#urban public space

[archiveofaffinities]

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Wall of Barrels - Iron Curtain, Rue Visconti, Paris, France, 1962

[hydromorphcontinxr]

Train station last night

[lucyslenses]

Red Line - Blue Line Transfer Corridor.

Shot with Nikon D100.

[typhlonectes]

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Whimsical public spaces 🌱💕

[juliaknz]

SCHNEIDER STUDER PRIMAS ZWICKY SÜD, 2016 Dübendorf, Switzerland Image © Andrea Helbling

[moodboardmix]

Zikawei Library, Shanghai, China,

Before it became the Zikawei Library, the building was designed as a bookstore by David Chipperfield Architects. Unfortunately, just after the facade and the structure of the building were completed, the building was left vacant. 

After two investments of the bookstore had bowed out, this building was eventually designated to be the public library in Zikawei District and named the Zikawei Library.

Wutopia Lab

[fabriciomora]

Midjorney explorations by fmtmblr

[upstairsdownstairsandinbetween]

Kos Haji Baun Public Residence, Haji Baun, Jakarta, Java, Indonesia,

FFFAAARRR

[arc-hus]

Sands End Arts and Community Centre, London - Mae

https://www.mae.co.uk/

[archiveofaffinities]

Times Square, New York, New York, 1956

[eelhound]

"It’s easy to take the city’s parks for granted. But when more and more social interaction takes place from behind computer and phone screens; when fewer and fewer people meet their romantic partners through real-world social networks; when fewer Americans report having close friends than ever and more say they’re spending less time with those they do have and feeling increasingly lonely — the very existence of public spaces for leisure, open for all to enjoy free of charge, is something to cherish.

Those spaces haven’t always existed. In the United States and elsewhere, public parks, recreation centers, and swimming pools were the product of social turmoil and political struggle, with socialists often playing key roles in creating and defending such spaces. Nobody’s thinking about class struggle as they flip hotdogs on the public grill. But because they serve the collective good rather than private profits, public parks are a challenge to the logic of capitalism...

Because public parks and recreational venues are publicly owned, operated for the common good rather than private profit, and generally open to all without regard for ability to pay, they do not obey the logic of for-profit capitalist enterprises or commodities. And as socialists from Milwaukee to Malmö have recognized, they provide rare spaces for collective enjoyment, discussion, and education of the kind we’ll need to build a better world. Green spaces where we can toss frisbees or soak up the sun, it turns out, have political value too.

My first spring park excursion this year was an evening a couple months ago, when the air was still brisk but didn’t require a coat. I picked up a tall boy from a corner store and made my way past the food trucks in front of the Brooklyn Museum and the pedestrians and bikers crunching together near Grand Army Plaza, eventually getting onto the walking path that leads into Prospect Park from the north side.

After wending onto a small trail that led me to the main lawn, I found my friends drinking beers in a small circle, listening to music on a small speaker; similar groups were scattered around the grass, along with dogs and people playing catch and flying kites. It was a totally ordinary scene, but being there — enjoying the park’s respite from the atomized concrete chaos of the city — filled me with a sense of relief and gratitude. You only need a few moments like that on a warm spring evening to know that socialists have been right to care so much about public parks."

- Nick French, from "Socialists Love Public Parks Because They Belong to Everyone." Jacobin, 24 June 2023.

[tedrzewa]

Nowy Sącz, ul. Grunwaldzka

[blurban-form]

Twelve Quality Criteria

This is a simple tool that was created by Jan Gehl Architects to easily capture info about what makes an area attractive (or not) to the people who use it!

There are twelve aspects to review in three categories.

It’s an easy-to-use tool, anyone can do it. You go to a location, observe it for a while to become familiar with it, and then use smiley-face emojis to rate each of the twelve criteria.

🙂 Yes

😑 In between

🙁 No

Note if you do this as a group, different evaluations may result from different locations within the same larger location! And two evaluators may have different findings for the same location.

Maybe try it out sometime in a place you go to regularly.

Lots more… please keep reading…

1. Protection

Protection against traffic and accidents

Do groups across age and ability experience traffic safety in the public space? Can one safely bike and walk without fear of being hit by a driver?

Protection against harm by others

Is the public space perceived to be safe both day and night? Are there people and activities at all hours of the day because the area has, for example, both residents and offices? Does the lighting provide safety at night as well as a good atmosphere?

Protection against unpleasant sensory experience

Are there noises, dust, smells, or other pollution? Does the public space function well when it's windy? Is there shelter from strong sun, rain, or minor flooding?

2. Comfort

Options for mobility

Is this space accessible? Are there physical elements that might limit or enhance personal mobility in the forms of walking, using a wheelchair, or pushing a stroller? Is it evident how to move through the space without having to take an illogical detour?

Options to stand and linger

Does the place have features you can stay and lean on, like a façade that invites one to spend time next to it, a bus stop, a bench, a tree, or a small ledge or niche?

Options for sitting

Are there good primary seating options such as benches or chairs? Or is there only secondary seating such as a stair, seat wall, or the edge of a fountain? Are there adequate non-commercial seating options so that sitting does not require spending money?

Options for seeing

Are seating options placed so there are interesting things to look at?

Options for talking/listening/hearing

Is it possible to have a conversation here? Is it evident that you have the option to sit together and have a conversation?

Options for play, exercise, and activities

Are there options to be active at multiple times of the day and year?

3. Enjoyment

Scale

Is the public space and the building that surrounds it at a human scale? If people are at the edges of the space, can we still relate to them as people or are they lost in their surroundings?

Opportunities to enjoy the positive aspects of climate

Are local climatic aspects such as wind and sun taken into account? Are there varied conditions for spending time in public spaces at different times of year? With this in mind, where are the seating options placed? Are they located entirely in the shadows or the sun? And how are they oriented/placed in relation to wind? Are they protected?

Experience of aesthetic qualities and positive sensory experiences

Is the public space beautiful? Is it evident that there is good design both in terms of how things are shaped, as well as their durability?

[cyan-glittermoss]

vibes 1/1/2024 ~*

[derearchiviatoria]

La Villette park Paris, France 1982 Michel Corajoud (1937–2014), architect Elia Zenghelis (1937–), architect Rem Koolhaas (1944–), architect OMA (1975–), architect