay, grime, and fiscal crisis," as noted in the foreward. "Smiles? Why should people on New York streets be smiling?"
Written with insight and humor, and nicely illustrated with photos.
Some learnings:
* People don't flock to empty spaces as refuge from busy city life. People go to places where there are other people.
* Openness to the street, and the "theater of the street" is huge.
* Anything can be seating -- walls, ledges, stairs, etc. -- as long as it's the right size. Size is primarily dependent on depth, not height. Anything 1' - 3' gets used pretty equally. Builders tend to screw potential seating up by putting rails or other impediments in the way, quite by accident.
* Chairs beat most benches. But anything moveable is far better than anything immovable. Social interaction is a subtle art and hard to design for.
* Somehow it's all-too-common to ignore critical factors like wind and sun when designing spaces.
* Provide food! Or at least don't regulate it out of existence. If you want activity, food will draw it. Which will draw more food. Etc.
40 years later, I still see plenty examples of such spaces built against all the rules laid out here. The only thing that feels dated about the book are the people in the photos.
Written with insight and humor, and nicely illustrated with photos.
Some learnings:
* People don't flock to empty spaces as refuge from busy city life. People go to places where there are other people.
* Openness to the street, and the "theater of the street" is huge.
* Anything can be seating -- walls, ledges, stairs, etc. -- as long as it's the right size. Size is primarily dependent on depth, not height. Anything 1' - 3' gets used pretty equally. Builders tend to screw potential seating up by putting rails or other impediments in the way, quite by accident.
* Chairs beat most benches. But anything moveable is far better than anything immovable. Social interaction is a subtle art and hard to design for.
* Somehow it's all-too-common to ignore critical factors like wind and sun when designing spaces.
* Provide food! Or at least don't regulate it out of existence. If you want activity, food will draw it. Which will draw more food. Etc.
40 years later, I still see plenty examples of such spaces built against all the rules laid out here. The only thing that feels dated about the book are the people in the photos.
Read
June 8, 2022this is so charming omg also very readable and the way it describes people/society has a v warm quality. also so true i love sitting eating and purchasing items
May 12, 2018
Eye opening in every way, a brilliant book about the places that make our lives better without us ever noticing how
January 23, 2024
Interesting and boring at the same time. They should put a water feature at the Slayter Plaza.
March 7, 2020
A revolutionary book from when it was written, and maintains its relevance today with its key findings on what makes small urban spaces great.
July 29, 2012
Really interesting material, but the format of this book (photos and long paragraphs) makes it tough to pick out the important points.
August 12, 2014
Clever study, appropriately humble conclusions.
June 4, 2015
Truly one of the greats of urban planning, I loved this pivotal look at how you study public space and what you learn from the practice.
Not that it's scintillating reading.
Instead it is steady and deep, and based on actual observation. For instance, their study of the spaces that are most used and where most people sit, after sifting all the evidence they find the one common variable is:
The sad reality is that almost no one planning and building public spaces actually fills them with places to sit. The sad fact of common sense, is that design often draws on different understandings of the world that clash with how spaces are actually used and loved. Books like this allow you to bring this up in an educated manner with a weight of evidence behind you.
Or carry out your own study. The importance of this cannot be underestimated, public space is key to our wellbeing and getting it right changes how we live and how we move through the city:
How to judge the success of a space? Look for people in groups -- people meet places that are known, that are liked and that are safe. They have decided to go there on purpose. You also look for a higher than average number of women:
Women are more discriminating than men as to where they will sit, more sensitive to annoyances, and women spend more time casting the various possibilities. (18)
This is true I think, as women are more subject to harassment and annoyance. Off-peak use often gives best clues to people's preferences, people sit wherever they can when a place is jammed but they sit where they like best when it is not.
An interesting note on behaviour, and one that rings true even though I have greater hopes for squares and things:
But he notes that activities happening in the space -- performances, food vendors, sculpture but particularly performance -- make it more likely people will talk to strangers, share thoughts as they share an experience.
I love the insight that people say one thing when asked what they want, but actually they want a particular version of it:
People feel safer in a crowd, less conspicuous, it becomes more of an oasis I think if there are five people in a courtyard establishing its publicness and safety, than if you are alone. Though sometimes I like being alone. There are plenty of insights about sitting here...like it is good to be comfortable. but
He describes how people always adjust moveable chairs before sitting down, even if it's just a couple of inches. Hell, I do it too. He writes:
Circulation and sitting, in sum, are not antithetical but complementary.
You walk, you sit, the two go together. And where do you sit? For all the sitters in the world this rings true:
He writes about when people stop to talk to someone chance met, they don't step aside but usually do it 'smack in the center of the flow' (21). And damn, that is also so true. And hell of annoying.
What is not to love about this little piece of urban spatial poetry?
I don't know the code either, but I like it.
This explains the horribleness of Wilshire Boulevard's wind tunnel in Los Angeles, or how damn cold Canary Wharf and other downtown areas get:
I agree that you need food, street cafes and I love his love of street vendors, I agree the more the better. I never understood the passion of planners to shut them down. You know them, you talk to people in line, they are vital parts of the community, full of gossip and helping make places safe. I love them. My heart breaks when the police come and destroy everything and take them away.
Anyway, one last comment on the chapter, titled: 'The Undesirables.' It could use a better title. The 'undesirables' are our people too and that is unkind, yet you know that is how too many people thing of them and this chapter is written for them. To counteract their bum-proof benches and surveillance cameras and gates and spikes and all those horrible things that make you despair of our society.
Whyte writes:
The best way to handle this issue is to make the space attractive to everyone. To have people in them who take care of the space, mediate issues. To understand we are a community and there are other ways to deal with problems than to lock people away or force them elsewhere.
But that is the big fight, no? And this book one tool to fight for public space that promotes sociality, conviviality, community.
Not that it's scintillating reading.
Instead it is steady and deep, and based on actual observation. For instance, their study of the spaces that are most used and where most people sit, after sifting all the evidence they find the one common variable is:
People tend to sit where there are most places to sit.
This may not strike you as an intellectual bombshell, and, now that I look back on our study, I wonder why it was not more apparent to us from the beginning...the most attractive fountains, the most striking designs, cannot induce people to come and sit if there is no place to sit.
The sad reality is that almost no one planning and building public spaces actually fills them with places to sit. The sad fact of common sense, is that design often draws on different understandings of the world that clash with how spaces are actually used and loved. Books like this allow you to bring this up in an educated manner with a weight of evidence behind you.
Or carry out your own study. The importance of this cannot be underestimated, public space is key to our wellbeing and getting it right changes how we live and how we move through the city:
...an elemental point about good urban spaces: supply creates demand. A good new space builds a new constituency. It stimulates people into new habits -- al fresco lunches -- and provides new paths to and from work, new places to pause. It does all this very quickly. (16)
How to judge the success of a space? Look for people in groups -- people meet places that are known, that are liked and that are safe. They have decided to go there on purpose. You also look for a higher than average number of women:
Women are more discriminating than men as to where they will sit, more sensitive to annoyances, and women spend more time casting the various possibilities. (18)
This is true I think, as women are more subject to harassment and annoyance. Off-peak use often gives best clues to people's preferences, people sit wherever they can when a place is jammed but they sit where they like best when it is not.
An interesting note on behaviour, and one that rings true even though I have greater hopes for squares and things:
Plazas are not ideal places for striking up acquaintances, and even on the most sociable of them, there is not much mingling. When strangers are in proximity, the nearest thing to an exchange is what Erving Goffman has called civil inattention. (19)
But he notes that activities happening in the space -- performances, food vendors, sculpture but particularly performance -- make it more likely people will talk to strangers, share thoughts as they share an experience.
I love the insight that people say one thing when asked what they want, but actually they want a particular version of it:
What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people. If I belabor the point, it is because many urban spaces are being designed as though the opposite were true, and that what people liked best were the places they stay away from. People often do talk along such lines; this is why their responses to questionnaires can be so misleading. How many people would say they like to sit in the middle of a crowd? Instead they speak of getting away from it all, and use terms like "escape," "oasis," "retreat." What people do, however, reveals a different priority. (19)
People feel safer in a crowd, less conspicuous, it becomes more of an oasis I think if there are five people in a courtyard establishing its publicness and safety, than if you are alone. Though sometimes I like being alone. There are plenty of insights about sitting here...like it is good to be comfortable. but
It's more important, however, that it be socially comfortable. This means choice: sitting up front, in back, to the side, in the sun, in the shade, in groups, off alone. (28)
He describes how people always adjust moveable chairs before sitting down, even if it's just a couple of inches. Hell, I do it too. He writes:
Circulation and sitting, in sum, are not antithetical but complementary.
You walk, you sit, the two go together. And where do you sit? For all the sitters in the world this rings true:
Benches are artifacts the purpose of which is to punctuate architectural photographs. They're not so good for sitting. (33)
He writes about when people stop to talk to someone chance met, they don't step aside but usually do it 'smack in the center of the flow' (21). And damn, that is also so true. And hell of annoying.
What is not to love about this little piece of urban spatial poetry?
Foot movements are consistent, too. They seem to be a sort of silent language. Often, in a shmoozing group no one will be saying anything. Men stand bound in amiable silence, surveying the passing scene. Then, slowly, rhythmically, one of the men rocks up and down: first on the ball of the foot, then back on the heel. He stops. Another man starts the same movement. Sometimes there are reciprocal gestures. One man makes a half turn to the right. Then, after a rhythmic interval, another responds with a half turn t the left. Some kind of communication seems to be taking place here, but I've never broken the code. (22)
I don't know the code either, but I like it.
This explains the horribleness of Wilshire Boulevard's wind tunnel in Los Angeles, or how damn cold Canary Wharf and other downtown areas get:
...very tall, free-standing towers can generate tremendous drafts down their sides. This has in no way inhibited the construction of such towers, with the result, predictably, that some spaces are frequently uninhabitable. (44)
I agree that you need food, street cafes and I love his love of street vendors, I agree the more the better. I never understood the passion of planners to shut them down. You know them, you talk to people in line, they are vital parts of the community, full of gossip and helping make places safe. I love them. My heart breaks when the police come and destroy everything and take them away.
Anyway, one last comment on the chapter, titled: 'The Undesirables.' It could use a better title. The 'undesirables' are our people too and that is unkind, yet you know that is how too many people thing of them and this chapter is written for them. To counteract their bum-proof benches and surveillance cameras and gates and spikes and all those horrible things that make you despair of our society.
Whyte writes:
Places designed with distrust get what they were looking for and it is in them, ironically, that you will most likely find a wino...it is the empty places they prefer; it is in the empty places that they are conspicuous--almost as if, unconsciously, the design was contrived to make them so.
Fear proves itself. (61)
The best way to handle this issue is to make the space attractive to everyone. To have people in them who take care of the space, mediate issues. To understand we are a community and there are other ways to deal with problems than to lock people away or force them elsewhere.
But that is the big fight, no? And this book one tool to fight for public space that promotes sociality, conviviality, community.
September 8, 2023
"Spaces designed to keep out undesirables...generally tend to keep out other people, too" (pg. 7).
Have you tried to find somewhere to sit downtown in a big city recently? It's quite difficult - all the ledges are sloped or have spikes, and there are no benches anywhere. Ironically, says Whyte, this actually makes places less safe - since you now have no one else but "undesirables" in the area because there is no where to sit for anyone, and therefore no community watch.
It's seriously no wonder we're lonelier than ever and streets feel so unsafe; public life has been absolutely destroyed in capitalism's attempt to remove anyone who can't spend copious amount of money away from public view. As Whyte points out, as much as people claim they want solitude, they will go out of their way to choose spots with people in it. But there has to be places to sit to do so!
It saddens me that we've had all the knowledge on how to build a perfect nook for community life since 1980(!) and instead move in the other direction.
The book isn't focused on social commentary - its goal is to outline what to include to make the most used plaza possible by the public (which it does a fantastic job of) - but the seating and undesirables portions stood out to me as it's increasingly relevant in our world of hostile architecture.
Have you tried to find somewhere to sit downtown in a big city recently? It's quite difficult - all the ledges are sloped or have spikes, and there are no benches anywhere. Ironically, says Whyte, this actually makes places less safe - since you now have no one else but "undesirables" in the area because there is no where to sit for anyone, and therefore no community watch.
It's seriously no wonder we're lonelier than ever and streets feel so unsafe; public life has been absolutely destroyed in capitalism's attempt to remove anyone who can't spend copious amount of money away from public view. As Whyte points out, as much as people claim they want solitude, they will go out of their way to choose spots with people in it. But there has to be places to sit to do so!
It saddens me that we've had all the knowledge on how to build a perfect nook for community life since 1980(!) and instead move in the other direction.
The book isn't focused on social commentary - its goal is to outline what to include to make the most used plaza possible by the public (which it does a fantastic job of) - but the seating and undesirables portions stood out to me as it's increasingly relevant in our world of hostile architecture.
September 7, 2017
The beginning of this book was a bit of a slog. Most of it in fact seemed to contradict itself on it's own theory. However, the author is being quite honest about what they thought would work and what actually worked. Without that type of introduction I think readers are more likely to dismiss the findings revealed in the rest of the book. I read this in two chunks (assigned by a grad school art and social practice course) and the division (at page 65) makes a lot of sense. Once you read the preferred heights of sitting spaces, you can't help but evaluate the public spaces around you.
January 14, 2024
Entertaining book,
Lessons learnt:
Political scale: improve social life of plazas by applying incentives.
Design observation:
- Steps provide infinity of possibilities.
- To create more modules of benches rather than repeated, as each plaza functions differently.
- Seating percentage of open spaces should range between 6-10%
- A canopy of trees can make a high traffic area feel more comfortable.
4.33/5
Lessons learnt:
Political scale: improve social life of plazas by applying incentives.
Design observation:
- Steps provide infinity of possibilities.
- To create more modules of benches rather than repeated, as each plaza functions differently.
- Seating percentage of open spaces should range between 6-10%
- A canopy of trees can make a high traffic area feel more comfortable.
4.33/5
June 6, 2018
An easy read about a study of urban plazas in NYC in 1980. Contains many interesting observations and lessons about what makes plazas and open spaces appealing for people who want to sit and linger and what doesn't. These lessons are just as relevant today as they were back then. Also contains some good tips about how observe and measure the use of public spaces yourself.
September 8, 2021
A well-divided book
he discussed most of the cities in his country the USA
I Had a little trouble with the informal language
Life Between Building is still my favorite though
it includes in the end instructions on how to use the camera in filming people in spaces while observing, it is an interesting feature of the book.
he discussed most of the cities in his country the USA
I Had a little trouble with the informal language
Life Between Building is still my favorite though
it includes in the end instructions on how to use the camera in filming people in spaces while observing, it is an interesting feature of the book.
July 11, 2022
Using observation, interviews and time-lapse photography, Whyte and his team study people's relationship with small public spaces, the life of plaza’s, sitting spaces, the flow of walkers and how things can change for the better or worse when something ( as simple as chairs, food vendors, trees, or ledges) are altered — this book is great!
December 10, 2017
Really important read for anyone interested in community and urban spaces, and anyone who impacts how cities are shaped - politicians, urban planners, urbanists, community developers, real estate professionals, architects, and more.
December 2, 2017
As much as I were somehow astonished, as much as I am reminded of the "hindsight effect" in psychology, when reading this book. However I guess it has to be retested in several other cities as well, for maybe we may find a universal pattern in some sense, and perhaps that may interest me personally
December 2, 2018
Pretty interesting insights into plazas in dense areas of cities (downtowns). Revolutionary at the time and remains quite creative and clever. Injected with humor and sass, personality which keeps the reading from getting too dry. Pretty small text - quick read.
February 25, 2019
Good, quick read. Boils down the essential elements to a successful, well-designed public space, supported with examples and actual research on the topic. Easy to read, lots of useful pictures, and very informative.
December 8, 2019
you'll never look at public spaces the same. whyte provides useful information which has remained mostly true into the early 21st century. the supplemental film is a must watch. a bit snarky at times. to be expected.
December 21, 2021
Re-read. An essential for anyone in an urban design-related field. Such an entertaining analysis of how we socialize / take advantage of our environment... what makes a space successful and what will consistently fail...
March 30, 2024
Short, sweet, effectively and entertainingly told. So fascinating to learn about what truly makes urban spaces appealing, how we can intentionally make places better, more inviting, and more sociable. Also great that all claims are based on empirical evidence, timelapses of the use of spaces.
November 5, 2017
Landmark piece of work about our public spaces. Quick afternoon read.
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