What Is a Public Space

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What Is a Public Space?
Chris Hoover Architectural Intervention Instructor
Beatrice Witzgall 9.10.02
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Public Space General Definition
1. What constitutes a public space?
A. A physical or virtual locus provided for,
accessible and available to, used and shared by
the general populace.
B. Characterized by but not limited to above
conditions.
2. What or who is allowed to be present in a
public space?
A. Universal Access
B. Social Hierarchy (disregarded)
C. Jurgen Habermass notion of public sphere
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Public Space General Definition (cont.)
3. Occurrences Actual and Potential
A. Provisional Responsibility Can be provided
for and maintained by public (governmental/bureauc
ratic agencies) or private (businesses,
non-profit organizations) institutions.
B. Use (democratic/popular)
C. Exchange (experiential, emotional, verbal,
physical, monetary)
D. Sharing (spatial, experiential, emotional)
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Public Space Traditional
1. What it is/What it used to be
A. Types of places (e.g. town square, parks, mass
transit hubs)
2. Analysis
A. Physical location required
B. Actual/tangible presence necessary
C. Potential for interaction (physical or social)
exists
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Public Space Traditional (cont.)
3. Cons/Issues
A. Inconvenience (single location per interaction)
B. Infiltration of private interests (e.g.
corporate advertisements)
C. Modernity and public space in traditional
sense
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Public Space Information Age (Virtual)
1. What it is/What it can be
A. Web (Chat rooms, virtual communities,
message/bulletin boards, instant messengers)
B. Tele-technology (teleconferencing, land
mobile phones)
C. Future (possibilities)
2. Analysis
A. Virtual No physical location or presence
required. Some form of physical activity (i.e.
data input) is necessary. Linked through
technology.
B. Remote or local
C. Physical separation accepted
D. Potential for interaction (virtual and/or
social) exists
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Public Space Information Age (Virtual)
3. Cons/Issues
A. Technology as link AND physical barrier
B. Technology as tool for social interaction and
disjunction
C. Metaphysics Can humans accept virtual
presence as a form of presence?
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Comparative Chart
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Comparative Chart (cont.)
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Potential Questions
1. How has modernity responded to or bridged the
old and the new notions of public space?
2. How much interactivity is necessary to render
a space public?
3. Are today's public spaces transitional?
4. Where do we see public spaces going?