The moment one steps out of his or her private space such as their home, work space etc. they are automatically in the public realm. Everyone in the world irrespective of age, background or status invariably tends to use public spaces. Whether it is a city or a village, these spaces are a clump of ventures that exist because of its users and must be able to respond towards their needs.
The soul of a city lies in its ability to regale public life and make the interactions between the users and space, rewarding. That’s how a public space should be. But in reality, it can be very discriminating space, if a young woman can’t cross a public place without feeling shaken or defenceless while a man can use it however he wishes to. That’s where it becomes a restricted space but not a public place.
So, ‘what is a public space?’ A public space is a social interactive space that promotes engagement with the communities and its environment and gives opportunities, and also transmits a sense of security and creativity intangibly.
For me, public space can be interpreted as the public living room of a city, of which our houses are the bedrooms. A place where everyone, regardless of his or her background and ideology, can communicate with each other, share laughter and enter in to debate about anything. It is also a place in which people can sit and look at other people, while they can also be left unhindered if they want to be alone amongst strangers. Despite the public character, the place must ensure intimacy and give people the feeling of safety and comfort.
In addition, a good public space must be able to emphasise a transition and interplay from the private domain to the public domain, whereby one for instance - while sitting at home - can look at a square from the window of his house and can let his thoughts wander for a moment.
Public spaces exist for various users and in different forms. One can distinguish between open public spaces such as beaches, parks, pavements or squares and closed public spaces such as libraries, museums etc. Streets and sidewalks can also be considered public spaces that exist to promote mobility. Some places may be self-regulating in their use as different spaces at different times. So basically, a public space is identified and defined based on the activities of the people.
No human life, not even the life of the hermit in nature's wilderness, is possible without a world which directly or indirectly testifies to the presence of other human beings. Thus need for social interaction requires a place which lays the basic need for public spaces.
Public spaces play a vital role in the social and economic life of communities. New kinds of public spaces and meeting places are now being created in towns and cities, which can be an important social resource. The main sole purpose of investing in quality of public spaces is to improve the use of spaces and to unite networks. However, the success of a particular public space is not solely in the hands of the architect, urban designer or town planner, it relies also on people adopting, using and managing the space. Enrique Penalosa (a Journalist, an Urban and Transportation Policy Consultant and a Columbian Politician) says: “Public Space is for living, doing business and playing. Its value can’t be measured with economics or mathematics; it must be felt with the soul.”
We know a country is known by its people belonging to different cities. A city’s character is identified by its public places. The public places are designed for people. Its quality determines how people use the place. So, people make public spaces, and then it makes people and ultimately, making one’s country known. As Hugh Newell Jacobsen (U.S. Architect) said: “When you look at a city, it’s like reading the hopes, aspirations and pride of everyone who built it.”
Investment in public spaces is the key to transform our communities and make them stronger. Hence, it also allows culture to thrive. It can be looked at as a gateway to cultural development in a society. It gives an opportunity for people of varied cultures, backgrounds and races to come together and showcase their culture and at the same time experience new cultures unfamiliar to them. It is a place where cultural and social development is possible. “Cultures and climate differs all over the world, but people are the same. They’ll gather in public, if you give them a good place to do it” (Jan Gehl, Danish Architect) For example, in a colony a public space creates a bridge of connections between different communities, it brings them together.
Public spaces not only play a vital role in cultural development but is also important in the personal development of an individual. It helps in developing personal ideals and values of a particular individual and realising one's own character and beliefs.
Public space also presents health benefits for both physical and mental. People feel better in them and tend to me more active in attractive public spaces. For example, a public park with a jogging track would operate more than a simple green patch given. Humans need a significant piece of elements that invites interaction of human and its surrounding and draws them closer.
People often ask, what makes a public space great?
The answer is simple, it should be accessible, it should be comfortable and people should be able to engage in an array of activities. A great public space can be characterised by the presence of people remaining when they have no pressing reason to stay. It should be welcoming and should move beyond mono-cultures that is to encourage diverse groups and activities to share a common space. And yes! Having features that attract the visitors to the site. As Jan Gehl (Danish Architect) says: “A good city is like a good party — people stay longer than really necessary, because they are enjoying themselves.”
What I have experienced personally, is enough to convince me, that public spaces play an essential role in the development of an individual. My first experience was that when I had volunteered in Placemaking Event at Punjab University organized by Peacemakers Pakistani in 2019. Infront of our canteen was a green space that was not properly utilized by the students as there was not an attractive element that would create a sense of interest in that particular space. Our main goal was to create that space into a social interactive space.
When we begin our placemaking, people promptly started to take interest in our process: we planted flowers, made a sitting inside and in the nearby space, added fun elements like DIY tire seats. It was a decent change, but this change also brought in the change of human behavior rapidly, not only it was used by the students of our Arts Departments, but the students of neighboring departments as well, they came to spend their time alone or with their friends. Soon it became a point of interaction (a meeting place). I myself, with my friends, would sit there before or after classes with a cup of tea chatting and observing other people.
The place that was once like a barren land was now filled with people, giving a sense of life and refreshing to look at. It was used in a certain rhythms, like, in the morning workers would relax there after working or mowing up the grass, at noon students would rush there enjoy and relax after classes, or some teachers will meet up there to discuss and in the evening mostly students (seniors and juniors both) would sit there. The project did convince me enough about how public spaces can transform human behavior and has positive effects on them physically and mentally.
I will end it with a quote by Charles Montgomery (Canadian Writer and an Urbanist): “There is a message for all city makers here. It is that with the right triangulation, even the ugliest of places can be infused with the warmth that turns strangers into familiars by giving us enough reason to slow down.”
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