Outdoor gallery in Nasher Sculpture Center (PWP, n.d.)
Looking further into factors of accessibility and connectivity that you mentioned as being key elements contributing to high-quality spaces, I’d like to expand on how inclusivity interplays with this. As cities becomes increasingly diverse, it becomes imperative for designers to create spaces that are fully accessible, physically, socially, and culturally, so they can resonate with everyone. Inclusive spaces must be welcoming, feel safe and promote a sense of belonging and engagement amongst all users, whatever their background, identities or abilities may be (Zhou, 2019).
Inclusive design must not leave room for disabling barriers. We’re already well-versed in the principles surrounding wheelchair user and mobility impaired inclusivity, but it’s just as important to understand other aspects of disability, such as learning difficulties, mental illness, and visual or hearing impairments (CABE, 2006). For example, people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties in public spaces due to sensory sensitivities. They may also find it harder to navigate public transport due to crowdedness and unpredictability. For people with ASD, inclusive design would prioritise comfortable environments made to encourage these individuals actively engage, perhaps through incorporating sensory-friendly features (Autism, 2023). But with autism being a spectrum, maybe we, as designers can consider flexible spaces that adapt to changing needs. This could be applied overall too.
Meaningful community engagement is another important aspect of inclusive design but maybe not the most obvious one. This design response will always vary based on cultural and social context, and these are the foremost things we need to understand before we approach the design. Getting the community involved in decision-making is also key to ensuring that we create spaces which resonate with each user and promote a sense of ownership and identity, strengthening inclusivity. In Barcelona, the Superblocks urban initiative is a successful example of including the community in the urban planning. Collaborative efforts and citizen consultations pushed the decision to create pedestrian-friendly streets that prioritise people’s well-being over cars (Postaria, 2021). This showcases how inclusivity through citizen participation which simultaneously, has the potential to enhance urban environments and empower the community who use them.
In essence, there is no one “secret” to achieving high quality public space, but rather a complex journey that we, as designers, must take to maximise it. Inclusive design is just one of many factors in play, alongside others you mentioned, but it is certainly a very important one. However, each factor informs one another, and it might be interesting to look further at how they interplay.
References
Autism and public spaces: Creating a more inclusive environment (2023) (unknown author) Apex ABA Therapy. Available at: https://www.apexaba.com/blog/autism-and-public-spaces (Accessed: 22 December 2023).
CABE (2006) The principles of inclusive design. (They include you.). London: Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. Available at: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/fileadmin/uploads/dc/Documents/the-principles-of-inclusive-design.pdf (Accessed: 25 November 2023).
Postaria, R. (2021) Superblock (superilla) Barcelona-a city redefined. public realm, citiesforum.org. Available at: https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcelona-a-city-redefined/ (Accessed: 20 December 2023).
Zhou, S.L. (2019) Understanding ‘Inclusiveness’ in Public Space: Learning from Existing Approaches, Sustain. Available at: https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2019-50_Understanding%20Inclusiveness%20in%20Public%20Space_Zhou.pdf (Accessed: 25 November 2023).
Looking further into factors of accessibility and connectivity that you mentioned as being key elements contributing to high-quality spaces, I’d like to expand on how inclusivity interplays with this. As cities becomes increasingly diverse, it becomes imperative for designers to create spaces that are fully accessible, physically, socially, and culturally, so they can resonate with everyone. Inclusive spaces must be welcoming, feel safe and promote a sense of belonging and engagement amongst all users, whatever their background, identities or abilities may be (Zhou, 2019).
Inclusive design must not leave room for disabling barriers. We’re already well-versed in the principles surrounding wheelchair user and mobility impaired inclusivity, but it’s just as important to understand other aspects of disability, such as learning difficulties, mental illness, and visual or hearing impairments (CABE, 2006). For example, people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties in public spaces due to sensory sensitivities. They may also find it harder to navigate public transport due to crowdedness and unpredictability. For people with ASD, inclusive design would prioritise comfortable environments made to encourage these individuals actively engage, perhaps through incorporating sensory-friendly features (Autism, 2023). But with autism being a spectrum, maybe we, as designers can consider flexible spaces that adapt to changing needs. This could be applied overall too.
Meaningful community engagement is another important aspect of inclusive design but maybe not the most obvious one. This design response will always vary based on cultural and social context, and these are the foremost things we need to understand before we approach the design. Getting the community involved in decision-making is also key to ensuring that we create spaces which resonate with each user and promote a sense of ownership and identity, strengthening inclusivity. In Barcelona, the Superblocks urban initiative is a successful example of including the community in the urban planning. Collaborative efforts and citizen consultations pushed the decision to create pedestrian-friendly streets that prioritise people’s well-being over cars (Postaria, 2021). This showcases how inclusivity through citizen participation which simultaneously, has the potential to enhance urban environments and empower the community who use them.
In essence, there is no one “secret” to achieving high quality public space, but rather a complex journey that we, as designers, must take to maximise it. Inclusive design is just one of many factors in play, alongside others you mentioned, but it is certainly a very important one. However, each factor informs one another, and it might be interesting to look further at how they interplay.
References
Autism and public spaces: Creating a more inclusive environment (2023) (unknown author) Apex ABA Therapy. Available at: https://www.apexaba.com/blog/autism-and-public-spaces (Accessed: 22 December 2023).
CABE (2006) The principles of inclusive design. (They include you.). London: Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. Available at: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/fileadmin/uploads/dc/Documents/the-principles-of-inclusive-design.pdf (Accessed: 25 November 2023).
Postaria, R. (2021) Superblock (superilla) Barcelona-a city redefined. public realm, citiesforum.org. Available at: https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcelona-a-city-redefined/ (Accessed: 20 December 2023).
Zhou, S.L. (2019) Understanding ‘Inclusiveness’ in Public Space: Learning from Existing Approaches, Sustain. Available at: https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2019-50_Understanding%20Inclusiveness%20in%20Public%20Space_Zhou.pdf (Accessed: 25 November 2023).
First of all, thanks for your sharing. It is very happy to see you show so many interesting things about public space.
As we all know, public space is a necessary and high of importance element in a city. Thus, each government pays a lot of attention to the public space to create a prefect place for the city. While it is also pretty hard to do that, only a few designers have the ability to build up a wonderful area, because too many small things need to be considered. As a high-quality public space, it must meet the following requirements: superior geographical location, good transportation conditions, complete facilities, cultural significance and safety.(Avritzer, 2002) For example, Robert W. Wilson Overlook Park is an important part of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the park features a new crape myrtle garden with immersive seasonal ornamental grasses and perennials, with sweeping views of Cherry Avenue and the gardens. This is a perfect example to combine landscape with park to provide a wonderful public space to the society(Serreli, 2013). Moreover, in Chengdu, China, there are a lot of popular parks in this city. Chengdu Wangjiang Tower Park is one of them. It is located on the south bank of Jinjiang River in the east gate of Chengdu. It is famous both at home and abroad for its cultural relics such as the Wangjiang Tower ancient building complex, the Memorial Hall of the famous female poet Xue Tao of the Tang Dynasty, and various rare and exotic bamboos. Therefore, many middle-aged and elderly people were attracted to drink tea and play chess here. As time went by, the reputation became more and more popular. Coupled with the rapid development of China’s tourism industry, it became a well-known tourist attraction in just a few years, which contributed to the local economy. While generating income, it also promotes urban culture to the outside world.
Reference:
Rutledge, A.J. (1985) A visual approach to park design. New York: Wiley.
Avritzer, L. (2002) Democracy and the Public Space in Latin America. Course Book.. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Serreli, S. (2013) City project and public space. Dordrecht: Springer.
The theme of this paper is the secret of high-quality public space, mainly discussing the feasibility and rationality of different development directions of public space in the future. As an indispensable part of the city, the quality of public space will greatly affect the appearance of the city and residents’ life, and bring economic and social benefits to the community and the local urban area. Therefore, the exploration of public space is the exploration of urban innovation.
The British government defines urban public space as “all parts of the man-made and natural environment that are freely accessible to the public”. In addition, there are many types of public Spaces, among which formal, larger public Spaces are places for residents to interact and live. The smaller public Spaces are mostly used for recreation and recreation. Public Spaces range from urban squares to small urban open Spaces or other ancillary urban Spaces.
In developing countries, for example, cities are constantly growing and space is constantly being renewed. At present, China’s urban construction has changed from quantitative change to qualitative change, and urban construction has also changed from scale to quality. With the development of society, the urban living environment has been continuously improved, and the requirements of all social parties for urban infrastructure are also increasing. The needs of residents make the development process of urban public space need to catch up with the pace of urban development. At present, China’s urban public space is undergoing a space revolution, and the study of the interaction between urban life and spatial elements is helpful to improve the design quality of urban space.
The construction of urban public space should hold the principle of people-oriented, and the demand and experience of residents should be the core and yardstick of space construction. At the same time, urban space should include as many types of activities as possible and the needs and value orientations of different groups. The impression of urban space should be comprehensive and diverse, with various Spaces interacting with each other, and the boundaries and scales between them should be blurred, while the public space can serve more as a fusion and connection.
Reference list：
Lan Yi（2022）Urban Elements.Landmark Space.Elements of Vitality and Attractiveness of Public Space.Avaliable at:https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/555311839
Shan Liang, Liu Yingbin(2023)Theoretical Study: Attractive Ecological Public Space Creation in High-Density Mega-Cities.Avaliable at:https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/656432897