It still cracks me up that McDonald's vastly outperforms landscape architects and urban designers in creating spaces that regular people actually want to hang out. https://twitter.com/Chris_arnade/status/1246072821308153857

An award winning public plaza: "NO SMOKING," uncomfortable chairs by design, a rule board, in a CBD, dead 90% of the time.

A freaking McDonald's: Free WiFi, free TV, in a working class nabe, super safe and well lit, surprisingly cozy, please just buy a $1 coffee

Urban design lessons from McDonald's:
1. People like tight cozy spaces
2. People like to eat and drink
3. Nobody minds "commercialization," many prefer it
4. People like free freaking WiFi!
5. People like tables
Bryant Park crushes on all these, by the way.

The "commercialization" point is interesting, as a certain type of urbanist gets totally bent out of shape about it.

When push comes to shove, everyone loves subway bodegas and churro ladies, park bars and cafes are always packed, a recognized brand brings familiarity/comfort.

You, an enlightened urbanist: *Having an aneurysm because the free park yoga classes are sponsored by HSBC*

A regular person: "Oh wow, this is really nice!"

By the way, if you're interested in the intersection of urban design and, uh, McDonald's, I wrote a whole thing about this: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/urbs/the-urban-planning-behind-americas-weirdest-mcdonalds/