“The Design of Spaces”: from City: Rediscovering the Center (1988)

This chapter by William Hollingsworth “Holly” Whyte (1918–1999) from City: Rediscovering the Center (1988) is an excellent introduction to how urban designers think, written by a sociologist-turned-urban designer with a magical way with words. Whyte’s ideas on urban design and placemaking have had a large impact on New York, other American cities, and increasingly cities everywhere in the world. The term “urban design” is commonly used to describe what urban designers and some design-oriented urban planners, architects, landscape and other design professionals do. It is a narrower term than urban planning – which involves formulating goals and policies for an entire city. Urban design is similar to “placemaking,” but focused on design rather than other factors. Between 1969 and 1975 Whyte directed “The Street Life Project,” overseeing students and city urban design staff who carefully observed how people use New York City parks, plazas, and other public spaces. Through observation and interviews Whyte’s team recorded who sat where during different times of the day and year, how people interacted with each other and the physical spaces around them, and what people did and did not like about the spaces. The Street Life Project morphed into the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), which continues to promote Whyte’s ideas. Whyte was surprised to find that the size or shape of a park or plaza did not explain how many people chose to use it very well. But sittable space, water, sunlight, food vendors, and easy access made a big difference. People liked and used movable chairs much more than benches.