In order to generalize urban neighborhood parks, Jacobs refers to four diverse parks in Philadelphia, all established at the same time, as the same size, and with the same intentions. The first park is Rittenhouse Square. Of the four parks, Rittenhouse is the most successful. Because the square has a diverse surrounding neighborhood consisting of apartments, a library, a church a cultural society, art galleries, and restaurants, the park flourishes with people on various schedules throughout the day.
Washington Square is an example of a park that is the complete opposite of Rittenhouse. The park is "filled with perverts." Jacobs believes that the suffering of the park is not due to the creeps that dwell within it, but because of the surrounding neighborhood. This park is not surrounded by a diverse neighborhood, it has a perimeter of office buildings. Office workers are the only civilized people that use the park. The park only becomes alive during the lunch hours, while leaving it deserted for the majority of the day. Jacobs claims that the park used to maintain a good population until the surrounding neighborhood changed into the business district that it was at the time this book was written. Jacobs goes on to state that it is not the offices that led the park to its demise, it can happen in any park that is surrounded by people who are all on the same daily schedule. "Liveliness and variety attract more liveliness; deadness and monotony repel life."
Moving on to the third park, Franklin Square, Jacobs describes a park that is constantly being used. Jacobs refers to this type of park as a "Skid Row park." This is the park that is surrounded by shelters, missions, cheap hotels, and pawnshops. Comprised of primarily the homeless, these types of parks are filled on a twenty-four hour basis.
Jacobs is claiming that the park is not what is going to develop a strong, diverse neighborhood, but it is the strong, diverse neighborhood that will develop the park. She directly presents this idea when she writes, "It is obvious that a place that looks like a jail yard will neither attract users nor reciprocate with its surroundings in the same fashion as a place that looks like an oasis."
As the chapter continues, Jacobs brings the reader's attention to another factor in determining a successful neighborhood park from an unsuccessful one: design. Successful park design is broken down into four elements.
1. Intricacy - If a neighborhood park is to attract a diverse group of users, it must be complex and suiting to the various needs. The park cannot be understood at one glance but it must offer a greater amount of visual stimuli in order to gain appeal. The park only needs to be intricate at eye-level.
2. Centering - A park needs to have a common area that is at the center of the park. This way, when users walk through the park, they will never feel like they are walking in the same place. Most neighborhood parks are just a center with no surroundings resulting in an incredibly dull area.
3. Sun - If a park is surrounded by buildings that block the sun from large areas of a park, this is going to have a large affect on the amount of users. But to have too much sun would affect the amount of users just as well. The park needs to be well balanced between areas that receive a lot of sunlight and areas which provide shade.
4. Enclosure - While there should not be so many buildings to disallow sunlight, there should still be enough buildings to give the park an enclosed appearance. When a park is surrounded by large buildings, it appears to be a feature of the city as opposed to a side project. Enclosure gives the park credibility and importance.
To close the chapter, Jacobs addresses the "demand goods" or activities within parks. If a park cannot generate a diverse crowd based on its location and design, then there must be an initiative to create events that will draw a diverse crowd. Music and drama are a huge part of this. Free concerts and plays within bandshells often draw a large and diverse crowd. Jacobs suggests other minute activities that can stimulate a diverse crowd such as, places to hire and to ride bikes, places to dig in the ground, outdoor pig roasts, kite flying, and ice skating.
1. Intricacy - If a neighborhood park is to attract a diverse group of users, it must be complex and suiting to the various needs. The park cannot be understood at one glance but it must offer a greater amount of visual stimuli in order to gain appeal. The park only needs to be intricate at eye-level.
2. Centering - A park needs to have a common area that is at the center of the park. This way, when users walk through the park, they will never feel like they are walking in the same place. Most neighborhood parks are just a center with no surroundings resulting in an incredibly dull area.
3. Sun - If a park is surrounded by buildings that block the sun from large areas of a park, this is going to have a large affect on the amount of users. But to have too much sun would affect the amount of users just as well. The park needs to be well balanced between areas that receive a lot of sunlight and areas which provide shade.
4. Enclosure - While there should not be so many buildings to disallow sunlight, there should still be enough buildings to give the park an enclosed appearance. When a park is surrounded by large buildings, it appears to be a feature of the city as opposed to a side project. Enclosure gives the park credibility and importance.
To close the chapter, Jacobs addresses the "demand goods" or activities within parks. If a park cannot generate a diverse crowd based on its location and design, then there must be an initiative to create events that will draw a diverse crowd. Music and drama are a huge part of this. Free concerts and plays within bandshells often draw a large and diverse crowd. Jacobs suggests other minute activities that can stimulate a diverse crowd such as, places to hire and to ride bikes, places to dig in the ground, outdoor pig roasts, kite flying, and ice skating.
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