Public Spaces In Urban Planning

In last few decades, there has been a paradigm shift in urban planning ideologies from primary focus on buildings and physical planning to focus on the spaces between built environments. Such spaces which encourage unrestricted public movement and social interactions are called public spaces. Physically, the notion of public realm is extended to all those areas where public has unrestricted visual access to buildings in a streetscape or view and vistas of natural features. The process of place-making relies mostly on the creation of a public realm that is functional, attractive and well integrated in the vision for the community. Ideally the public realm works in conjunction with architecture and landscaping on private property to provide the

Dangerous or impassable roads, abandoned lots, or poorly maintained transport stations or parks that are unsafe for women and girls are indeed “public spaces,” but they surely do not contribute to the “well­being,” “collectivity,” or “cultural richness” of cities or communities. Quite the contrary, in fact. Poorly managed or inaccessible public spaces can actually create barriers between people and places—they can be unsafe, exclusive, or otherwise threatening on a variety of scales. (Annah MacKenzie, n.d.) When a public space has purpose and meaning for its community, it becomes a place. Places, like this one in Mumbai, can drive the social and economic value of a community. | Image Source: official website of Project for Public Spaces www.pps.org

Importance Urban Place-making and Management can be summarized as following:

• Helps in building vibrant, equitable and economically viable public

In old cities, usually these streets which were once such an important zone for community interactions and economic activities are now turned primarily into zones for cars, parking and transportation of goods. In our old civilisation they once held vast social, commercial, and political significance as a powerful symbol of the public realm. Despite the central role they continue to play in each of our lives and memories, today’s streets are failing us on multiple scales. Our streets once functioned as multiple use town centers, as places where children could play and where neighbors and strangers would stop for conversation, today they have become the primary and near exclusive domain of cars. Beyond traffic and safety issues, many of our generation’s most pressing challenges are bound in some way to our relationship with streets and the built environment: Reduced physical activity is a leading culprit of our current epidemics of obesity and chronic disease; lack of access to good places has led to widespread social isolation and depression (particularly amongst older populations); increased vehicle emissions have degraded air quality and contributed to the greenhouse gases causing climate change; and a lack of transportation options for many communities has caused uneven access to jobs, social services,