Public Space Update. Report from the United States

Abstract

Like everything else in this large and disparate country, public space, as a movement and as a collection of physical places is highly varied and unequally distributed. Even so, over the last decade public space in both senses has moved to the forefront of American urbanism. In terms of academic debates, the narratives of decline that dominated discussions of public space since the 1990s have been replaced with expanded definitions of public space. The number of actual new public spaces, public events and support for them has grown exponentially over the last decade.  These spaces continue to attract large numbers of people. For design professionals, this has meant new opportunities to connect their practices with the larger public realm.  At the same time, however, critics have raised important questions about their inclusivity and ability to promote genuine social interaction.