Humans have traditionally been recognized as friendly animals. People may sometimes live lonely lives, but they eventually require social interaction with others and their surroundings. A human being’s daily routine consists of changing motions from one private area to another, with the intermediate space often serving as an urban public space. These are areas where people gather to interact with the city, which is the image in which we perceive cities.

Throughout history, public spaces have been crucial to several reform efforts. Even today, from Pride Parades to Protests against various injustices, public spaces serve as an important backdrop for people’s unity. Public areas also encourage leisure activities and a healthy urban lifestyle. Urban Public Spaces can take many forms, including marketplaces, city squares, parks, civic buildings, walkways and roadways, and transportation hubs.

Importance of urban public spaces

Public spaces influence community relationships in neighbourhoods. They serve as meeting places, facilitating political mobilization, stimulating action, and assisting in crime prevention. They provide opportunities for engagement and exchanging ideas, improving the quality of the urban environment. Urban public spaces also offer health benefits; the more active the community spaces are in the city, the more they enhance life and liveability.

?A good city is like a good party ? people stay longer than really necessary because they are enjoying themselves?

? Jan Gehl

Public space planning focuses on diversity and then reflects on encouraging people to live together with permanence which is one of the reasons for addressing the question of how public spaces enhance urban living leading to urban happiness.

The PPS (Project for Public Spaces) (https://www.pps.org/placemaking) an NGO, dedicated to placemaking and creating healthy public spaces listed several reasons to incorporate urban design principles for designing public areas.

Principles for Designing Urban Public Spaces

The PPS (https://www.pps.org/publications)  has ten principles presented for public spaces in urban design. These principles if considered deliver high-quality public spaces.

• Functional Diversity

Combining residential spaces with commercial spaces, such as bars, restaurants, and cafes attracts people while making the environment safer and welcoming. The functional diversity introduces external activities contributing to more people on the streets thus reducing crime rates.

• Facade Development

The connection between the ground floor of buildings, the sidewalk, and the street adds to the safety and attractiveness of urban architecture. People prefer to use visually appealing streets. According to Jane Jacobs, the perception and usage of public space are mostly determined by roadways and pavements.

• Urban Vitality and Social Dimensions

Public space has an impact on the social dimension. Wide, accessible streets, squares, parks, sidewalks, and urban furniture promote interaction between people and their surroundings and boost urban life. Focusing on high-density metropolitan regions, it is critical to include the periphery, ensuring appropriate public spaces for the population who do not dwell in the city centre.

• Human Scale

High-scale, high-density buildings can have negative consequences on people’s health. In his field research, Jan Gehl discovered that individuals walk faster when going through empty or inactive places, as opposed to the slower, quieter pace of walking in livelier, more dynamic situations. Human-scale buildings improve people’s impressions of public areas by making them feel as if they were taken into account during the planning process.

• Lighting

Efficient and people-oriented lighting allows for the occupancy of public spaces at night, which improves safety. When built on a pedestrian and cyclist scale, public lighting provides the required conditions for safe movement when there is no natural light.

• Local Economy Stimulation

Quality public spaces not only help individuals by providing recreational and living places, but they also have the potential to stimulate the local economy. The safe and appealing environment encourages walking and cycling, resulting in simpler access to local commerce.

• Heritage and Identity

Urban public spaces should be designed to support small enterprises. Large businesses contribute to the economy as a whole, yet they play a minor role on the local scale. Small enterprises and projects have a substantial long-term impact on the community’s personality and identity. When designing a public space, it is critical to consider the social dynamics and cultural specifics of the location; fostering a strong interaction between people and place.

• Complete Streets

Public places should be designed using the ideas of Complete Streets and shared spaces. The Complete Streets; are streets designed to keep all users safe, including walkers, cyclists, automobiles, and public transportation users. It includes well-maintained pavements, bike infrastructure, street furniture, and signages for all users.

• Green Spaces

Vegetation can humanize cities by luring people to outside activities, improving air quality and cooling temperatures during the summer. As cities become denser, access to urban green spaces will become increasingly crucial, as urban forestation can reduce stress and improve overall well-being. Furthermore, trees, plants, and flowerbeds play important roles in urban drainage and biodiversity preservation.

• Social Participation

To sustain the quality of urban public spaces, residents must be involved in the design, planning, and management. The community spaces in cities have a specific set of functions, the user group involvement ensures that the nature of the public space fits their specific needs.

Examples of Urban Public Spaces

• St. Peter?s Square

The spacious oval St. Peter’s Square by Bernini is encircled by Doric colonnades extending down to four columns. The trapezoidal plaza that leads from the Basilica to the Square brings the Basilica into focus. The square is the landmark of the city, opening up the space for various religious and social events and transforming it into a lively public space; an example of functional diversity integration.

Bernini planned the colonnades enclosing the Square to appear humble compared to the Basilica’s royal decoration. The modest Doric columns create an optical illusion as you walk across the Plaza. The columns also appear to move when the viewer’s perspective shifts, providing an intriguing experience for the audience. St. Peter’s Square is still as crowded as it was when it was first built, a prime example of a great public place.

• Gardens by the Bay

This extravagant garden by Grant Associates includes plant greenhouses, lakes, leisure areas, and children’s play areas, among other things. The architecture and technology used to create this garden allow numerous exotic plant species to thrive; raise awareness and promote the green environment. However, the park’s landscape and architecture represent a new wave of public space design for the future. The Garden by the Bay; as an urban public space is an integration of the principles of public space, setting an example that is looked up to.

• The Highline

Friends of The Highline converted an abandoned railway into a linear, elevated public space on Manhattan’s West Side,  a 1.45-mile park. The park combines public and private activities including gardens, performance places, rental spaces, restaurants, boutiques, and interaction areas. Multiple access points generate segregation and a coordinated experience, allowing people to move around and communicate easily. The Highline’s circulation and activity spaces overlap, resulting in a promising connection amongst all users.

Sources

• https://thecityfix.com/blog/public-spaces-10-principles-for-connecting-people-and-the-streets-priscila-pacheco/#:~:text=Public%20areas%20shape%20community%20ties,quality%20of%20the%20urban%20environment.  
• https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat
• https://www.lendlease.com/us/insights/20180913-in-defence-of-the-realm/
• https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/city-and-architecture/a2302-5-famous-urban-public-spaces-and-what-makes-them-famous/
• https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat
• https://www.chapmantaylor.com/insights/the-pivotal-role-of-public-spaces-in-successful-urban-design