He can be found prowling the alleyways of Ames.

He examines the length of the grass, seeks out cars on blocks and notes what color the garage doors are painted. He is excited by social gatherings in gravel-lined drives and the sight of clothes hanging on lines.

Michael Martin, associate professor of landscape architecture with a specialty in suburban and urban design, is fascinated by neighborhood thoroughfares, so much so he wrote his master’s thesis about them.

Much of his research focuses on the layout of neighborhoods in America, paying special attention to open spaces and the flow of development, he said.

Alleys are especially important as social places for neighbors to gather, particularly children, he said. Alleys represent a safe place for people to gather, particularly gravel alleys with little traffic.

Often, parents prefer to send their children to the backyard or alley for this reason, Martin said.

“Streets are scary,” he said. “Who knows who’s driving that car? Maybe the boogeyman.”

Martin said he did not realize the value of alleys to neighborhood design until he had his first child in Oregon while working on his graduate degree.

The house he and his family lived in at the time had an alley, and he saw how it acted as a gathering place for the neighbors.

Alleys offer more social interaction because they offer people a closer proximity in which to communicate with their neighbors without the fear of cars streaming by, Martin said.

“Alleys are more honest places,” Martin said.

People feel comfortable in alleys, he said.

They can hang laundry in the backyard where neighbors who live around the alley can see, they can have their cars up on blocks, or have four cars parked around the yard.

They put off cutting their grass longer, plant their garden, paint their garage doors any color, and put out their garbage.

The alley is a healthy balance between the proper, clean appearance people often feel should be offered by the front of the houses and the more relaxed atmosphere of the back, Martin said.

But alleys may someday be a thing of the past. Alleys are generally found only in historic areas designed before World War II, he said. After the war, alleys began to disappear, given up for larger back yards or, in the case of many apartment buildings, large parking lots.

For this reason, Martin confines his alley searches to the historic district of Ames, the area bordered by Duff Avenue, 13th Street, Grand Avenue and Main Street.

Martin integrates his research into his teaching, which often draws one of two reactions from his students, he said.

“Some of them probably think I’ve cracked,” Martin said. “I have to sell the idea.”

But other students, when asked to design a neighborhood for class, will include alleys in the design, Martin said.

“It’s gratifying to know you have a little influence,” he said.

Laura Smith, senior in community and regional planning and landscape architecture, went on a field trip in Martin’s class to look at alleys.

She said she didn’t expect to find herself studying alleys as social spaces, but the experience left an impression.

“We’ll be walking along and see an alley, and we’ll say, ‘Let’s check it out.’ Michael would be proud of us,” Smith said.

She said Martin’s class taught her to look at space in neighborhoods in a way she ordinarily wouldn’t.