WEBVTT 00:00:48.911 --> 00:00:53.146 This is the plaza of the Seagram Building in New York, late morning. 00:00:53.146 --> 00:00:58.500 For the timelapse camera, we were testing a hypothesis: the sun, we were pretty sure, 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:02.990 would be the chief factor in determining where people would sit or not sit. 00:01:02.990 --> 00:01:09.187 Now, just after twelve, they begin to sit right where the sun is. 00:01:09.187 --> 00:01:13.315 I was enormously pleased. What a perfectly splendid correlation! 00:01:13.315 --> 00:01:18.680 It was quite misleading as we were to see later, but it was a very encouraging way to start. 00:01:20.952 --> 00:01:25.133 We were studying the Seagram Plaza because it was one of the most popular. 00:01:25.133 --> 00:01:28.142 Many people didn't think that it would be, but it was, 00:01:28.142 --> 00:01:30.951 and we wanted to find out why. 00:01:30.951 --> 00:01:36.745 Our research group, the Street Life Project, had been observing other kinds of city spaces. 00:01:39.752 --> 00:01:43.058 One was a block off 101st St. in East Harlem. 00:01:44.586 --> 00:01:50.914 We didn't know it at the time, but almost every factor that later we were to find 00:01:50.914 --> 00:01:55.364 was important for a city space, we could have found out right here. 00:01:55.364 --> 00:01:57.911 The clues were right under our noses. 00:02:09.416 --> 00:02:13.803 We had studied play areas such as this adventure playground. 00:02:13.803 --> 00:02:18.283 It was very good one, too. Wonderfully messy, lots of dirt and mud, 00:02:18.283 --> 00:02:20.859 and the water that kids loved so much. 00:02:20.859 --> 00:02:24.970 Sometimes it was crowded, and this was a problem that we were very interested in, 00:02:24.970 --> 00:02:29.663 because we had started out with great concern over the problem of urban overcrowding. 00:02:30.496 --> 00:02:34.517 But, the more we studied this play area and other play areas, 00:02:34.517 --> 00:02:38.154 the more we began to realize that the great problem of these spaces 00:02:38.154 --> 00:02:40.898 is not overuse, but under use. 00:02:40.898 --> 00:02:45.208 Even this playground - a very good one - on a day like now, 00:02:45.208 --> 00:02:50.004 which is a beautiful day in July, sometimes is almost completely empty 00:02:50.004 --> 00:02:51.860 except for the play director. 00:02:53.112 --> 00:02:58.295 When we looked at the center of the city, we found under use was even more apparent. 00:02:58.977 --> 00:03:05.266 Most office building plazas were empty most of the time, even at lunch on a beautiful day. 00:03:05.266 --> 00:03:07.570 Now, it wasn't meant to be that way. 00:03:07.570 --> 00:03:12.978 The city had been giving bonuses - floor space bonuses - to builders for providing plazas. 00:03:12.988 --> 00:03:16.374 If the builders did, they could add more floors to their building. 00:03:16.374 --> 00:03:17.675 And, so they did. 00:03:17.971 --> 00:03:20.830 They built the extra floors, and got all that extra money, 00:03:20.830 --> 00:03:24.455 and in return, they gave these empty spaces. 00:03:24.455 --> 00:03:27.984 In other cities, whether through the bonus provision or not, 00:03:27.984 --> 00:03:32.477 builders seemed to come up with the same kind of dreary, empty spaces. 00:03:36.880 --> 00:03:40.933 But, some plazas had lots of people, like the Seagram. 00:03:40.933 --> 00:03:46.354 Suppose we could find out what it was that made the good ones work, and the others not. 00:03:46.354 --> 00:03:49.260 We put the matter to the planning commission. 00:03:49.269 --> 00:03:54.447 They said if we could nail down the answers - back them up with facts - 00:03:54.447 --> 00:03:58.047 they would draw up a new zoning resolution for open spaces. 00:03:58.047 --> 00:03:59.782 So, we went to work. 00:03:59.782 --> 00:04:04.492 We set up cameras for time-lapse coverage of a cross-section of spaces - 00:04:04.492 --> 00:04:07.830 about fourteen plazas and three small parks. 00:04:07.830 --> 00:04:12.619 But, our main technique was simple, direct observation. 00:04:12.619 --> 00:04:17.867 We made up maps for each of the spaces and then we would go around periodically, 00:04:17.867 --> 00:04:21.025 and map where the people sat, what they were doing, 00:04:21.025 --> 00:04:23.904 what the time of day was, the temperature, and so on. 00:04:24.308 --> 00:04:28.649 And, it doesn't take much longer to do this than to make a simple headcount. 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:34.571 But, as you build up the record, a number of patterns begin to appear. 00:04:34.571 --> 00:04:39.835 The first thing that strikes you is the extraordinary diversity of activity - 00:04:39.835 --> 00:04:44.544 people reading, eating, talking, playing games. 00:04:44.544 --> 00:04:48.570 The sociability is really rather important and we found that the proportion of 00:04:48.570 --> 00:04:52.282 people in groups can tell you a number of things. 00:04:52.282 --> 00:04:56.463 The most used plazas tend to have a higher proportion of people 00:04:56.463 --> 00:05:00.365 in twos and threes than the less successful ones. 00:05:00.365 --> 00:05:04.985 But, the most sociable plazas also have, in absolute numbers, 00:05:04.985 --> 00:05:06.820 the greatest number of individuals. 00:05:07.273 --> 00:05:11.560 A busy place, for some reason, seems to be the most congenial kind of place 00:05:11.560 --> 00:05:17.117 if you wanna be alone, or talk, as this man is, to onseself. 00:05:18.197 --> 00:05:23.752 The number one activity is people looking at other people. 00:05:23.752 --> 00:05:26.721 But, it is a point that is overlooked in many, many designs. 00:05:27.841 --> 00:05:32.522 Here are the girl watchers! Now, they are a bit disdainful. 00:05:32.522 --> 00:05:37.280 Sort of looking down their nose as though the girls weren't quite worthy of their talents. 00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:44.227 But it's all machismo. We have never, ever seen a girl watcher make a pass at a girl. 00:05:44.227 --> 00:05:47.344 We've seen very few others do that for that matter. 00:05:47.344 --> 00:05:50.277 For some reason, there isn't much mixing. 00:05:50.277 --> 00:05:55.200 Those two blondes might as well be several miles away for all the ostensible 00:05:55.200 --> 00:05:58.117 attention that's going to be paid to them. 00:05:59.777 --> 00:06:03.365 Note the two men circling in the background. 00:06:03.365 --> 00:06:07.824 This is a rather characteristic pattern; we call it the 'traveling conversation', 00:06:07.824 --> 00:06:14.873 and you will see them move in sort of an orbit, ever circling right out in front of the plaza. 00:06:16.469 --> 00:06:20.265 Lovers. If you want to see the lovers, people told us, look in the back. 00:06:20.265 --> 00:06:22.846 We did. They weren't there. They're out front. 00:06:22.846 --> 00:06:27.041 Most of the lovers that we spotted at Seagrams were usually to be found 00:06:27.041 --> 00:06:32.897 in the middle of the pool ledge, one side or the other - the most conspicuous of spots. 00:06:32.897 --> 00:06:37.326 This fellow's gonna look at his watch to see if he can spare a bit more time. 00:06:40.476 --> 00:06:43.158 Another fine place is the corner. 00:06:43.158 --> 00:06:46.817 There's usually an audience there and one gets the feeling that the actors 00:06:46.817 --> 00:06:48.833 don't mind this in the slightest. 00:06:57.143 --> 00:07:01.720 Let's look now at some of the physical features and how they affect use. 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.048 Notice the narrow strip between the pool and the ledge. 00:07:05.048 --> 00:07:07.832 The architects purposely made it narrow. 00:07:07.832 --> 00:07:12.047 They didn't want people to be tempted to use the ledge and perhaps fall off. 00:07:12.047 --> 00:07:15.845 They didn't make it quite narrow enough; one can negotiate it. 00:07:15.845 --> 00:07:19.212 A little bit of trouble for older people, which it tends to filter out. 00:07:19.212 --> 00:07:22.114 But, the younger people find it a definite challenge. 00:07:22.114 --> 00:07:24.801 The ledge has become one of the most popular of spots 00:07:24.801 --> 00:07:27.416 and attracts a rather raffish element. 00:07:32.606 --> 00:07:35.894 At peak times, the front ledge is the one most heavily used, 00:07:35.894 --> 00:07:38.905 especially by younger people who tend to the front. 00:07:39.555 --> 00:07:43.459 These elegantly simple steps are a very important feature. 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:47.966 They're low, and they're easy. They're easy to go up and down. 00:07:47.966 --> 00:07:53.389 They're also easy to sit on, and the corner has a right angle that's fine for groups. 00:07:53.389 --> 00:07:55.138 But, there's a problem. 00:07:55.138 --> 00:07:59.448 The corners of the steps are precisely where the main flow 00:07:59.448 --> 00:08:02.735 of people to and from the buildings can be found. 00:08:02.735 --> 00:08:08.214 Yet, this is where people like to stand, and to sit, and to block the traffic. 00:08:08.214 --> 00:08:10.350 There are usually a few feet here and there for passage. 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:15.255 Though, sometimes it does get a little difficult, you have to pick your way very carefully. 00:08:15.255 --> 00:08:19.815 But, it's a friendly kind of congestion, and later things do clear up a bit. 00:08:21.315 --> 00:08:25.086 Now, we come to another junction: the street corner. 00:08:25.086 --> 00:08:29.323 It has a social life of its own and as we saw a little bit earlier 00:08:29.323 --> 00:08:33.067 with those two orbiting executives, it connects with the life of the plaza. 00:08:34.025 --> 00:08:36.884 The corner is a great place for impromptu conferences. 00:08:36.884 --> 00:08:40.574 Especially so at around two o'clock when the lunch groups break up. 00:08:48.184 --> 00:08:52.114 When people stop to talk, they don't move off to one side. 00:08:52.115 --> 00:08:55.196 They move smack into the middle of the traffic stream. 00:08:55.196 --> 00:08:59.175 This corner in front of the city court building has a very high frequency 00:08:59.175 --> 00:09:04.398 of such meetings, and the number one spot for them is the geographic center. 00:09:04.398 --> 00:09:07.794 Another favorite spot is the front of the steps leading to the subway, 00:09:07.794 --> 00:09:10.218 and even at rush hour. 00:09:10.218 --> 00:09:14.993 A third is at the corner, directly athwart the north-south pedestrian flow. 00:09:16.054 --> 00:09:19.587 And, these heavy flows, of course, are a reason why chance encounters are 00:09:19.587 --> 00:09:21.347 such a high probability here. 00:09:21.347 --> 00:09:25.965 Why there are so many 'hellos' and 'goodbyes', and particularly protracted goodbyes. 00:09:25.965 --> 00:09:31.938 There's another kind of activity we call 'people just standing there alone'. 00:09:31.938 --> 00:09:35.117 Life swirls about and they let it all pass by. 00:09:35.117 --> 00:09:36.599 They just stand there. 00:09:41.682 --> 00:09:45.469 Back to Seagrams. When we plotted the off-peak use, we found that 00:09:45.469 --> 00:09:49.298 over the long haul, this rear space is the most favored. 00:09:51.468 --> 00:09:54.492 It's the best of both worlds: you can see the show up front, 00:09:54.492 --> 00:09:58.403 you're not cut out from it at all, but under those trees you feel protected. 00:09:58.418 --> 00:10:01.490 It's a little like being under the awning of a cafe. 00:10:07.898 --> 00:10:12.473 As we move from the rear, we see another aspect of the place that's quite fascinating: 00:10:12.473 --> 00:10:14.649 the movement of people across it. 00:10:14.649 --> 00:10:18.830 Choreography is wonderful, and choreography really is the right word. 00:10:18.839 --> 00:10:23.180 The way people move, circle, stop, speed up, colors they wear. 00:10:23.180 --> 00:10:26.433 There's a beauty that they must often sense themselves. 00:10:26.433 --> 00:10:29.591 You see none of this in architectural photographs - usually quite empty 00:10:29.591 --> 00:10:34.273 of people - but visually, this movement is the ultimate test of a design. 00:10:37.193 --> 00:10:39.484 And, there's a lot of skill here. 00:10:41.765 --> 00:10:45.345 We've tracked people in scores of crossing patterns with a digital timer, 00:10:45.345 --> 00:10:46.845 and never do they collide. 00:10:46.845 --> 00:10:50.234 A tiny hand signal, a brief ritard, a tenth of a second. 00:10:50.234 --> 00:10:52.317 Timing is absolutely superlative. 00:10:52.978 --> 00:10:56.732 Think of the computers, the radar it would take to make their equivalent. 00:11:00.752 --> 00:11:02.600 Now, what's not taking place? 00:11:02.604 --> 00:11:06.484 People don't often stop to talk in the middle of a large space. 00:11:11.086 --> 00:11:14.864 They like to find places: steps, edges, flag poles. 00:11:16.764 --> 00:11:18.887 Here's a map of a week's activity. 00:11:18.898 --> 00:11:23.092 The red squares are where people stop to talk: fifty-one instances in all. 00:11:23.092 --> 00:11:25.287 Only a few were in the center. 00:11:27.287 --> 00:11:31.886 We come to the question: why do some plazas work and others not? 00:11:31.891 --> 00:11:35.763 We rank fifteen plazas by the average number of people sitting, 00:11:35.763 --> 00:11:41.501 running somewhere around 170 down to about a handful - 20 or 30. 00:11:41.501 --> 00:11:44.583 Now, most of these plazas are comparable in size. 00:11:44.583 --> 00:11:46.279 Why then the difference? 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:48.786 Was it the amount of open space? 00:11:51.426 --> 00:11:54.284 No, if anything there's a reverse correlation. 00:11:55.400 --> 00:11:57.000 What about sittable space? 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:05.006 Here we get a bit closer, and had we ranked these in terms of quality of sitting, 00:12:05.006 --> 00:12:06.801 we would have a much clearer relationship. 00:12:07.298 --> 00:12:12.173 We checked many other things: elevation, male/female ratio, space, and so on. 00:12:12.173 --> 00:12:15.376 Charts in stupefying succession. 00:12:15.376 --> 00:12:21.815 But, as we put them all together, one major finding began to shine through. 00:12:21.815 --> 00:12:24.044 And, I'll now share it with you. 00:12:28.404 --> 00:12:31.491 This might not strike you as an intellectual bombshell, 00:12:31.494 --> 00:12:36.805 but, this simple lesson is one that very few cities have ever heeded. 00:12:36.805 --> 00:12:38.320 They're tough places to sit in. 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:45.938 And, what's most aggravating are the number of plazas that would be excellent 00:12:45.938 --> 00:12:48.304 for sitting if only they weren't so hard. 00:12:50.731 --> 00:12:51.911 Or wet. 00:12:53.431 --> 00:12:57.516 Or had fussy little railings placed to get you right in the small of the back. 00:12:57.516 --> 00:12:59.393 Here, another two inches and you'd be comfortable. 00:12:59.393 --> 00:13:04.620 Shrubbery and candid ledges - very useful for keeping people off. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:09.174 But, we found that people are very adaptable, press down on your heel and you can do it. 00:13:09.974 --> 00:13:12.342 Sometimes, you gotta play rough. 00:13:18.486 --> 00:13:22.373 But, as we found out, people are very adaptable. 00:13:24.169 --> 00:13:27.113 Older people like to sit in the sun here, can't have that. 00:13:27.113 --> 00:13:31.667 Management put in these stones, and now the older people don't sit here anymore. 00:13:34.877 --> 00:13:40.816 This artifact is a designed object, the purpose of which is to punctuate architectural photographs. 00:13:43.881 --> 00:13:48.125 It has some utility has a bench, but is usually placed in isolation. 00:13:49.705 --> 00:13:54.145 The dimensions are exquisitely wrong, and not just for physical reasons, 00:13:54.145 --> 00:13:55.788 important as they may be. 00:13:55.788 --> 00:14:00.342 Small benches are socially awkward. If there's a crowd, people will sit. 00:14:00.342 --> 00:14:02.635 But, they're not very relaxed about it. 00:14:02.635 --> 00:14:06.475 So, to the first reccomendation: make the place sittable. 00:14:06.475 --> 00:14:10.251 The minimum suggested requirement: one linear foot of sitting space 00:14:10.251 --> 00:14:12.938 for every 30 square feet of open space. 00:14:12.938 --> 00:14:17.348 It's easy to meet. They did it at Seagrams by leaving it sittable. 00:14:17.348 --> 00:14:20.863 Inherently, most places are, or should be. 00:14:20.863 --> 00:14:24.607 And, for a lesson in this, let's go to St. Mark's Square in Venice. 00:14:30.497 --> 00:14:33.445 The chairs of the cafes are what you first notice. 00:14:40.335 --> 00:14:43.354 But, look closer and you'll see that there is a great deal of sitting 00:14:43.354 --> 00:14:48.292 space built into the plaza - ledges and steps - and not inadvertently either. 00:14:48.292 --> 00:14:53.401 Those early urban designers were way ahead of us in providing the simple amenities. 00:14:53.401 --> 00:14:58.393 Where the nobles once hatched their intrigue by the imbroglio, as they call it. 00:14:58.393 --> 00:15:02.331 There are tourists, but the sitting patterns are much the same. 00:15:03.591 --> 00:15:06.978 Make the most of ledges, especially the front row! 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:13.556 And make them, two back sides deep. 00:15:13.556 --> 00:15:17.577 The point is not to double the number of sitters, but to give them more choice, 00:15:17.577 --> 00:15:21.961 and this is very important for their perception of crowding or not crowding. 00:15:22.534 --> 00:15:27.184 Here's an excellent example: note how each surface can do double duty. 00:15:27.184 --> 00:15:30.779 Together they provide almost an infinity sitting combinations. 00:15:36.117 --> 00:15:39.887 Step ledges are good and they offer lots of choice. 00:15:39.892 --> 00:15:42.472 They go very well with grass. Grass that you can sit on. 00:15:46.876 --> 00:15:50.737 Planters make good sitting if they're not too high, too many are. 00:15:52.377 --> 00:15:54.702 They should be low and they should be hospitable. 00:15:57.058 --> 00:16:00.516 Here's a ledge with swings and is equally popular front or back. 00:16:03.183 --> 00:16:05.103 A sitting table which revolves. 00:16:07.821 --> 00:16:13.421 The most prolifically sittable place is 77 Water St, sometimes known as Swinger's Plaza. 00:16:13.421 --> 00:16:16.738 It has chairs, tables, benches, sitting sculpture - 00:16:16.738 --> 00:16:21.079 but it's the maze of ledges that make this place work so very well. 00:16:22.677 --> 00:16:24.468 And here are some of the swingers. 00:16:27.422 --> 00:16:30.398 Question: how many people is too many? 00:16:30.520 --> 00:16:33.123 The planning comission was concerned about this. 00:16:33.123 --> 00:16:38.989 Plazas were made more inviting might not they attract so many people as to be found. 00:16:38.989 --> 00:16:41.804 How can carrying capacity be determined? 00:16:41.804 --> 00:16:45.618 To get at these questions we studied ten very intensively used places. 00:16:45.618 --> 00:16:48.032 One of them, this ledge at Seagram. 00:16:48.032 --> 00:16:52.802 First, we studied spacing. Here, a little before noon, is the beginning of a crowd. 00:16:53.540 --> 00:16:56.068 The men, you'll note are sitting quite close together, 00:16:56.068 --> 00:16:57.785 even though there's a lot of extra space. 00:17:00.663 --> 00:17:04.310 As we saw earlier, the step corner is a very high-traffic area, 00:17:04.310 --> 00:17:07.211 and here is where the build up will be concentrated. 00:17:07.211 --> 00:17:10.859 As the place fills, the dense areas will get denser, 00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:13.863 very much as they do at beaches. 00:17:13.863 --> 00:17:16.992 We're going to see a timelapse record of lunchtime at the ledge 00:17:16.992 --> 00:17:19.776 from noon until a little bit before two. 00:17:23.092 --> 00:17:29.332 Notice the very heavy turnover, but notice also that a remarkable thing is taking place. 00:17:29.332 --> 00:17:33.844 Despite the heavy turnover, the number of people is remaining quite constant. 00:17:38.114 --> 00:17:43.185 Here's a chart on sort of a piano player roll of where and how long each person sat. 00:17:43.632 --> 00:17:46.138 It starts at 9 AM with two people. 00:17:50.978 --> 00:17:53.517 From 12 to 2, we get the heavy use. 00:17:53.517 --> 00:18:00.250 Note that in the running total at the bottom, the number of people stays between 19 and 21. 00:18:00.250 --> 00:18:02.014 Good spacing you might say! 00:18:02.267 --> 00:18:04.528 No, that doesn't really explain it. 00:18:04.534 --> 00:18:07.617 The spacing is erratic, and even at the peak moments, 00:18:07.617 --> 00:18:11.008 there's plenty of room for extra people, even groups of people. 00:18:11.008 --> 00:18:12.171 But they don't come. 00:18:13.235 --> 00:18:17.885 I think that what we are seeing is the result of an instinctive feel that 00:18:17.885 --> 00:18:22.088 people have for the number that's right for a place, the number that's right overall. 00:18:22.088 --> 00:18:24.360 That is it's effective capacity. 00:18:25.176 --> 00:18:28.685 To put it another way: capacity is self-leveling. 00:18:29.653 --> 00:18:33.440 Many people will tell you that the two pleasantest, quietist, 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:38.015 least crowded places in New York are Paley Park and Greenacre Park. 00:18:38.015 --> 00:18:39.775 They certainly are among the smallest. 00:18:39.775 --> 00:18:44.226 Paley is 42 x 100 ft. Greenacre 65 x 100. 00:18:51.686 --> 00:18:54.892 At peak times, the density of leading plazas runs up to 00:18:54.971 --> 00:18:58.222 about 11 people per thousand square feet. 00:18:58.222 --> 00:19:01.550 Paley and Greenacre go almost off the chart. 00:19:01.550 --> 00:19:05.539 They are the most crowded by far, and often quite noisy. 00:19:06.379 --> 00:19:08.440 In the mind's eye, they are not. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:13.646 One's perception is of quiet, of peace, of choice. 00:19:14.356 --> 00:19:18.976 One of the things that we did to try and find out how come this rather interesting 00:19:19.106 --> 00:19:25.954 difference between perception and fact, was the daily build up of table use. 00:19:26.047 --> 00:19:30.647 Here in this animated chart, you will see black dots are for men, the red for women. 00:19:32.885 --> 00:19:38.268 Notice, by the way, the tendency of men to take the front row, and the women, the rear. 00:19:41.046 --> 00:19:45.622 Now, as the day goes on, the patterns remain quite consistant. 00:19:45.622 --> 00:19:47.872 And, so they do day after day. 00:19:50.035 --> 00:19:54.184 But, this Olympian perspective, can be rather misleading. 00:19:54.184 --> 00:19:57.256 What we see looking down, is regularity. 00:19:58.716 --> 00:20:01.427 Now, this is the truth, but it's only a partial. 00:20:02.302 --> 00:20:05.758 Get down to eye level, the way people see the place, 00:20:05.758 --> 00:20:11.539 and you don't see regularity. Instead, sort of an amiable miscellany. 00:20:11.637 --> 00:20:14.043 People are placed this way and that. 00:20:16.813 --> 00:20:19.227 Some people are declarably alone. 00:20:19.227 --> 00:20:21.603 Others grouped around tables. 00:20:21.973 --> 00:20:24.243 Choices are always opening up. 00:20:24.733 --> 00:20:27.208 Now, this is extremely high density right here. 00:20:27.208 --> 00:20:32.488 People are very close to each other, and yet the social distances are quite confident. 00:20:32.488 --> 00:20:36.914 In this particular case, the social distance might be a little too close. 00:20:45.807 --> 00:20:49.380 We come to that wonderful invention: the movable chair. 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:52.655 It's one of the reasons you have such a feeling of choice in places like 00:20:52.655 --> 00:20:55.929 Paley or Greenacre, you are doing the deciding. 00:20:56.972 --> 00:21:00.225 It's very interesting to watch how people manipulate chairs. 00:21:00.225 --> 00:21:03.574 Here you can sort of tell there's going to be a rather aggresive movement. 00:21:06.674 --> 00:21:11.632 Now, whatever the purpose of all this rearranging, it does make for a rather pleasant social ritual, 00:21:11.667 --> 00:21:15.219 and you will see many variants of this often quite plainly. 00:21:15.219 --> 00:21:20.136 Even when there's no apparent functional reason of any kind, people move chairs. 00:21:20.722 --> 00:21:21.810 Watch this girl. 00:21:25.317 --> 00:21:27.876 Now, she's no more in the sun than she was before. 00:21:30.376 --> 00:21:31.787 Watch this fellow. 00:21:33.463 --> 00:21:34.988 Very unusual behavior. 00:21:35.786 --> 00:21:40.799 This man is starting something. Soon we're gonna have a game of musical chairs. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:45.119 Just why these men all started to move one can never know, but they did. 00:22:02.239 --> 00:22:06.291 Interesting thing, though, is that about four minutes after the beginning of this, 00:22:06.291 --> 00:22:09.020 all the chairs were back where they stated from. 00:22:10.150 --> 00:22:13.681 Fixed, individual seats don't work very well. 00:22:13.681 --> 00:22:17.347 For lovers, loveseats are alright. The distances are quite comfrotable. 00:22:17.347 --> 00:22:18.962 But, not for most people. 00:22:18.962 --> 00:22:23.904 Furthermore, chairs like this are telling you, "You sit here and you sit there." 00:22:25.050 --> 00:22:29.188 The most important thing about a space is its relationship to the street. 00:22:29.225 --> 00:22:30.782 Paley is a fine example. 00:22:31.431 --> 00:22:36.369 People do speak of it as a refuge, as a place to escape from the city. 00:22:36.369 --> 00:22:41.297 This is very wrong. Paley is an intensely urban place. 00:22:41.297 --> 00:22:46.662 One of its great assets is the vigorous street life out in front of it and for that matter within it. 00:22:46.662 --> 00:22:51.526 As many people will be entering and leaving and touring on the inside of Paley, 00:22:51.526 --> 00:22:54.296 as you'll find on many busy sidewalks. 00:22:54.303 --> 00:22:57.203 Passersby are important, too. 00:22:57.203 --> 00:23:00.883 About half will turn in and look, and about a half of them will smile. 00:23:00.889 --> 00:23:04.561 I haven't calculated the smile index, that would be much too solemn. 00:23:04.566 --> 00:23:11.297 But, this visual enjoyment, this secondary use is every bit as important as the primary use. 00:23:11.297 --> 00:23:16.160 Paley is a sight, a place to show people, to point to with pride, to discuss. 00:23:23.510 --> 00:23:26.510 Children seem particularly entranced with Paley. 00:23:34.900 --> 00:23:40.122 We've noticed quite intendency for them to run in and accelerate as they come to the steps. 00:23:40.742 --> 00:23:45.725 Passersby will often do a double take, and then walk on in. 00:23:45.725 --> 00:23:49.687 They are just a few easy steps, you don't have to make a decision. 00:23:49.687 --> 00:23:51.429 You're almost drawn in. 00:23:59.021 --> 00:24:02.434 And, here with older people you'll sometimes see, as with children, 00:24:02.434 --> 00:24:05.431 a slight acceleration as they go up the steps. 00:24:13.257 --> 00:24:16.201 The vestibule is a social place in its own right. 00:24:16.201 --> 00:24:20.307 Now, those girl-watchers swelling here actually spoke to these girls. 00:24:21.937 --> 00:24:23.985 You'll see mothers with their children. 00:24:29.467 --> 00:24:36.080 People just standing there, waiting. It's a popular place to meet people. 00:24:36.080 --> 00:24:40.312 You'll see people meeting for again one hundred percent conversation. 00:24:43.540 --> 00:24:47.315 Here's an example of what we call 'reciprocal gestures'. 00:24:47.315 --> 00:24:50.963 When two men are getting together in their conversation, 00:24:50.963 --> 00:24:53.246 there seems to be a tendency for one person to make the move, 00:24:53.246 --> 00:24:58.163 and then after, say six, seven, eight-second pause for the other to reciprocate. 00:25:03.983 --> 00:25:04.793 Ah, he did it! 00:25:05.664 --> 00:25:09.621 Itinerant musicians have a very keen sense of place. 00:25:09.621 --> 00:25:14.890 Here this cello player is setting up at one of the best of them. 00:25:22.663 --> 00:25:25.660 We've been looking at places that work with the street. 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:31.526 Now, let's look at a directly contrary approach: the self-contained megastructure. 00:25:31.526 --> 00:25:34.234 These are a sort of urban fortress. 00:25:34.234 --> 00:25:38.742 Their common denominator is that they take you away from the street. 00:25:38.744 --> 00:25:41.688 Here, at Houston Center, you're going up, up, up. 00:25:41.688 --> 00:25:45.773 Plazas and the terraces are two or three levels above the street. 00:25:48.123 --> 00:25:51.216 From the street you are completely insulated. 00:25:51.216 --> 00:25:54.925 You can drive from the suburbs in the morning into that garage there, 00:25:54.925 --> 00:25:59.276 walk through the skyways to the office, and spend the whole day without 00:25:59.276 --> 00:26:02.380 ever having to set foot in Houston at all. 00:26:03.036 --> 00:26:06.230 This is it's streetscape; no stores, no windows. 00:26:06.230 --> 00:26:08.660 Not many pedestrians either, for that matter. 00:26:08.664 --> 00:26:14.818 Street level is for cars. The one activity is a bank window for people in cars. 00:26:16.447 --> 00:26:21.204 Here's Renaissance Center in Detroit. Very striking, many attractions within. 00:26:21.204 --> 00:26:24.137 But, what does it say at street level? 00:26:24.137 --> 00:26:28.307 Look at that huge berm across its entry, all it's lacking is a portcullis. 00:26:28.307 --> 00:26:31.305 Come in and be safe from Detroit, it says. 00:26:32.785 --> 00:26:38.559 Downtown Los Angeles: Broadway Plaza. Successful in size. 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:42.470 A few blocks away, Atlantic Richfield plaza, very handsome. 00:26:42.864 --> 00:26:44.730 But, what's happened to the street? 00:26:44.730 --> 00:26:47.514 Where are the stores? Where are the windows? 00:26:48.454 --> 00:26:50.224 Where are the people? 00:26:50.305 --> 00:26:57.230 Going down to subterranean levels of shopping in balmy Los Angeles. 00:26:58.140 --> 00:27:00.811 In the next block, the Hotel Bonaventure. 00:27:02.522 --> 00:27:07.610 Dramatically scaled to the freeway, but not to the pedestrian. 00:27:10.220 --> 00:27:12.990 Look at the wall that it turns to the city. 00:27:13.033 --> 00:27:18.272 You ever seen a more brutal rejection of the street, or a more unnecessary one? 00:27:19.669 --> 00:27:25.034 Ironically, twenty miles away at Disneyland, people pay good money 00:27:25.034 --> 00:27:29.750 to enjoy a replica of a regular, old-fashioned street. 00:27:29.750 --> 00:27:33.898 Shops and windows and doors at street level. 00:27:39.867 --> 00:27:42.736 Lots to appoint about plazas. 00:27:42.743 --> 00:27:47.991 Unless there is a compelling reason, don't sink them way down or put them way up. 00:27:47.991 --> 00:27:50.710 They get lost, like this elevated plaza in Seattle. 00:27:53.070 --> 00:27:57.427 Most sunken plazas are empty--near empty most of the time. 00:27:58.572 --> 00:28:01.292 The action is up top on the street. 00:28:07.540 --> 00:28:10.921 But, what about Rockefeller Plaza? It's sunken and it's very popular. 00:28:10.921 --> 00:28:16.104 So it is, but look at carefully and you'll see that most of the people are up top. 00:28:16.104 --> 00:28:21.331 Looking down, it's an amphitheatre and the people down below are the show. 00:28:26.448 --> 00:28:28.965 Here's another exception that proves the rule: 00:28:28.965 --> 00:28:32.069 This is the plaza of the First National Bank of Chicago. 00:28:32.069 --> 00:28:35.226 Sunken, no mistake about that, but very popular. 00:28:35.226 --> 00:28:39.599 On a nice day, you'll find well over a thousand people enjoying themselves here. 00:28:40.069 --> 00:28:42.405 Well, it does all of the basics quite well. 00:28:42.419 --> 00:28:47.699 Lots and lots of sitting space, and it too, functions as as an amphitheatre. 00:28:47.699 --> 00:28:54.013 As the place fills up, the steps will become a mezzanine and it will be a show down below. 00:28:58.733 --> 00:29:02.276 To understand, let's go back to the corner and follow the passersby. 00:29:02.665 --> 00:29:06.356 As they come abreast, you'll see, as we saw at Paley, 00:29:06.356 --> 00:29:11.134 lots of visual secondary use, some people pausing to look in and then going on. 00:29:11.134 --> 00:29:17.054 Well, there's pausing, sort of drifting down to plaza, and the whole usage begins to build. 00:29:17.807 --> 00:29:23.705 Layer by layer, people looking at people looking at other people. 00:29:26.774 --> 00:29:30.049 We come to a key person: the undesirable. 00:29:30.049 --> 00:29:32.971 It is for fear of him, that spikes are put on ledges 00:29:32.971 --> 00:29:35.648 and benches made too short to sleep on. 00:29:39.308 --> 00:29:43.789 In actual fact, these people are harmless and sometimes very well-behaved. 00:29:48.818 --> 00:29:52.743 Most often, they are to be found in the places where other people are not. 00:29:57.353 --> 00:30:00.409 Then, there are the people who do odd things, like Drumsticks, 00:30:00.422 --> 00:30:04.855 who happens to be a compulsive cleaner-upper of litter. 00:30:04.855 --> 00:30:08.390 In many ways, the odd people do a service for the rest of us. 00:30:08.390 --> 00:30:11.299 They reassure us of our own normality. 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:15.091 In well used public places, people are tolerant of the odd ones. 00:30:15.091 --> 00:30:18.002 Life goes on with little fuss or trouble. 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:22.851 This is Pershing Square in Los Angeles. 00:30:22.851 --> 00:30:28.414 In the morning, you'll see many older men, and some who move to a beat of their own. 00:30:28.414 --> 00:30:30.626 But, they don't hurt anybody, it's not unsafe. 00:30:30.646 --> 00:30:34.827 And, later in the middle of the day, office workers will come out with their brown bags, 00:30:34.827 --> 00:30:37.003 and there will be a nice coexistance. 00:30:39.560 --> 00:30:43.688 Here is a pigeon lady. Every square should have one. 00:30:44.614 --> 00:30:46.470 Here's a place that is dangerous: 00:30:48.120 --> 00:30:50.164 Bryant Park in the middle of New York. 00:30:52.417 --> 00:30:56.833 It's green and spacious, and the cops patrol it in pairs as well they should. 00:30:56.833 --> 00:31:00.779 Real undesirables--muggers, dope dealers-- have made it their territory. 00:31:01.163 --> 00:31:06.069 They've been able to because it had been cut off from the street by fences and walls. 00:31:06.069 --> 00:31:11.199 Very pleasant these tree-shaded paths, but you can get a feeling of entrapment in them. 00:31:11.199 --> 00:31:15.242 Even a shuffling derelict poses a threat that he wouldn't elsewhere. 00:31:15.962 --> 00:31:19.354 To make a place like this work, you must unfence it. 00:31:23.277 --> 00:31:26.711 For guarding plazas, television cameras are often favored. 00:31:26.711 --> 00:31:29.843 Their usefulness seems to be largely symbolic. 00:31:29.843 --> 00:31:31.582 They reassure management. 00:31:31.582 --> 00:31:35.793 But, they don't see very much. Nothing beats a human being. 00:31:36.614 --> 00:31:40.817 Safe and successful places ususually have a kind of mayor. 00:31:42.167 --> 00:31:44.621 Here's one of the best: Joe Hardy of Exxon. 00:31:45.126 --> 00:31:49.758 He's good at spotting potential trouble, but what he likes best is helping people. 00:31:49.758 --> 00:31:52.826 Two girls for example, who would like to have their picture taken. 00:31:54.206 --> 00:31:57.228 And that's one reason why there isn't much trouble. 00:32:05.793 --> 00:32:10.561 People do like the sun. They so visibly like it, men, as well as women. 00:32:10.561 --> 00:32:16.295 But, we were pretty sure that sunlight would be the major factor in plaza use, 00:32:16.295 --> 00:32:19.637 and that a southern exposure would be almost a necessity. 00:32:20.967 --> 00:32:23.226 And, for awhile it looked as if we were right. 00:32:23.957 --> 00:32:29.847 Our early timelapse, you'll recall, showed a very strong correlation between sitters and sun. 00:32:29.847 --> 00:32:36.021 That was in May. As time went on-- June, July, August--the correlation vanished. 00:32:36.021 --> 00:32:39.206 People sat anywhere--sun or shade. 00:32:39.787 --> 00:32:43.754 Paley gave us another lesson. It lost part of its sun to a new office building. 00:32:43.754 --> 00:32:46.549 People came just as many as before. 00:32:46.549 --> 00:32:49.354 Sun was clearly not the ruling factor. 00:32:50.529 --> 00:32:54.828 Sun is most important in nippy weather, when the rays make the difference 00:32:54.828 --> 00:32:57.825 between sitting comfortably, or not sitting. 00:32:58.725 --> 00:33:03.803 At Greenacre Park, the upper terrace is warmed by infrared heaters. 00:33:03.803 --> 00:33:06.692 Less costly is protection from the wind. 00:33:06.692 --> 00:33:10.895 Where it's provided you can have a sort of nice sun theater. 00:33:10.895 --> 00:33:16.679 What hurts most is not so much the absence of sun, but of light. 00:33:16.679 --> 00:33:20.573 If we can't get the sun directly, perhaps we can borrow it. 00:33:23.943 --> 00:33:27.506 Same new buildings that are cutting off the sun from some places, 00:33:27.511 --> 00:33:29.602 are reflecting it into others. 00:33:29.602 --> 00:33:32.620 As a matter of fact, some of the city's pleasantest lighting effects 00:33:32.620 --> 00:33:35.948 are from this kind of bounce light, particularly in the late afternoon. 00:33:36.620 --> 00:33:39.777 The new city court building reflects the sun with such a wallop, 00:33:39.777 --> 00:33:44.811 that in one receiving block, trees are growing much faster than they did before. 00:33:45.924 --> 00:33:52.483 This black, brick building bounces a surprising amount of light, and guess where to: 00:33:52.483 --> 00:33:53.560 Paley Park. 00:33:53.583 --> 00:33:55.567 It's a very soft pleasant light. 00:34:01.441 --> 00:34:04.459 Here's a plaza with a northern exposure that gets lots of light 00:34:04.459 --> 00:34:06.902 thanks to the building across the way. 00:34:07.482 --> 00:34:12.905 The best light at Seagrams is by reflection, some of it on the second, third, or fourth bounce. 00:34:13.455 --> 00:34:16.250 All these effects are quite unplanned, of course, 00:34:16.250 --> 00:34:20.217 but they do suggest there are really some fascinating potentials for urban design. 00:34:30.101 --> 00:34:33.301 Water is a wonderful amenity in the city, and it's an element 00:34:33.301 --> 00:34:36.597 that designers and developers are really doing quite well with. 00:34:36.597 --> 00:34:41.684 We're getting water walls, waterfalls, fountains, lots of spray. 00:34:41.684 --> 00:34:44.280 Here's a brook running through a lobby. 00:34:44.280 --> 00:34:47.800 One of the nicest things about these water works is the sound of them. 00:34:52.253 --> 00:34:53.907 Sometimes it's very loud. 00:34:54.777 --> 00:34:57.955 This water wall at Paley is about 75 decibels. 00:34:57.955 --> 00:35:03.939 But, it's white sound; very raspy, and masks traffic noise from other people's conversations. 00:35:04.875 --> 00:35:08.235 Another thing about water is the look and feel of it. 00:35:08.235 --> 00:35:12.096 I always felt that the water at Seagrams is particularly liquid, 00:35:12.096 --> 00:35:14.624 and I suppose the reason is that it's so very accessible. 00:35:14.624 --> 00:35:20.149 You can stick your hand in it, splash about and nobody will rush up to stop you. 00:35:20.149 --> 00:35:23.540 You just know that girl has got to put her foot in the water. 00:35:28.669 --> 00:35:32.711 Some cities put water before people and then tell them not to use them. 00:35:32.711 --> 00:35:33.852 This isn't right. 00:35:34.778 --> 00:35:38.670 And, it isn't right to take a grand, old fountain like Chicago's Buckingham, 00:35:38.670 --> 00:35:40.378 and put an electric fence around it. 00:35:41.154 --> 00:35:45.079 This girl is living dangerously perhaps, but water ought to be used. 00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:48.972 This fellow wants to cool his feet, and why not? 00:35:54.974 --> 00:35:56.019 Forbidden. 00:36:00.161 --> 00:36:03.915 On this Denver bank plaza, there's water that's good to look at, 00:36:03.915 --> 00:36:09.696 and there's also water in which people can wade and splash about and no one will fret over it. 00:36:09.696 --> 00:36:10.933 Praise to the bank. 00:36:13.384 --> 00:36:16.616 This splendid fountain in Portland dares people. 00:36:16.616 --> 00:36:20.839 If this were taken in summer, you'd see teenagers clamoring all over it. 00:36:20.839 --> 00:36:25.756 It's obviously dangerous. Lawrence Halprin designed it to be obviously dangerous, 00:36:25.756 --> 00:36:27.548 and there's been scarcely an accident. 00:36:33.049 --> 00:36:34.841 Here's some vicarious water. 00:36:34.841 --> 00:36:39.801 This tunnel at McGraw Hills Small Park splashes you if you don't get wet. 00:36:39.801 --> 00:36:42.521 It's fun, and has become quite the tourist attraction. 00:36:45.868 --> 00:36:50.347 Another thing we're at last doing is opening up access to our waterfront. 00:36:50.347 --> 00:36:55.339 This is Jeanette Park on the East River, the park of an office building complex. 00:36:59.210 --> 00:37:05.140 This is the South Street Seaport, an excellent example in how simple elements 00:37:05.140 --> 00:37:07.420 make a great urban space. 00:37:07.420 --> 00:37:14.110 It has all the elements: nice space, places to sit, nice view, and plenty of people. 00:37:18.057 --> 00:37:22.602 Louisville has come back to the Ohio River, with this rather elegant Belvedere. 00:37:29.242 --> 00:37:31.653 The prize goes to San Antonio. 00:37:31.658 --> 00:37:34.186 It took what was little more than a drainage ditch, 00:37:34.186 --> 00:37:37.951 and turned it into a river that goes right through the heart of the city. 00:37:40.873 --> 00:37:43.976 It's lined with a walkway, cafes, and sitting spaces; 00:37:43.976 --> 00:37:46.941 and is a perfectly wonderful example of good enclosure. 00:37:46.941 --> 00:37:48.317 You feel very comfortable here. 00:37:56.698 --> 00:38:00.762 Trees are so beneficent for a city, it's a wonder we haven't planted more. 00:38:00.762 --> 00:38:03.897 And, we have certainly have plenty of good practical reasons to do so-- 00:38:03.897 --> 00:38:07.940 microclimate, shade, transpiration, cooling, beauty, so forth. 00:38:07.940 --> 00:38:12.740 But now, we have a new reason. What with all the travertine architects are lying about, 00:38:12.740 --> 00:38:15.107 the glare index of cities is soaring. 00:38:15.107 --> 00:38:18.734 We should make the most this and press for many more trees. 00:38:18.734 --> 00:38:24.675 New York's new zoning now requires builders to plant far more in the way of street trees, 00:38:24.675 --> 00:38:26.765 and more trees within the plaza itself. 00:38:27.444 --> 00:38:31.961 Where possible, they ought to be planted in groves--quite close together. 00:38:31.961 --> 00:38:33.961 This produces a fine canopy. 00:38:35.301 --> 00:38:39.706 As we noted at Seagram, the places that people liked best 00:38:39.706 --> 00:38:43.969 are those which are opened to the action but are slightly recessed, slightly protected. 00:38:43.971 --> 00:38:49.155 You get a cavy feeling. Just a few honey locusts overhead will do it. 00:38:54.443 --> 00:38:58.016 If you want to see the place with activity, put in food. 00:38:58.016 --> 00:39:01.621 At almost every lively plaza, you'll find a pushcart vendor. 00:39:05.487 --> 00:39:08.937 This man has been at Seagrams for years at 52nd and Park. 00:39:08.939 --> 00:39:12.558 Even in wintertime, when he moves over the steam manhole. 00:39:13.275 --> 00:39:17.686 Merchants don't like vendors and they're always trying to get the police to shoo them away. 00:39:17.687 --> 00:39:20.989 Some cities don't allow outdoor eating at all. 00:39:20.989 --> 00:39:24.248 But, the vendors are providing service that people want; 00:39:24.248 --> 00:39:27.109 and they sometimes perform a social function, too. 00:39:27.113 --> 00:39:31.809 Often they're the mayors, the rendezvous points, the gossip station, 00:39:31.809 --> 00:39:36.726 and here at Charles Center in Baltimore, a word with them is part of the day. 00:39:42.146 --> 00:39:44.603 Here's a little study in food dynamics. 00:39:44.603 --> 00:39:48.588 At the Exxon Mini Park, the management experimented with a food cart. 00:39:48.588 --> 00:39:52.470 It attracted people. Here's one of the first impulse buy. 00:40:01.690 --> 00:40:06.529 The activity, in turn, attracted other vendors. More people came to the park. 00:40:06.567 --> 00:40:10.556 Encouraged, the management next put in an outdoor cafe. 00:40:10.556 --> 00:40:13.458 The optimal leverage in these things is really quite amazing. 00:40:13.458 --> 00:40:17.713 All they take is a few simple props: some tables, some chairs. 00:40:17.713 --> 00:40:23.270 Put up the umbrellas, bring on the people, and the effect is really quite striking. 00:40:23.270 --> 00:40:27.526 It's a shill effect. The people who eat usually attract far more people. 00:40:33.958 --> 00:40:36.507 Built-in snack bars are a great draw. 00:40:36.507 --> 00:40:40.571 At Paley and Greenacre parks, they provide good food (good coffee, too). 00:40:40.571 --> 00:40:44.643 They do it at reasonable prices and they make a modest profit doing it. 00:40:44.643 --> 00:40:47.493 New York zoning now favors such facilities. 00:40:47.493 --> 00:40:51.633 Food kiosks, fastfood counters used to be classified as obstructions. 00:40:51.633 --> 00:40:56.366 Now, they're an amenity. Outdoor cafes are specifically encouraged, 00:40:56.366 --> 00:41:01.827 and developers are allowed to use up to 20% of the open space of the plaza for these cafes. 00:41:02.710 --> 00:41:06.913 The first cafe after the zoning pass was put up by the city itself. 00:41:06.913 --> 00:41:12.459 This windy space next to the municipal building was made into a kind of street festival. 00:41:25.415 --> 00:41:27.785 First concessionaires were from Little Italy. 00:41:27.785 --> 00:41:31.015 Later it was Chinese food and soul food. 00:41:32.683 --> 00:41:36.789 But, the best thing about the cafe has been a shrewd use of space. 00:41:36.789 --> 00:41:42.111 The person who organized the cafe, then deputy borough president Jolie Hammer, 00:41:42.111 --> 00:41:46.335 laid out the tables and chairs with a tyrant's eye of a good hostess. 00:41:46.335 --> 00:41:49.236 She didn't spread them out. She compressed them. 00:41:49.236 --> 00:41:51.604 And the walkway was compressed also. 00:41:51.604 --> 00:41:56.809 So, when waiting in line or threading your way to a table, you almost have to meet someone. 00:41:56.809 --> 00:42:01.427 I've never seen so many people saying hello and goodbye and being introduced. 00:42:01.427 --> 00:42:04.958 It's the first time there's been a meeting ground for people from all of the departments. 00:42:04.958 --> 00:42:08.968 And, it's splendid for politic, and it's splendid for younger people, too. 00:42:08.968 --> 00:42:12.968 I wonder how many marriages can be traced back to this cafe. 00:42:15.771 --> 00:42:19.491 Another lesson that was learned was the utility of the simple wastebasket, 00:42:19.491 --> 00:42:21.528 or rather, lots and lots of them. 00:42:21.528 --> 00:42:26.292 When there aren't enough, people are really quite conscientious in using them. 00:42:26.292 --> 00:42:31.008 It was also found important to make concessionaires keep up the cleaning job. 00:42:31.010 --> 00:42:34.870 Now, most of them used children to do this, but they did a rather effective job. 00:42:41.588 --> 00:42:44.419 We've gone over the basic factors. 00:42:44.419 --> 00:42:49.619 But there's one more, and for lack of a better term, I call it 'triangulation'. 00:42:49.619 --> 00:42:55.199 By this I mean that characteristic of a public space that can bring people together. 00:42:55.825 --> 00:42:58.554 It's usually an external stimulus of some kind. 00:42:58.554 --> 00:43:01.637 It could be a physical feature or a happening. Here's a good example: 00:43:02.437 --> 00:43:06.097 These people are having a great time. Something is going on. 00:43:06.097 --> 00:43:09.357 Strangers are beginning to talk to each other about it. 00:43:11.174 --> 00:43:14.432 Two bank robbers have been caught and the police are searching them. 00:43:17.312 --> 00:43:19.714 Now, this is a little extreme example. Here's a more typical one. 00:43:20.721 --> 00:43:24.987 This mime has attracted a good crowd, and so far no cop. 00:43:28.417 --> 00:43:33.035 He makes fun of people. Here he goes up to some junior executives and draws a square. 00:43:36.210 --> 00:43:37.511 Everybody laughs. 00:43:37.978 --> 00:43:39.642 Ah, here comes the cop. 00:43:48.002 --> 00:43:51.166 It's a nice moment. A city kind of moment. 00:43:55.147 --> 00:43:58.795 It doesn't make too much difference if the act is skillful or corny. 00:44:00.964 --> 00:44:04.516 It will draw a crowd in less than a minute, usually. 00:44:04.516 --> 00:44:07.044 Strangers will act as though they were not. 00:44:07.044 --> 00:44:11.758 What the performer does best is to provide a connection between them. 00:44:18.198 --> 00:44:19.894 What are they looking at? 00:44:19.906 --> 00:44:23.692 This, again, is at Seagrams. This time it's the sculpture. 00:44:23.692 --> 00:44:27.246 "What in the world will they think of next!" some people will say. 00:44:27.246 --> 00:44:31.536 Sculpture by Mark di Suvero, and people certainly react to it. 00:44:31.545 --> 00:44:37.096 They argued about it, they went up to touch it. Strangers started talking about it. 00:44:38.768 --> 00:44:42.864 This is Debuffet's Four Trees on the Chase Manhattan Plaza. 00:44:42.864 --> 00:44:45.007 This sculpture draws people to it! 00:44:45.007 --> 00:44:48.058 They like to walk underneath it, to touch it, to look up at it. 00:44:48.058 --> 00:44:52.148 They like to stand around it. It does a lot for the rest of the plaza. 00:44:52.148 --> 00:44:55.444 The scale is just right for this rather large space. 00:44:55.444 --> 00:44:58.266 It is a very sociable element. 00:45:01.200 --> 00:45:05.573 Here's a very similar combination on the Federal Plaza in Chicago. 00:45:06.613 --> 00:45:11.424 Here is a morality tale. This is Louise Nevelson's Night Presences. 00:45:11.430 --> 00:45:16.336 When she gave it to the city, it was placed in front of the walkway to the Central Park Zoo. 00:45:16.336 --> 00:45:20.933 People sat on it, they ate lunch on it, they looked at it and argued about it. 00:45:20.933 --> 00:45:25.082 They touched it almost surreptitiously to see what it was made of--corten steel. 00:45:31.412 --> 00:45:35.696 It didn't block the pedestrian flow. In a sort of venturi effect, 00:45:35.696 --> 00:45:40.006 it seemed to stimulate the flow, to attract people to it, around it. 00:45:50.749 --> 00:45:55.086 No longer. The statue was moved to Upper Park Ave. 00:45:55.086 --> 00:45:58.322 Nobody sits on it anymore. Or touches it. 00:46:00.775 --> 00:46:04.679 Usefullness is not the only measure of sculpture and street furniture, 00:46:04.679 --> 00:46:06.204 but it certainly doesn't hurt. 00:46:06.204 --> 00:46:12.849 As this woman is demonstrating, what better use for a glass curtain wall, and why not shelves. 00:46:12.849 --> 00:46:15.014 Here's a wall that's a digital clock. 00:46:15.014 --> 00:46:18.022 I've never been able to read the time here, but it's a lot of fun to look at. 00:46:22.411 --> 00:46:24.330 See if you can figure this one out. 00:46:25.139 --> 00:46:31.827 The real sun will show you the clue. It's a painting by Richard Oz. 00:46:37.067 --> 00:46:39.178 Here's a nice one up in Boston. 00:46:41.770 --> 00:46:47.641 Here's an inspired example of triangulation: St. Peter's, a church with a window to the street. 00:46:47.641 --> 00:46:51.465 Passerbys are drawn to it. They talk to each other about what they see. 00:46:56.389 --> 00:46:58.916 - Isn't that gorgeous? - That's beautiful! 00:46:58.916 --> 00:47:00.890 [woman] Why do the seats face different ways? 00:47:00.890 --> 00:47:04.473 [woman] Isn't that something? Look at the organ! 00:47:07.830 --> 00:47:11.198 [woman] ...and the minister sits just right in the center there, where it looks like a table. 00:47:11.198 --> 00:47:14.198 That's where he stands. It's a very beautiful church. 00:47:15.958 --> 00:47:18.774 [woman] I love it! I like it! 00:47:21.304 --> 00:47:22.742 [woman] Oh, I love the organ. 00:47:24.206 --> 00:47:25.923 [woman] Not my idea of a church. 00:47:28.003 --> 00:47:30.051 - It's very little. - Yeah, but it's nice! 00:47:32.118 --> 00:47:35.478 [man] I think it's great for the city an the building to have all this. 00:47:35.478 --> 00:47:37.590 It brings religion right closer to the people. 00:47:37.886 --> 00:47:42.046 [narrator] Our recommendations after many stormy meetings and public hearings, 00:47:42.046 --> 00:47:45.342 are incorporated in New York City's new zoning code. 00:47:45.342 --> 00:47:49.246 Main points we've noted: sitting space, close linkage to the street, 00:47:49.246 --> 00:47:55.427 trees, and food--not made mandatory alas, we lost on that one--but strongly recommended. 00:47:55.427 --> 00:47:59.350 Another provision requires that at least 50% of the building's frontage 00:47:59.422 --> 00:48:03.624 must be for retail activity, not just for banks or blank walls. 00:48:03.624 --> 00:48:09.319 There must be access for the disabled: ramps, easy steps--in effect, better access for everyone. 00:48:09.319 --> 00:48:13.191 The plaza must tie closely to the seat, be no more than three feet 00:48:13.191 --> 00:48:15.474 beneath street level, or three feet above. 00:48:15.933 --> 00:48:19.548 There are stiff maintenance requirements, and the zoning enables and encourages 00:48:19.548 --> 00:48:22.247 the rejuvenation of existing plazas. 00:48:23.177 --> 00:48:26.698 As a next step, the commission's excellent urban design group came up with 00:48:26.710 --> 00:48:29.825 comparable requirements for residential construction. 00:48:29.825 --> 00:48:32.843 As a result, small neighborhood parks. 00:48:33.630 --> 00:48:36.830 One of the most encouraging things that's been taking place 00:48:36.830 --> 00:48:39.593 has been the livening up of existing plazas. 00:48:39.593 --> 00:48:44.542 A New York telephone company put in this snack bar and lots of tables and chairs. 00:48:44.542 --> 00:48:50.163 They are very well used. So well, indeed, that there's no vacuum anymore for undesirables. 00:48:50.163 --> 00:48:53.970 On other existing spaces, cafes have been going up. 00:48:53.970 --> 00:48:55.986 The spaces are much the better for it. 00:48:57.903 --> 00:49:01.683 More benches are being put out in front of office buildings and stores; 00:49:01.684 --> 00:49:05.567 the ones closest to the activity--bus stops, store entrances, other ones 00:49:05.567 --> 00:49:09.161 that people like best, older people especially. 00:49:09.161 --> 00:49:11.625 The closer to the action, the more they like it. 00:49:13.244 --> 00:49:17.425 We're also seeing a spontaneous invigoration of a number of public places. 00:49:17.425 --> 00:49:21.841 One is the plaza area around 60th St in Central Park. 00:49:21.841 --> 00:49:26.246 It's always been a pleasant place, but now, as office construction has moved up to it, 00:49:26.246 --> 00:49:30.107 there's a big, new constituency, and on weekdays, it's jammed. 00:49:30.107 --> 00:49:43.685 Vendors of every kind are there--shish kebab, with or without pita, falafel, fruit, lemonade. 00:49:44.706 --> 00:49:47.405 There's usually a lot of chitchat back and forth. 00:49:57.966 --> 00:50:00.903 "What's that?" "Chinese beef!" he answered. 00:50:00.903 --> 00:50:04.729 Now, they're in. It draws more of a crowd, then that draws more people. 00:50:04.729 --> 00:50:07.899 He usually has a cycle of about eight minutes on this, 00:50:07.899 --> 00:50:11.259 and mostly it's very much of a show. 00:50:11.820 --> 00:50:13.473 The beef, by the way, is quite good. 00:50:14.250 --> 00:50:18.299 Now, the cops have to give tickets, and so they do rather desultory. 00:50:18.299 --> 00:50:20.457 But, mostly it's live and let live. 00:50:30.279 --> 00:50:35.388 Frederick Law Olmsted said that Central Park should be a great gathering place 00:50:35.388 --> 00:50:39.431 for all kinds of people, and so it is here. 00:50:41.061 --> 00:50:44.075 You need a pretty good sized sidewalk for bookstalls, 00:50:44.075 --> 00:50:46.825 but they do busy a place up rather nicely. 00:50:47.253 --> 00:50:52.085 These particular bookstall's first two years of operation barely broke even. 00:50:52.085 --> 00:50:55.039 It takes time to build a market, but now they're doing quite well. 00:51:00.519 --> 00:51:04.510 Another great place is the front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 00:51:04.510 --> 00:51:08.510 Steps are fine for sitting. As you might expect, the steps right smack 00:51:08.510 --> 00:51:11.540 in front of the entrance are the most favored. 00:51:11.540 --> 00:51:18.630 But, there are movable chairs as well, and they're out 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 00:51:18.630 --> 00:51:21.530 People have been so good at not taking them, that the museum figures NOTE Paragraph 00:51:21.530 --> 00:51:25.680 it's cheaper just to leave them out and replace the few that are lost. 00:51:29.393 --> 00:51:30.886 The water is to be used. 00:51:34.319 --> 00:51:38.351 The museum is quite hospitable to entertainers and venders. 00:51:38.351 --> 00:51:41.942 Some of the neighbors are not, and call the cops. 00:51:41.942 --> 00:51:45.922 So the chasing of the vendors has become a stocked act in the street theater 00:51:45.922 --> 00:51:47.150 out in front of the steps. 00:51:53.127 --> 00:51:57.329 The vendors are a very resourceful lot. They will be back. 00:52:06.777 --> 00:52:11.886 Question: From city to city are the basic factors pretty much the same? 00:52:11.886 --> 00:52:13.550 Answer: Generally, yes. 00:52:13.550 --> 00:52:17.507 But, there is one key variable: scale. 00:52:17.507 --> 00:52:21.912 This is Philip's Square in Toronto. Very big place, but its proportions 00:52:21.912 --> 00:52:23.981 are right for the buildings around it. 00:52:23.981 --> 00:52:28.696 Here's another well-scaled place: the park Seattle built over its freeway. 00:52:28.696 --> 00:52:35.703 It's quite large, too. But it's experienced on foot as a series of smaller spaces. 00:52:37.413 --> 00:52:40.882 Now, we come to a smaller city, Lansing, Michigan. 00:52:40.914 --> 00:52:45.969 The best part of its new pedestrian mall is this one square. 00:52:45.969 --> 00:52:51.430 Not very big, but quite comfortable in relation to its surroundings. Very pleasant. 00:52:52.623 --> 00:52:58.139 The tendency is to overscale. Here is the mall of Riverside, California. 00:52:58.665 --> 00:53:01.502 Sometimes it is almost empty. 00:53:01.502 --> 00:53:06.163 Cities like Riverside, which are low density to begin with, need to concentrate. 00:53:06.163 --> 00:53:11.326 This mall disperses over a fairly large space, activity, and people and stores, 00:53:11.326 --> 00:53:16.008 which had they been compressed, might have come together in a critical mass. 00:53:19.668 --> 00:53:21.429 Here is a critical mass. 00:53:21.429 --> 00:53:28.758 This is Fountain Square, Cincinnati, which covers considerably less space then the mall we just saw. 00:53:28.758 --> 00:53:31.368 There are many, many more people in it. 00:53:31.368 --> 00:53:34.878 It's probably the best public square in the country. 00:53:34.878 --> 00:53:39.798 It has a close relationship with the street, it's well enclosed by the surrounding buildings, 00:53:39.798 --> 00:53:43.798 the designers have provided all kinds of choice; different kinds of sitting space, 00:53:43.798 --> 00:53:47.798 different kinds of places to eat, it's well programmed with activity. 00:53:48.365 --> 00:53:54.197 But, most important of all: they put the space in the very center of town. 00:53:54.197 --> 00:53:58.390 Not five or six blocks away, but at the 100% location. 00:53:58.390 --> 00:54:01.830 This is why it is such a unifying place. 00:54:01.830 --> 00:54:04.870 Cincinnati comes together here. 00:54:08.256 --> 00:54:09.834 And, you can touch the water. 00:54:11.762 --> 00:54:17.586 A public square that's indoors: the Crystal Court at the IDS Center in Minneapolis. 00:54:17.586 --> 00:54:20.722 It's nicely transparent, no black walls here. 00:54:20.722 --> 00:54:24.625 It connects well with street, stores, and buildings around it. 00:54:24.625 --> 00:54:28.871 On the second level, there are walkways. They've become quite a notable feature, 00:54:28.871 --> 00:54:34.950 helped by the fierce Minnesota winter climate and by very heavy pedestrian flows. 00:54:35.001 --> 00:54:40.728 Some smaller cities are copying the walkways but without the heavy flows or the weather. 00:54:40.728 --> 00:54:45.933 They should look again. This place works because of its fundamentals, 00:54:45.933 --> 00:54:48.909 and they are the same for a space with a roof as one without. 00:54:48.996 --> 00:54:54.219 Like Fountain Square, this is right smack in the center of town. 00:54:54.219 --> 00:54:58.026 It shows in the people. That's why this is such a good place for looking at. 00:54:58.026 --> 00:55:02.133 There are all kinds: old people, young people, blue collar, white collar. 00:55:02.133 --> 00:55:06.357 You get quite a different feeling here than you do at a suburban shopping center. 00:55:07.997 --> 00:55:09.884 Here you are at the crossroads. 00:55:12.153 --> 00:55:17.177 In the old city of Boston, next to Nathaniel Hall, ancient market buildings 00:55:17.177 --> 00:55:20.814 have been made into the most sucessful market place in the country. 00:55:20.814 --> 00:55:26.851 It's a very urban one; there are lots of highly specialized shops, every conceivable kind of food. 00:55:26.851 --> 00:55:28.963 The place is crowded, and it's a bit messy. 00:55:28.963 --> 00:55:30.637 People sit all over the place. 00:55:32.377 --> 00:55:34.329 Notice how they're sitting on the steps, especially. 00:55:35.448 --> 00:55:40.109 It's quite energy efficient. These public spaces open out to the outside. 00:55:40.109 --> 00:55:44.802 In good weather, these garage-type windows are rolled back to the open air, 00:55:44.802 --> 00:55:49.260 and almost always, even in the coldest weather, people will be sitting and eating outdoors. 00:55:49.905 --> 00:55:55.579 What we have here is the very opposite of the self-contained mega-structure. 00:55:55.579 --> 00:56:00.709 The market is very much a part of downtown, the street is going right through it. 00:56:02.229 --> 00:56:08.123 It's only after we had studied many other places, that I realized we could learn all of the lessons 00:56:08.123 --> 00:56:10.993 right here on 101st St. 00:56:10.993 --> 00:56:16.223 It's an excellently scaled block; comfortably sized space, very nicely enclosed. 00:56:16.223 --> 00:56:18.953 Lots of people and food! 00:56:21.416 --> 00:56:23.961 Very social activity, too. 00:56:23.961 --> 00:56:28.594 Water? Yes, and you can touch it, you can aim it, you can slosh around in it. 00:56:33.724 --> 00:56:36.874 Sitting? The best kind of space: slightly elevated. 00:56:39.728 --> 00:56:44.698 The lot at the corner is used for games, but the street itself is the number one 00:56:44.698 --> 00:56:50.224 area for recreation, including that very popular form: the polishing of the car. 00:56:50.224 --> 00:56:54.224 This block has its problems, but it works as a place. 00:56:55.341 --> 00:56:59.842 Here we are back in Seagrams. It's a hazy muggy afternoon. 00:56:59.842 --> 00:57:02.956 Incidentally, that's the kind that always seem to bring people out, 00:57:02.956 --> 00:57:04.737 even moreso then the nippy ones. 00:57:05.412 --> 00:57:09.052 A group of music students are giving a little impromptu concert. 00:57:09.501 --> 00:57:12.199 Some executives are still conferring. 00:57:12.199 --> 00:57:16.909 It's a very nice time, just before 2 'o clock, everybody's about ready to close up. 00:57:27.461 --> 00:57:33.018 So, we end our film on plazas, not on the plaza, but on the street itself. 00:57:33.018 --> 00:57:34.778 That's where we should. 00:57:34.778 --> 00:57:37.658 Street is the river of life for the city. 00:57:37.658 --> 00:57:41.722 We come to these places not to escape, but to partake of it.