Environmental Changes
We see urban development swallowing up a million acres of land a year, and cities expanding without ecological planning, built more for producing than for living. Whereas a decade ago local communities looked for new industries, many today do not want them if it means more pollution. Where, then, are we going to expand? Where are all the new people going to live? We are in conflict. Problems are enhanced when we realize that 80 percent of our population lives on 10 percent of the land, much of it now crowded. Slowly there has begun to develop the philosophy of "no growth," some observers proposing that both individually and as a society we ·need to change from the traditional "psychology of more" to a "psychology of enough." One thing is certain.: Change is no longer allowing us to aintain the status quo.
We hear of the energy crisis and the swallowing up of large tracts of land for suburban subdivisions. We hear also of more positive trends-large areas of land being set aside for schools and arks, green-belt areas that break the spread of buildings, antipollu.on efforts to purify our air and water. At the economic level, in terms dollars and cents, there are those who point out that an extensive growth policy can have negative consequences in terms of fewer obs and shrinking tax revenues. New views are coming in for onsideration. Says one corporation economist: "It may be evident that people are becoming somewhat disillusioned with economic growth as a means of solving all of our problems-now we are finding at growth itself causes problems." A psychologist defines some of ese problems: "More is typical of our culture and this belief is anifested at all levels of our life. Wall Street is dedicated to its creasing search for growth stocks. The automotive industry dends on a bigger car market next year. Unions demand more wages or their members. Every Chamber of Commerce works determinedly ward making its town grow into a booming city. The family budget -:emands more pay. When more is still perceived as not enough, there is dissatisfaction."
The Individual and Change
There is much beauty and much blight in every large urban area, as e all know. We come together in cities in order to facilitate comerce and business, and even choose to live there in spite of all the ustle,. bustle, and tensions. There is stimulation in the urban enironment. Other people live in cities because they have little or no :hoice. It is in cities that much of our crime is committed and where are power structures of decision making are located. Sidewalks mean both crowds and places to play and socialize. Cities are places where we find extremes; in emergencies we are taken to hospitals, but almost anywhere we can be robbed. Here we find the finest in food and entertainment, and the extremes of poverty and wealth. Studies show 'hat many of the positive aspects of urban living are largely individual, under the control of the individual. We can choose those things :bat bring us pleasure-the arts, sports, and various leisure-time activities. Of course, while the environment provides these opportunities, the choice of responding or not responding is largely ours. What of the behaviors of other people that bear directly on out' well-being
vcr which we have little or no direct control? Is it possible that physical aspects of where we live relate to our own behavior per se, as 'ell as the behavior of others which affect us?
Can Planning Help?
Why do some people neglect to m~intain their property? Why do they sometimes not even keep it clean? Is it possible that there is at least some observable relationship between planned space and crime? These are questions that led a team of architects and behavioral scientists in 1972 to study the physical layout of buildings as related to behavior.
The study began in St. Louis in order to try to determine why tenants allowed large, high-rise, low-rent apartment buildings to deteriorate, leading to vandalism and destruction. Although built at great public cost, these government-subsidized living units soon became slums. Some were even abandoned by their residents. The study was extended to include some failures of public housing projects in Philadelphia and New York City.
It was found that people tend to keep their own apartments in a housing unit in relatively good order and to maintain adjacent hallways which they feel are "theirs" fairly clean. As buildings get larger, taller, and more anonymous, they become neglected by the tenants. Lobbies, laundries, and mail rooms become stripped; excrement is often found in public hallways. The study also clarified the relationship between planned space and crime. For example, it was found that in public housing areas, high-rise projects had higher crime rates than those in some immediately adjacent projects which had similar patterns and types of tenants. A fourteen-story apartment had four times the number of crimes as did a two-story building in the same block.
As buildings get larger and taller. they become more anonymous, providing what researchers called "less defensible space. Angled corridors, blind public areas, and hidden places encourage crime. Empty staircases, required by fire regulations, provide criminals with alternate routes of escape. Designs of most projects in the past have included stylish interiors protected from sight of the outside public:. This arr;Jllgement is prominent in exclusive', expensive apartment buildings, where privacy has been a major concern. But in public housing such "hidden" design allows criminals to operate with little or no observation of their activities. in contrast to the more affiuent living areas ,here are no doormen or other personnel to guard the doorways, kills. and other areas which tenants do not regard as part of their territory. The study found that when more than six families live on a corridor the sense of possessiveness decreases; hallways are considered public territory. Under these conditions, crime flourishes.
On the positive side, the study found some evidence that "feelings of responsibility, pride, and territoriality" can be increased by architectual design of space which provides for more openness to outside observation. Open spaces with public walks, benches, and 6hting facilities not only become social gathering places for residents, but tend to keep away intruders.
Bringing together the many elements that relate to our life styles derscores the need for both individual and soci.al adjustments. We ill take a look at the various aspects of adjustment in the following . apters on personality and adjustment.
