Description
Book SynopsisSocial cohesion is often perceived as being under threat from the increasing cultural and economic differences in contemporary cities and the increasing intensity of urban life. Public space, in its role as the main stage for social interactions between strangers, clearly plays a role in facilitating or limiting opportunities for social cohesion. But what exactly is social cohesion, how is it experienced in the public realm, and what role can the design of city spaces have in supporting or promoting it? There are significant knowledge gaps between the social sciences and design disciplines and between academia and practice, and thus a dispersed knowledge base that currently lacks nuanced insight into how urban design contributes to social integration or segregation.
This book brings together scholarly knowledge at the intersection of public space design and social cohesion. It is based on original scholarly research and a depth of urban design practice, and analyses case studi
Trade Review
"Rather than living in segregated, inward-looking communities this innovative collection illuminates the role of public space design in promoting social cohesion and inclusion globally. By examining bottom-up and engaged urban design projects the editors have brought together compelling empirical examples written by well-known researchers and design professionals working in the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America that illustrate the strength and complexity of this relationship. The chapters focus on neighborhoods, housing estates, squares and streets where conflicts and solidarity are played out, and emphasize the spatiality of social cohesion as well as the cultural context of public spaces in people’s everyday lives. It provides a first look at what is happening internationally in terms of how urban design practice and local activism is taking back public space into their diverse lives, and in the process creating a more solid grounding for social relations, belonging and recognition of the other."
Setha Low, Professor of Environmental Psychology and Director of the Public Space Research Center, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
"This book is a valuable contribution to public space scholarship, bringing together a collection of comparative case studies from around the world that investigate whether and how public spaces can have a positive role in the perennial and contested search for social cohesion in diverse, stratified and fragmented urban societies."
Professor Ali Madanipour, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK
Table of ContentsIntroduction: From mixing with strangers to collective placemaking: existing theories, policies and practices around social cohesion in public space design Public Space Design, Development and Management Processes Top-down projects Chapter 1. The Making of Democratic Urban Public Space in Denmark Chapter 2. The Marginalised Others: Memorials to non-Jewish Holocaust victims in Berlin’s Government District Chapter 3. Social Cohesion vis-a-vis Spatial Division: The Contradictions of Participatory Design Chapter 4. The Role of Public Spaces on Social Cohesion and Inclusivity: Metamorphosis of a historic park in Ankara, Turkey Chapter 5. A Placemaking Approach to Estate Regeneration Projects: A Practitioner's Perspective Bottom-up projects Chapter 6. Bottom-up Public Space Design and Social Cohesion: The case of a self-developed park in an informal settlement of Bogotá Chapter 7. UN Habitat’s engagement of residents, refugees and local authorities in a public space design process in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon Chapter 8. Open Green: Placemaking beyond Place-bound Communities in Taipei Post-occupation evaluations Chapter 9. New Public Spaces of Circulation, Consumption and Recreation and their Scope for Informal Social Interaction and Cohesion Chapter 10. Visibility of Turkish Amenities: Immigrant’s Integration and Social Cohesion in Amsterdam Chapter 11. Pop-up Landscape Design and the Disruption of the Ordinary Chapter 12. Designing for Difficulty: Agonistic Urban Design Chapter 13. Exploring Social Equity in the Park: Design and Management of new city-centre spaces in Sheffield, UK, and Ahmedabad, India Chapter 14. The Streets: a Fluid Place of Social Cohesion Conclusion: Emerging Knowledge at the Intersection of Public Space Design and Social Cohesion
