WORLD HABITAT DAY

OCTOBER 5 2015

THEME

PUBLIC SPACES FOR ALL

TALK BY PROF. ANUP DAVE ARCHITECT

In 2011, at the 23rd Session of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat,

member states mandated UN-Habitat to consolidate agency-wide work on public space,

to develop and promotepublic space policy,

coordination, disseminate knowledge and directly assist cities in public space initiatives.

The UN’s Open Working Group charged with drafting the 2016-2030 Sustainable Development Goals has

proposed an eleventh Goal 11

‘Build cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.’ One

of the proposed targets set out is “by 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible,

green and public spaces, particularly for women and children,

older persons and persons with disabilities”.

The character of a city is defined by its streets and public spaces. From squares and boulevards to neighbourhood gardens and children playgrounds,

public space frames city image.

The connective matrix ofstreets and public spaces forms the skeleton of the city upon which all else rests.

Public space takes many spatial forms, including parks, the streets, sidewalks and footpaths that connect,

playgrounds of recreation,marketplaces, but also edge space between buildings or roadsides which are often important

spaces for theurban poor and in many contexts beaches are also public spaces.

This does not mean that all public spaces are“open spaces” – a library, a school or other public facilities are also public spaces.

Public space forms thesetting for a panoply of activities - the ceremonial festivities of the multi-cultural city,

trade of the commercial city, the movement of goods and people, provision of infrastructure, or the setting for

community life andlivelihoods of the urban poor – e.g. street vendors or waste-pickers.

Characteristics of a Great Public Space include:

Promotes human contact and social activities.

Is safe, welcoming, and accommodating for all users.

Has design and architectural features that are visually interesting.

Promotes community involvement.

Reflects the local culture or history.

Relates well to bordering uses.

Is well maintained.

Has a unique or special character.

Its important to Prepare guidelines for the design of successful squares, Chowks,market places and plazas, streets

Evaluate existing public places, and make recommendations to improve their ability to generate health, social life, community and civic engagement

Review designs for public places to assess how they will impact health, and the quality of social life they are likely to generate,

and recommend ways to strengthen their ability to generate good health, community and social capital

the following elements impact quality of social life and community:

Size and form of the public spaceScale, articulation and character of surrounding buildings

Design and location of entrances to the public placePattern of land use around the public place and in the vicinity

Quality of surrounding urban fabricStreetscape and landscape design features

Design for hospitality and comfortBalance of transportation modes in and around the square

Public space management

A well-functioning public space serves many important functions.

It is a catalyst for social interaction and community. It builds social capital by cementing relations among frequent users.

It is a catalyst for civic engagement. It creates a social immune system that protects physical health and reduces social problems.

In bringing inhabitants together, public places contribute to a more democratic way of life and encourage all to linger, share observations

and understand varied perspectives.

At its best, the public space is an incomparable teacher of social skills and attitudes;

children and youth learn through observation, imitation and participation how to relate and interact with a diversity of others

(young and old, poor and well-to-do, healthy and disabled).

“Public space or a public place is a place where anyone has a right to come without being excluded because economic or social conditions (fees, paying an entrance, being poor, ...).”

Webster's Online Dictionary

What makes a great city are the public spaces within it. Cities in history are remembered for their public spaces,

the Greek Agora, Roman Forum, the European squares and Indian ‘chowks’ (quandrangle open spaces).

The experience of ‘public’ is the experience of a city. This is as true for the visitors as for her inhabitants.

In fact, public spaces have great value for the inhabitants than the visitors, as these spaces contribute greatly to enhance the experience of lived reality.

PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, Siena Italy

PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, Siena

PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, Siena

PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, Siena

ST. PETER’S, SQUAREVeticanRome

WOOLWICH SQUAREWoolwich is an area of south east London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

POMPIDOU CENTER

Centre Pompidou PARIS

POMPIDOU CENTER

DELHI HAAT

DELHI HAAT

UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK

UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK

PARIS STREET

BERGES SIENE PORT on river Seine Paris

BARCELONA SPAIN

PLAZA CATALUNA, BARCELONA

PRAGUE, OLD TOWN SQUARE

PRAGUE, OLD TOWN SQUARE

KRAKOW POLAND

TROCADERO, PARIS

TROCADERO, PARIS

Gandhinagar

Tiananmen squareBeijing China

BHADRA FORT

BHADRA FORT

BHADRA FORT

BHADRA FORT

BHADRA FORT

BHADRA FORT

Sunday market Ahmadabad

RAVIVARI

RAVIVARI

BHADRA FORT

LAW garden Handicraft Bazaar

C.G. ROAD, MUNICIPAL MARKET

C.G. ROAD,MUNICIPAL MARKET

GANDHINAGAR

GANDHINAGAR

C.G. ROAD,MUNICIPAL MARKET

C.G. ROAD,MUNICIPAL MARKET

GANDHINAGAR

GANDHINAGAR

Gandhinagar

CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

HYDE PARK LONDON

CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

SHIVAJI PARK , DADAR , MUMBAI

GODAVRI GHAT ( RAM KUND ), NASHIK

VARANASI

MAHESHWAR

PUSHKAR

CONNOUGHT PLACE, NEW DELHI

JAIPUR – streetscape and Bazzar

HUDCO PLACE ,NEW DELHI

KAMATI BAUG, VADODRA

MARINE DRIVE MUMBAI

Mexico City, one of the world’s great megalopolises, with more than 20 million people, is struggling to create more green space for its ever-expanding population. Estimates put the amount of green space in the city at just a few percent. To remedy this problem, a team of architects, landscape architects, planners, and urban designers with Mexican firms FR-EE, FRENTE arquitectura, RVDG, and Mario Schjetnan GDU will transform Avenida Chapultepec, one of the city’s oldest and busiest streets, into an elevated, 1.3-kilometer-long “cultural corridor” expected to open by 2017. The project will overhaul a 10-lane highway that runs west to east between Chapultepec Park and the center of the city.

Fernando Romero, the lead designer with FR-EE, explains his thinking: “The term ‘Complete Street’ means to reshape the traffic flow and the public spaces. This project inverts the numbers: if nowadays, 70 percent of the area belongs to cars, and 30 percent to the pedestrians, the cultural corridor chapultepec is going to change these numbers by generating a new space in order to have 70 percent belong to the pedestrians and the remaining 30 percent for the organization of the traffic space.”

In 2011, a new pedestrian bridge was unveiled in Lujiazui in the Pudong district of Shanghai. This large scale circular pedestrian overpass enables pedestrians to avoid traffic at the round-about terminus of Lujiazui Road.

The bridge provides access to the Oriental Pearl Tower connecting financiers to leisure areas such as shopping malls and cafes, a transit station and office buildings. The bridge sits almost 20 feet above the street, with numerous escalator stairway entrances and exits. The walkaway is 5.5 meter high and can fit 15 people walking side by side.

If volumes are too high, even the best intersection design is challenged. Xaimen, China

Nanpu Bridge Shanghai, China

Vancouver-based artists/architects rebecca bayer and matthew soules present their collaborative project ‘city fabric’. the piece was created in partnership with 221A gallery, and the burrard arts foundation, and is installed beneath the south side of the burrard bridge in vancouver, british columbia.

the Burrard bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia.

the Burrard bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Chengyang Bridge, Maan, China - 64 mt. - Linxi River

The City of Florence | Ponte Vecchio

LEGO BRIDGEThe Lego-Brücke (English: Lego Bridge) is a concrete beam bridge which crosses over the Schwesterstraße in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Wuppertal, Germany. In 2011, graffiti and street artist Martin Heuwold repainted the bridge in the style of Lego bricks, receiving national and international media attention for his work. The work was awarded the Deutscher Fassadenpreis Advancement Prize in 2012.[1]

In Sony Studios in Culver City, a new four-year project on the 40-acre campushas transformed the day-to-day experience. A 94-foot rainbow by artist Tony Tasset now welcomes visitors. Where the art hits the ground plane, there’s an interesting “conversation between art and landscape.” Meanwhile, the actual rainbow is viewable from miles around.

Every year, the small Switzerland ski town village of Vercorin asks artists to come and create works during the summer months.

Felice Varini: „Cercle et suite d´éclats », 2009, Vercorin ,switzerland

JODHPUR , Rajasthan , India

Okuda san Miguel

Street Art

Pier C Park located along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway in Hoboken, New Jersey

MODHERA Sun temple Kund

fort worth water gardens - downtown fort worth, texas designed by architect phillip johnson

'Superkilen' is a kilometer long park in Copenhagen designed by BIG architects, landscape architecture studio topotek1 and artist collective superflex.

Superkilen Urban Park by BIG architects, Topotek1 and Superflex DesignRulz.com

'Superkilen' is a kilometre long park in Copenhagen designed by BIG architects, landscape architecture studio topotek1 and artist collective super flex.

Ching –Mei Night Market

NIGHT – FOOD BAZZAR MANEK CHOWK AHMEDABAD

Bangkok , Floating Market

Dal Lake , Floating Market

Roombeek is a commercial street and also the urban core of the district from Enschede, The Netherlands. Its asymmetrical design, which widens and narrows along the street, accentuates its different spatial features. The base of the stream is treated with a rough structure that reduces the flowing speed of the water and creates a constant reflective pattern on the water surface. A distinctive composition of sharp edged stepping stones refers to the randomness of natural processes and is also a reference to the fireworks explosion.

Buenos Aires Pedestrian streets

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America.

VIENNA Austria

Pedestrian streetsAnd Play Area For Children

Strasbourg

Tramway France

Tram and pedestrians share space in Strasbourg, France, where use of public transport has increased by 40 percent since 1990.

Teikyo Heisei University Nakano | Tokyo, Japan.: Urban Plaza, Univ Nakano, Landscape Architecture Design

Teikyo Heisei University Nakano | Tokyo, Japan.: Urban Plaza, Univ Nakano, Landscape Architecture Design

“Bucharest University Square”

New public space for Targ Węglowy Square by Gdyby Group, in Gdańsk, Poland.

Praça do Toural, Portugal (2012) is a trapezoidal space anchored by an old fountain and renovated with new paving that looks like a map of the town…

Jackson ville USA

ZOCALO Mexico

Storm water management

WORLD HABITAT DAY OCTOBER 5 2015

THEME

PUBLIC SPACES FOR ALL

Dhanyawad