In Whyte’s research one of the most important discoveries was that it does not take much to get people to use the seating spaces in these urban spaces. The sun, the shade and other factors may have some effect on how seating spaces are used but generally people will sit where ever seating was available. In fact from his video, the chairs provided in some of the plazas were put to good use but benches, steps and even ledges were used by the people to sit on. In one of these plazas were there were metal spikes on the ledge to discourage the public from sitting on them a fellow who appeared to be on break from work put a folded news paper on the ledge just to able to sit on it. The most successful urban spaces are welcoming enough to provide a wide range of seating options, including benches that are double wide to give users the choice of faces different directions. I think the biggest fear of most municipalities when it comes to providing seating is that homeless people would use some of these seating spaces to sleep on. From this video, and other observations, the seating spaces that the very few users lie on are those that are not being used.
The relationship between these urban spaces and the street is another important aspect of the usability of these spaces. This video showed examples of urban spaces with buildings along the streets that had no windows to the streets and that did not seem to have much connection with the streets. In the successful urban spaces there are strong connections to the streets. Whyte mentioned ‘the secondary use’ of these spaces, where a pedestrian without stepping into a plaza space would slow down and observe and enjoy the space from the street, may walk by at a slow pace or stop for a while before proceeding.
William Whyte mentioned in this video that people eating attract more people. I think food is a big part of the social life of urban spaces. A number of the plazas that had cafes found them to be successful. This is a great opportunity for office workers to come out of their buildings for fresh air, have lunch and also meet people. Some passers-by stop to buy food on impulse as seen in this video. A good number of users were attracted and drawn closer to each other than by the other elements of design like water, sun, etc. Street vendors, who are not approved of in some cities, play a positive role in the social life of these urban spaces.
Water as an element of design was found to be very well used in some of these public spaces. The sound of it when used in fountains or water walls generally is soothing to a lot of people. In the busy and loud plazas this sound neutralizes the sound coming from the streets or vehicular traffic. During the summer when it is very hot, the water features of these spaces can attract even more people due to its cooling effects. In some of these plazas from Whyte’s video a few users went as far as playing with the water, some putting their feet in it.
The effects of the sun and trees that have been incorporated in these urban designs have important roles. Even though users generally sit in all the different areas of these spaces, during the winter part of these spaces with sun are likely to see more activity. In the hot summers, likewise, shades under the trees would be desirable spots.
A big part of the social life of these urban spaces is what Whyte refers to as ‘triangulation’. For example activities that take place in these spaces that attract people’s attention. New York City is one of those places where this is common. Performers, like musicians or dancers, can quickly set up a show and draw a crowd. In fact, on our first New York trip for this class, while we were taking pictures in the Time Square area, we encountered a ‘break dance’ group that not only drew a moderate crowd but put up an entertaining show and connected very well with the spectators especially the kids some of whom were invited to participate. Not far from Time Square, on the same evening, there were a few artists who attracted pedestrians with the sketches of their patrons. There was some kind of activities on practically every block that would make pedestrian stop, gather around, and get closer to each other and often starting to talk to each other.
This video showed the design shortcomings of some public spaces as well as what make some of the urban spaces successful. The design suggestions by Whyte, as mentioned above, give us directions to design urban spaces that are more often used and eventually lead us to safe and secure urban spaces that the public share and enjoy.
