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.