The use of urban design principles to restructure public space - the example of Haizhu Square

Abstract

Public space in old city centre has been facing numerous challenges. Common urban design principles are rooted from environmental behaviour and environmental psychology, and are able to help meeting the new needs of the existing public space. This paper first explains some key urban design ideas towards public space improvement, including redirecting the traffic to support diverse urban functions, road crossing safety, sense of place and legibility, activity support, and local distinctiveness. It thereafter explores their potentials in improving a historic public space in Haizhu Square, Guangzhou. Design strategies include redirecting the traffic to support diverse urban functions, applying traffic calming measures to improve road crossing safety, restructuring corridors to strengthen the sense of place and legibility, using time and space management to provide multiple activity support, and reusing the existing materials to maintain local distinctiveness.