From data to decision: empirical application of machine learning in public space planning along the Grand Canal, Shandong Province, China

Integrating the Community in Urban Design and Planning of Public Spaces: A Review in Malaysian Cities

Public space has critical importance for the city and society because it forms a sense of community. The debate on the end of public space, which is ongoing as the privatization in the city rises, moves on to a new phase with the Covid-19 outbreak. Since the perception of public spaces will be a determinant factor in the future of the city, the question arises: How the perception and usage of the public, virtual public and pseudo-public spaces (particularly shopping malls) have been affected by the recent Covid-19 pandemic? The aim of this study is to examine the changing perception and usage of public and pseudo-public spaces during the Covid-19 outbreak in Istanbul, Turkey. Within this scope, an online survey was conducted with 337 participants living in Istanbul between the dates of 1–5 June 2020. With this survey, the change in perceptions and usage of these spaces based on personal, residential and district characteristics were investigated. The findings of the study revealed statistically significant differences between the perceptions and usage of public spaces and pseudo-public spaces before and after the Covid-19 outbreak in terms of personal, residential and district characteristics. According to survey results, there would be a significant decrease in the frequency of possible visits to public places. The outbreak reduces interest in virtual spaces as a leisure activity, but it also increases the interest in virtual spaces as a shopping and meeting/chat platform. In addition, it was determined that the demand for shopping centres and virtual platforms as both before-after-the-outbreak leisure activities decreased significantly as the amount of green space per capita increases. Besides, the diminishing reputations of pseudo-public spaces and the increasing importance of virtual public spaces may be observed from the survey results. The longer the outbreak, the greater its impact on the design and planning of public spaces and pseudo-public spaces. Rather than planning huge and crowded spaces such as big squares and huge malls, there is likely a shift toward planning a large number of small-scale public spaces within walking distance.

The concept of “public space” occasionally appears in legal documents of the State of Vietnam, especially in laws. On the contrary, in ordinary newspaper articles, “public space” is often mentioned under various terms including “public place”, “public location”, “public buildings”, etc. At the same time, public space falls in the scope of various aspects of interest, particularly urban public spaces. Thus, it is needed that the State's ideology and legal policies on public spaces are defined. Such challenge “suggests” that we analyze the currently available documents of previous researchers, searching in various regulatory documents of the State, as well as statistical documents and conducting in-depth interviews with urban planning experts to present an understanding of the State's ideology and legal policies on public spaces in Vietnam.
 Various documents and researches have shown that the current planning policies in Vietnam consider land planning as a “golden mold” because the priority of the State still lies in economic, commercial, security and defense goals. These are the decisive factors that dominate other residential services, which is different from the modern logic of integrated planning, that, in turn, is based on three main pillars: i) Population planning and changes in demand for “residential services” in the broadest sense of this phrase (housing services; transportation services; medical services; educational services; cultural services; media services; environment, security and defense activities,...); ii) Administrative land planning; and iii) Land planning for economic and commercial activities. As a result of the current, yet simple categorization of land used in annual statistical documents, in the future, public space will not only be difficult to expand but also be narrowed in correlation with the growing population density, especially in urban areas. Meanwhile, the planning of public spaces of the previous periods still leaves us with lessons of the integrated and complex model to meet people's needs. The comparison of two French logic of integrated planning and the “socio-economic” spatial planning logic, taking economic and commercial in Anglo-Saxon-style as the central element also contributes to unravel the “ideology and policies of the planning of public spaces” of the state of Vietnam, although scientifically, the boundary between these two planning logic has now almost been blurred.
 Keywords:
 Public space planning; legal documents on public space planning; traffic space; spiritual space; entertainment and entertainment space; integrated logic; People's needs.

Greenhouse gases emissions resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels are worsening air quality and affecting the climate system. While climate change impacts on meteorological variables affects air quality by altering the concentration and distribution of pollutants, air pollution significantly influences the climate, leading to negative impacts on human health. Due to the combination of high temperatures, air pollution, and high population density, cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The planning and design of public spaces aimed at climate change mitigation and adaptation can result in multiple co-benefits for human health, while reducing social inequalities. To address the major research gaps in the communication between health and planning experts, and the lack of capacity among public sectors and policy makers, it is necessary to promote capacity building and knowledge sharing between the planning and health sectors. The purpose of this article is to develop preliminary recommendations for a process that allows a comprehensive assessment of the interlinkages between climate and health, social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities, and the quality of the urban spaces, to support local governments, policymakers, and education institutions in making informed decisions for public spaces. The methods applied were a literature review and interviews with experts.

<p>Public spaces constitute a relevant part of the landscape of the ordinary city. According to the European Landscape Convention, studies and designs of public spaces, in particular of open spaces, should appropriately focus on the different users who inhabit it and recognise themselves in these spaces. In this sense, close to the traditional studies on morphological characteristics, urban materials and equipment, it is useful to explore the performances of public spaces in innovative ways. This article proposes to come back to emphasise and highlight daily life, still today forgotten as a relevant component of a good design and planning of public spaces. It underlines the importance of the gaze on the everyday and ordinary for urbanism, through some introductory experiences of designed urban spaces and some concepts, such as ‘practices’ and ‘way of uses’. Moreover, it offers a review of different lines of studies on public life and other research interested in daily urban practices. Among these, the article focuses on rhythm and chronographic analysis, which describe practices of use, urban populations and their rhythms of presence within places. In conclusion are presented some opportunities that an adoption of the proposed approaches to everyday could bring to a better management, maintenance and planning of public spaces.<strong></strong></p>

Public spaces are considered one of the fundamental elements in the urban context to promote leisure and recreation for urban dwellers. Public spaces contain variations within each other from the physical appearance, activities, and to usage factors. Private sector involvement for public space provision was increased in the recent past where public space ownership and access controls were shifted from solely public to private. This was criticized as privatization of public space and lead to debates on the decline of publicness and privacy of space. In this context, this research studied the public space from the user perception by considering publicly owned and operated versus privately owned and operated public spaces within Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is also explored the balance between ownership and access controls to determine the user preference in terms of the publicness features. User defined public space features were identified using 35 semi-structured interviews and 119 online questionnaire surveys. Qualitative analytic tools were used to evaluate the results including Content analysis and Space-shaper models with the support of NVivo software. The results revealed that publicly owned spaces were preferred by the users due to easy access and freedom for activities while privately owned spaces were preferred due to better infrastructure, safety, and security within. Also, it is identified that urban public space offered users the freedom to experience based on the levels of ownership and access controls. Finally, people preferred ownership by public over private sector as anecdotal evidence and values dominated in the public space attributes. This study provides key insights for planners to consider in the public space planning and the importance of private sector involvement and balance in the provision of optimal urban spaces in cities.

Context: The privatisation of public space has been triggered by a thematic and aesthetic approach planning, increasing control over urban inhabitant’s activities, commercialisation for economic interests, and the presence of virtual space. Globalisation and neoliberalism play a vital role in encouraging the privatisation and homogenisation of the public space concept. This privatisation has eroded the publicness values ​​of public space, which is aligned with previous studies in developed countries (Western Europe and the USA). Studies examining this phenomenon in developing countries, especially in Indonesia, are limited and tend to use Western perspectives as a basis for analytical approaches. Meanwhile, every society has specific local values ​​that cannot be generalised, which has the potential to create a different perspective.Objective: This study aims to understand the privatisation of public space and its implications for people in the context of Indonesia cities. In addition to fill research gaps for the developing countries, this study is also beneficial as a reference for all stakeholders in producing a contextual public space.Method: The study uses a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. Data is collected through in-depth interviews with respondents from various backgrounds who experience and interact directly with public spaces. Interviews with parties representing developers, planners, users, experts, observers, and researchers related to public space provide balanced and accurate information. Reviews of historical documents, journalistic reports, scientific studies, and government documents are carried out to complete the primary data. The cities of Surabaya and Bandung were chosen as study locations because they are currently considered successful in public space planning. As metropolitan cities that interact directly with global trends, both display similar images to other world cities. It is interesting to examine whether privatisation also takes place there, what the impact is to the community, and how the community reacts to it.Results: Indonesian cities also experience the privatisation of public space as other cities in developed countries, however, the Indonesian society responded relatively different from existing theories. Local values have played a substantial role in shaping people perspective. People who hold religious and local ethical values produce permissive responses to control in the public space. People who are familiar with the flexibility of communal space to accommodate various activities, including economic activities, make commercial activities in public places as an attraction. Political transformation plays a vital role in introducing formal public space as a social space. The issue of privatisation has not been able to dampen public attention to attractive formal urban open places. However, criticism of the non-contextual concept of public space began to sound. The dominance of the authorities and investors in the production process has commodified public space for the elite benefit.Conclusion: Each society has local wisdom that is unique from the others and is very instrumental in shaping the way people think. Therefore, planning for public space needs a more contextual concept, not just following global trends. Political reform must be realised through a more participatory planning process to accommodate the aspirations of urban inhabitants.

Shaping city soundscapes: In situ comparison of four sound installations in an urban public space

Public space plays a role in defining the character of a city and is a valuable asset for a city and one of the indicators in assessing whether a city is considered successful or not. In the context of urban sociology, high-quality public spaces with well-maintained environments can improve the quality of the heterogeneous life of urban social communities by creating economic, social, or environmental value-added. Urban societies tend to be heterogeneous, individualistic, and characterized by high competition that often causes conflicts. Another reason for conflicts is the relatively high social differentiation because of the level of religious differences, customs, languages, and sociocultural aspects brought by immigrants from various regions. In the context of space, the city is a system that does not stand alone because internally the city is a unified system of functional activities in it. Meanwhile, externally, the city is influenced by its surrounding environment. As part of the public space, park has an important role in the environmental, aesthetic, recreational, psychological, social, educational, and economic aspects of the city. Public space can be understood as open spaces in urban areas, where everyone regardless their interests and backgrounds can be intersectional and have social contact and serve as an “urban regenerator” including educational functions through innovation and technological intervention. Moreover, park can also absorb carbon dioxide emissions, produce oxygen, improve air and water quality, regulate the microclimate, reduce noise, protect soil and water, and maintain biodiversity. However, many things cause the function of parks to decrease. One reason relates to the distribution of parks related to the characteristics of their location. Research has not seen many studies on the characteristics of locations in the planning of public space. The provision of public space should consider these location characteristics. This study will use a descriptive methodology, by first explaining the policy of public space provision, the existence of the reality of public space, its function and role, the park as public space, the time of visiting the park by the community, and the various problems that occur in it. This research will look at the characteristics of neighborhood parks based on the aspect of the location of park supply and the spatial policies of Bandung City. The analysis comprised ArcGIS (Geographic Information System) and direct observations to evaluate the locational characteristics of the area around the park by using the case study of Music Park and Pendawa Park.

Behavioral, social, cultural, and climatological factors currently influence the pattern of public space provision, especially on campus areas. At present the public space of the CAMPUS 2 area of State Islamic University of Alauddin Makassar tends to be “neglected” which is clearly seen from the arrangement of the physical design of the area; starting from the pedestrian ways, green open spaces/parks, gazebos, and the existing parking system do not yet appear as comfortable “containers” by its users, so these spaces are not yet in accordance with their functions. The theory of public space refers to elements of the quality of tropical city spaces by (Darmawan, Ruang Publik dan Kualitas Ruang Kota. Proceeding. Seminar Nasional PESAT, 2005a; Analisis Ruang Publik Arsitektur Kota, 2005b), because they are considered to have the same activities of its users, namely: human scale and density, structure of clarity and identity, neatness-security-comfort, city/region management, visual variety, activity and mixed functions, special spaces, and pedestrian hospitality. This research is based on the rationalistic paradigm with a descriptive research method approach, namely: literature study on the basic theory of public space quality, field observations, analyzing data using the Good Public Space Index (GPSI) method, as well as drawing conclusions so that it can be used as a guideline in the development and planning of public spaces in the CAMPUS 2 STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR in the future.KeywordsQualityPublic spacesCampus

This article is concerned with the connection between the planning of public space, social justice and the politics of difference. I argue that, to remedy injustice in public spaces, planning must be informed by a critical politics of difference, which can distinguish between various kinds of social difference. The article outlines some important dimensions of a critical politics of difference with reference to three recent conflicts in Australian public spaces: over graffiti, a women's pool and the policing of public spaces in Perth.

In urban public space planning, changes in land use, structure, and construction impact the urban environment to a certain degree. Land usage changes the urban surface water environment by impacting it through numerous ways. This paper studies about prediction of land use changes on surface water pollution in public space planning. This paper analyzes the characteristics of land use changes in public space planning from the quantitative characteristics of land use types, land use structure characteristics, and land usage degree in different years. The protection of natural resources is important, and water is one of the most important natural resources consumed by human beings. The environmental changes impacting these natural resources are to be studied to preserve the natural resources. The prediction of over-consumption of natural resources using soft computing techniques can certainly provide a solution for appropriate decision making. The prediction of relationship between land use changes and surface water pollution is required. In order to achieve this, the regression analysis on land use changes of different spatial scales with four surface water pollution indicators in the dry and wet seasons is performed to obtain the regression of each water pollution indicator. According to the determination coefficient, the determination coefficient of the model uses the comprehensive pollution index method to predict the impact of land use changes on surface water pollution. The experimental results show that the prediction accuracy of the proposed method is high and it is helpful in studying the impact of land use change on surface water pollution. It can help in decision making on consumption of natural resources to preserve the natural resources for next generations.

(Background and Purpose) Recent trends indicate that there are studies being conducted on the evaluation of public space along with interest in the user needs and psychological environments; however, the realistic restrictions of these studies, being conducted from a policy perspective by regional autonomous governments, indicate that these studies are focused on the quantitative growth from the standpoint of the physical environment, rather than on the qualitative growth. This leads to the demand for public design that also considers the psychological aspects, along with recognizing the importance of user-focused ex-post evaluation. Based on such perceptions, this study aims to propose public design evaluation items that analyze user satisfaction. (Method) This study aims to focus on the analysis of previous literature through literature analysis, as well as on empirical analysis through surveys. In Chapter 2, previous literature on public design will be examined, and theoretical contemplation will be carried out. In Chapter 3, main items and factors for public design evaluation will be deduced through leading previous literature on the public design evaluation methods and items. Chapter 4 conducts satisfaction surveys targeting users of public space, and focuses on empirical analysis. Through this analysis, evaluation items will be verified based on the analysis of public design elements which the users demand. In Chapter 5, the study results and their implications are organized based on the studies conducted in the prior chapters. (Results) Satisfaction levels were analyzed on a total of 9 items for public design evaluation items and the results are as follows. First, reliability analysis was conduced prior to analyzing satisfaction, and the reliability assessment for the measurement tools utilized indicated that the reliability of all evaluation items was over 0.6, statistically verifying that this research is reliable. Specifically, for general users, scenery-related items showed the highest reliability at 0.819. Second, the item with highest satisfaction was found to be publicness. It was followed by regional identity, pleasantness, scenery, and usability. On the other hand, sustainability exhibited the lowest satisfaction among the 9 items. This can be interpreted as the target space being a leading symbolic space that includes publicness in this region. (Conclusions) The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, in public spaces, user-focused spatial construction that includes natural elements is very important. This indicates that natural elements influence psychological aspects. Second, spatial planning that focuses on pleasantness is required in public space planning. Analyzing satisfaction has shown proof that users are aware of the importance of the psychological environment in public spaces through pleasantness. Third, in an urban environment, public space that allows for community revitalization is very important. By providing spaces wherein a variety of communities can be formed in the regional community, it could be found that users were bestowed with identities as members of the society. In the future, based on this study, we expect that follow-on studies will be conducted on more objective and systematic public design evaluations that actively reflect user needs.

PurposeSince the 1980s, planning public spaces for leisure walking is largely linked with economic and cultural objectives. Parallel to this tendency and the priorities of local authorities on barker public space projects, inhabitant’s associations, that grow up after the 2000s, propose new ways of visiting the city through collective walks. Drawing on the example of the Atenistas group, and based on the discourses of its founders, its presence on social media and the narratives of participants, the purpose of this paper is to question the emergence and function of new forms of urban walking that joggle between tourism, social exchange and act of citizenship.Design/methodology/approachThe case study is based on personal semi-directive interviews with organisers and participants at “Atenistas Open Walks”. It is also based on interviews that have been held with architects and urban planners within technical services of the municipality of Athens as also as within private sector’s structures.FindingsFirst insights from the study question pedestrianisation as a dominant urban planning tool towards animated street life and performant local economy. Contrary to the traditional top-down approach in Athens’s public space planning which uses pedestrianisation or land management to re-invest on the city centre, Atenistas Open Walks reveal the existence of alternatives ways of a re-engagement with city values and history. People search to explore the city by themselves and re-trace their proper itineraries (and ways of seeing the city) by outpassing official discourses on the decline, the success, the dangerousness or the beautifulness of certain neighbourhoods. Consequently, walkers constantly nourish their will to better understand the city. Public space experience outpasses morphological or functional issues. The act of walking with others in the city willing to explore places and to exchange on this experience, confront people with different narratives and trajectories and can momently be a strong factor of social cohesion and activation of public space with significant impacts on local economy. Walking collectively can emerge, in this way, as a counter model of public space planning capable of revitalise not only touristic activity, but also citizenship.Originality/valueThe study questions dominant discourses that link urban liveability and touristic attractiveness of urban centres with recreational events and streets’ pedestrianisation projects.

This article examines walking as a spatial-temporal practice as well as a transformative practice within public space. The historical center of Athens has recently undergone a major transformation of its public spaces, produced mostly by major pedestrianization projects within the context of a reworking of the archaeological touristic profile of the capital. This article aims to explore the plural facets of experiencing the city while walking, which have been neglected by Greek planning authorities. Temporality, rhythmicity and presence make walking a meaningful practice that goes beyond the objective perception of the trail. Drawing on the narratives of six citizens while walking, this article seeks to develop a vocabulary capable of informing public space design. The author, who takes a geographical, ethnographic perspective, aims to contribute through developing fieldwork methods and deepening the debate on public space planning by revealing walking as a place-anchored experience.