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Consider:
What makes a great (or alternately overrated, misunderstood or problematic) public space? There is a wide range of public spaces, of various sizes and uses, and of varying mixes of public and private use, ownership, control, access. I look forward to seeing a wide variety of images and places (and not just the predictable ones). Identify good public spaces in unusual locations, such as in low density suburbs or poor neighborhoods, or in reclaimed spaces.
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Course information
University of Michigan • UP540: Planning Theory • Prof. Scott Campbell • Fall 2011
What are the important qualities of good public spaces? Here are the results from class group discussion (on Oct 11). (Note: check marks indicate multiple groups identified this element; circled elements indicate that a group viewed this element as essential to good public spaces.) ”Accessibility” was at the top.
Ute Valley Park Colorado Springs, CO
The slabs of granite and sandstone jutting above the ponderosa pines represents my sense of place of public space, in Colo Spgs. Growing up in suburbia was acceptable because this relatively large natural park was located within walking distance of my house (right side of image). I would snowshoe, mt. bike, go on dates, rock climb, meditate, etc., year round.
Cole Gehler
Plaza de Panama at Balboa Park, San Diego. Efforts are underway to turn return the plaza to its historic pedestrian use by 2015 for the centennial celebration of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Image taken during the park’s December Night’s Festival. Source: http://www.balboapark.org/ Logan
Image: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/portland-city-guide4.htm
Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland
This is a public space we discussed in one of my landscape architecture classes. It is an interesting space for several reasons, it has a nice scale while allowing a flexible space for sitting and watching others. The thing that makes it distinctive to me, though, is its attempt to be universally accessible. So many interesting public spaces involve steps, as does this one, but it also incorporates a ramp into the design without compromising the traffic flow on either the ramp or the stairs.
Posted by Rachel Visscher
Copley Square in Boston. This public space marks the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Visitors and residents alike flock to this area for its remarkable architecture, farmer’s market and the beautiful green space surrounded by the Trinity Church (built between 1872-1877), the Boston Public Library and the John Hancock Tower.
Nour
This is the Roman Theatre in downtown Amman, Jordan. The theatre was built during the reign of Antonius Pius (138-161 CE) and can fit up to 6,000 people. It is now open to the public and is undergoing rehabilitation under the Amman Downtown Development Plan and Revitalization Strategy. The location of the theatre and the expanse of open space in front of it makes it an ideal public space in an other wise congested part of the old city of Amman. There are a number of bookstores, restaurants, shopping and cafe’s around. The theatre also holds several performances during the summer and has excellent acoustics. I was lucky enough to be there when an italian opera singer was there as a tourist - he gave a beautiful spontaneous performance!
Nour
The picture shows Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s nest. After the Beijing Olympic Games, the stadium including the large square outside is open to the mass as a tourist attraction. Sometimes it is also used for concerts and many famous stars had their concerts there, like Jackie Chan. The photo was taken during the Paralympic Games in 2008. (Source: Qi Shen, Sep. 2008)
Qi
Entries (in order): Colorado Springs • Rego Park, Queens, NYC • Balboa Park, San Diego • Heidelberg Project, Detroit • Southfield and Oak Park, MI • Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland, OR • Taipei • Copley Square, Boston • Amman, Jordan • Madison Square Park, NYC • Beijing • Rome • Meridian Hill Park, Washington DC • Paley Park, NYC • Goodrich, MI • Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto • Long Trail, VT • Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio • Milan • Los Angeles • Zuccotti Park, NYC • Sevilla • Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt • Vienna • Dapper Market- Amsterdam, NL • Yawkey Way, Boston • Jamison Square Park in Portland, Oregon • Petco Park, San Diego • Namba Parks, Osaka, Japan • Cheonggyecheon, Seoul, South Korea • Vienna • Berlin • High Line, NYC •
Rego Park Center in Rego Park, Queens, is an outdoor mall which incorporates both big-box stores like Costco along with smaller retailers and restaurants. Although the development has a major highway-oriented component, its central walkway integrates seamlessly with the sidewalk adjacent to it, which is a major pedestrian corridor between the busy Queens Boulevard and points north. Although the top floors are quieter than the rendering suggests, the picture is otherwise an accurate depiction of how the space looks: people who do not appear to be visiting the center’s stores come from blocks away to eat lunch and congregate because it provides some of the only benches and pedestrian-friendly open space in the area. The area even attracts enough people that food carts and other peddlers set up immediately adjacent to it to provide additional food and retail options not offered by the center itself. —Daniel F.
Rendering credit: EEK Architects
The Heidelberg Project may be Detroit’s most unique public space. Started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton, this outdoor “art environment” now encompasses several blocks of an impoverished neighborhood on the city’s east side. Guyton has responded to blight and abandonment by installing art on vacant homes and lots using found materials from the neighborhood. It is an unlikely but hugely popular tourist destination, and one of the few places in the “inner city” where suburbanites don’t hesitate to exit their cars. (Some residents of the area would also argue the project is a nuisance, and the City has twice tried to tear it down.) You can take a tour on Google Maps.
Posted by Cooper
Photos from Model D and this website.
This park of one of three such parks in Southfield and Oak Park, Michigan. In the 1980s when the state was building I-696 through the suburbs north of Detroit, there was massive community opposition and numerous lawsuits, all aimed at stopping construction of the final center portion of the freeway. Ultimately, the state put three giant “caps” over the freeway in portions, and those spaces became public parks.
These parks are, despite being located literally over the busiest freeway in Michigan, frequented by local residents, more so on weekends, and even at nearly 7:00 p.m. on a fall Monday, there was a family making use of the playscape (they were actually behind it when I took the photos) as well as a number of people going for walks. Although these parks are local in nature, it seems that they are excellent public spaces, as they are used by residents and have also mitigated some of the negative effects of having a freeway running through the neighbourhood.
Photos by Al Wolschleger
This busy intersection of two arterials (Zhongxiao East Road and Fuxing South Road) through Taipei, Taiwan is a center of retail and entertainment. With the opening of the Taipei Metro system, this intersection has served as a transfer station for two metro lines since 1999. The new green Sogo department store opened as a joint development project with the metro station in 2004, and tourists and commuters often fill the wide sidewalks in front of it. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, a large screen broadcasting the Taiwanese baseball game was set up, temporarily transforming this space for die-hard fans. Although not evident in the Google Street View image, foot traffic at this intersection is often heavy, both on the visible sidewalks as well as underground in the East Metro underground mall - a nice alternative for walking through town during the blistering summer months.
Emily Chi
This is the Temple of Hercules on the Citadel Mountain in Amman. This public space feels like an open-air museum. It has consistently served the residential community around it, families couples and individuals come to this space to hang out and enjoy the moderate weather the area is known for. In the past couple of years, the municipality has been investing in making this space more easily-accessible to residents and tourist and hosted several events like the Jordan Festival 2010, a Diana Krall concert, some weddings and a Ramadan Festival this past summer.
-Nour
Madison Square Park is a seven acre park located on Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District of New York City. Its claim to fame is being the home of the original Shake Shack (pictured), but also includes a flower garden, playground, and dog run. Overlooking the park is Daniel Burnham’s Flatiron Building (pictured), for which the area got its name. Every few weeks the “Art in the Park” (pictured) changes, and every week during the summer the park holds free concerts.
-Alison
