Principles for public space design, planning to do better

TLDR

Public spaces, in their many forms, add huge value to urban experience and therefore deserve serious consideration by regulators and planners. The paper proposes normative principles for planners and others to guide the design and regulation of public spaces. The authors first present three overarching principles derived from an exhaustive examination of London public spaces, then outline seven detailed considerations for evaluating design quality. The study identifies three overarching principles and seven detailed considerations that together form a comprehensive framework for public space planning and design.

Abstract

This paper sets out a series of normative principles for planners and others to use when planning for and regulating public space design and management. Based on an exhaustive examination of public space in London, the substance of which is reported elsewhere, a first section sets out three overarching principles relating to the critical but often missing strategic planning framework for the development and regeneration of public spaces. A second and final section sets out seven more detailed considerations for evaluating the quality of public space design. This is an unashamedly positive framework for shaping public space, based on the notion that public spaces in our cities come in many different forms and guises, but collectively add huge value to the experience and potential of urban areas. Consequently, they deserve serious consideration by those with regulatory and other responsibilities for their delivery.