Cosmopolis: public spaces, cosmopolitanism, and democracy

Abstract

What is the role of public spaces in contemporary cities? Despite the growing interest in the theme of public spaces in the last decades, a significant number of authors appeal, directly or indirectly, to ideas of the “regression”, “decay”, and “crisis” of public life, public sphere, and public spaces. Without disregarding this hegemonic point of view, in the present article we would like to consider other perspectives, which recognize the importance of public spaces, public sociability, and cosmopolitanism for the democratic societies in the context of the contemporary city, the cosmopolis. We therefore propose a bibliographic review that deals with the political nature of public spaces, the dimension of contestation within public sociability, the advent of virtual public spaces, and the geography of cosmopolitan encounters. The article concludes that urban public spaces remain essential for the existence and functioning of democratic societies and institutions.