Abstract
This paper sets out a series of normative principles for planners and others to use when planning for and regulating public space design and management. Based on an exhaustive examination of public space in London, the substance of which is reported elsewhere, a first section sets out three overarching principles relating to the critical but often missing strategic planning framework for the development and regeneration of public spaces. A second and final section sets out seven more detailed considerations for evaluating the quality of public space design. This is an unashamedly positive framework for shaping public space, based on the notion that public spaces in our cities come in many different forms and guises, but collectively add huge value to the experience and potential of urban areas. Consequently, they deserve serious consideration by those with regulatory and other responsibilities for their delivery.
Highlights
Public spaces range in form from informal street corners to grand civic set pieces
It is vitally important to design public spaces well, experience suggests that often our ambition is not met by the reality
The case studies involved the gathering of 70 stakeholder narratives, 650 interviews with public space users across the spaces, time-lapse observations to record how each space was used, morphological analysis and the collection of secondary data from the local press and from relevant policy documents
Summary
Public spaces range in form from informal street corners to grand civic set pieces. At a larger scale, formal public spaces have long had an important role as the perceived centres of settlements of all types and as the focus for public life, activities and events. What is clear is that since the 1980s, public spaces of all forms have witnessed a renaissance in that they have increasingly become a key component of many regeneration and development schemes (both residential and commercial), worldwide, with far-reaching impacts on how the resulting places are perceived and used (Crowhurst Lennard and Lennard 1995; Corbett 2004) In such a context, it is vitally important to design public spaces well, experience suggests that often our ambition is not met by the reality. The case studies involved the gathering of 70 stakeholder narratives (with those who had been involved in their creation and or on-going management), 650 interviews with public space users across the spaces, time-lapse observations to record how each space was used, morphological analysis and the collection of secondary data from the local press and from relevant policy documents
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
