The Changing Publicness Of Urban Spaces
Miguel Lopes, Sara Santos Cruz, Paulo Pinho.
Overview
Public spaces have long been the main element of the urban structure. However, the social and spatial configuration of the contemporary city have radically altered the role of public space and inherent public sphere in the set of urban dynamics. Privatization schemes have created new arenas for public life, distorting the traditional urban public spaces. Still, there needs to be a way to characterize public spaces. This paper will set the framework for a new form of evaluating a space’s publicness, forging the path for a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of these spaces’ dynamics. This will allow a better assessment of the features that constitute a successful urban space and how the public can experience and take advantage of it, contributing to redefine the public/private paradigm
