Whyte, William Hollingsworth: The social life of small urban spaces / by William H. Whyte, Washington (D.C.) : Conservation Foundation, 1981
„This book is about city spaces, why some work for people, and some other do not, and what the practical lesson may be … In 1970, I formed a small research group, The Street Life Project, and began looking at city spaces … The Street Life Project began its study by looking at New York City parks and playgrounds and such informal recreation areas as city blocks … It is often assumed that children play in the street because they lack playground space. But many children play in the streets because they like to. One of the best play areas we came across was a bloc on 101st street in East Harlem … Though we did not know it then, this block had within it all the basic elements of a successful urban place …
The research continued for some three years … We found that communicating the findings was to take more time than arriving at them. We logged many hours in church basements and meeting rooms giving film and slide presentations to community groups, architcts, planners etc… At length the City Planning Commission incorporeted our recommondations in a proposed new open-space zoning code … As a consequence, there has be a salutaty imporvement in the design of new spaces and the rejuvenation of old ones.
As companion to the manual I have completed a 55-minute film-with the same title and the same general structure.“
Excerps from The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
Posted March 9, 2020