Public Space

Contrary to popular belief, we believe that chaos and spontaneity are essential to vibrant public spaces. The job of planners is to plan for 'good chaos'.
 
Public spaces, such as streets, are meant to serve a multitude of social and cultural functions, not just fulfil one or two utilitarian needs (such as efficient movement). Many of these functions are paradoxical opposites and require different arrangements of space. For example, a street is a space for 'going places'. This requires the removal of impediments. Yet the same street is also 'a place'... a destination where people transact the spontaneous life of their neighborhood. Vibrant public spaces preserve these tensions and the resultant chaos. But they go one step further. They use the contradictions and tensions as the drivers to create a truly great urban space. They also contain high levels of ambiguity and blur the boundaries.

The design and use of public space is an important factor in determining:
— The overall creativity of citizens and the city
— Social equity and the degree of inclusiveness, particularly for the elderly, children and those at the margins
— Citizen participation in the democratic process
— The vibrancy of the local economy
— The quality of neighborhood life.

While many emphasize what planners, engineers and decision-makers must do to create great public spaces, we emphasize what citizens must do. There is no public space without a 'public'.