Public Spaces

Civic amenities, public spaces, and even housing could one day be formed by living trees. Researchers are looking into this new idea.

Calling it a violation of public spaces, a new report from a civil liberties group in the UK has criticized the banning of public drinking in more than 600 places in England and Wales.

A Montreal business group sold sponsorship rights to Budweiser for an outdoor event on a closed street, but restauranteurs setting up outside think the deal goes too far as they are forced to sell the watery beer to their patrons.

The new Harley-Davidson Museum recently opened it's doors to the public, and the architecture firm Pentagram designed both the enormous exhibit space and the outdoor public spaces that connect the museum to the grid.

In the summer, a handful of New Yorkers like Calvin Tsao remake public space into their own personal dining rooms.

Stores in Vancouver suburbs have installed a device outside their stores called a 'Mosquito' that emits a high-pitched frequency that the average adult can't hear. The device is effective in decreasing vandalism, but at what cost to public space?

New York's DOT is proposing a new plan to transform Astor Place from feeling like a freeway median to a pedestrian-friendly public space.

A Dallas suburb considers whether to change its sign regulations to allow a massive cuckoo clock in a public space. European cities often have them, but American cities rarely do.

The annual transformation of riverbanks to beaches has begun in Paris, where the River Seine becomes a widely visited outdoor public space known as Paris Plages.

New York City's car-free "Summer Streets" events are proving to be popular. A three-and-a-half minute video offers a look at Saturday's Williamsburg Walks event on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

Washington D.C.'s National Mall is crumbling. Many say now's the time to start thinking about a new future for one of America's most prized public spaces.

This article from LA Weekly looks at L.A.'s parks deficit and what some are trying to do to address it.

Guerrilla gardening- planting flowers and edibles in untended pockets of cities- is a growing phenomenon. This article looks at a group of Toronto residents who've turned ugly medians into lush gardens.

In an effort to raise extra money, cities and counties in Florida have been selling advertising in public spaces. Some say it's a good way to get extra revenue, but others worry about the visual pollution of public areas.

Street posters play an important role in participatory civic life, according to this article from re:place magazine.

With tourist season in full effect, the Czech city of Prague is hoping to clean up its notoriously dirty streets with a new ban on littering and urinating in public places.

In this column, landscape architect Bill Thompson, FASLA, takes a look at the shortcomings of Boston's City Hall Plaza as a public space and what he feels are misguided efforts to preserve it.

New York's Union Square is the scene of a lively protest featuring Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping. At stake is the square's pavilion, which is set to be transformed into a restaurant.

Landscape architect Gary Sexton worked on a tight budget and dodged commissions and regulations to create a beautiful vision for downtown Bremerton (near Seattle).

Two new parks in San Francisco show how great neighborhoods are defined by their public spaces, according to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.