The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte,

As Mr. Whyte describes, his book is a “pre-book”. His intent was to conduct his research fronted by his Street Life Project and then publish his findings. Thankfully, a funny thing happened on his way to his initial goal. He came upon a rich lode of insights and data produced by his cameras, his interviews and his curiosity. He found that some small public spaces were teeming with life while other dead spaces producing no social or economic value.