Forget Everything You've Learned

"My first stop was the strangest urban space I have ever seen. To cover up an empty lot in the middle of downtown, the city had plopped down 35,000 square feet of artificial turf three years ago. Local young people have since adopted "the Turf" as a favorite gathering place.

Forget everything you ever learned about the elements that are supposed to make places appeal to people-the Turf doesn't have any of them. Yet last evening, the people were out in force. A young family was enjoying a picnic while a couple tossed a Frisbee, a few boys practiced their soccer moves, and another kid wheeled around on his shiny new bicycle. One couple lay clasped in a warm embrace. Most, however, were just sitting around on the Turf in small groups, talking up a storm.

What's the attraction of a flat expanse of fuzzy green plastic? Part of it may be that it's totally unprogrammed: It's a "blank slate" that users can adapt to their own whims. Importantly, fast food is available just across the street. But if someone can just plop down some artificial turf and attract the public in droves, who needs the skills of a landscape architect?"