Great public places enrich our lives

Our opinion

When the Greenway first surfaced as a dream for Franklin and Macon County, planners envisioned many benefits. The trail along the Little Tennessee would enhance the beauty of the town, restore riverbanks, conserve natural areas and provide a walking path in a park-like setting, where town dwellers could enjoy nature near at hand. It would provide recreational opportunities, improve health and engage people in the preservation of the river.

It has done all these things and more, exceeding the expectations of even the most ardent dreamers.

The big surprise has been the blossoming of the Greenway into a public space, where all elements of the population gather amicably to engage in a vast array of activities.

Public spaces give identity to towns and cities. They are the "front porches" of our towns - places for social exchange, places where the public parts of our lives take place.

On the Greenway - as in other great public places - you may amiably observe the courting couple walking hand in hand, the youngster beginning to master a bicycle, the family enjoying a picnic. You may encounter an old friend or neighbor and meet dozens of friendly dogs, happily leading their masters along the trail.

The public response to the Greenway has been as much about our great need for social contact as for our need to be consoled and uplifted by nature.

The Project for Public Spaces, Inc. (PPS) was founded in 1975 to "create and sustain public places that built community." The organization and its founder, Fred Kent, have learned some remarkable lessons about what makes a public place successful. Interestingly - and not surprisingly - the Greenway meets the four essential criteria of a public place, as defined by PPS: (1)it is accessible; (2) it offers multiple uses and activities; (3) it encourages sociability and (4) it provides "comfort and image." The latter includes such attributes as cleanliness, safety, "sittability," "green-ness" and attractiveness.

Often, PPS tells us, places designed as public spaces fail. William Holly Whyte wryly commented on this phenomenon, "It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished."

Whyte, an urbanologist, set up cameras to discover how people used spaces. He discovered major truths that seem so obvious as to be ridiculous, except that nobody had thought of them before. For example: "People tend to sit most where there are places to sit." This insight led to new requirements for sitting space in the zoning code for New York City's commercial plazas.

Places that don't work include places where no interesting activities take place, where there is no place to sit (or no sociable place to sit), where people feel uncomfortable or unsafe, and where cars matter more than people.

Spaces that do work include all places where people like to go and gather. These successful places owe their existence to people who noticed something. Often, what creators of successful places do costs next to nothing. They may just plant some petunias and up-end some boxes for seating.

A few seats, a barrel and a warm stove have created classic gathering places in many a country store. The English pub and the small-town American cafÇ offer the same sense of comfort and place to their regulars.

Creating a great public space does not require massive outlays of money. It does require thoughtfulness, keen observation of what works and what does not, and a willingness to try new ideas. Everyone can participate in the process.

The great public places, large and small, make us cherish the communities we live in. These places allow us to participate in the public life of our community and thus they add immeasurable value to our individual lives.

Our county enjoys great wild places but fewer great human places. Particularly in rural areas, seniors and others who have limited mobility often find themselves isolated. They have no little park or cafÇ within walking distance, where they can reminisce or play checkers with friends, or watch children learning to ride a bike. They have lost access to the public stage, where much of normal life plays out.

The Greenway has shown us what can be done. Initiatives at Macon Middle, Cartoogechaye and South Macon have extended the idea of public spaces into rural areas. But, we can accomplish much more if everyone - developers, planners, church and community leaders, and others - will stay alert for new, creative ways to make public spaces accessible to everyone, including our most isolated neighbors.