Better places for a liveable-and lively- city. A method of Post-Occupancy Evaluation of public spaces

Abstract

Public spaces that attract and retain diverse people are crucial to foster urbanity and tolerance, and build stronger and livelier communities, especially in big cities. The simple coexistence of similarities and differences in public spaces can, to say the least, validate our own essence and offer us a possibility of growth. Sharing the same space with other people – even without interacting with them – favors social learning. Theory suggests that thought, feeling and behavior can be altered by observation. The search for public spaces that make urbanity viable is desirable in any society (especially in more unequal societies, as one can find in developing countries). However, inspired by ideas built on the critique of great urban agglomerations after the Industrial Revolution, cities around the world have undergone transformations that did exactly the opposite. As a series of lifeless places began to emerge, several researchers tried to figure out why this was happening. These researchers found that just wanting to create a lively place was not enough. It was necessary to scrutinize the behavior of people in public spaces in order to understand the relationship between their configuration and use. The knowledge they have built has been largely responsible for the increasing concern with public spaces and their relation to public life since the 1960s. Cities around the world are realizing that empty places could be full of people, and that not only a place full of people is something positive, but an empty place is not. They are learning to see underused public spaces as social, cultural, environmental, and financial waste. However, even with so much information available, it is still possible to find, in any contemporary city, public spaces that fail to support public life. Frequently, little or nothing is done to make them safer or more attractive, diverse and pleasant. It is even more worrying to realize that such places continue to be created. This is the focus of this paper. It brings together available knowledge and experiences in the area of public space design. It also complements, structures and translates such experiences and knowledge into a Public Space Post-Occupancy Evaluation Method, which stresses the importance of observing people and their activities. As a result, one can better understand, observe, assess and, thus, manipulate the main attributes of a public space that may influence its capacity to attract and retain diverse people on a daily basis. The method is offered as a tool to support those who deal with public spaces at different levels – from academic studies to municipal management. It has been used in Brasilia, Brazil, for the past 7 years, with positive results in governmental decision-making processes. A case study is briefly presented to illustrate its use.