INFORMATION NOTES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87-01130R000100020038-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2002
• Sequence Number: 38
• Publication Date: July 28, 1972
• Content Type: MF

10
Approved For Relsirse 200b7/'1A AN -I087-01130R0(00020038-7
28 July 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Members, FAC
Visit of C. Dudley Brown and George Grimsley:
About ten days ago when he was here arraS FINTL
for a luncheon with the two gentlemen named above. Mr. Brown
was with GSA Federal Supply in 1962 when the Agency was try-
ing to get a building paint design. Brown had visited the
Agency and recommended to GSA that the design job was too
big for the staff at GSA and recommended Interior Space
Design of Chicago. Shortly thereafter he resigned and has
been active as an interior designer in private business.
Grimsley retired several years ago from Federal Supply.
joined us at lunch on this oc-
casion. Subsequently, invited these two gentlemen out to
have lunch at the Agency and to see what was going on and
to provide an occasion to pick their brains. Brown, remem-
bering-the building that was totally grey, was extremely
excited about what had been done.
(a) He liked very much the use of the triangles and
parallelograms in the stairwell near 6 E 60. I discussed
with him another alternative, that of painting the cement
buttress above and below, which is cinder block, and also
an accent wall. He felt, the latter would be too heavy.and
the.former would reveal the fact that the buttress is not
straight cement.. He seemed to think that the proportions
of the shapes were appropriate and that by juxtapositioning
color and mixing the shapes we could get an.adequate variety.
(By the way, Mr. Colby has visited this stairwell and'finds
the addition of some color relief in that kind of area
desirable.)
(b) He was enthusiastic about the use of fabrics
but proposed that he show us the exhibit rooms of suppliers
in the Washington area where we could have a wider selection
r:b~
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 Approved For Remise 2002/02/11iRA
76130R000020038-7
of fabrics and he thought arrangements could be made where-
by the Agency could get a GSA credit card, giving us about
50% off from list price. He proposed he also show us
contemporary wall papers which could be employed as room
decorations simply by glueing the wall paper to, let's say,
a 4x4 foot or other sized backing.
(c) In looking over the Director's conference room he
felt that the map board at the end of the room was not
pleasing and recommended the use of a floor to ceiling
drape which could be pulled. Through this device he felt you
could introduce color which the room needs. He also suggested
that the clock now mounted to the face of the wall be sus-
pended in front of the curtain since the clock in all
probability would have to be retained. I discussed this
matter wit who agreed saying that he had earlier not
pushed the matter since the Agency seemed fixed on the notion
of retaining that map board as it is. Would you please look
at this area so that I may have your comments.
(d) Both Grimsley and Brown felt that we should solve
our problem of office accouterments such as ash stands,
ash trays, waste baskets, etc. either on federal schedule
or off by buying within the dollar license which is per-
mitted.
(e) I called attention to the back marks above the
bench in the concourse leading to the cafeteria. Brown
suggested that we cover a piece of masonite with an appro-
priately colored formica using either one large rectangle
covering the areas soiled by those sitting on the benches
or, alternately, two of different sizes, the larger being
lower.
I also got valuable suggestions from these gentlemen
with regard to minor but all together important elements
such as devices for picture hanging, improvements in
wrapping fabrics, etc.
Self-Service Postal Centers:
A suggestion has come through the Suggestion Awards
Committee of a self-service postal center to be installed
somewhere in the building. A picture of one of these
centers is attached for your information. I suggest you
think of this problem in connection with the article re-
cently distributed to you on environment, the one emanating
from Playboy.
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 Approved For Retse 2002/02jjC.->j1130R04a,00020038-7
Corridors:
From time to time there have been complaints about
the starkness of the long corridors such as E and D
corridors. In the original design the fire doors we were
told were to remain closed. The design called for these
doors to be red. They are. However, the doors are always
open. 'Accordingly this point which was intended as a
place for the eye to rest looking the corridor is not
effective. I have discussed with a possible solution STATINTL
namely to hang a panel such as we proposed in the exhibit
corridor. He countered by suggesting that we use a triangle,
point down, 18 inches wide and floating from the ceiling, at
the same distance as from the two walls. I proposed to make
four of these, painting them red, orange, yellow-orange, and
yellow and suspend in corridors 6 E and D at irregular
intervals as a test case so that we can appraise the
effectivity of this device.
STATINTL
Chairman, Fine Arts Commission
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If-
 S'T
;s,;alif`i?Il~
0
eastern region
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 -
T. vr.a ssNce AuANI r
v were baan
~~
ee
man ias Frio wn ,at uss surf CTh~i~
~
inc,s influence his behavior. The
houses we live in, our offices, the space
a round us, the sounds that intrude on our
daily lives, smells, colors, even the ar-
rangement of furniture, determine many
of our actions. (A well-known contem-
porary architect, for example, claimed
that he could design a house that would
guarantee a divorce for any couple who
lived in it a month.)
Man obviously has evolved along with
his environment, modifying.it. to suit his
needs. But somewhere. along the line,
the process got out of hand; the techni-
cal side of modern civilization assumed a
life of its own that no longer reflected
the true needs of its users- Technology,-;,
Approved For RO.Wpd 002102/ 9
article By . DAVID.DEMPSEY saint or misanthrobe., success
 with a unique n}'' wade environment,
but for most of u~ r physical comforts
Forte I e 02/1 : IA-R[13P71-U4, 301 b (M(~`2 W`ally.
2 i1tiYe- what :you are can be shaped by where you are And our psychological landscape has a
f profound effect on liow we behave. For
example:
The decor of a room can influence the
speed at which we work. in an experi-
ment at Brandeis University, lab assist-
ants were assigned three rooms-"ugly,"
"beautiful" and "average"-for the pur-
pose of giving tests. Examiners in the
ugly room almost always finished their
testing faster than those in the' two
other rooms. Moral: Beauty in the envi-
ronment may not be a virtue if there is
:.work to be done.
A :change in the . color of our sur-
roundings'changes the pattern of human
 Iwos?enicnt. AtApprQrv iF}oriff lase;2QQ2fi0l;2/1$rkCJA-RDPA7-Oti11i$Q)R0091OOQ200c iSm7>ng a single dog.")
effects of different-colored walls on two chitecture are defeating, too, because
groups -of Visitors to all exhibition of they make it difficult for us to involve
1)1-inr.s. For the first group, the room was ourselves with such superstructures in
painted light beige; for the second, dark any meaningful way. This has been
brown. Movement was traced by a cited as the reason for the sabotage of
switch gnat under the carpet that electri- Ecro Saarinert's stunning but sterile CBS
rally inal>ped the visitors' footsteps. It Building in New York by employees
Was found that those who entered the who cluttered and even defaced their
dark-brown room walked more quickly, offices in an effort to personalize their
covered more area and spent less time in working space.
the room than the people in the beige . Monotony of decor, the endless corri-
environrnent. For whatever reason, dark dors of large buildings, the rows of desks
brown stimulated more activity, but the in an office suggest that we are on a
activity was concluded sooner. treadmill and, in Izumi's words, adverse-
Noise is an environmental variable ly affect "comfortably perceived psychic
that we take for granted, yet it pro- time." For most people, Izumi thinks,
foundly affects our moods, our perform- time is measured visually; when there is
ance at work and even our dream life. an absence of clues, our sense of conti-
One psychiatrist testified before a New nuity is diminished and. we "lose track
York. State legislative committee that of time."
the interruption of nighttime dreams Another theory holds that such "time-
by the jet rush of planes impaired the less environments can make 'us anxious
mental health of those who lived near because we are unable to see a future-
Kennedy Airport. Dreams, he said, were and that our environment must provide
broken off before they could Unblock the not only, a future but a past and a
repressions that were bottled up in the present as well. Using hypnosis, Dr. Ber-
unconscious, nard Aaronson was able to induce vari-
Until recently, it was assumed that ous combinations of this time sense in a
sheer loudness was the culprit in noisy at g group subjects and, in
states of mind. doing, cre-
situations, but psychologists have con- no past, but only a future, brought an a
chided that unevenness of sound is more manic condition. When no future was
damaging. A factory going full blast on suggested, there was depression. The
a programed schedule was judged quieter rapid build-up of gleaming, glass-walled
than a bank whose machines operated in schools and office buildings is believed
fits and starts; the bank finally had to by many psychologists to partly explain
hire (leaf people to reduce employee the existential anxiety so pervasive in the
turnover. industrial nations. Such ultramodern
At Columbia University, in an investi- structures cut us off from the familiar,
gation of the effect of density on behav- human milieu of our childhood. This
for, it was found that people working in appears to be particularly true of build-
an extremely crowded room performed ings that depart from square or rectan-
just as efficiently as people who were gular form. In his study of the radially
not crowded. However, men under crowd- _ designed French Radio. and Television
cd conditions became competitive, suspi- headquarters in Paris, psychiatrist Paul
cicius and combative; whereas women were Sivadon found an abnormal degree of
less competitive, more intimate and easier depression among the personnel. One
to get along with. In a follow-up experi- reason for this, he concluded, was that
meat, the groups listened to taped court- the long- circular corridors, by blocking
room cases and were asked to render orientation with the outside environ-
verdicts of guilt or innocence.. Results merit, create. feelings of insecurity. A
shoved that men in a smaller, crowded lack of intersecting corridors also con-
rooen handed out more severe punish- tributes to the sense of being trapped;
meat titan those who deliberated in. a people don't know where they are at
spacious environment. The women's ver- any given moment.
diets, however, were not appreciably af- Until the early 1960s, most of what we
leered by the size or crowding of the knew about human responses to outside
roo'ra. stimuli came from laboratory cxperi-
Sociolok-ist-architect Kyoshi Izumi, at meets or was extrapolated from the be-
tlic linis-ersity of Saskatchewan at Regina, bavior of animals. Ivan Pavlov's famous
says tlx:>t the use Of plastics to simulate conditioned-reflex theory was based on
leather, cloth---evert plants his work with dogs. By ringing a bell
~s up act ciemetrt oof doubt jr) our during feeding period;,' the Russian sci-
sensira,~ naechanisnt that is inconsistent elitist conditioned his animals to salivate
ti?,'ith what we instinctively feel the eu-
l lie sliortcomtng of the behaviorist ap-
proach-whose most persuasive spokesman
today is Harvard educator B. F. Skinner
-is its extremely narrow view of man's
relationship to his physical environment.
For most of us, it's not so much the
carrot and the stick that influence our
actions (although they may play a part)
but the constantly shifting physical and
social surroundings in rshich we live and
work. In a sense, the environment serves
as a "magnetic field" of subtle and wide-
ranging psychological forces that we, in
turn, modify by the way we interact
with it.
Moreover, the environment we oh-
ronment; depending on our personality,
our ethnic background or simply our
mood, what we perceive may be a distor-
tion of what actually exists. In Los An-
geles, when asked to map the city from.-
memory, students at UCLA saw it as a
however, the important landmarks were
the county hospital and the city jail,
where so many of them had been taken.
after the riots. In the jargon of sociolo-
gy, their perception of the city was cul-
turally biased.
All of us at some time look at the en-
of anger, annoyance and frustration.
At Ohio State University, students were
asked to estimate the distance from the
campus to various points in Columbus.
Surprisingly, newcomers were remarka-
bly accurate, but students familiar with
the city greatly overestimated the mrm--
her of miles to the central business'sec-
tion. Impatience with traffic lights and
stop signs, and the frayed nerves froth
downtown driving, had made the dis-
tance seem farther than it was.
We know that the prick of a needle
in our hand brings an immediate reflex
-a withdrawal from pain. A blinding
flash of light will make us close our eyes.
These are simple, protective responses to.
"unfriendly' stimuli. But we are only
beginning, to learn how people adapt
to less obvious changes. At the Graduate
Center of the City University of New
York, psychologists have created an in-
genious "perception" room to discover
how people act in a physical setting.
with which 'they have had no previous
experience. It includes a welter of sights
and sounds that have no obvious relation-
ship to one another, yet all of which
compete for attention.
As a volunteer subject, I found Myself
in a dint 18' x 26' room surrounded by
alundnired mirrors that vibrated- at vari`
ous freclueitcies as- I approached diem.
when the bell was rung, even if there was Cargoylelike reflections were thrown back.
vicnntt,r?rar1 ought to be, S'ibcor .. ccipL151Z r oncS~ co "ep ~{ j ilia
j~ ~j,S q e rghts flashed weirdly at my
s:c :st tit sl(rtl~t tJ~~xffr3lf=Tt.`/t'e~j5~3ihTE7i"tey' ""R'01pgtt9Vrnsirirs gave off a low, rt mbliriti
they had brought me this problem,. I sound and pictures. were cast onto the
lenntinued on /yete 222)
 . I3
RO
MENT
E
'ly matters is tltc freedom of choice
lv
FIDDL
N
, d ENVI
/cattlinucdfroru page 110) 'lifted the patient in tvlrat lie does;
wal, front ov c r]'e~ ~1i~0~/~~' ~r IBS t
~' 1'j ~ y~ $' 5 Tq 00 ~f ~6 j'rt a room, tile less chance
entire ensemble vras programed all( rrv- > t~l
cotiOnte( arcliiects zinc design- ea cr-)ias to pursue his o:vn activities.
en by a central console in all adjacent
ers (all white) in a marathon session
Without choice, one tends to withdraw.
room, anti my reactions-startled move-
that sought to uncover the life style of
Observation, of the outside world also
vents, su,tained interest, avoidance, ran-
those who would occupy the buildings.
confirm this. A- comparison of large and
donT explor: bons-w'ere recorded on a
The session brought out the bottled-
11
sniali schools showed that although
-
c)Iioilerancf-peen device similar' to an up hostility of the prospective tenants: there were more opportunities for va r-
elcctroc,ududt;raplT. Essentially, this in- "Don't givc us another high-rise slum," ied activities in the bigger institutions,
struioCut traced two things: (1) flow long they said, in effect. "We deserve better." there was more individual participation
I remained in front of a given mirror, Result: an attractive development of in the smaller ones. Ideal space may be
with, its accompanying bombardment of three-story, individually designed town that which permits us to maintain our
lights. sounds and images; and (2) houses that are a radical departure for the privacy while interacting with others, for
whether my response to this contradic- ghetto. Patri believes that many large we are social in small groups. Robert
tory information-moving closer, shield- housing projects are turned into slums Sommer, a psychologist at the University
ing lily eyes, deactivating the sound by because tenants lack a sense of "turf." of California at Davis, believes there is a
moving farther away, etc.-favored one Like their middle-class counterparts in the spatial behavior that influences many of
means of perception over another, new office buildings, they mess up such our actions. He obserI,?ed that in restau-
The psychologists at City University developments in an attempt to assert rants, people are more likely to talk
are still cautious about their findings, their individuality. across time corner of a table than if
but here are some promising theories: The mentally ill are especially sensi- sitting opposite or side by side. The
When we are subjected to several corn- tive to their surroundings, and much of shape of the table also makes a differ-
peting stimuli, we tend to convert them what we've learned about the designed ence. Those with straight sides help de-
into a single sensory message. In short, environment has been discovered in the fine our boundaries and make us more
we translate the information into our psychiatric ward. Several years ago, Izumi confident and assertive. Round tables
strongest suit. Artists and other visually was hired to plan a psychiatric center in seem to promote equality and uncertain-
nrinilecl people "see" sound and describe Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Among his ins- ty. Men will seldom sit side by side if
it in terms of ]fight and color; musicians pressions: The ward's physical environ- they are given a chance to sit opposite, but
went created too much ambiguity in the women prefer sitting next to each other.
"hear" paintings and strobe lights and minds of the patients. Free-hanging
in theist. The ex Additionally, in a study of the seating
sense a ihI The c, even a melodic, pattern clocks seemed to defy gravity; transoms arrangements of school children in 4000
experiments suggest that suggested guillotines about to fail; pol- classrooms, it was found that half the
people who can perceive their surround- islied-terra'z'zo surfaces and uniformity of pupils with chronic infections and two
irrs by thus translating from one sense to design confused the patients' sense of thirds of those with 'nutritional problems
another maintain a longer interest in the time and space. occupied seats in the darkest quadrant of
env ironntent and hod more meaning ill it. Izumi's plans for Yorkton were finally the rooms. Sommer suggests that social
11-hat are the practical values of all scaled to the psychic boundaries of the disadvantage and physical impairment
these theories? Urban planners are patients and design was used to rein- probably led these children to select-or
learning that if man is to be psycliologi- force a feeling of security and intimacy be assigned to-inferior space. In all
cally comfortable, lie must be able to in a complex of several small, rectangu- behavior', there is a strong desire to
utake sense Out of the clutter of city life. Ear buildings. All the structural elements stake out a turf that's appropriate to our
Knowing in advance how we respond to were familiar, Izunu stressed, and there se'.f-image. Moreover, the milieu helps
sounds, lights, open spaces, the varieties were no illusory qualities of the kinds dictate the role we play in it. That we
of buildings and street layouts-what that architects so often try to achieve in act like students when we are in school,
our behavioral expectations of the ur- striving to make things seem what they are reverential in church and lackadaisi-
ban environment are-helps us create aren't. lie would minimize ambiguity cal in parks is because these environ-
the kinds of neighborhoods we want.Ili in the environment even for healthy nients tell us in advance how to behave.
some instances, planners use play money people, since, in his opinion, all of us A revealing example of this occurred
ire a Morropolylike game to determine tense up in the face of uncertainty. when the Napa State Hospital in Cali-
what it is that residents of a community Another behavioral scientist, Dr. fcrrnia was heavily damaged by the
-value most about their physical envh?orr- I-Iumplnv Osmonc[, contrasts "sociopet- earthquake of 1906-. To the surprise of
merit. III Boston. designer Michael al" space-that which draws people to- the authorities. when the psychiatric pa-
5outhrwor-rlt blindfolds Iris subjects and gether-with "sociofugal" space, whiclh. tieuts were moved into tents and were
has tlt-.ani poslrecl around in wheelchairs pushes them apart. A 'New England no longer walled in, their behavior and
while they ilicrate their atiditoi'y irnpres- common is sociopetaI; a row of glassed- cooperation improved measurably. Epi-
sign; into tape recordeis. Soutliw-orth ill cubicles is usually sociofugal. If you leptics u:Tdergoing treatment experi-
cliiidcs their reactions into feelings of want privacy, you seek out the better, enced fetter tits and, in general, the tent
'sortie distress" and "sonic delight" for but not all ccmurron areas are necessarily colony seemed to benefit everyone, even
tlr^ gnicitux:e of planners who seek to socializing. One of the puzzles that the sta[I. But when the buildings were
reface rm mci:rnted sound. Coll (roll ted a team of psychologists was restored, bvh:atvior returned to normal-
Irt rn;,.t cases, however, the new psy- why patients in unrltiberl rooms is a lratietits became difficult and the epitep-
%u is ucupirical. San Francisco psychiatric: ward were more passive in tics had more fits. Psychiatrists concltrd-
aclrircct Picro N. I':rtri moves into his their behavior than those in small ell drat ill an.y environutettt, there .:re
h o cl ,I?;.;:uas for a rrun'tt or s:o learns. In nrrppi:rg patient activit..the Standards of beh avid, to wlr.iclr 1;:nple
r ;. r .< it iiv:ci,ilrt.y. .lie ke hs art tcarn ionncl that ill the laigu? rnorrrs, adhere srirrpi. i eca.i,;c it'S ,vl.ar,'s txp cr_,l
antl;r~~loologist on his start because he - occupants spent from two thirds' to three of tlrein.
t, r_ ,n, i s d that ethhniccultureintiuences fotu-tlis of their time lying on their beds.
\Vhether space is - friendly or .rlicn
ho ~ ' ~ ir,c:let r rli ri7 cr rah ,~ ds ti 1r ooll tictit re- social Pmk~, or ample, bring pe-opa ' It-
cct. ['trtr i a ;'g'muiretl an Cit+-OUntem? ,torte intcracticc. It was concluded that what cuter' on, a casual basis,. but
they all)
 that when rats in confinement exceed a
certain density, they undergo radical
changes in behavior. Some become homo-
sexual; others become aggressive; yet
others simply lie clown and die. 'Many
ecologists have concluded from this that
there is all upper limit to man's own
tolerance for crowding. quite apart from
his demands on the natural resources.
_ la .al.~-la. a. 1. J Vllal 1J. laallltVUll J l..\tJll l'
'Its With Norwegian rats. Calhoun, who
research psychologist at the National
7-0113OR000?O2??384ttal Health, demonstrated
"No, no, this time it's your turn to be the love object!"
total ecological picture, the optimum
world population is nine billion, but he
sees little hope that the increase can be
stopped before it reaches 13.5 billion.
This need. not be fatal, however.
There is a good chance that many of the
adverse effects noted in the crowding
experiments-tlte combative behavior of
men, the morbid effects on animals-are
promote distancing for those who want
to be alone, and they are ideal for lovers
who seek a public setting in which to
advertise their private feelings. Formal
gardens, on the other hand, impose for-
ntal conduct; the landscaping discourages
social interaction. Contrary to what one
might expect, private outdoor space is
tunic socializing than communal space.
Residents of a postwar housing develop-
ment neat Coventry, England, frater-
itized more with their neighbors when
they met in. each other's yards: families,
that were compelled to share a common
garden actually knew fewer neighbors.
Ill Suburbs and small towns, people are
chore likely to talk across their back
yards if the property line is indicated
by a fence. Because this boundary helps
them maintain territoriality, it actually
brings neighbors closer together. believe in self-sufficiency as an ideal,
If both privacy and social interaction making intimate contact seem less neces-
are neccssary ingredients of human be- sary.'' Alexander would "bring people
ltavior. how do we arrange our territory out of hiding" through an ingenious
to gain tilt optimum values of each? geometric. city of transparent houses,,
Environmentalists see this as a problem open courtyards and private connecting
ill spatial separation, and they've had a spaces, all buried just below the surface
Geld day working out the answers. Here of the earth in clusters of 28 buildings.
lure some of their findings: fit a sense, he would bury people to
In a study made in Topeka. Kansas. encourage intimacy.
file Emrirotrnrelttad Reseal-cat and Dc- Reminiscent of a 1'ueltlo cliff dwell-
,'eiopmciit l ottntlatioit compared the ef- er's setup, Alexander's utopia has yet to
fects of high rise and gardeti aparcutent:s be constructed, but the theory of forced
cut that behavior of their occupants. Re- contactmay notbe as crazy as it seems.
',alts showed that, proportionately, the Robert K. Met-ton analyzed fatstili.cs who
1')w-risc tenants ntadc twice is malty lived on opposite sides of'a street. Ile.
Ii'ictid-, inside their. bttilding area as found that 75 percent of the people who
did the hi h-t-i,e tenants. Moreover, ill had doors facing the front trade contact
:hc ta.llet' structures, people cxhihitcd with their across-the-street neighbors. Of
ctc;'utr lcelin~;; of indilterence anti with- those who didn't. 0111V four percent be-
a!, shi!c ~c.ucicn-,ipa:-rn~^nt clc~:cllers c_t,ne Iricruls.
.
.
a r,'; i,;r! in politic, civic life, C:rontliitg as ant en~irorrnrctuatl. v^ti- no doubt. because of fewer cltt ni fix
cu
l
how
cnjotc~d a ;,cater sefbl ily bii bi
.,nse o aes oicgrinug toe serously and treatment facilities, although the
~rut.'er ohei then fries. examined, and the data so far is iitcott- disc.re i,inc- is nevertheless startling;). Our
sc. t' lit rpippripveElt flan let ase-'2002/0r M,93t fi It-RDR8t7v-O!1o1t30 tR.00Q; 4002-Qltlt t$tt7r aticliuauslaaighrer ,sere
I c-tltit or ,wi,cs and cltilclrcu of I,ritisli subject on at hypothetical level can he six times as high and that for gill s?^rious
soldiers living in separate houses with.
the health of those in apartment build-
ings. The differences were startling.
Among the latter group, the illness rate
was 57 percent higher, with neuroses
showing a markedly greater incidence.
And within the apartment buildings, the
rates of neuroses varied directly with the
distance from tl`e ground floor: Higher
apartments seemingly created more so-
cial isolation. In short, the effect of mass
housing is not crowding but loneliness.
In explaining this paradox, architect
Christopher Alexander of tile Center for
Environmental Structure in Berkeley,
California, posits another: It isn't. stress
itself that causes the ills of urban life,
Ire says, but the turning away from it.
"Stress forces people to withdraw into
themselves [and) 'creates more people who
really the result of confinement. When
people are free to escape-via the auto-
mobile, for instance-high density is
more tolerable. And whether we feel
crowded often depends upon the social
setting. At a cocktail party, people I
action. But a golf course is crowded if a
foursome 200 yards away is holding tip
the play. The important thing is not
many people live oft- an acre of -
land but how they arrange themselves on
it and for what purpose.
"There does appear to be a relation-
ship between spatial separation and our
proneness to antisocial behavior. A study
made in France found a direct direct correla-
tion between living space, crime and
other social problems among the urban --
working class. The optimum turf proved
to be from 85 to 150 square feet per per-
son. When space was less than 85, social
pathology doubled. Above 130 scluare feet;
the disorders also increased, although not
so drastically.
If high density is a factor in crime
and disease, Hong Kong should be a
prize exaritple. It is the most densely
populated city in the world, containing
up to 201)0 people per acre (compared
,with ?150 in Boston and New York). As -.
many as four or five families occupy the
stone apartment oil a shift basis. A'eC,
except for tuberculosis, its inhabitants
appear to be stealthier titan Ahttericaus-
and far more law-abiding. A surrey
based on census figures for 1961 showed
9.c; deaths per 1000 population in the
United States and 5.9 ill 11011- 1"'OlIg
0 1"
Fewer than one tenth as ninny, Hong
Iron tesiilertts,were hospitalized for p,v-
duatric disorders as in the Li
(partly.
S
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new lwiising was made available b_ ime to Ifanltattan. in favor of how people go about their
Ilong Kong families, many of tier b. Tlie new towns of Europe, with tllci daily business. In brief. cities will proba-
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\Vhv these disparities exist isn t entire-
ly cleiar, but We can speculate that abun-
dant public-health care and the highly
organized Chinese family help keep a
darn er oil the runaway problems of
urban life. Orientals, too, have a higher
involvement ratio than do most white
Anlericaiis (so, for that matter, do south-
ern Europeans and American blacks),
hence they survive comfortably in en-
vironments that we consider intolerable.
The Japanese have adapted to high den-
sities by leaving their cities chaotic and
unplanned while beautifying the interiors
of their homes.
One of the dilemmas
urban planners in this
uprooted slum dwellers
encountered by
country is why
often move to
another slum rather than into new housing projects elsewhere in the city.
Studies have shown that many of these
ethnic groups are quite happy to be
crowded. Professor Izutni thinks that
ghettos are environmentally permissive
in that they offer a freer range of choice.
In the planned community of Brasilia,
the new capital of Brazil, it is the older,
"free city" of the working classes to
which other- residents flee to experience
sl>ontaiieity and excitement-the same
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uteri inhabitants that is not experienced
in the Urban "jungle." Last year, a team
of educators in West Germany conduct-
ed art experiment in self-expression
among young children living in three
new towns and three older cities. Com-
paring their paintings and drawings, the
researchers found that whereas the city
child was stimulated by his environ-
ment, the new-town child tended to be
unimaginative and bland. They Conclud-
ed that for the latter, the overplanned
character of the surroundings inhibited
his natural curiosity and blunted his
creativity.
By the year 2000, 80 percent of the
American people will live in cities;
world-wide, during this time, as many
buildings will be erected as have gone
up in all recorded history. Most environ.
mentalists agree that the one thing our
cities will not be is futuristic-at least in
appearance. They are far more likely to
be complex and cluttered than. simple
and orderly, although the clutter will
be there with a purpose. Planners are
thinking less in terms of efficiency than
of the mental image the city projects
onto its inhabitants. The new urban
aesthetic, some believe, will avoid the
Monuments to their architects.
If the environmentalists have their
way, we will carve up our cities to give
residents a greater sense of belonging.
Smaller schools and parks, more inti-
mately designed public areas, promenades
to break up the sameness of block lay-
outs, more regard for the unique charac-
ter of the neighborhoods-all this will
help its personalize space. Nor will insti-
tutions be quite as institutional-looking
in the future. In Boston, a new pediat-
rics hospital is being built in a cluster
arrangement around open courtyards and
"floated" over a shopping plaza. What
Wright have been a threatening super-
structure to young patients will be a
decentralized complex that's part of a
familiar ne ghborhood. Los Angeles ar-
chitect C. M. Deasy, in redesigning an
obsolescent school in a black area, put a
public sidewalk through the grounds as -
a means of bringing the local commun-
ity into closer contact with the school.
thus giving the citizens a better idea of
what's going oil behind the fences. As a
result, most of the friction between out-
siders and school staff has disappeared.
In housing projects, there will be par-
ticipatory planning like .Piero Patri's,
with the occupants helping decide the
environmental mix.
Can we eliminate the noise of the
city? The Federal Council of Scientists
reports a doubling of. the environmenta1
sound level every ten years, and at this
rate, the decibels may become lethal. -Na
doubt, legislation will intervene first, but
not all noise will go away. Some of the
most imaginative planning in sonic de-
sign is lfeing clone by Michael South
worth, who not merely would fight noise:
but wants to beat it at. its own game. He
would use symbolic sounds to inform
pedestrians of such things as the weather
and approaching buses. Street criers
would relay public information; in
squares and parks, large, animated sculp-
tures would make sounds when people
moved around them; and in ugly areas.
sequences of different floor materials
would squeak, rumble, squisll or pop to
provide interest - when walked upon.
Where there is visual monototly, Soutll-
wortli says, add new sounds, suCh as
splashing water fountains, bells and
boat horns.
Fanciful? Probably, but it indicates
one way the p.sycliodesiguers are tivir.g
to Blake a world in which we will feel at
tattle. Its Ili, simply the &iestrnctinn ci
natural tesourCeS we must be CoticemeLi
with now and in the future; we nnu;t
also- crcare- all environment that c;cir