Week 4 Readings: Linear Model

In response to Whyte's The Street


In this Reading Whyte discusses the importance of the street in relation to a public space. He says that the street, and more specifically the street corner is a key space for a plaza. This is because a lot of traffic happens on the street and on the street corners. The interaction between vendors and other people conversing makes the streets something that can be used to better a plaza. Whyte says that the transition between the street and the plaza is a key aspect between success and failure and that, "the transition should be such that it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins." I also believe this is a key part to a plaza because if you think about it, if the transition is extremely smooth one might find themselves simply stumbling upon the plaza. You could be walking along the street and then bam, you're in a beautiful plaza where you might venture again and again, day after day. Basically what I got out of this reading is that to create a successful plaza or public space in general, connecting with the street is a key aspect of the design that should be thought out in a rigorous manor. Also creating a sense of wonder or curiosity from the street looking towards the plaza is something to think about.

In response to Lane Barden's The River


When I think of a river I think of a winding path of water going through vegetation, most likely trees and tall grass. What else comes to mind is rocky ledges and just pure nature essentially. I have never really experienced any urban rivers in my life, coming from New Hampshire all the rivers are natural rather than man made or even in an urban context. The closest thing would be in Manchester, NH where the city is basically built a long a river and was once a town for paper mills. The ideas behind the manmade river in LA are quite interesting. It was created to control and lessen the chance of flooding in the area. However this takes away form the natural beauty of a "real" river. Yes the chances of flood are increased , but there are many things an architect or designer can do to solve that issue. Another issue I found with the river in LA is that the vandalism that is increasing along the structure, thus creating a visually displeasing look.

Week 4 Readings: Center/Node

In response to W. H. Whyte's "Plazas"

According to Whyte, the best used plazas are most often used as a "sociable places." He notes that in the most successful plazas in New York that 42% of the total people there were in groups of two or more, while in the least successful that number dips down to 32% This makes complete sense to me because usually plazas that are successful would see groups that are meeting there for a reason or as Whyte says, they decide to go there rather than just simply passing through. Women differ from men in their plaza choices in that women are more selective when it comes to comfortability, and are more likely to choose a "better plaza." I don't find this surprising really because men seem to care less about the comfort and more about the women, or at least that is what Whyte says. I found that interesting that the more successful plazas have more women. This is primarily due to the increase in men that will also show up if the ratio of women to men is good from their perspective.

Christopher Columbus Park Boston, MA

Yawkey Way, Fenway Park

Week 2 Readings: Public Space as Ideal Form / Grid / Ubiquitous

Response to Rowe, C., & Koetter, F. Collage City

When reading this portion of Collage City I became very intrigued at the points that the author(s) were trying to make. However, the language used was rather too complex for my liking and I found myself lost multiple times, and having to back track just to get an understanding at all. Using what I could understand out of it I noticed some very interesting ideas as well as quotes to back up said ideas. Basically, as I understood it to be, the original idea of a city needed to go, so that the new idea could come into place. However the new ideas of a modern city also had it's major flaws. Therefore a healthy balance of the two is needed to be created. The right combination of public space with buildings is what architects and urban planners are seeking. An example using Gestalt diagrams proved to be a helpful example in the reading. The two extremes being one having mostly black with a tiny bit of white, and vis versa. In relation to a city one would be buildings with spaces cut out of them, and on the other hand would be space with buildings created within it. Also said in the reading is that objects or spaces may characterize the "old" city or the "new" city, however they can be used to create an equality amongst one another. "A debate in which victory consists in each component emerging undefeated" (Koetter, 83). To summarize what I learned in one sentence, basically what it's all about is creating a combination of the ideas of the old city with the ideas of the new city, in a way that works for todays society. On a side note, one quote stood out a lot to me and it said, "A building is like a soap bubble. This bubble is perfect and harmonious if the breath has been evenly distributed from the inside. The exterior is the result of an interior" (Koetter 58). I found this very inspirational because it gave me a new perspective about architecture that I had not really thought about in depth, and will not most likely look back on this quote in the future.

Week 2 Reading Responses: Public Space as City Organizer

Response to Kevin Lynch, Image of the City

After reading the first chapter of Kevin Lynch's Image of the City, I have many opinions on the various subjects discussed in the reading. First off I'd like to agree with Lynch's statements about gathering a "public image" when it comes to navigating a city or an environment. If there is some sort of visual image, or structure or even area that is commonly recognized by not only one individual but rather a large group, than that is an example of a successfully planned out environment. However it is also a good thing to have this "public image" be something that can be looked at from many perspectives. I also agree with Lynch when he says that, "The observer himself should play an active role in perceiving the world and have a creative part in developing his image. He should have the power to change that image to fit changing needs." Basically saying that the people should be able to see their "image" no matter what the conditions. Finally I'd like to comment on the section of the reading where Lynch discusses devices that aid orientation and how the "breech the experience of interconnection." I can see where he is coming from when this is said. Devices such as GPS and smart-phones take the individual away from the environment. Instead of learning the surroundings by gathering visual images, the individual simply relies on animated roads and electronic voices as their guide. This in turn prevents a legitimate understanding of a place. I tend to agree on many points that Lynch as making, and overall really enjoyed the perspective he takes on the ideas of a city as an environment. He does not side with either traditional style of city such as the "organized grid" such as New York City nor the mess of urban planning that is Boston. To Lynch it's all about whether or not everything works in synchronicity and can be easily navigated through ideas such as the "public image" and without devices that aid orientation.


Response to William H Whyte, Sitting Spaces


Through out the entire reading all I could ask myself was, "what took these people so long to figure it out." The process that they took was more or less an adequate way of doing things, however the order in which it was done was completely off. One would think that when trying to figure out why certain plazas gather more people, you would look into the seating space. Yes the sun and dimensions of a plaza play a role but those are secondary issues in this case. So to me the process was more shocking than the actual finding itself. To create a space that will allow more people to gather, one must allow the space in which people can sit to grow and be quite large it's as simple as that. In relation to that point, if I were a designer convincing client to remove handrails form planters around the plaza I would simply say that if they want more people to gather in the plaza than putting up handrails around the planters would be a bad decision. Removing them would allow ledges that people can sit on, and people can sit where ever along said ledge without being restricted to specific areas like in the case of an individual stationary chair. An argument can be made however for placing handrails along said planters. The handrails, depending on height can be used to lean on for individuals who may choose not to sit. They also can prevent damages done to the plants because the rails themselves creates what is understood to be a boundary line.