Date of Award
11-16-2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Architecture and University Honors
Department
Architecture
First Advisor
Todd Ferry
Subjects
Public spaces -- Oregon -- Portland, Benches, Public use, Urban sociology, Social marginality
DOI
10.15760/honors.658
Abstract
Outdoor public space is essential to a healthy city and society. A component of such spaces are areas for staying, where people can either watch the world go by or explicitly interact with others. However, recent bureaucratic trends target and remove seating areas, such as benches, in an attempt to remove loitering, houseless activity and crimes. This public life study tries to better understand how benches are used in the public urban setting, by observing how people interact with the design of the space itself and with one another in three different locations in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is hoped that by analyzing this behaviour, the designers of our cities can have a better understanding of how to get people to stay in these public spaces and interact with people that are "other" to themselves.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26742
Recommended Citation
Sagrero, Kelsey I., "Socializing Public Space: Benches in the Urban Setting" (2018). University Honors Theses. Paper 643.
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/honorstheses/643
10.15760/honors.658