Public Space

Il libro si occupa della mobilità come tema di progetto spaziale: un progetto le cui spiccate potenzialità "federative" (di spazi, politiche, saperi) sono tali da farne un efficace strumento di trasformazione qualitativa della città e del territorio, tanto più potente in ragione del carattere pervasivo del fenomeno mobilità e della continuità transcalare degli spazi in cui esplica. Punto centrale in questa interpretazione è la ricerca di un equilibrio (diverso a seconda dei livelli di servizio chiamati in causa) tra la dimensione tecnica dello spostamento e la "sfera sociale", tendenzialmente conflittuali. Tale conflittualità, estremamente marcata negli spazi stradali, si attenua nei sistemi urbani di trasporto collettivo in sede propria per riemergere nei termini mutati della dialettica globale/locale in corrispondenza dei nodi di accesso alla rete ferroviaria; può assumere infine un’evidenza drammatica nel modo con cui le grandi infrastrutture – lineari o puntuali - si interfacciano al territorio. Dopo aver ripercorso nel primo capitolo le esperienze fondative – piani, progetti, modelli teorici – che, dall’avvento della ferrovia alla motorizzazione di massa, hanno interpretato, guidato o preconizzato i mutamenti di forma e dimensione dei sistemi urbani in rapporto ai progressi tecnologici nel campo dei trasporti, il libro si sofferma a illustrare le condizioni attuali – culturali e operative - con cui il “progetto di mobilità” deve necessariamente confrontarsi, determinate, da un lato, dall’”esplosione” del trasporto privato e dal venir meno dei valori e dei vincoli di prossimità su cui si è fondato storicamente il modello insediativo urbano, dall’altro dal maturare di una nuova coscienza collettiva sotto le insegne della “sostenibilità”, rispecchiata nei recenti orientamenti disciplinari nel campo delle scienze territoriali e (sia pure in modo parziale e talvolta contraddittorio) nelle politiche dell’Unione Europea. Gli ultimi capitoli sono infine dedicati al tema specifico della qualità spaziale delle infrastrutture, con una progressione che va dalla scala minuta delle relazioni di vicinato alle lunghe percorrenze, attraverso l’analisi e il confronto di esperienze significative soprattutto europee. La trattazione segue due chiavi interpretative principali, fra loro per altro strettamente correlate: a) il progetto di mobilità come progetto di spazio pubblico; b) il progetto di mobilità come progetto di paesaggio: nozioni entrambe non univoche, ma comunque riferibili a un'idea generale dello spazio come bene collettivo, che fa da Leitmotiv all’intero volume.

""This spring issue includes four essays. In describing the phenomenon of “running-with-a-stroller,” psychologist Tomo Imamichi makes a contribution to what might be called “everyday phenomenology.”

Second, geographer Jacobs Sowers draws on a phenomenological approach to explore the unique character and ambience of southern California’s “Wonder Valley,” an unusual place inhabited by three different lifestyle groups that Jacobs identifies as “homesteaders,” “dystopics,” and “utopics.”

In the third essay, independent researcher Stephen Wood probes his interest in place attachment by examining two lived dialectics: the spatial tension between inward and outward aspects of place; and the temporal tension between repetitive and singular events relating to place.

In closing out this issue, environmental educator John Cameron writes a ninth “letter” from his island home off the coast of Tasmania. Drawing on an unusual environmental encounter with “phosphorescence,” Cameron ponders the difficult lived and conceptual tension between understanding and imagination.

Current and back issues of EAP are available at:

http://www.arch.ksu.edu/seamon/EAP.html
""

"In recent years, street art has become embedded in popular culture and received growing attention from the art market and art institutions. Work by street artists has entered galleries, auction houses and museums, and some artists have been given the opportunity to create large-scale sanctioned public art projects. Simultaneously, widespread photographic documentation of street artworks and the circulation of images online have provided artists with a potentially global audience.

Based on studies of everyday interaction among artists, gallerists, collectors, bloggers and street art enthusiasts, The Street Art World investigates the often contradictory attitudes within the street art community towards art history and the institutions of art. The book also deliberates on street art’s connection to the art market and public art. It considers street art’s potential to affect the viewer’s perception of public space, and the possible challenges the increasing digital mediation of street art may pose to bringing this potential to fruition.

Peter Bengtsen is an art historian and sociologist. He has been writing about street art since 2006."

Public spaces play a vital role in the cultivation, control and development of communities. Urban Square is an example of public space that, throughout history, has been used as a platform to integrate the community, disseminate and discuss ideas, and enable people of different ages and groups to be part of the public realm. Public urban squares are the new age agoras where innovative and creative designs are expected to accommodate the changing needs of various types of users. Numerous studies have been conducted on the functions and roles of public squares towards the urban environment at large. However, studies on specific types of community and their experiences at the urban square are still scarce. Due to the demanding and constantly changing urban lifestyle, the role of the urban square as a social and communal space has emerged to be significant for urban and suburban dwellers. This study examines on how the community values an urban square in Putrajaya, which is Dataran Putra. Dataran Putra, a public square nestled between the iconic Masjid Putra and the Prime Minister's Office, has grew to become a vibrant and popular public space since its inception in 2001. This study focuses on families and youths to further investigate how they value the square as their social and communal space. Semi-structured interviews and behavioral mapping were employed to collect data about how families’ and youths utilize and value the square as their public space.

Although young, when compared to European cities, the city of São Paulo is one of the oldest in Brazil (1554). Emerging as a small village, and currently characterized by neighborhoods that originate in very different times throughout its history, São Paulo is defined as a mosaic. Our specific goal is to present and discuss the main naming models superimposed on the city’s public spaces (particularly roads and bridges) century by century, and arriving to the twenty-first century with the lack of public policies that regard toponymy as an essential tool to build a symbolic bridge between the past and the present.

Art Training jest podsumowaniem projektu, którego tematem i miejscem realizacji stała się przestrzeń publiczna miasta, rozumiana jako naturalny obszar działania obywateli i dobro wspólne. Wykorzystując zastane warunki wybranego miejsca, zaproszeni przez nas artyści opracowali gry, które zawierają krytyczne spojrzenie na wybrany aspekt funkcjonowania metropolii (Wrocławia, Kijowa i Krakowa). Przedmiotem ich analiz jest kwestia realnego wpływu sztuki na rzeczywistość oraz możliwość animowania zmian społecznych poprzez zachęcenie mieszkańców do aktywnego działania w obszarze miasta oraz szerzej — przestrzeni publicznej. Dystrybuowane w formie plakatów i pocztówek scenariusze gier niosą w sobie potencjał performatywny i partycypacyjny. Za ich pomocą chcieliśmy uruchomić geny współdziałania i samoorganizacji, odpowiedzialne za poziom zaangażowania i partycypacji w sferze publicznej.

"The article discusses the complex relationship between population mobility and urban dynamics; so, will reflect on the changes in the socio-spatial relations of the urban population in the light of new technologies; Also, will address central concepts such as identity, public space, landscape and place; and finally, it will question the need to foster collective awareness and the value of environmental education to build sustainable and liveable cities.

En el artículo se discute sobre la compleja relación de la población con la movilidad y las dinámicas urbanas; así, reflexionará sobre los cambios en las relaciones socioespaciales de la población urbana a la luz de las nuevas tecnologías; también, abordará conceptos centrales, como identidad, espacio público, paisaje y lugar; y, por último, se cuestionará sobre la necesidad de favorecer la conciencia colectiva y el valor de la educación ambiental para construir ciudades sostenibles y habitables."