ABSTRACT

Towns and cities are much more than bricks and stone. The physical form is only a stage set upon which a multitude of human dramas continually unfold. The variety of activities which a place supports, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is an indicator of its vitality. Activities may be conflicting or mutually supporting. They may be accessible or exclusive. This chapter explores the characteristics of places which make them lively and responsive to their users’ needs. It considers some of the ways in which public policies and private activities have encouraged vitality and the ways in which we can all be responsible for the places we use.