BOOK

REVIEW ON

“THE
SOCIAL
LIFE OFBy
Presented

JeffySMALL
Thomas George
RA1711201010020
URBAN
SPACES”
Hrudai Yalamarty
RA1711201010054
SLIDESMANIA. -William h. Whyte
 About the Author- William H. Contents- Elements Of Urban
Whyte Design
(October 1, 1917 — January 12, 1999)

American urbanist, organizational

01 The life of plaza
analyst, journalist and people-watcher .

He is considered the mentor for Project

for Public Spaces because of his 02 Sitting Space
seminal work in the study of human
behavior in urban settings
“The way people use a place
Purpose of
mirrors expectations.” 03 Sun, Wind and Water

“The Social Life of Small Urban

Space” 04 Food
While working with the New York City Planning
Commission in 1969, Whyte began to wonder how newly
planned city spaces were actually working out –
something that no one had previously researched.
05 Street

This curiosity led to the Street Life Project, a pioneering

study of pedestrian behavior and city dynamics. 06 Undesirables

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 01
The Life Of Plaza In New York most of the skyscrapers have the front portion completely
free and open, which have plantations and ledges which acts like a plaza
What does plaza mean? space.

It was considered by some

that the elegance and purity
of the building have little
relationship to the use of
space around it.
Documentation was done one
how the people use the space.
People come to the plaza as a
relief from the overcrowding
they continuously subjected.

According to the author, in a simple word, plaza is an open urban The Seagram’ Public Square
public space such as city square, and that often has trees and bushes
and places to sit as well as to walk. A plaza only functions well
when it's crowded rather than
“Secret life project” started by studying how people use plazas. being empty. In New York one
of the most well-known plazas
They mounted time-lapse cameras , they talked to people to find where are the Seagram plaza and 77th
they came from , where they worked , how frequently they used the
street
place and what they thought of it
The Seagram’ Public Square
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 Sitting
02 The author argues that sitting space is something that attracts the

Space
According to the author, New york were very consistent ,in the use of
crowd, Provision of steps encourages the public to sit.

plazas .day in, day out,many of them would sit at certain plazas ,few at Movable chairs: Allow people to control where and how they sit.
other. People interact, themselves attracted other people

The member of “Secret life project” also noticed that the elegance and
purity of buildings designs seems to have little relationship to the use of
the spaces around it

The plazas are usually occupied by large numbers of people especially

during lunchtime. The more sittable the inherent features are made, the
more freedom people have to sit up front, in the back, to the side, in
the sun, or out of it.

This means designing ledges and parapets and other flat surfaces so
they can do double duty as seating, tables, and shelves.

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 03
Sun, Wind & Water 04 Food
According to the author, people tend The author presented a
to sit in the plaza if the temperatures correlation between
are comfortable. If the outdoor lively social activities in
weather is really hot 90 degrees or the plaza and the
more that plazas are empty. presence of food carts,
food attracts more
people to the plaza.
SUN: It is observed that, in late morning, the plaza was in shadow. Then
shortly before noon, a narrow wedge of sunlight began moving across the
plaza The author proposed the provision
WIND: Physically and psychologically, it is proven that people feel of food kiosks in new plazas which
comfortable and this is one of the reasons why their relative carrying were considered to be obstructions
capacity is so high. before are now encouraged.

He described outdoor cafes can

occupy upto 20% of the open
area. Provisions were also made
for the installation of cafes in
Bryant Park Paley Park
existing plazas.
WATER: He argues that water is another fine element and new plazas,
Rockefeller plaza during
parks provide water in all sorts of forms: waterfalls, tranquil pools, water
tunnels, meandering brooks, fountains of all kinds. christmas had 15 stalls in a 40
ft stretch.
SLIDESMANIA. Rockefeller plaza
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 05 Street 06Undesirables
According to the author, the relationship of the street is the integral part According to the author, For
of the plaza space. A good plaza starts at the street corner, people will be most of the business men it's not
there interacting with each other. muggers or truely dangerous
people. It is winos, derelicts who
One of the best corners in New York is 49th street. This corner has the drink out of half bottles in paper
basics - sitting space, a food vendor, and a heavy pedestrian flow. bags - the most harmless of the
Activity on the corner is a great show and the best way to attract people. city's marginal people.

Many of the businessmen fear the

undesirables so security is added
to prevent their access.The 42nd
street telephone company was
used by hippies, homeless and
muggers.

According to Whyte, sight lines are important because if people cannot
see it, they will not use it. Rockefeller plaza is a very successful plaza,
the middle is a sunken part which is tiers to an amphitheatre, people in
the lower plaza provide the show. Many concerts are conducted here.
During the winter the sunken portion is converted to an ice skating rig.
The company decided to add tables and chairs and this attracted people
to sit in this place and started crowding and so the undesirables moved.
The best way to handle the problem of undesirables is to make the
place more attractive.

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 Conclusio
ns
● To make the place more vibrant, availability of sitting place is
much important.

● Sun, wind, trees, water are the most important factor for the
healthy development of any plaza, town ,city , etc.

● Sitting places next to main pedestrian flow are most liked.

● People like to visit places which are lively ,full of entertainment,

they avoid places which are lonely and spacious.

Present-day Application: Covid-19 ● Most preferred restful places are areas with small places with
high density of people and very efficient use of space.
Crisis
Changes in human interaction
● These small places are priceless, irrespective of the cost …..
● In his book, Whyte states that “people attract people”, a statement
that few dare to argue against. They depict the real city and it’s people.

● Covid-19 crisis of 2020 has upended “normalcy” as we know it,

with this being undoubtedly so for cities. Not an hour goes by “It is far easier, simpler to create spaces that work for people than
without being reminded to social distance, and it’s working. those that do not — and a tremendous difference it can make to the

● In public places, people are more aware of their surroundings and life of a city. ” - William H. Whyte
prioritise distance over a free seat on the metro. This change in

THANK YOU
habit has affected millions of city dwellers and it would impact
the future of the cities.
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