Abstract
PICTURED BELOW IS THE SORT OF SCENE that Europeans put on travel posters to lure us to spend our vacations and our hard-earned dollars in Europe. And it works, because these places satisfy deep-seated unconscious cravings about our physical environment. Evolutionary biologists tell us that all animals—humans among them—simultaneously seek prospect and refuge. Prospect allows you to see your predators as they approach, while refuge protects your flanks from attack. If your flanks are not protected, you do not feel safe, and the space becomes sociofugal—you want to flee it.
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Notes
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Duany, Plater-Zyberk & Co., “Lexicon of the New Urbanism”(2014), 7.2, http://www.dpz.com/uploads/Books/Lexicon-2014.pdf.
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© 2018 Jeff Speck
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Speck, J. (2018). Make Firm Edges. In: Walkable City Rules. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-899-2_83
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-899-2_83
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