The Sociality and Spatiality of Social Encounters Among Strangers

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter proposes a theoretical framework to study the sociality and spatiality of social encounters among strangers, in other words, the types of social behaviours and spatial mechanics that constitute those encounters. Its aim is to identify the concepts, methods, and techniques that can provide a suitable methodology for this study. The first part examines the concepts that better describe the constituency of informal public social life: the type of strangers that interest this research, the body language used in interactions with strangers, and the essential qualities of informal public social settings. Then, it turns its attention to concepts that are considered key for the design of the public realm based primarily on the works of Jacobs, Gehl, Alexander et al., and Whyte, though links with more recent research are also established. The second part reviews a series of established and emerging methods and techniques available to study social behaviour in public space. It concludes with a description of the case study of the Park of the Nations and the selected public settings for this study.KeywordsSocialitySpatialitySocial encountersStrangersPublic spaceBody languageInformal public social settings