'People tend to sit where there are places to sit'

The same afternoon I met with Priti Patel, Senior Design Associate at Project for Public Spaces, an organisation created directly out of the pioneering public realm work of William H Whyte (as quoted in the title of this post). I learnt about their vital role as facilitators between the top down and bottom up in public realm work; PPS always work with a local partner for example regardless of the commissioning client. Following on from my conversation with Andrew Ronan at DOT I learned more too about the importance of programming a space to bring people there intentionally and encourage change in perception, from my experience there seems to be less critical focus on this element in London.

A nice bonus to the conversation was the opportunity to pick up a glaring omission from my personal library.

And while I don't have a time lapse camera to set up in an elevated spot, I like to think Whyte would approve of my observer’s kit bag...