Yasmin Zakiniaeiz

The City Reader

“The Design of Spaces” by William H. Whyte

Sociologist William H. Whyte examined New York City’s parks and plazas composed mostly of empty space to help sketch a complete design for the city. He described his ideal plaza as one in which there was a high proportion of couples and groups. Whyte videotaped pedestrians in New York City parks and plazas to test the many hypotheses he predicted. Whyte found some theories to be obvious and consistent in all parks while others were contrary to intuitive belief. For example, Whyte discovered the instinctive conviction that the number of occupants directly relates to size of the empty space is false. Shape did not factor into the park use either. Whyte came to the conclusion that park use is in direct relation with the amount of “sittable space” (Whyte 448). Furthermore, he found that aesthetics did not relate to usage of the space surrounding it (451). Another falsehood is that “location is a prerequisite for success,” (451) which Whyte found to be the complete opposite. Some of the best parks are in the worst places and vice versa.

Whyte’s research in New York City’s open space led to the realization that there are gender discrepancies which is associated with the quality of the park. Women tend to be more judgmental and discriminating against the chair or bench that they sit in. By watching the park inhabitants and recording the average female to male ratio, Whyte related the higher ratio to the better-used park. Women also tend to favor places that are slightly secluded indicating a high-quality park with lots of space. William H. Whyte’s brilliant discovered inspired the design of Bryant Park and completely transformed empty space into the park we all know and love today. This park clean, vivacious and provides plentiful seating making it suitable for people of all genders.

According to Whyte’s description of a park in good use, Verdi Square Park does not meet the qualifications. Verdi Square Park served as a walkway for pedestrians trying to avoid the busy streets or quickly hop on the train. Only a few people sat down even though plenty of seating was available. Only one couple was observed in the forty-five minute observation and one man eating his lunch on a bench. Elderly men and women as well as pedestrians with their pets walked by without ever taking a seat. Its unique trapezoidal space did not demonstrate its usage just as Whyte exposed. Verdi square is not a sociable place nor was there a high propensity of women, signifying the poor quality of the park. One factor that makes these observations slightly biased is the weather. Whyte found that the sun is an important factor but did not explain the population of a plaza.

Verdi Square Observations

Verdi Square is a small triangular shaped piece of land with the Giuseppe Verdi stature enclosed by fencing on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The following descriptions refer to the area enclosed by 72nd street and 73rd street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue known as Verdi Square Park. These observations were recorded on a warm, sunny Friday afternoon (Friday, March 5th at 2:30pm). Please refer to the map attached.

Verdi Square is named after Giuseppe Verdi, whose large monument stands erected in the center of the north side of Verdi Square. The statue depicts Verdi at the top and four characters beneath him on a lower platform. Surrounding Verdi’s monument are trees aligned along the perimeter of the area and plants. This patch is the only organized garden with equidistant trees and short plants. The other two gardens (two in the center of the park and one parallel to Broadway) have random plots of trees as well as stone seating along the perimeter. Analogous to the individual seating are thirteen single and coupled benches along the non-street side of Verdi Square inside the park.

Connecting the two gardens on the east an west side of the park (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, are black posts that prevent vehicle entrance such as buses that run up Amsterdam Avenue and down 73rd street. The garden blotches are fenced along the perimeter followed by these black posts, hindering non-pedestrian access. No bike riders were observed at the scene, which may have been due to the hindered entry or crowded vicinity. Consequently, the Verdi Square Park serves as a walkway for pedestrians wandering the streets of Manhattan, walking their pets or taking the 1, 2, or 3 trains at the 72nd Street Station. The train’s convenient location in the center of two major roadways makes it easily accessible to those on either side of the street and acts as an excellent transportation center.

Neighboring the Verdi Square Park premises are major name brand stores and locations such as Urban Outfitters, Strawberry, The North Face, Apple Bank, Chipotle and Haagen-Dazs. At the site of Verdi Square Park are two magazine stands, one flanked by the train station and a mini garden, and the other attached to the train station entrance.  These stands sell drinks, snacks, candy, magazines, newspapers, chips, gum, ice cream etc. The magazine stands are well-located adjacent to the train station where passengers often seek a snack or a good read for the ride.

Pedestrians passing by were observed carrying shopping bags from the neighboring stores, suitcases and schoolbags. Children, adults, seniors, teenagers and even dogs were seen in Verdi Square Park rushing busily to the train, strolling through the park or sitting on benches. Couples sitting next to each other talked while others ate lunch, played with their pets, talked on their cell phones or enjoyed the scenery.

The park was not only people-friendly, but it was also environment-friendly. Fourteen garbage bins were placed in this small trapezoidal park, two of which were recycling bins. One can was designated for bottles and cans and the other for magazines and newspapers. The park was very clean with minimal garbage on the floor. The floor pattern can be described as a web of interconnected hexagonal light grey tiles. Every estimated meter laid four joined hexagons in a darker grey. At the center of Verdi Square Park was a floor design composed of four circles with a large global 3-dimmensional figure at the midpoint. Surrounding the centerpiece where 8 other circles in different sizes as if to represent the solar system with linked rings. Overall, the park serves many purposes (walkway, transportation center, spacious environment) and is well designed to meet the needs of its populace.