ancient cities

596 Piazza
A piazza in Rome
Source: David Ferrell.
Historical Roots
To understand why the square as open space,
available for the public, is deemed so important by
many planners, politicians, and academics, it is
necessary to look to the past. A traditional starting
point for much discussion about Western civilization
is ancient Greece, and here the birth of democracy
in the city­state of Athens will be the starting
point. The Greek agora was an assembly of all
free­born males where matters, secular and religious,
could be deliberated and judicial powers
exercised with appointed jurors of the public.
Similarly, the heart and birthplace of the Roman
empire was the forum Romanum, in which all
decisions were made concerning the empire. Most
Roman cities were modeled on the Greek city form.
The forum was laid out as an open square for the
public, but later numerous administrative and religious
buildings were made on and around it, as in
the case of the agora. Today, many speculate that
the agoras and forums of old were similar to the
open street market in North Africa, called souk.
In the Middle Ages, Roman and Greek city
planning inspired European counts and bishops
who were building new cities. These established
medieval cities are commonly known as bastides,
with a regular street plan and a central square,
usually dominated by a cathedral or church. This
layout, focused on a central square, spilled over
into the New World with both bastide-type towns
and towns built according to the planning decree