Creating Good places for Interaction

What is a good place for interaction? Good places for interaction are places where people – often from many parts of the community and/or diverse backgrounds – meet naturally and interact comfortably and often pleasurably because of the nature or attraction of the space and/or the activities associated with it.

What is a good place for interaction? Good places for interaction have a reason for people to go there. Good places for interaction have a reason for people to want to stay once they’ve arrived. Good places for interaction feel safe and comfortable. Good places for interaction are welcoming and accessible to everyone. 3

Why should you create good places for interaction? They can help to develop a sense of community pride and ownership. They can help build a true sense of community among people of diverse origins, backgrounds, and points of view. They can expand children’s horizons through interactions with people who have different assumptions and expectations. They can make the community a more pleasant place to live because more people have contact with one another. They can increase the general enjoyment of life in the community. 4

Why should you create good places for interaction? They can increase safety and security. They can improve the livability of neighborhoods. They can promote individuals’ understanding of one another’s culture and humanity. They can provide a forum for the exchange of ideas. They can increase equity. They can increase social capital, particularly bridging social capital. They can increase the chances for concerted community action and social change. 5

When should you create good places for interaction? When the neighborhood or community is engaged in a planning process. When there’s an economic development initiative. When there’s a new residential or commercial development or major building going up. When any major municipal project is in process. 6

When should you create good places for interaction? When a neighborhood or community gathering place is, or is in danger of, falling into decay or being overrun by drug dealers or others who make it unpleasant and dangerous for the community to use it. When barriers to interaction are proposed. When an existing good place for interaction is threatened. When there’s tension among different groups that share an area or live in neighboring areas. 7

Who should create good places for interaction? The people who are going to use them. Local officials. Planners, architects, and designers. Developers. Community leaders and opinion makers. The business community. The police and the court system. Community activists and community-based organizations. 8

How do you create good places for interaction? You design interaction into them, by giving them: Reasons for people to want to go there (things to see and do). Reasons for people to want to stay there (seating, food, etc.) Comfort and safety (quiet, movable seating, good lighting, lots of other people). Accessibility and a welcoming feeling (ramps, easy access from the street, visibility, wide entrances, signs in different languages, representations of various cultures). 9

You use incentives for private developers and businesses. You pass regulations that mandate the inclusion of interactive spaces into private and public projects. You advocate for incentives and regulations, and for attention to be paid to spaces in a particular neighborhood or area that you’re with. You organize the community or neighborhood to use its own assets – people, institutions, physical elements, etc. – to plan and create or restore its own good places for interaction. You keep at it indefinitely. 10