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Public Spaces

Successful urban areas contain a variety of public spaces. These can be parks, squares, gardens, or even a street corner with a couple of benches. There is no set formula for a quality public space, but certain guidelines can be followed:

• Recreational activities: A multitude of activities can be accommodated in public spaces, anything from baseball to skateboarding, or whatever local residents choose to engage in.

A crowd of onlookers observe a game of chess in Washington Square Park, one of New York City's most successful public spaces. Photograph courtesy of the Project for Public Spaces, www.pps.org .

• Entertainment: Public spaces often provide excellent venues for concerts, theatre, markets and parades, especially those in downtown locations.
• Mix of users: When public spaces are in mixed-use urban areas, they attract diverse groups of people and are occupied continually, making them safer for all users.
• Visibility: Public spaces should be located where they can be seen from the street and from neighboring buildings. This lets people know the space is there, and promotes safety.
• Quality, not quantity: A small, well designed public space will attract many more visitors than an expansive paved or grass area.

Venice, Italy, has literally hundreds of public spaces of all sizes, where people meet, eat, play, walk their dogs, or simply stroll up and down. Venice is one of the few cities in the world with no cars. A rail station and parking garage are located at the edge of the city, but all travel within the city is by foot or by boat. In other parts of Europe, the vitality of many public spaces has been dissipated by the presence of large numbers of cars and motorcycles.