Public Places and Spaces

This tenth volume in the series addresses an important topic of research, de­ sign, and policy in the environment and behavior field. Public places and spaces include a sweeping array of settings, including urban streets, plazas and squares, malls, parks, and other locales, and natural settings such as aquatic environments, national parks and forests, and wilderness areas. The impor­ tance of public settings is highlighted by difficult questions of access, control, and management; unique needs and problems of different users (including women, the handicapped, and various ethnic groups); and the dramatic re­ shaping of our public environments that has occurred and will continue to occur in the foreseeable future. The wide-ranging scope of the topic of public places and spaces demands the attention of many disciplines and researchers, designers, managers, and policymakers. As in previous volumes in the series, the authors in the present volume come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, research and design orientations, and affiliations. They have backgrounds in or are affiliated with such fields as architecture, geography, landscape architecture, natural re­ sources, psychology, sociology, and urban design. Many more disciplines ob­ viously contribute to our understanding and design of public places and spaces, so that the contributors to this volume reflect only a sample of the possibilities and present state of knowledge about public settings.

1 Transformation, Nostalgia, And Illusion In Public Life And Public Place.- Assumptions about Public Life and Public Environments.- About Public Life.- The Citizen of Affairs.- The Citizen of Commerce and Pleasure.- The Familiar Citizen.- Public Life and Public Places: A Panoramic Mini-History.- Loss of Categorical Distinctions between Public and Private Realms.- Intrusions of the Public into the Private Realm.- Loss of Life in the Street.- Intrusions of the Private Realm into the Public One.- Public Environments Serving Private Wealth.- Erosion of Civil Liberties.- Loss of Categorical Distinctions between Government and Business.- Loss of Categorical Distinctions between Public Services and Private Ones.- Nostalgia and Illusion.- Segmentation and Loss of Diversity.- Future Directions of Research, Design, and Policy.- References.- 2 Perception, Cognition, And Evaluation Of Urban Places.- Urban Public Places.- Cognitive and Esthetic Quality.- Urban Cognition.- Urban Imageability.- Building Recall.- Relationship between Imageability and Perceived Quality.- Urban Esthetics.- A Framework.- Urban Simulation.- Salient Perceptual/Cognitive Dimensions.- Salient Affective Dimensions.- Esthetic Value.- Design/Planning Recommendations.- Future Directions of Research.- Specifying the Full Lens Model.- Movement.- Change.- Sociophysical Context.- Public Policy.- Conclusion.- References.- 3 Farmers’ Markets As Community Events.- Typology of Markets.- History.- Benefits.- Civic Utility.- Revitalizing Downtown.- Assistance for Small Farmers.- Consumer Benefits.- Intergroup Contacts.- Openness and Contact with Nature.- Functional Requirements.- Site.- Shelter.- Schedule.- Customers.- Vendors.- Products.- Tradition.- Organization.- Linkage to Other Open-Space Programs.- The Future of Farmers’ Markets.- Desire for Fresh, Flavorful Local Produce.- Desire for Festivity and Social Contact.- Demonstrated Social Utility.- Future Directions of Research.- References.- 4 Playgrounds At The Crossroads: Policy and Action Research Needed to Ensure A Viable Future forPublic Playgrounds in The United States.- Children’s Use of the Outdoors.- The Child’s Right to Play.- Playground Research Findings.- How Much Are Playgrounds Used?.- How Safe Are Playgrounds?.- Play Setting Studies.- Play Value, Diversity, and Design.- Site Planning: Patterns of Activity in Time and Space (PATS).- What Is the Play Value of Adventure Play?.- What Types of Play Setting Support Social Integration?.- Integration of Children with Disabilities.- Future Directions for Research and Policy in the Planning, Design, and Management of Public Playgrounds.- A National Action-Research Program.- Play Leadership and Animation Training.- Preventive Risk Management.- New Media.- Designer Awareness.- Public/Private Partnership.- The Choice.- Appendix: Play Setting Research Recommendations.- References.- 5 Women and Urban PublicSpace: Research, Design, and Policy Issues.- Theoretical and Historical Overview.- Definition of “Public” and “Private”.- Separation of Sexes and Spaces.- Separation of Spheres in the 19th Century.- Nineteenth-Century Women in the Public Sphere.- Contemporary Context for Women’s Use of Public Space.- Socialization.- Household Work and Childcare.- Travel.- Crime and Fear of Crime.- Harassment.- Restricted Mobility and Necessary Activities.- Conceptual Framework for Studying Women’s Use of Public Space.- Provision and Management of Public Spaces.- Location of Public Spaces.- Physical Design of Public Spaces.- Use and Users of Public Spaces.- Future Directions for Education, Policy, and Design.- Directions for Education.- Directions for Policy.- Directions for Design.- Epilogue.- References.- 6 Control as a Dimension of Public-Space Quality.- Public Space and Urban Life.- The Changing Face of Public Space.- The Publics of Public Space.- Users.- Nonusers.- Space Managers and Owners.- Public Officials.- Designers.- Control as an Environmental Concept.- Control as a Psychological Construct.- Control as a Participation Concept.- Control of Public Space: A Definition and Conceptual Framework.- Control in the Public Landscape: The Example of Gardening.- Some Control Issues with Respect to Public Space.- Private Interests versus Public Needs.- Public Space as Home.- Personalization and Public Spaces.- Accessibility.- Ownership.- Safety.- Conflict.- Some Design and Management Opportunities for Increasing Control in Public Space.- Streets.- Neighborhood Parks.- Plazas and Downtown Public Spaces.- Future Directions for Research and Design.- Conclusions.- References.- 7 The Emergence of Environment-Behavior Research in Zoological Parks.- Historical Context of Zoological Park Development.- The Contemporary Context of Zoological Parks.- Design and Environment-Behavior Relationships.- Animal-Environment Research.- Visitor-Environment Research.- Staff-Environment Research.- Integrating Research on Animals, Visitors, and Staff.- Future Directions of Research.- Methodological Issues.- Theoretical Issues.- Research Opportunities.- References.- 8 Urban Parks: Research, Planning, and Social Change.- The Context for Change.- Behavior-Based Trends in Park Planning.- Diversification.- Interpretation.- Cultural Programs.- Case Study: A Large Multiuse Urban Park.- Rationale for a New Master Plan.- Planning Issues.- Research Strategy.- Research Results.- Applying Research Results to the Design Process.- Case Study: Lowell, Massachusetts, Urban Historical Park.- The Need for Research.- Research Strategy.- Research Results.- Application to Planning and Management.- Future Directions for Design Research.- User Analysis.- Design Review.- Evaluation.- Experimentation.- Education and Communication.- References.- 9 The Attractiveness and Use of Aquatic Environments as Outdoor Recreation Places.- Significance of Water-Based Outdoor Recreation.- Recreational Use of Aquatic Environments: A Transaction of People and Environment.- Outline of Chapter.- Special Characteristics of Aquatic Environments That Frame the Transaction.- Physical Characteristics.- Institutional Characteristics.- Technological Adaptations to Extend Terrestrial Existence into Aquatic Environments.- The Attraction of Water.- Characteristics of Participants Engaged in the Transaction.- Socioeconomic Characteristics.- Culture and Ethnicity.- Childhood Experiences.- Psychological Characteristics.- Contextual Influences on Transactions.- Psychological Context of the Transaction.- Social Context of the Transaction.- Physical Context.- Managerial Context.- Future Directions of Research.- Trends in Water-Based Recreation.- Research Needs.- References.- 10 Managing Parks as Human Ecosystems.- Key Assumptions.- The Roots of Human Ecology.- The Human Ecological Perspective.- The Human Ecology of Parks.- People as a Dominant in Parks.- Modeling Park Ecosystems to Include Humans.- Future Directions in Research.- Conclusion.- References.- 11 Solitude for the Multitudes: Managing Recreational Use in the Wilderness.- Historical Evolution of the Wilderness Concept.- The Dilemma of Wilderness Management.- A Generalized Model of Privacy and Crowding.- The Recreational Carrying Capacity Model.- Appropriate Levels of Others.- Appropriate Behavior of Others.- Crowding as Evidence of Others.- Future Directions for Practice, Policy, and Research.- Managing Crowding in Wilderness Settings.- Future Directions of Research.- References.