Public Realm In CitiesPublic realm is defined as space that is shared communally by the public. Public space is intimately linked to the ideas of universal access, the common ground, and shared amenities.

Examples include parks, plazas, pedestrian pathways, and streets, indoor spaces such as atriums, shopping centres, and community centres.

Public spaces influence the form and function of cities and the daily interactions that take place at the community level.

Rooftop and community gardens, and street cafes demonstrate new examples of public spaces that are emerging as significant components of the public realm landscape.

UDAY YADAVROLL NO – 19

GUIDE- MS.BEENA NARAIN

Essentially the public realm is a place for individuals to come together as a community and experience the place.

This can occur in such a way where the user of the public realm is either directly or indirectly participating in the public life.

AIM of A Public Realm

• Public space is integral to the concept of liveability and the social, economic and environmental viability of communities.

• Planners and designers undertaking revitalization efforts have made (and continue to make) decisions about preferred living environments.

• Planning and design of the public realm often excludes the end user thereby creating inappropriate and meaningless spaces.

• An analysis of form and function through use, access and perception is useful in terms of planning for a liveable environment that is valued by the local and surrounding communities.

Rationale For Selection Of This Topic

Increases safety and a reduced fear of crime;

It can improve residential neighbourhoods, safeguarding property values and increasing attractiveness to visitors;

Create economic and social development opportunities.

Investment in Public Space

The vast web of streets, parks (green areas) and plazas that define the public realm is often lacking, too poorly planned, or without adequate citizen participation in the design process.

StreetsThey mould the urban form and carry public utilities that a city needs to function.

They provide people with the capacity to move and communicate and they are the setting for businesses and exchange of services and goods.

Parks and Plazas A plaza can be any gathering place on a street or between buildings, a street intersection with a statue, etc.

ART in public spaceArt in public spaces brings enormous value to the citizens while promoting a more creative environment.

Therefore, sculptures, fountains, on screen visuals and other forms of public displays of art should continue to be encouraged and recognised to enhance our public spaces in the years that follow.

Fundamentals Of Planning And DesignThrough social life in the public realm, people broaden their scope of social awareness and become attune to how people from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds live.

Children for example, learn about the people in their community, and how to interact and relate with them on a daily basis through life in public. While this is important for all persons, the experience of observing others is particularly important for the social development of children.

PROPERTIES OF THE PUBLIC REALM IMAGEABILITY

A public realm with sidewalks, grass medians elaborately planted with native plants, and a central square that is enlivened by an outdoor community art exhibit or a local farmers' market, conveys not only beauty, vibrancy, and activity, but a strong community spirit.

ACCESSIBILITY

There is often a fine line between private and public spaces because visual cues in the landscape do not always communicate what spaces may or may not be accessible to the public. This can be avoided by providing clear demarcations through signage, vegetative barriers, paving design, etc. Which can reduce uncertainty through increased legibility.

MEANING

Imageability and meaning are interrelated. When images are clear to users of the environment, they are able to use space more freely — taking from and adding to the meaning that exists

CONTINUITY

Continuity is essential to creating meaning in the environment. For example, continuity among buildings, paths, vegetation, etc. can create definition, context, "sense of arrival", and also continuity to the experience of place.

CHOICE

Opportunities for choice can occur through diversity in the environment or flexibility in design. For example, plazas can be designed with moveable chairs so that people using the space have a choice in how they will appropriate the space and feel comfortable in it.

FLEXIBILITY

A design that is flexible enough to allow small-scale change is critical to the development of liveable communities.