This op-ed by Rachel Juliana appeared on StrongTowns.org on August 15, 2024.
Recently, our city led a public input survey to understand what the public would like to see in a planned downtown redevelopment project.
The most common response? A place to sit. More specifically, people asked for things like another coffee shop, a free third place, a garden to lounge in, and other descriptions of public spaces where they could just sit.
Perhaps the sentiment is more than sitting — maybe it’s socializing with friends, finding a muse or indulging in a good book. More often than not, however, it’s just being physically present in a social space; feeling connected to the hustle and bustle of urban life around you.
Currently, my small city’s downtown has approximately 110 public benches and picnic tables, over 50 sidewalk cafes, 14 coffee shops, two public parks, and several pedestrian-only streets filled with landscaping and streetscaping elements that double as seating. That equates to about one bench seat for every 182 downtown visitors or one coffee shop chair for every 48 people.
So I was amazed that, when given an open-ended opportunity to ask for anything in a city-owned development, it was a simple request: “Another place to sit, please.”
At times, I have failed to appreciate the importance of the lowly bench until it’s nowhere to be found. While visiting European cities like Venice and Amsterdam — places that are often lauded by American urbanists for their pedestrian-oriented form and design — I was surprised to find myself so frustrated by the complete lack of public places to sit. As young backpackers on a shoestring budget, we hurriedly ate baguettes while standing on busy sidewalks and sneering at the plethora of charming al fresco cafes we couldn’t afford: “You have to buy an espresso just to sit down for a minute; it’s like a tax on being out in public!”
Now, with a better perspective on the management of public spaces, the vast economic value that a simple place to sit creates is obvious. Plenty has been written about this unsung hero of the public realm, with research from The Bench Project, a U.K.-based initiative funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Foundation, being one of the most well known. Drawing from this research, insights from the aforementioned public input survey, and my own personal experience within local government, I’d like to make the case that “a place to sit” is a critical community and economic development strategy. Here are are few main takeaways:
Walkable Means Sittable
You won’t find benches (or much of a need for one) along the freeway or a ‘stroad’ to the suburban strip mall. But urban design that effectively fosters walking and biking naturally requires a place to sit. Initiatives like The Bench Project have shown that, to be walkable, a city must also be sittable. A walkable and sittable city means an inclusive, thriving place with an active and engaged population.
Public Seating Is the Great Social Equalizer
As income gaps worsen, sitting among the flow of urban life can help people of all backgrounds feel less isolated and access the physical and mental health benefits of being outside. Most seating options in the public space are truly that: public. They’re free for anyone to use at any time, for however long and for (almost) any purpose. Public seating allows a person to see and be seen while requiring nothing in return. While indirectly or directly interacting with passersby, the public sitter begins to feel a stronger sense of community and belonging.
Public Seating Doesn’t Have To Be Public
One of the most valuable takeaways from the public input collected was that residents view “public space” differently than city staff do. To city staff, public seating is usually a resource-consuming outdoor amenity that is purchased, cleaned, maintained and replaced in parks and on main streets. To regular people, public seating certainly includes these free and outdoor civic offerings, but it can also include spending $3 on a drink or newspaper to occupy a bistro table among others doing the same. Public seating is really just any opportunity for finding solitude or socialization in the community.
Public Seating Supports Local Business
Since some are open to “paying” for public seating, building designs should be welcoming and inclusive at the pedestrian level, drawing people in with the promise of seating while simultaneously ferrying them to restaurants and shops that offer this seating. Free picnic tables and benches in public spaces can serve the same purpose by encouraging folks to stop and rest, perhaps with a sandwich or beverage from a nearby cafe.
You don’t have to wait for cities or businesses to create third places. You can do it yourself through tactical urbanism. To learn how, sign up for the Local-Motive 2024 session “3 Quick Steps to Building a Third Place Through Tactical Urbanism.”
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