Changing public space

1 Changing role of public space
in a changing society
The time may soon come when planners, designers, developers, and others will recognize and
act on the simple notion that the spaces between buildings are as important to the life of urban
man as the buildings themselves. Chermayeff & Alexander (1963, in: Ford, 2000: viii)
1.1 Introduction
Public spaces like streets, squares, and parks are important structuring elements of the urban
landscape. They are places for unexpected encounters and public discourse as well as for
relaxation and passage (Carr et al., 1992; Cybriwsky, 1999; Madanipour, 2003). Urban public
space forms an integral part of daily life: people walk or ride through the streets, lounge in the
parks, and shop at the market. Moreover, particular public spaces have played a fundamental role
in the way civil society has functioned throughout history: from the ancient Greek agora and
the medieval market place to Renaissance boulevards and today’s pedestrian precincts and parks.
Some even argue that urban development would be impossible without public space, because it
is the exchange platform of goods, knowledge, culture, and entertainment (Meyer et al., 2006).
After a period of relative complacency, Dutch policymakers have recently been giving public
space increasing attention. In the 1970s and early 1980s, they showed little interest in urban
public space, focusing instead on the poor economic performance and high unemployment rates
in cities (Brunt & Deben, 2001). Any attention directed to public space concerned residential
neighbourhoods in suburban areas. When the economy picked up, however, interest shifted
to the quality of public space in the city centre. This was first manifest in the Fourth National
Policy Document on Spatial Planning (Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening), which appeared in
1988. Soon thereafter, the local government of The Hague announced its intention to completely
redevelop the city centre in an urban policy plan named ‘Healthy Core’ (Kern Gezond). By
setting an example, the plan induced the redevelopment of many public spaces in other Dutch
city centres (Reijndorp & Nio, 1996). Meanwhile, most urban public space has been upgraded
and now serves as distinguishing feature in the growing competition between cities to attract
investments, residents, and visitors. A similar change has been observed in other European cities,
with Barcelona and Paris as the main trendsetters (Hajer & Reijndorp, 2001; Gaventa, 2006).
Fuelled by the increased policy output, public space became a hot topic in the Dutch media
and on research agendas. The media attention varied from running special newspaper reports on
city squares (NRC, 2006) to holding opinion polls on the country’s best public spaces (Engels,
2006; Stedelijk Interieur, 2007.) Recently, a Dutch newspaper commissioned a panel of experts
to formulate solutions to the main spatial problems of the Netherlands. On top of the panel’s
so-called Spatial Agenda was the recommendation to put more effort in high-grade public space
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