Measure and proportion as keyword for qualitative town squares

Abstract

<p class="PublicSpace-Abstract" align="left">The authors of this paper refer specifically to public space as that of the town square.<br />According to Italian tradition town squares have been clearly recognised since the Renaissance period.<br />There are several studies about meaning, perception, and the shape of public spaces such as squares but there is no research about their actual measures, proportions, and about the presence of some recurrent numbers.<br />This study develop a thematic synthesis about meaning, definitions and proportions before seeking similarity about spatial dimension using simple statistical instruments.<br />The study comes from a pedagogical exercise, undertaken in the last three years in the Course of Urban Design at University of Pavia, where students developed 80 data sheets based on free web information measures of Italian and European squares.</p>