In partnership with The Municipal Art Society of New York and Anthology Film Archives (AFA), Project for Public Spaces is proud to announce the digital restoration of William H. “Holly” Whyte’s 1980 film, ‘The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces’.
The film will be screened in a series at AFA, which digitally restored the film, starting with a premier showing on Friday, September 26 at 7pm, followed by a panel discussion led by Project for Public Spaces’ Co-Executive Director, Nate Storring.
The panel will feature prominent urbanists and designers reflecting on how social life and the public realm have evolved since the film’s original release by Direct Cinema Ltd. Panelists will include:
- Rosa Chang, Co-Founder & President of Gotham Park
- Setha Low, Professor at the Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY) & Director of the Public Space Research Group
- Claire Weisz, Founding Partner of WXY Architecture
Based on the book with the same title, the companion film is narrated by Holly himself and summarizes his breakthrough 1980 Street Life Project study of New York’s plazas that was a turning point in urban planning and design. Today, as Project for Public Spaces celebrates 50 years of bringing public spaces to life, PPS is pleased to look back on Whyte’s work, which inspired Fred Kent’s founding of the organization, and celebrate how Whyte led the charge in centering cities around people. To this day, Whyte’s thinking and simple observational methods for the shaping of public spaces have had profound influence in the world of placemaking and making cities more liveable.
[Ticket prices vary by membership status and age. Register.]