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8/4/2019 Social Usage
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Social Usage
‘‘One may describe the city in its social aspect as a special framework directed toward the creation of
differentiated opportunities for a common life and a significant collective drama’’ (L. Mumford, 1938).
Good public space attempts to cater for interaction between people and to add a sense of community.
It can serve as a series of nodes where the collective drama of city life can unfold. The urban park and
square are examples of public spaces that have been containers for this urban expression of life.
Cities present a different set of characteristics when compared to rural life. Anonymity and greater
freedom from intimate groups often cause a state of anomie.
Public space can facilitate inclusion and social interaction on different scales. This interaction can
manifest itself through spontaneous conversations struck up by chance meetings of those we already
know, with strangers we randomly encounter, through special community and identity building events
(e.g. art exhibitions, musical events) or simply by sitting down on a park bench and watching other
people as they act within the space.
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How a public space is
physically formed has a profound effect upon the nature of its use. Social and anti-social behaviour
often emerges directly from design factors. Public space at its best serves to provide places of
community that are safe, comfortable and enjoyable. Public space is important for the liveability of a
city, as an asset for illustrating an historical character and a canvas to portray a city’s unique identity.
Frequently public space fails to give a city the benefits originally intended in it's design stage. Public
spaces are a reflection of social values and culture. They are an expression of the relations between
social, economic and physical realities, and signify the broader culture or society in which they exist.
They can gain meaning through the various activities and functions which they perform. When public
spaces are absent in a society, people become more cut off from each other and social contact
becomes more problematic. Anonymity and anomie that are associated with an urban lifestyle are lesseasily overcome when good public space is absent.
Urban public space
developments have been expensive undertakings and have come under some criticism. Questions like:
‘‘what useful purpose do they serve?’’ often emerge. Frequently the open nature of public space is
seen as wasteful within a crowded urban environment. The pressure to dedicate more space to the
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automobile, to commercial purposes and to private residential areas is a major threat to public space
and conflict can arise.
The modernist style of planning that was inspired by Le Corbusier saw no logic in leaving an open
space in a city centre as a meeting point for people rather than cars. The damage this style of planning
causes lies in the destruction of social networks that add to people’s quality of life and enjoyment of the city.
These architects and designers who placed the personal automobile at the top of their planning
agendas, have come under criticism for creating spaces that are similar to a great visible ego rather
than spaces that are designed to enhance people’s urban experience. Pedestrian streets were turned
over to car use while squares became junctions and intersections. The impact of this kind of planning
can be seen in many American cities like Detroit and Los Angeles. The lifeblood of many cities, social
activity, drained away as a result. William H Whyte wrote of this problem in smaller cities stating that
‘‘they have torn down old buildings and not replaced them…. parking lots and garages become the
dominant land use, often accounting for more than fifty percent of downtown.’’ This seemingly short-
term view of public space by planners may be representative of wider discourses on modernity. As
Marshall Berman pointed out ‘‘The painter or novelist or philosopher of modern life is one who
concentrates his vision and energy on its fashions, its morals, its emotions, on the passing moment
and all the suggestions of eternity that it contains’’.
The destruction or absence of social networks invariably leads to a general absence of people which in
turn can leave the city streets, squares and parks open to anti-social behaviour, increased social
segregation, crime and vandalism. The physical destruction that occurs can ruin the historical fabric of
a city and remedying this destruction is often not possible or becomes prohibitively costly.
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That is not to say that the destruction of quality urban space was intended, but it was one significant
result of negating public space and prioritising the car. Traffic dominated space detracts from
pedestrian interaction as the automobile becomes the focus of attention rather than other people.
Traffic also detracts from the overall aesthetic quality. One important point that must be made is that
automobiles are often conveniently identified as the culprits responsible for the ills of cities and the
failings or problems found within urban planning. The car is not the only cause of the degradation of
public space but it is a notable causal factor.
The bubble like environment of the personal automobile has attracted many people into avoiding the
public sphere. Almost everything within a car can be altered to suit its occupant. This can range from
the type of music to temperature and seat height. The occupant is shielded from the surrounding city
and the public by a metallic and plastic case. D.Drummond writes that the automobile has replaced the
ancestral home of the 19th century as the conspicuous status seeking object. It enables the new elite
not only to display its wealth but also to travel between the non-threatening spaces within which it
exists.
The following time-lapse video of a German public square is a good illustration of how the automobile
has been given a central role of importance spatially while pedestrians flows are moved to the
periphery:
Benefits of Public Space
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Well-designed, managed and
maintained public space can be one of a city’s most valuable assets, and can provide long-term
benefits. It can reduce crime levels, bestow a sense of place, increase social interaction, aid a sense of
community, encourage tourism, boost surrounding business, and become centres for recreation for a
wide range of age groups. To develop these spaces for the private sphere in search of capital gain only
is to ignore the nuanced nature of public space. Noted Geographer Steven Flusty pointed out that
‘‘traditional public spaces are increasingly supplanted by privately produced, although often publicly
subsidized, privately owned and administered spaces for public aggregation’’.
A city’s public spaces need not be devoid of business or enterprise however. The availability of food
added to the quality of a public space. This could open doors for many small local businesses.
Environmental benefits emerge from public spaces such as pedestrianised streets and urban parks.
These benefits include: less air pollution due to a lower level of motorised vehicles, better air quality
due to the presence of trees and plants, lower noise pollution than a car filled street, and a more
aesthetically pleasing environment.
Natural Elements
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Sun, shade, wind, water and vegetation all play important roles in the quality of a public space. Their
presence can influence how enjoyable a space is for people to spend time in or pass through. Sunshine
in climates such as Ireland or Sweden is very favourable for a public space. People enjoy having
lunch or picnics and generally being in the warmth of the sun for a period. On a day with high levels
of sunshine in countries with hotter climate people also like to have the option of shade open to them
without having to leave the public space.
Community and Public Urban Space
‘‘A city is more than the sum of its inhabitants. It has the power to generate a surplus of amenity,
which is one reason why people like to live in communities rather than in isolation’’ (G.Cullen, 1961).
The individual is embodied within the city, and the spaces through which they move are held together
by administrative surfaces such as the cash economy, as well as material surfaces. These
administrative surfaces or systems of urban life do not always complement the formation of
community or encourage meaningful interaction. The cash economy provides a shallow exchange of
money for product. In certain situations technology can have more interaction with an individual than
other people can. Modernity has brought with it a series of technologies that replace personal
interfaces (ATM machines for example).
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Public space can offer a realm in which the lifeworld and community can prevail through establishing
social contact. Community is vital to a city’s liveability, safety and survival. Degradation of public
space, loss of community, decline of public transport and reliance on the automobile decrease the
overall liveability of a city.
Public space has been consistently eroded through privatisation and the prioritising of traffic over
pedestrians. Privatisation leads to space becoming more regulated and less open to people who do not
serve a purpose that directly relates to it. This has been seen to happen throughout many cities in the
United States and Western Europe. This privatisation can occur in what often officially remains public
space.
Defensive architectural strategies are often employed in the private sphere and increasingly in the
public one. This is done to prevent unwanted access or misuse. Vandalism is a very common example
of misuse. CCTV systems are being used in many cities and are rapidly being introduced to others.
People who pass under the gaze of a CCTV camera become more self-conscious and aware that
certain behaviour is expected and that other behaviours are prohibited. H.Koskela calls the process of
people being observed by this technology falling under the gaze without eyes. Many private homes are
places where defensive architecture is heavily used. This has been largely an attempt to separate the
home from its surroundings due to fear of intrusion, violence or theft. Alarm systems, pressure pads,
dead bolt doors, photoelectric sensors that activate security lights, panic buttons and many more
technologies are becoming popular. This attempt to create a bubble has been controversial as some
have said it represents turning away from the wider community.
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Strategies such as gating, policing and other surveillance systems,and defensive urbanism do provide certain people with a limited sense of security. But such settings do not, according to recent
studies,always diminish actual danger. And they also contribute to accentuating a general sense of
fear by increasing paranoia anddistrust (N.Ellin, 1997).
Corporate, residential and institutional spaces make most use of this defensive architecture. These
types of defensive architectural strategies can be found within original design plans or implemented
following the distortion of a space from its intended purpose. This can be seen where barriers are
erected to prevent skate boarders using places. Multiple agendas are at work within the public sphere.A question of, ‘What is your purpose here?’ can emerge where security guards are employed in these
types of areas. William H. Whyte noted that ‘‘it takes real work to create a lousy place’’ and by this he
means space that is purposefully made uncomfortable through design or human action. Metallic
seating barriers and spiked poles are further examples of this defensiveness.
Sexism in Public Space
‘’The city and its public spaces are associated both with fear and with delight, with danger and heady
freedoms’’ (L.McDowell, 1999).
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The city has long been a place of both emancipation and conflict for women. Public space played a roleas a site for both. Sexism persisted through the different historical periods from the Greek origins of
public space to the modern period and it still persists today in various forms. The movement of
women within public spaces has long been a contested issue. Women were excluded from
the agora when the men made decisions relating to their city as women had no vote. If a woman was
seen too often in a public space such as a square in late nineteenth century England, then her
reputation was tarnished. A woman could easily be labelled as ‘fallen’ or ‘immoral’ by male dominated
society. The public sphere was thought of as a place for men to carry out their business and to
converse. The presence of a female within public space symbolically threatened the patriarchal
hierarchy on which society functioned. The private sphere and especially the domestic home were
associated with the female and for a woman to leave this sphere she needed a ‘‘valid’’ reason or to be
accompanied. Research has shown that women’s use of and movement through public space differs
from that of men. Feminist Geographer Gill Valentine points out that ‘‘everyday most women in
western societies negotiate space alone. Many of their apparently ‘taken for granted’ choices of routes
and destinations are in fact the product of ‘coping strategies’ women adopt to stay safe’’.
Differences in movement patterns of men and women within cities, at different times of the day and
night have been recorded. The city has been both a place of emancipation and control for women
historically. The feminist critique that the ‘‘overall layout of cities in general reflects a patriarchal
capitalist society’s expectations of what type of activities take place, where and by whom’’ has aconceptual bearing on public space as a geography of safety and sexism. The city centre, and thus any
public space, can end up being a place filled with fear rather than an enjoyable civic entity. Making
streets safer for women makes streets safer for everyone.