Introduction: Is Public Social Life in Decline and Are Contemporary Masterplanning and Public Space Design Practices to Be Blamed?

Abstract

AbstractThe introduction introduces the topic and contents of this book and is presented in four sections. The first section sets the context and debates that inspire this book, namely the decline in public social life and, in particular the decline in informal social interaction among strangers and how contemporary architecture and urban design of masterplanned environments and public spaces are to be blamed. The second section describes the aims and objectives of the book and how it contributes to existing knowledge. The third establishes the framework of the key themes this book explores between its three focal areas: informal public social life and interaction, public space and urban design. The two last sections explain the structure of the book and summarize the approaches, content, and arguments of each chapter.KeywordsPublic social lifeSocial encountersStrangersContemporary masterplanningPublic space design