New Yorkers Seek Traditional, Intimate Public Places

When New Yorkers felt the need to come together to share pain, to seek comfort, and to feel connected on September 11 and every day since, they gravitated to the public places that have remained traditionally urban -- the places nearby, around the corner, so accessible on foot, an integral part of their daily lives. One lesson that can already be drawn from the terrorist attack is how the design of New York City's traditional neighborhoods and intimate public spaces helped to serve a very human need to be together.