Whose Public Space?: International Case Studies in Urban Design and Development

ISBN-13: 9780415553858 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 274 str.

Ali Madanipour

Opis

Public spaces mirror the complexities of urban societies: as historic social bonds have weakened and cities have become collections of individuals public open spaces have also changed from being embedded in the social fabric of the city to being a part of more impersonal and fragmented urban environments. Can making public spaces help overcome this fragmentation, where accessible spaces are created through inclusive processes? This book offers some answers to this question through analysing the process of urban design and development in international case studies, in which the changing character, level of accessibility, and the tensions of making public spaces are explored. The book uses a coherent theoretical outlook to investigate a series of case studies, crossing the cultural divides to examine the similarities and differences of public space in different urban contexts, and its critical analysis of the process of development, management and use of public space, with all its tensions and conflicts. While each case study investigates the specificities of a particular city, the book outlines some general themes in global urban processes. It shows how public spaces are a key theme in urban design and development everywhere, how they are appreciated and used by the people of these cities, but also being contested by and under pressure from different stakeholders.

Spis treści

1. Introduction  Part 1: Changing Nature of Public Space in City Centres  2. Less Public Than Before? Public Space Improvement in Newcastle City Centre  3. Youth Participation and Revanchist Regimes: Redeveloping Old Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne  4. Can Public Space Improvement Revive the City Centre? The Case of Taichung, Taiwan  5. Change in the public spaces of traditional cities: Zaria, Nigeria  Part 2: Public Space and Everyday Life in Urban Neighbourhoods  6. Marginal Public Spaces in Europe  7. Gating the Streets: The Changing Shape of Public Spaces in South Africa  8. Public Spaces within Modern Residential Areas in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  9. The Design and Development of Public Open Spaces in an Iranian New Town  10. Making Public Space in Low Income Neighbourhoods in Mexico  11. Co-Production of Public Space: Redefinition of Social Meaning, the Case of Nord-Pas de Calais, France  12. Whose Public Space?

O autorze

Ali Madanipour is Professor of Urban Design at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK.