Why is one square seemingly dead while the other is bustling with life? Two fascinating people already addressed this question in the 1950s: sociologist Erving Goffman and urbanist and journalist William H. Whyte.
In his work "Behavior in Social Situations: Structures and Rules of Interaction in Public Space," Erving Goffman provides an initial explanation: people need legitimacy to linger in public space or to observe something.
Children's public play can provide such legitimacy. Almost every playground by Aldo van Eyck has at least one bench on which one can sit and watch. If not, the play object itself invites one to linger and sit. A reciprocal play ensues: the child rediscovers the city, and the city rediscovers its children . He seems to have chosen the distance and arrangement of the seating from and to the actual play location so that the children feel observed, but not controlled.
In the chapter "The Design of Spaces," William H. Whyte describes in detail the function of benches and chairs in urban spaces. While these objects are ostensibly intended for sitting, they actually serve to observe people. On the other hand, those sitting on them don't want to feel like they are being observed, but rather conduct their own personal studies " in the way ." We can therefore speculate about how seating in playgrounds should be arranged to fulfill these conditions. Here, design directly intersects with social interaction.
Another contributing factor in the 1950s and 1960s in Europe was certainly that living space was still cramped. More people lived together in one apartment than today, and inner-city living spaces were generally smaller. Back then, it was more common for children to play, or have to play, outside.
Further information at
Erving Goffman (1971): Behavior in Social Situations: Structures and Rules of Interaction in Public Space. Bauwelt Fundamente 30. Bertelsmann Fachverlag.
English edition Erving Goffman (1963): Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings. The Free Press.
William H. Whyte (1969): City, Rediscovering the Center. University of Pennsylvania Press.