Walkable Cities Diminish Cellular Dependencies

Richard Desjardins

Concentration Studies Urbanism

Anne-Catrin Schultz

April 8, 2017
 Desjardins 2

Social media and the digital age has changed the way humans interact with one another and the
city. These advancements in technology allow people to connect with others from across the globe. On
the other hand, it created a virtual realm in which some users end up never leaving their room. Social
media and cell phones are innovations that have consequences that include less face to face contact and
causes individuals to not experience their surroundings within a city. In some cases, being connected
through social media is in fact making people less sociable due to the lack of face to face contact. Larry
Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, says, the time and effort we put into our
virtual worlds limit the time to connect and especially to communicate on a deeper level in our real
1 2
world. The average millennial (18 to 24-year-old) checks their phone 74 times per day . The time they
actually spend looking at their phone varies from a few second check for notifications to five minutes
walking down the street bumping into other pedestrians. Walkable based urban planning is one of the
many solutions to turn these consequences into benefits for individuals and for the city itself. In the age of
social media, making cities walkable has never been more important in creating a more sociable and less
cellular dependent America.
Cell phones captivate the people that use them. Professor Rosen believes that with smartphone
in hand, we face a constant barrage of alerts, notifications, vibrations and beeps warning us that
3
something seemingly important has happened and we must pay attention. He believes that anxiety
drives this behavior, people need to know what is happening within the virtual realm to calm these
4
concerns. Users are looking at their phones for Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook notifications. They fear
that they might miss out on something, in fact 54 percent [of 150,000] said they experience a fear of
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missing out if not checking social networks. This is where the walkable city is most important. Without
anything to distract individuals from the virtual world, they will keep staring at their phones no matter
where they are. If urban designers and planners strategically plan for the digital age by implementing
walkable plans, city dwellers will limit their cell phone usage and interact with their surroundings. In some
cases, appealing to social media users might help promote walking and social interaction. For example, if
planners attempt to create photographable spaces or objects and people post these spaces on social
media, it may encourage others to go experience that place themselves to take a picture with others.
Walking down the street is one of the many occasions that people use their cell phones. They are
bored since there is nothing to do or look at, so they spend their time gazing into their phone. Jeff Speck,
one of the most well-known advocates for walkable cities says, starchitects, still build blank walls where

1
Rosen, Larry. 2015. The Wall Street Journal. May 10. Accessed Mar 14, 2017.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-technology-making-people-less-sociable-1431093491.
2
Eadicicco, Lisa. 2015. Americans Check Their Phones 8 Billion Times a Day. Dec 15. Accessed Mar 21,
2017. http://time.com/4147614/smartphone-usage-us-2015/.
3
Rosen, Larry. 2015. The Wall Street Journal. May 10. Accessed Mar 14, 2017.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-technology-making-people-less-sociable-1431093491.
4
Ibid
5
Saiidi, Uptin. 2015. CNBC. Oct 17. Accessed Mar 14, 2017. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/15/social-
media-making-millennials-less-social-study.html.
 Desjardins 3

6
they least belong . . . Nobody ever talked about how buildings need to give life to the street. Streets
need to have life to be interesting. William Whyte acknowledges that new office buildings are placing a
frontage of plate glass through which you can behold bank officers sitting at desks. One of these
7
stretches is dull enough. Block after block of them creates overpowering dullness. Who wouldnt want to
watch the cute puppy video that was just posted on Facebook while walking by an office building?
Big blank walls are the death to creating urban spaces walkable and social because they simply
encourage people to use their cell phones. An example of this is Boston City Hall. Along Congress Street
there is a large brick wall about ten feet away from the curb. Right across the street is the Holocaust
Memorial as well as one of the largest tourist attractions in the United States, Faneuil Hall, and a lot of
bars. If you stand in the middle of Congress Street you can see a diverse group of people walking on
each side of the street. People are attracted to activities not flat blank walls. Speck says, but its a
concert hall, you say . . . it needs to have blank walls. Well, take a stroll around the Paris Opera, or even
Boston Symphony Hall, and lets talk again. These older buildings facades are awash in engaging detail,
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so that even their blank walls dont feel blank. Walking next to them is a pleasure. Street front property
needs to have some sort of appealing quality to them. Whyte, along with most walkable city advocates,
believes that retailing is a key implementation to make street fronts interesting. More importantly, they
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have windows with displays, signs to attract your attention, doorways, people going in and out of them.
All of which peak a persons interest and draws their eyes away from their phone, questioning what the
store is and wondering if they should buy something.
Humans are social creatures. Whytes time lapse and photographic study of New York supports
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this statement. He claims what attracts people most, it would appear, is other people. He interviewed
many individuals that tended to sit near groups and said, they speak of getting away from it all, and use
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terms like escape, oasis, retreat. What people do, however, reveals a different priority. Individuals
may claim they want time to themselves, sit and stare into their phones. However, they still are attracted
to crowds. Utilizing this phenomenon is not easy for a designer but, creating a place for crowds to gather
is essential for not only a walkable city but for a more sociable city. Implementing small things like a
variety of places to sit and gather in the shade, in the sun, high seats, low seats, and movable seats.
These are all critical alternatives to make a place attractive for crowds creating social interactions outside
of social media.
People that walk down the street with their eyes glued to their phone in one hand and scrolling
with the other typically are uninterested with what is going on in the surrounding area. With nothing to do

6
Speck, Jeff. 2012. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America One Step at a Time. New York
City, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
7
Whyte, William H. 2016. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces
8
Speck, Jeff. 2012. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America One Step at a Time. New York
City, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
9
Whyte, William H. 2016. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces
10
Ibid
11
Ibid
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and nothing to see, individuals have nothing to distract them from the virtual world and they will miss out
on all the possibilities of crowd gathering locations. The anxiety that Professor Rosen mentions drives
people to check their phone readily with the consequences of missing out on their surroundings. In some
cases, their friends cant even distract them. Uptin Saijdi, a multimedia journalist for CNBC International,
quotes a study conducted by Flashgap which found, that 87 percent of millennials admitted to missing
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out on a conversation because they were distracted by their phone. Unfortunately phones hypnotize
users. This astonishing percentage proves that phones distract people from the environment around
them. If one sense is distracted, most likely others are distracted as well. Individuals tend to tone things
out when they are focused on something that they find important. In order to lift eyes off of a cell phone,
designers should utilize and emphasize the other senses; such as, smell, touch and hearing to convince
cell phone users that their phone is not where their attention should be.
One way to capture peoples sensory attention is through the use of water. William Whyte
interviewed a group of individuals about why they enjoy Paley Park. He says, one thing they always
mention is the waterfall. In fact, the waterfall is quite loud: the noise level is about 75 decibels close by,
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measurably higher than the level out on the street. Sound interests people. When individuals are
introduced to a new sound it will more than likely make them look up. A peaceful sound, such as a
waterfall might convince someone to look away from their phone and enjoy the water. Whyte also points
out the fact that not all water is accessible. He says, in many places water is only for looking at. Let a
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foot touch it and a guard will be there in an instant. Water is a feature that attracts people. If it is placed
in an accessible way yet, it isnt accessible for people to enjoy it, all it is good for is eye candy. People will
enjoy the water by looking at their phones sitting right next to it. They wont be able to put their phone
down and run their hand through the water.

Boston Massachusetts has numerous aspects that make it one of the most distinguished
walkable cities in America. One project that previously failed as an attractive and walkable place was
Boston City Hall Plaza prior to Mayor Martin J. Walshs tactical implementations. City Hall Plaza,
designed by I. M. Pei, once was a barren brick landscape that was so vast it scared people away from
walking through it. Individuals tended to walk along the sides of the plaza. The plazas original goal was to
be a meeting and gathering place with a large fountain and premiere MBTA service through Government
Center. There was nothing to do there besides walk alongside it. Everything that made this place
walkable was along the edges, such as the fountain that was initially there, food and stores. Nobody
wanted to spend more than just the time to cross inside the plaza. When Mayor Walsh was elected into
office he changed this. He made City Hall Plaza a landmark. He brought the music festival Boston
Calling, the scooper bowl, added lawn chairs and introduced Boston Winter. However, not all of these

12
Saiidi, Uptin. 2015. CNBC. Oct 17. Accessed Mar 14, 2017. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/15/social-
media-making-millennials-less-social-study.html.
13
Whyte, William H. 2016. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces
14
Ibid
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ideas were his. He asked the community to see what they wanted and he succeeded. Mayor Walsh was
quoted by Nick DeLuca saying, from businesses in the area, to a student on summer break, to a
resident with a great idea, we hope to see ideas from everyone, said Mayor Walsh in a statement. This
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is truly an open opportunity for all to create a more welcoming and world class space for the public. All
of these strategic implementations were very successful
in drawing the citizens of Boston away from the edge
and into the plaza. Boston Winter was probably the
most successful out of it. This event gave people
something to do. Individuals didnt need to be on their
phone to have fun. It distracted people from the
constant barrage of messages and notifications and
allowed them to feel free. Boston Winter had shops for
people to buy local products, food and drinks for people
Figure 1 Boston Winter, 2017 (Image by Author) to enjoy the worlds first custom track ice skating rink.
The venue offered skate rentals and numerous photographable opportunities with the large Adirondack
chair and a glowing Boston sign. When people saw Instagram and heard about how entertaining it was,
more and more people flocked to Boston Winter.
Right across Congress Street from Boston City Hall is Faneuil Hall Marketplace. In 2014, a study
of the number of visitors going to different tourist attractions around the world was conducted. Kristi
Palma of Boston.com reveled from this study that Faneuil Hall Marketplace was ranked within the top 10.
She said, more people flock to Faneuil Hall Marketplace each year than to Disney World, the Eiffel
Tower, and the Great Wall of China. Faneuil Hall ranked 7th on a list of the 50 most-visited tourist
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attractions in the world. . . boasts 18,000,000 visitors per year. Due to Faneuil Halls historical
prominence, proximity to the Boston Harbor and pedestrian
oriented atmosphere, its one of the most walkable places in
Boston. The diverse amount of activities that people can partake in
are countless. There are over 70 national and local retail stores
within this block where people can shop, experience numerous
street performers from juggling knifes on a unicycle to guitar and
piano players where dwellers and tourists can enjoy a free show.
Within Quincy Market is a wide variety of fast food options as well
Figure 2 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 2014 as countless restaurants scattered around.
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The marketplace isnt
(Image by Author)

15
Deluca, Nick. 2015. Mayor Walsh is Soliciting Ideas For City Hall Plaza Events. June 15. Accessed
April 8, 2017. http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/06/15/boston-city-hall-plaza-events-mayor-walsh-
announces-reevent-the-plaza/.
16
Palma, Kristi. 2014. Faneuil Hall Marketplace ranked 7th most-visited tourist attraction in the world.
April 7. Accessed April 8, 2017. https://www.boston.com/culture/travel/2014/04/07/faneuil-hall-
marketplace-ranked-7th-most-visited-tourist-attraction-in-the-world.
17
Ibid
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a new discovery, its been around for hundreds of years dating back to ancient Greece and Roman times.
Faneuil Hall is a perfect example of what Jeff Speck wants to implement to create walkable cities, a
pedestrian oriented design. It gives users over a hundred different options of what to do. People can
easily be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. It is easy not to look at a phone when you are
encapsulated by food, retail, and performances.
Retail is a large player in creating walkable cities along with diminishing cellular dependencies.
Nonetheless, the ability to relax and enjoy the outdoors is also a large factor in walkability. Boston has
countless parks scattered around the city where people
can escape city life and enjoy nature. The Greenway
and the Emerald Necklace parks are two of the most
notable. The Charles River Esplanade however, is the
most successful in creating a walkable environment. With
17 miles of pathways following the coastline of the
Charles River, the Esplanade creates spaces for
everyone to enjoy. These paths attract countless runners

Figure 3 The Esplanade from Longfellow Bridge, and bikers to exercise with a cool breeze blowing on
2017 (Image by Author) them, gazing over the river. The Esplanade Association
mentions in their biography, The Esplanade is one of the most vibrant, beautiful, and versatile parks in
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urban America. Along the 17 mile stretch are playgrounds for children to play, in some cases college
students. Not all of these playgrounds are for children, some are for exercisers to do body workouts. Their
beaches (wooden docks that protrude into the river) are perfect for the weekend sunbather who wants
to watch the MIT sailing team glide through the water or read a book while they tan. This park isnt just
active during the summer. In the winter, its a place for dwellers to snowshoe, ski and take photographs.
The Esplanade does a great job of attracting people to go on a walk through trees along the river. People
are so captivated by the beauty, the children playing, and the sheer amount of people, they dont need
their phone to occupy themselves. This long park also holds free events attracting more and more people;
such as, free concerts at the Hatch Shell, the most noteworthy being the Boston Pops Fourth of July
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Fireworks Spectacular. Implementing events such as free concerts and movie screenings attract users
to enjoy the outdoors, go on a walk, and stay off their phone.
How does an Urban Planner design for a growing cellular dependent population? The answer is
options. Jeff Speck believes, the more choices a pedestrian can make and more opportunities there are
20
to alter your path to visit a useful . . . These choices also make walking more interesting. Urban
Designers need to understand the populace, especially with cell phone users on the rise and the vast

18
Esplanade Association. 2017. What the Esplanade Association Does. Accessed April 8, 2017.
http://esplanadeassociation.org/projects-programs/.
19
Ibid
20
Speck, Jeff. 2012. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America One Step at a Time. New York
City, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
 Desjardins 7

majority of them being millennials. People need options. If they dont have the opportunity to interact with
where they are walking, they wont walk or if they do, they will be preoccupied by the virtual world. In
some cases, appealing to social media users is helpful, like giving them that candid photo opportunity for
Instagram. In most cases, the solution is to implement interactive environments such as free
performances, ice skating, food, and retail. Walkability should be in the back of every Urban Designers
mind! It is an approach that will make America more sociable and less cellular dependent.
 Desjardins 8

Works Cited
Deluca, Nick. 2015. Mayor Walsh is Soliciting Ideas For City Hall Plaza Events. June 15. Accessed April
8, 2017. http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/06/15/boston-city-hall-plaza-events-mayor-walsh-
announces-reevent-the-plaza/.
Eadicicco, Lisa. 2015. Americans Check Their Phones 8 Billion Times a Day. Dec 15. Accessed Mar 21,
2017. http://time.com/4147614/smartphone-usage-us-2015/.
Esplanade Association. 2017. What the Esplanade Association Does. Accessed April 8, 2017.
http://esplanadeassociation.org/projects-programs/.
Palma, Kristi. 2014. Faneuil Hall Marketplace ranked 7th most-visited tourist attraction in the world. April
7. Accessed April 8, 2017. https://www.boston.com/culture/travel/2014/04/07/faneuil-hall-
marketplace-ranked-7th-most-visited-tourist-attraction-in-the-world.
Rosen, Larry. 2015. The Wall Street Journal. May 10. Accessed Mar 14, 2017.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-technology-making-people-less-sociable-1431093491.
Saiidi, Uptin. 2015. CNBC. Oct 17. Accessed Mar 14, 2017. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/15/social-
media-making-millennials-less-social-study.html.
Speck, Jeff. 2012. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America One Step at a Time. New York City,
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Whyte, William H. 2016. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. New York: Project for Public Spaces.