Essay On Public Spaces

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Public Squares.
Public space is, as defined by urban planner D.K. Specter (1987) a public realm which is the dwelling place of our civilisation, and a physical manifestation of the common good. Public spaces serve the people. They exist for the purpose of allowing people to, at a primal level, interact with each other, socialize, and form meaningful connections with each other. They stand as a platform for social movements and building a sense of community. They allow people to come together.
From an Urban planning perspective, Public spaces are vital to the life of a city. Any city which sees itself as the idealised centre of the nation will offer a large number of quality spaces. These public spaces are incredibly powerful tools for an inclusive society. It stands as a measure of equality amongst the people and informs them of who they are.
Architecture of the public squares greatly influence how these spaces are received by the public and are used. “Your Ability to create places that are meaningful, and places of quality and character depends entirely on your ability to define space with buildings, and to employ the vocabularies, grammars, syntaxes, rhythms and patterns of architecture in order to inform us who we are.” (Kunstler, James, 2004, ‘how bad architecture wrecked cities’, Ted talks, Monterey, California). …show more content…

Freestanding buildings in space shape these places, influencing us at the very basic level. Buildings are the makers of these spaces. The architecture surrounding these spaces will dictate the manner in which the public use it. Harsh elements overlooking into a square will cut it off from the rest of the city. A dark and cold environment will lack the attraction needed to make people want to use the space. Larger open spaces overlooked by soft facades and a dynamic use of ground floor programme bordering the space will create an vibrant friendly area

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