The concept of public space dates back to the 1950s as Whyte proposed to protect open space in American cities. Recently, we continue to refer to this idea in the field of urban planning. However，what exactly is public space? Why is it so important? Can a high-quality public space be designed? The following sections cover…
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In Ling’s blog, the author mentioned about the issue of the health in the urban design. Ling (2018) highlights the green space is benefit for people’s health. Urban centres are also designed to have green spaces such as amusement parks which can enable the wellbeing of individuals. First, the provision of green spaces improves the…
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In Voca’s blog, she analysed the five-star public space. The author discussed the evaluation criteria of the five dimensions of public areas and conclude with concerns about the simplification or closure of today’s public spaces. I agree with her point of view and would like to discuss the possible harm which might cause by such…
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Fabian’s post of inclusive public and private space, invites more questions about who controls the public realm. For example, protesting by the Monument Statue in Newcastle is allowed, but try doing the same thing in a shopping centre, will lead to your removable. Protest at Monument, Newcastle (1) Security has become a prominent part within…
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  It is a common affirmation that open spaces are the scenarios of civic life par excellence. However, is this citizen right really guaranteed in contemporary public places?  This post is related to the lecture led by Dr. Georgiana Varna, who emphasized in the definition and appropriation that people make of public spaces. According with…
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This lecture talks about the connection between urban aspects and the health and well-being of the inhabitants in such areas. The lecture starts with the discussion of the historical development of knowledge on the connection between health and environment. The lecture considers the contemporary issues of health such as the population caused by cars and…
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  This lecture introduced assessing the publicness of public places and an analysis of the nature of public space. Public spaces can be grasped simultaneously as a cultural reality and as a historical reality. Publicness as a cultural reality means that all public places, created at a certain point in time and in a particular…
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  Public spaces are crucial to our urban well-being, and are an increasingly important topic of academic research and practical policy-making. Georgiana Varna presented the star model of public space, a tool providing understanding of characteristics and qualities of publicness that make ‘public space’ public.   Public space plays an important role in sustaining the…
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