Environmental Effects on Outdoor Social Behavior in a Low‐Income Urban Neighborhood: A Naturalistic Investigation¹

Abstract

Outdoor behavior was measured and compared using a behavioral mapping procedure across three contrasting environments in a low‐income urban neighborhood. The environments were an old ghetto neighborhood of low‐rise tenement houses, a traditional high‐rise housing project, and an innovative high‐rise housing project, where a creative outdoor design had been added to encourage outdoor use. As predicted, the old neighborhood and the innovative project showed higher levels of outdoor socializing than did the traditional project. Unexpectedly, the old neighborhood showed the highest level of task‐oriented activity relative to recreation and leisure. Several propositions concerning the relationship between behavior and urban environment are considered, and a number of implications for urban design are advanced.