Here are some links via the Project for Public Spaces website (see PPS homepage link at right):
As you'll remember from your readings, William H. Whyte had a strong influence on Paco Underhill.
From the Great Public Spaces webpage (Rittenhouse Square):
What Makes Rittenhouse Square Park a Great Place?
Rittenhouse Park is organic to its surroundings. It is separate from the aggressive hustle and bustle of the Walnut/Chestnut Street shopping areas, and its boundaries are well defined. Yet the park insinuates itself into the heart of these busy streets, separating them from the leafier residences on Locust, Spruce, Delancey and Pine Streets. It is of course accessible by foot, being in the heart of an east coast downtown, and of course by all means of public transport. It is eminently easy to hail a cab from Rittenhouse Park. The park also features some wonderful sculptures and is surrounded by some of the most elegant urban scenery in the United States. The relative compactness of Rittenhouse Park adds to its visual appeal, as does the elegance of its entrances.
Rittenhouse makes an immediate and striking impression for its green-ness and the beauty of the park itself, as well as the neighborhood around it, which features a great diversity of architectural styles as well as a mix of residential and commercial uses. The urbanist Jane Jacobs correctly describes this area of Philadelphia as the perfect urban neighborhood.
Rittenhouse Park features plenty of benches, each (it seems) with a personal dedication. This is truly a park beloved to its community - itself a beguiling mix of old money, new money, no money, Penn graduate students, young professionals and professional hobos. There are probably more women than men in the park. Families and their dogs and babies are plentiful in the park between six pm and nine pm. But there are people here at all hours of night and morning too. It is as safe, I think, as Philadelphia can get. This district, being home to many affluent and well-connected individuals, has a strong police presence. Crime has been falling in the city generally, and in this area is not regarded as a major problem. Rittenhouse Park (unlike lots of other places in Philly) is clean. Not just that, but it is a true public gathering place- a great place to sit and savor the offerings of one of the neighborhood's many interesting coffee places and bakeries, read the paper and people-watch.
Activities are a drawback, I suppose, to Rittenhouse. It is a small park and there are no particular amenities here. But it is green, there are interesting sculptures, and plenty of families and dogs. That said, users do vary greatly in age and gender. It is a favorite place to read the morning paper, sip coffee, or just take a break for all ages. All parts of the park are well used - the park, however, is just the center of an extremely robust neighborhood. Not all the neighborhood is as elegant as the park, but the diversity of options, from tree-lined streets like Delancey, to streets like Spruce, Walnut and Sansom that feature either shops and restaurants, housed either in large buildings, or in brownstones, add immeasurably to the connectedness of the park to its surroundings.
This is of course a favorite meeting place for Philadelphia residents. The community around it is diverse, albeit predominantly quite affluent - with several of the brownstones on nearby streets and several of the condos in elegant buildings such as the Barclay and 1830 Rittenhouse fetching $1 million or more on the market. However, unlike other cities, Philadelphia never seems intimidatingly posh or overly manicured. There are always plenty of down-to-earth people, of all ethnicities, and the concentration of University of Pennsylvania graduate students in the streets to the West of the park prevents this place from acquiring too much of an air of exclusivity. In any case, the park is the pride of many Philadelphians, I feel.
History & Background
In its earliest days, the Square, then called Southwest Square, was a pasture for local livestock and a convenient dumping spot for "night soil". By the late 1700's the Square was surrounded by brickyards because the area's clay terrain proved better suited for kilns than for crops. In 1825 the Square was renamed in honor of David Rittenhouse, a brilliant Philadelphian astronomer, instrument maker and patriotic leader of the Revolutionary era.
By the 1850's a building boom began, and in the second half of the 19th century the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood became the most fashionable residential section of the city, the home of Philadelphia's "Victorian aristocracy." Some of the mansions of that period still survive on the streets facing the square, although most of the grand homes gave way to apartment buildings after 1913.
In its earliest days, the Square, then called Southwest Square, was a pasture for local livestock and a convenient dumping spot for "night soil". By the late 1700's the Square was surrounded by brickyards because the area's clay terrain proved better suited for kilns than for crops. In 1825 the Square was renamed in honor of David Rittenhouse, a brilliant Philadelphian astronomer, instrument maker and patriotic leader of the Revolutionary era.
By the 1850's a building boom began, and in the second half of the 19th century the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood became the most fashionable residential section of the city, the home of Philadelphia's "Victorian aristocracy." Some of the mansions of that period still survive on the streets facing the square, although most of the grand homes gave way to apartment buildings after 1913.
And from the "Campuses" section of the PPS website:
Six Big Issues and Opportunities on Campus
Phil Myrick, director of PPS's growing Campus Program, sees a wide range of major issues and opportunities facing campuses today. "These all point to the value of treating the campus as a single environment," he says, "and not just an agglomeration of facilities."
Phil Myrick, director of PPS's growing Campus Program, sees a wide range of major issues and opportunities facing campuses today. "These all point to the value of treating the campus as a single environment," he says, "and not just an agglomeration of facilities."
1. Bringing people and ideas together
Too often, faculty and students retreat into their own disciplines, each hidden away in its own separate building. This brings natural interaction to a standstill. "We need cross-fertilization and collaboration more than ever," explains PPS president Fred Kent. "Campuses as they are often built today don't allow that to happen. You can no longer isolate one department from the other. In today's world, the business school needs to interact with the medical school and the science buildings. Students need to interact with faculty and in turn the entire university needs to interact with the broader community. You need synergies to naturally occur. You do that with a campus full of strong public spaces."
2. Creating places, not just facilities
Students and professors are no different from the rest of us. They want to live or work in a place that is pleasant, stimulating, attractive and safe. But this has too often been ignored in the way campuses have been planned or adapted in recent decades, says Myrick. "Billions of dollars go into building facilities that hide their assets behind blank walls. If a tiny part of the investment was directed to bringing the building program to the outside, it would make a vast difference on people's experience of the campus."
The key to making campuses more than the sum of their parts is an important idea that PPS calls triangulation. This simply means clustering activities together to create a busy, dynamic place for many different types of people at different times of day. For example, a terrace cafeteria at the student union could "triangulate" with a nearby garden and rotating exhibits from the campus art collection. Combining these elements that would normally be scattered creates a far busier and more exciting place than any one of those uses by itself. One test of how well a place triangulates is to evaluate how long the typical person stays there. If most people stay in a public place for 15 minutes, then what more could be added to lengthen that visit to an hour or more? Another indicator is how many different age groups use a place. If it is only people between 18 and 21, then what other activities could attract those younger and older?
By the same measure, a campus that sits all by itself, cut off from the commerce and life of the local community, solely devoted to classrooms and university activities, is going to be a less rewarding experience for students. Some of America's most beloved campuses feature adjoining business districts that teem with activity. Think of Harvard Square in Cambridge, State Street in Madison, and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. James Howard Kunstler points to the Savannah College of the Arts in Georgia and the College of Charleston in South Carolina as two of the best campuses in the U.S. because their buildings are actually woven into the fabric of downtown neighborhoods, like many European colleges, rather than standing apart on their own separate ground.
The key to making campuses more than the sum of their parts is an important idea that PPS calls triangulation. This simply means clustering activities together to create a busy, dynamic place for many different types of people at different times of day. For example, a terrace cafeteria at the student union could "triangulate" with a nearby garden and rotating exhibits from the campus art collection. Combining these elements that would normally be scattered creates a far busier and more exciting place than any one of those uses by itself. One test of how well a place triangulates is to evaluate how long the typical person stays there. If most people stay in a public place for 15 minutes, then what more could be added to lengthen that visit to an hour or more? Another indicator is how many different age groups use a place. If it is only people between 18 and 21, then what other activities could attract those younger and older?
By the same measure, a campus that sits all by itself, cut off from the commerce and life of the local community, solely devoted to classrooms and university activities, is going to be a less rewarding experience for students. Some of America's most beloved campuses feature adjoining business districts that teem with activity. Think of Harvard Square in Cambridge, State Street in Madison, and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. James Howard Kunstler points to the Savannah College of the Arts in Georgia and the College of Charleston in South Carolina as two of the best campuses in the U.S. because their buildings are actually woven into the fabric of downtown neighborhoods, like many European colleges, rather than standing apart on their own separate ground.
3. Balancing concerns about flexibility vs. control on campus
College campuses don’t want to make the same mistake as corporate campuses, where an overemphasis on securing the environment means they are seldom vital places. Universities sometimes fear introducing non-traditional uses, such as farmers markets, bicycle trails or anything they see as encouraging the public to linger on their grounds. Some schools have so many restrictions on what is allowed that they wind up eradicating from the campus anyplace inviting or pleasant. In these cases, students and faculty end up the losers, denied opportunities to enjoy lively public settings.
There are no easy answers to this question of control. But Myrick notes that PPS's experience working with private institutions such as shopping centers and airports as well as campuses shows that if you loosen up a bit, everybody will gain. In the end, success depends on sensible management of public uses, no matter whether it happens in a public space or more private setting such as a campus.
There are no easy answers to this question of control. But Myrick notes that PPS's experience working with private institutions such as shopping centers and airports as well as campuses shows that if you loosen up a bit, everybody will gain. In the end, success depends on sensible management of public uses, no matter whether it happens in a public space or more private setting such as a campus.
4. Improving the town/gown relationship
A university and the surrounding community boost each other when they cooperate on a wide range of matters. The happy result is often a strong local economy with a highly skilled workforce and cutting edge businesses spun off through the presence of entrepreneurial professors and graduate students. But when their relationship is adversarial, both the school and the city suffer. Parking and traffic headaches, colleges’ tax exempt status and rowdy student behavior top the list of community complaints, while universities express concern about poor municipal services and unchecked social problems spilling over into the campus.
Richard M. Freeland, president of Northeastern University in Boston, holds up the collaboration of the University of Pennsylvania and leaders from nearby low-income neighborhoods in reducing crime, improving local schools, fixing up the neighborhoods, and promoting economic development as an inspiring example. Similar success stories happened at Yale in New Haven, Trinity College in Hartford, Marquette University in Milwaukee, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Economist Richard Florida, champion of the creative class theory, which holds that cities attracting the most talented workers will fare best in the 21st Century economy, points to Iowa City (home of the University of Iowa) and Champaign-Urbana (home of the University of Illinois) as vibrant communities with low levels of economic inequality that thrive on their connections with universities.
Richard M. Freeland, president of Northeastern University in Boston, holds up the collaboration of the University of Pennsylvania and leaders from nearby low-income neighborhoods in reducing crime, improving local schools, fixing up the neighborhoods, and promoting economic development as an inspiring example. Similar success stories happened at Yale in New Haven, Trinity College in Hartford, Marquette University in Milwaukee, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Economist Richard Florida, champion of the creative class theory, which holds that cities attracting the most talented workers will fare best in the 21st Century economy, points to Iowa City (home of the University of Iowa) and Champaign-Urbana (home of the University of Illinois) as vibrant communities with low levels of economic inequality that thrive on their connections with universities.
5. Planting the seeds of sustainability
As incubators of innovative ideas, universities are poised to pioneer sustainable building practices for the future. But Myrick emphasizes that being green is not just about the facility itself but about how the building relates to the rest of the campus. A true green building, for instance, would be sited in such a way that people would typically walk there rather than drive.
This is an issue that Duke University is addressing in its plans for campus expansion. "How do you create a pedestrian environment in an area that is addicted to automobiles?" asks Larry Moneta, Vice President of Duke University, who has been working with PPS on campus improvements. "How do you emphasize walking and bicycles. That's what we're working on."
Myrick observes that too often planners give streets too much priority. "Campuses need to be thought about in terms of destinations, how the various buildings relate, where the gathering places go, where you want walkways--and then fit the streets to that vision. In most cases this will result in a total rethinking of each street's design."
He notes that PPS's upcoming work at Harvard has raised the question of how to extend the pedestrian-friendly assets of the current campus to a new branch of the university in Allston on the other side of the Charles River. "How do we get people to walk from the existing campus to the new one, a walk almost no one would want to do right now? That can't be accomplished with a 20th Century vision of transportation and of campuses. We need a 21st Century vision."
This is an issue that Duke University is addressing in its plans for campus expansion. "How do you create a pedestrian environment in an area that is addicted to automobiles?" asks Larry Moneta, Vice President of Duke University, who has been working with PPS on campus improvements. "How do you emphasize walking and bicycles. That's what we're working on."
Myrick observes that too often planners give streets too much priority. "Campuses need to be thought about in terms of destinations, how the various buildings relate, where the gathering places go, where you want walkways--and then fit the streets to that vision. In most cases this will result in a total rethinking of each street's design."
He notes that PPS's upcoming work at Harvard has raised the question of how to extend the pedestrian-friendly assets of the current campus to a new branch of the university in Allston on the other side of the Charles River. "How do we get people to walk from the existing campus to the new one, a walk almost no one would want to do right now? That can't be accomplished with a 20th Century vision of transportation and of campuses. We need a 21st Century vision."
6. Untangling traffic and parking woes
Transportation in general has become a thorny issue at many campuses across the continent. A school obviously must be accessible for staff and students living off-campus, but not overrun by wide roads and huge parking facilities that destroy the intimate, pedestrian-scaled environment essential to a quality educational experience. Too much accommodating the automobile often results in campuses becoming drab, uninspiring places sealed off from the life of the community around it.
Daniel R. Kenney, a principal of Sasaki Associates planning and design firm, notes that his research shows many students admit to driving from dormitories to classes even when it’s just a five minute walk. "The current orientation toward driving everywhere discourages a sense of community on campuses," he writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education. "Barren parking lots can destroy the character of neighborhoods and perhaps even cause them to decline." He suggests aggressive efforts to promote bicycling (the University of New Hampshire offers free bike rentals), car and van pools (the University of Washington lets these vehicles park free, which has eliminated the need to create 3,600 new parking spaces and saved an estimated $100 million) and mass transit (the University of Colorado boosted bus rider ship almost sevenfold and avoided construction of 2000 parking spaces).
Daniel R. Kenney, a principal of Sasaki Associates planning and design firm, notes that his research shows many students admit to driving from dormitories to classes even when it’s just a five minute walk. "The current orientation toward driving everywhere discourages a sense of community on campuses," he writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education. "Barren parking lots can destroy the character of neighborhoods and perhaps even cause them to decline." He suggests aggressive efforts to promote bicycling (the University of New Hampshire offers free bike rentals), car and van pools (the University of Washington lets these vehicles park free, which has eliminated the need to create 3,600 new parking spaces and saved an estimated $100 million) and mass transit (the University of Colorado boosted bus rider ship almost sevenfold and avoided construction of 2000 parking spaces).
1 comment:
I found the link for this website on the Research on Place and Space website. This website talks about BioRegionalism which talks about how people move into certain areas and how they develop. It's interesting because goes into some detail about how and why people move into certain spaces as far as how accommodating those areas are geographically and economically. Es muy bueno.
http://home.klis.com/~chebogue/p.amBio.html
P.S. I could not find a button that says insert link.
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