Public Space

Jones Plaza in Central Houston was redesigned in 2001 to accommodate large concerts and events, but locals objected to the lack of green space. So planners are going back to the drawing board.

San Francisco building codes encouraged the creation of privately-owned, publicly-accessible spaces across the downtown. These spaces have gone underused and are little understood. A new report from SPUR attempts to clear the fog.

The long-term planning principles that have made the National Mall a successful and adaptable public space were in the spotlight during the Inauguration. Cities should take a lesson, argues Christopher Hawthorne.

On Tuesday, over a million Americans made it to Washington, D.C. to attend President Obama's inauguration. Christopher Hawthorne relates the nation's refreshed optimism to an impending revival of urbanism and public space.

Public art installations around New Delhi highlights the challenges of preserving India's heritage amidst development. 'We ask people to think about constructing a modern city and the accompanying extinction and loss,' says artist Ravi Agrawal.

Controversy surrounds a $20 million redesign of New York City's Union Square Park.

Officials in Sarasota, Florida have thrown out a 100-year old rule against spitting in public, despite some concerns about public health.

Architect Richard Reep argues that farmer's markets in Orlando are creating public space in areas that have all but rejected the idea of common ground.

In Abu Dhabi, medians and 'leftover spaces' are attracting unanticipated users playing soccer, exercising or just hanging out. Planners are grappling with why people use these spaces and the public parks they've designed are less successful.

As Mumbai recovers from the recent terrorist attacks, social worker Katia Savchuk reflects on how cities can be resilient to terrorism.

Cooltown Studios looks at what makes a shiny new corporate district different from an organically-grown one.

St. Paul, Minnesota's artist-in-residence has instituted a program where poems are imprinted into sidewalks throughout the city.

Planners and parks officials in San Francisco are making moves to reimagine currently underused public space in the heart of the city as a new civic park and gathering place.

Portland's Pioneer Square, designed back in 1983, is still looked t as a model of successful public space design. Landscape Architect Doug Macy looks back on the thought that went into the design.

Researchers in Scotland have concluded that areas without parks and green space have an increased risk of death and illness.

A grassy median in a tony Santa Monica neighborhood has been a hotspot for local fitness buffs looking for a nice place to workout for years. But residents tired of the constant outdoor gym that invades their street are complaining to the city.

A reporter goes undercover as a homeless person to find out what happens when the indigent pay a visit to L.A.'s first corporate-controlled public park.

Voters in suburban Minnesota will vote on whether to invest $10 million to preserve a closed golf course. Or they could save the $10 million and allow a developer to build houses. But many say it will be cheaper in the long term to buy now.

In this editorial, Ibne Ahmad of Rawalpindi, Pakistan claims that cars are significantly impacting the quality of life there, and that pedestrians and public space need to be reclaimed for the sake of equality.