HANGING OUT: 
                   Teens search for the perfect public space.  

In "Hanging Out," an article in the August, 2000 issue of Planning Magazine, Fred Kent, PPS president, and Kathy Madden, a PPS vice-president, talk about how people are recognizing the importance of public spaces as community gathering places, and how teenagers benefit from them.  The following sections are excerpts from Ruth Knack's article.

"We are getting more and more calls from mayors and nonprofit organizations, asking us to help them bring back their public spaces," said Fred Kent, president of the Project for Public Spaces, in a recent interview.

"Kids really do have great ideas, and they have a much more holistic view of spaces," says Kathy Madden, vice-president of the New York-based Project for Public Spaces.
     Madden speaks from 25 years of experience with the group, which was founded to carry out the ideas of William H. Whyte.  Whyte believed that it's a mix of uses and users-more than design-that makes a great place. 
     "The more use the better," adds Madden.  "And the more ages as well.  A public space must look welcoming with lots of places to sit.  It must be easily accessible.  And it must be sociable, a place where you're likely to see people you know."
     There's no doubt in Madden's mind that Americans are ready for a public square revival.  "We're working on projects in about 80 cities," she says, "and often the catalyst is a desire for a central meeting place."  And teens are even hungrier for gathering places than the rest of the population, she says.  "They could be considered a bellwether signaling the general return of interest in the public square."

For the complete text of this article, please see http://www.planning.org/pubs/aug400.htm