Place-making in the Rise of the Airport City

Abstract

This chapter discusses the importance of public social life in the 21st century city. Edward Relph’s seminal concepts of place and placelessness are used to argue why social life is important, and the benefits of having a robust and diverse public social life activated in urban centers. The chapter deals with a discussion of some of the sociocultural factors that influence public social life in a contemporary city. If public life is acknowledged and valued by both the community and the city-makers, it will be supported by the physical and social environment. The chapter then argues that if a public social life is not socially and culturally valued, it is unlikely to be supported in the design and development of the built environment. Case studies of urban squares, as one key component of a city’s ground floor, are discussed as places that can facilitate the sociability of public life or as placeless spaces that fail to add social value.