Chapter III

This chapter the author describes the difference between a street that has a social life and a street without one. City planners have long misunderstood social street life. Comments like, “This is deplorable! If these people had decent homes and a more private or bosky outdoor place, they wouldn’t be on the street!” are completely wrong. There is a certain sense of security, responsibility and privacy that goes with streets that have a social life. People who live on the same sociable streets enjoy the security of knowing who their neighbors are, the responsibility to their neighbors to keep the streets clean and safe for each other’s children and the knowledge of their neighbors not being too noisy as to invading their own privacy. Streets that have a diversity of stores enjoy all if not most of these benefits, but in a more formal manner, where these stores act as a social hub where more than socialization and information sharing takes place. Streets that lack a social life looses out on these benefits and create a sense of anonymity where strangers can come and go as they wish.