Description
Book SynopsisA New Index for Public Space: After Distancing offers readers a re-evaluation of the notion of publicness as a lens to unpack the complexity of urban space. A ânew indexâ is proposed to reconstitute the promises and the predicaments of public space to better prepare for the contemporary challenges of post-pandemic, conflict-ridden society. Part I provides a theoretical introduction to the idea of public space and publicness, laying out the bookâs rationale; Part II offers a new index of terms, including affects, alignments, atmosphere, conviviality, diagrams, documenting, flow, and more; and Part III applies the proposed lexicon with a ârandom walkâ approach, inviting the reader to use the lens of nonlinear evolutionary dynamics as a means for envisioning the future of publicness. This book is the outcome of a conversation across disciplinesâspecifically, urban design and social theoryârevolving around the recognition that public space is inherently fragile, messy, conflicted
