E. B. White approaches the city with the kind eye of a man surveying his home. He knows the back streets, privately owned stores, and specially markets with a kind of intimacy. To him, the city is a living, breathing personality with whom he lives in accord. White’s character challenges city planners by enjoying the city as it is instead of maintaining a businesslike approach to walking around. In the writing of de Certeau, the city appears maze-like and almost mischievously deceptive. Though he describes its beauty and glory from above, he clearly feels a sense of disconnect from the landscape itself.
When viewing White’s writing through the eyes of de Certeau, we can see some connection. White does meander a bit, instead of laying his words out in the more practical manner of city planning. In doing so, he also inhabits that third space through his personal interaction with the city that exists in his own head and heart. However, it could be argued that White never intended to be architectural in the first place. White’s whole style of writing these short texts is to show an informal camaraderie with the city, and that kind of attraction and affection are usually never plotted out.