Built Environment Special Issue on Public Space and Urban Justice_Editorial_July 2017 (original) (raw)

Mapping Urban Injustices in Public Space: Challenges and Opportunities

˜The œJournal of public space, 2023

Cities, as human constructs, are undergoing rapid transformations influenced by economic globalization, mobility, and European integration. This dynamic evolution brings about substantial changes in European urban landscapes, marked by the intense flow of people and cultures. This social and cultural diversity challenges established notions of identity and social relationships (Phillips, 2007) directly affecting public spaces. The need to understand the evolving role of these spaces as shared resources and as a common good to exercise democratic rights, cultural demands and social needs in a diverse urban environment is highlighted. Public spaces, seen as essential components of urban experience, do play a pivotal role in accommodating the diverse social life of various groups (Madanipour, 2003). The complexity of interactions within public spaces becomes apparent when observing the ways different user groups relate to the urban environment and to each other. Spatial dynamics further complicate the issue, as highlighted by Noussia and Lyons (2009). Coexistence in public spaces may give rise to spatial boundaries, acting as locales where diverse people, activities, and ideas come into contact, maintaining a distinctive contrast. However, this contrast can lead to the exclusion of certain groups, resulting in the colonization of urban space by dominant groups and contributing to a sense of fragmentation. Artificially constructed boundaries in cities, as noted by Hillier, can shape people's experiences of space, potentially reflecting social inequalities in the spaces they occupy (Hillier, 2005). Legeby further emphasizes that inequalities in the use of public space can influence movement flows, co-presence, and the nature of activities, directly contributing to spatial exclusion (Legeby, 2009). The continuous and fast-paced transformation of cities has not only reshaped the physical landscape but has also sparked intricate social conflicts, sets of cultural values and beliefs and political contentions among the diverse urban groups that often assert competing claims over the decisions and processes that influence urban transformations, raising fundamental questions about the fairness and justice of these processes. A prominent concern revolves around the prioritization of affluent urban THE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC SPACE

Public Spaces and Private Conflicts in the New Urban Agenda

Ecology and the Environment, 2019

The New Urban Agenda, developed at the UN-Habitat III conference on sustainable urban development and later adopted by consensus by 193 countries, includes nine paragraphs affirming the importance of robust public space networks for sustainable and functional cities. But what are the essential requirements for functional public space in cities? What are the current challenges and shortcomings-especially at a time of rapid urbanization, and the decline of public spaces in many cities? We report on a literature survey done by the Centre for the Future of Places at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, as part of a collaboration with UN-Habitat towards implementation of the New Urban Agenda. The literature provides ample evidence that public spaces are arenas for numerous potential conflicts, but also, if properly allocated and structured, places of peaceful copresence, creative interaction, participation, and co-production. Furthermore, a critical aspect of successful public space is the ability to self-organise into a structure of territorial regions, combining private interiors with connective public edges. We discuss larger lessons for city structure, design and development strategy, and sustainable urbanisation for the future.

Public Space in the New Urban Agenda. A Global Perspective on Our Common Urban Future

The Journal of Public Space

This article is a report on the work of our group, the Centre for the Future of Places at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and its role as an outgrowth of the Future of Places initiative – a partnership of UN-Habitat, the Ax:son Johnson Foundation, and the Project for Public Spaces. The original Future of Places initiative was a series of high-level conferences that brought together over 1,500 researchers, professionals, government leaders and activists from 275 organizations in 100 countries. The Future of Places also served as the first Urban Thinkers Campus, contributing to Habitat III and the language of its outcome document, the New Urban Agenda (United Nations, 2017). A primary focus of our series was the central role of public space as the connective framework for healthy urbanization – a point we made clear in the introduction to our “Key Messages” document: The Future of Places affirms the role of public spaces as the essential connective network on which hea...

The Requalification of Public Spaces: A challenge for Sustainable Urban Development

The Requalification of Public Spaces: A challenge for Sustainable Urban Development, 2022

The city's growth and rhythms, urban reorganization and transformation of spaces, changes in their uses, and the evolution of the daily practices of the city's social groups raise the question of the issues and interests raised by the requalification of public spaces in terms of their symbolic, esthetic, and functional value. The articles' findings are based on a case study of the Constantine city project "Modernization Plan of the Constantine Metropolis" (PMMC). This new development strategy is primarily based on a program of activities centered on the rehabilitation and upgrading of central urban spaces and the residential proximity of central districts, as well as the realization of internationally emblematic projects that would change the image of the city and bring it into the modern era. The results have demonstrated that it is a matter of concern that the ideal to be achieved should be urban public spaces that are not based on a closed single principle but rather on an open system resulting from the interaction of all actors united. Conviviality and citizen participation are key words for urban modernization and development projects.

Public Space in the New Urban Agenda. The Challenge of Implementation

The Journal of Public Space

The New Urban Agenda – the landmark 2016 agreement for sustainable urban development that has now been adopted by consensus by 193 nations – contains no fewer than nine paragraphs extensively discussing the importance of public space. Among other things, the document describes public spaces as “drivers of social and economic development,” “enhancing safety and security, favoring social and inter-generational interaction and the appreciation of diversity” and “promoting walkability and cycling towards improving health and well-being.” There is also language on the role of public space in enhancing ecological sustainability and resilience, on equity and opportunity, on connectivity and social inclusion, on cultural expression and dialogue, and on broader human development (United Nations, 2017).

Narrative Review of Pertinent Theories on 'Public Space' in Cities

bagh-e nazar, 2023

Problem statement: The problem of space in the public domain of the city extends beyond the simplistic definition used as "opposite of private space". This issue is associated with the socio-spatial structure of urban life and has multiple dimensions formed under the influence of various social, economic, and political dynamics and the agency of city managers, designers, and citizens. Despite the growing concerns about the performance of public spaces in recent decades, there is no consensus among researchers about the different dimensions of "public space". This issue has made it difficult to develop theoretical perspectives and propose practical solutions for this interdisciplinary concept. Research Objective: This study attempts to shed light on the various dimensions of the concept of "public space" and show the contradictions and theoretical gaps in the existing theoretical literature. By combining and criticizing the views, this study aims at developing a new conceptual model and contributes to theory development and reconceptualization of public space. Research method: In line with the purpose of the research, a integrative literature review method was used to develop the theoretical foundations of public space. The data was collected by the bibliographic research method and analyzed through content analysis and meta-analysis methods. Conclusion: The conflicting definitions of public space are tied up with the concerns and interests of multiple stakeholders and influenced by human, contextual, and institutional agencies contributing to human actions. Publicness is a relative, abstract, and dynamic quality and, at the highest level of performance, is the common denominator of the specific characteristics of each space and the response of a multivariate equation, including the role of man, space, city, and time. Public space is a multidialectic system, a contested entity with a wide range of meanings and uses. It does not lend itself to a single definition because it is based on the relationships shaped between agencies, over time, and across space. Different manifestations and possibilities are available to different stakeholders, including citizens, designers, specialists, city managers, and power institutions. The substantive and functional dimensions of public space change under the influence of a series of relationships as a chain reaction and butterfly effect. A minor change in metropolitan processes, the context of public space, human actions, or even the transformation of public space in another part of the city can have far-reaching and unexpected consequences for the publicness of the space. The publicness of space should be explained as a holistic value through an adaptable model by considering the set of factors involved in each specific example and realized with larger strategies and long-term processes.

Marginal public spaces in European cities

Journal of Urban Design, 2004

The main public spaces in European cities are the focus of much attention, whereas marginal public spaces are places of neglect and decline. The concentration of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in limited spaces creates a sense of entrapment. The social fragments that have been put next to each other in deprived neighbourhoods, either by market forces or by public planning, start to crack in public places of these neighbourhoods. On the one hand, intensive use of space by some groups excludes and intimidates others. On the other hands, the limited amount of public space is under the threat of encroachment by other demands on a finite commodity. In these places of fragmentation and competition, communication is often difficult, if not impossible, as different social groups speak different languages, have different attitudes, and have different frameworks. A public space that allows this diversity to become aware of itself through free expression can be a significant asset for such a diverse population. Improving public places can improve the actual conditions of life in these neighbourhoods, while injecting a sense of hope and a better image in the eyes of residents and the outside world. Although a key part of good governance, there is no doubt that this should be put in perspective, as one among a number of issues that need addressing.

Conceptualization and typology of contemporary urban public space

2015

Introduction “Public space” is the subject of a growing academic literature from the full range of social science and humanities disciplines. Each discipline sees public space through a different lens, and with particular interests and concerns to the fore. Political scientists, for example, focus on democratization and on rights in public space; geographers on sense-of-place and placelessness; legal scholars on the ownership of and access in public places; sociologists on human interactions and social exclusion etc. The result is a diverse array of multi-disciplinary approaches towards understanding public space. Furthermore, the combined term "public space" with the words "space" and “the public" and its association with words like "place" and "people" has added to the uncertainty and complexity of this concept. Acknowledging its diversity and differences, the first aim of this paper is to try to shed some light into the meaning and the...