The Social, Civic and Symbolic Functions of the Public Realm: A Comparative Analysis of New Urbanist Town Centers and Conventional Shopping Centers
by Charles C. Bohl
(Ph.D. dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Department of City and Regional Planning)

Abstract (below)
link to:
Chapters 1-3 (1 MB pdf)
Chapters 4-5 (2 MB pdf)
Chapters 6-8 (1 MB pdf)
Appendices (2 MB pdf)
References (99 KB pdf)

ABSTRACT 

This dissertation provides the first examination of the extent to which the urban design and land use characteristics of New Urbanist town centers afford (enable or support) community social and civic activities. It carries out empirical work on sense of place, place identity, and the psychological sense of community—characteristics that are rarely analyzed in mainstream planning and policy areas. It employs a model of place-based affordance building on David Canter’s theory of place and James Gibson’s theory of environmental affordance.

This study tests the hypothesis advanced by New Urbanists that the physical characteristics of New Urbanist town centers are more capable than conventional suburban developments of supporting the social and civic functions of communities. A robust model of place-type affordance is constructed, encompassing a full range of factors expected to influence how people evaluate the extent to which the physical characteristics of places support (afford) activities and meanings. These factors include the social and physical context of the places being evaluated, as well as the demographics and predispositions of the evaluators,. Fine-grained urban design and mixed-use measurement scales are created and used to gauge how closely the physical characteristics of places fulfill the principles of the New Urbanism.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is used to compare the social and civic performance of New Urbanist town centers with a control group of nearby shopping centers, and the extent to which this performance can be explained by their physical planning and design. The study methodology encompasses a focus group, a pilot study, extensive site visits, direct observations of settings, interviews with key informants (planners, developers, designers, shopkeepers and visitors), and a survey completed by 611 randomly selected residents living within three miles of New Urbanist town centers in six communities.

This study finds that New Urbanist town centers are perceived as much more positively affording a sense of community, public realm, and place identity than conventional shopping centers. In support of the hypothesis, the social and civic affordance ratings are explained more by the physical characteristics of places than by factors such as the respondents’ demographics or predispositions.