Urban design and community development are often divorced from one another as disciplines despite the profound influence the form of urban space... » More

Urban design and community development are often divorced from one another as disciplines despite the profound influence the form of urban space has on the cohesiveness of a community. Using street musicians and the phenomenon of spontaneous breaking of social barriers as a context, this study argues for a holistic approach to design with community development in mind by demonstrating how social relationships between strangers spring up and how they are affected by the nature of urban form. The lack of formalized cultural hierarchy in street music allows for ease of connection across disparate social groups; this study examines several elements of musical performance groups, urban form and social interaction in public space to determine which have the most notable effect on the incidence of the spontaneous breaking of the otherwise difficult to surmount social barriers between one's own social group and all other 'stranger' social groups. The study finds that pedestrian density, walkability of space, and time of performance have any notable impact on spontaneous sociality in the context of street performers.

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