Public Space and Politics An Investigation of Urban Design and Civic Engagement

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Fitzgerald, Keith

Keywords

Public Space, Urban Planning, Civic Engagement

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

The civic engagement debate sparked by Robert Putnam overlooks a crucial component as scholars attempt to account for social capital in America. I propose that space and place affect the political in significant ways. As built space constructs and constrains individual's daily lives, the effect on human interaction and social capital is implicit yet potentially profound. Using models of public space from both Hannah Arendt and Jane Jacobs, I explore the nature of public space in the modern urban environment typically characterized by sprawl, as well as the function of public space in a democracy. To provide an empirical slant to a typically theoretical exercise, I will present results of a survey comparing two neighborhoods with significant differences in the quality of urban space: density, heterogeneity, walkability, etc. Comparing neighborhoods, I shall identify covariation with particular kinds of participation, or, even more generally, higher levels of social capital.

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