ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing ArtsISSN (Online): 2582-7472
PUBLIC SPACE DEVELOPMENT DIMENSIONS: A CRITICAL REVIEW Amrita Shukla 1 1 Department
of Architecture, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management, Visakhapatnam,
A.P., Research scholar Department of Architecture, Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar, Punjab, India 2 Department
of Architecture, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India
1. INTRODUCTION Public Open space is a vital and essential component of the city to retain urban life quality. " Various researchers and authors introduce enormous terminology and definitions to explain "Public Space" such as open space, public space, public gardens and parks, green space, urban greenery, etc. Udas-Mankikar (2020)(Formulating Open-Space Policies for India ’ s Cities : The Case of Mumbai, 2020)". A neighborhood's and a place's culture can be built with the help of public open space. It is one out of 15 core categories proposed in the "Liveability Standards in Cities" by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and Smart City proposals (SCPs) Ministry of Urban Development. (2017). Although being one of the vital indicators of livability standards and Smart cities, the government fixes no benchmark to evaluate (Liveability Standards in Cities. New Delhi, India: Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, n.d.). This urban life parameter is under tremendous pressure due to rapid urbanization and population shift in an urban area. The improvement of public space is vital to counteract the impact of urbanization on urban life. Thus, there is a dire need to regulate the distribution and usage of public space. The intent of the study is to understand initiatives adopted around the globe for the development of Public Space. 2. Review of public spaces With objectives to
determine the characteristics of adequate public space and its measures, Vikas
Mehta 2007 proposed goa od public space index. He emphasized meastandardsr the right public place with the set of
parameters to appraise the qualitative aspect of public open space. The study
was conducted in the three principal streets of the U.S. The selected
streets are major neighbourhood commercial streets with similarity in terms of
demography, population, and other urban amenities along with proximity to each
other. Various structured and non-structured observations were recorded. Based
on the observations and data collected, the author proposed a "Good Public
Space Index" on a scale from zero to ten to measure the qualitative aspect
of public spaces. Following are the significant indicators of GPSI Mehta (2007). 1)
"The
intensity of use": defined by no. of users involved in a static activity. 2)
"The
intensity of sociability": defined by no. of users involved in the group
or social activity. 3)
"People's
duration of stay": defined by the amount of time spend. 4)
"The
physical diversity of use": defined by variation in usage of space in a
day. 5)
"The
variety of use": defined by a variety of activities. 6)
"The
diversity of users": defined by different age groups and gender. The research was
limited to commercial neighborhood streets and needed
to be studied in other public spaces in an urban context. With the evolution
of the new type of public place in the contemporary era, author Mehta (2014) felt the strong need to develop an empirical
method to evaluate the quality of public space. He proposed a new model to
evaluate the public space named "Public Space Index." There were so
many definitions and characterization given by various authors from time to
time; the perception given by Carr et al. and Jan
Gehl are found to provide the most appropriate. As per Carr
(1992), public space should be "responsive, democratic and
meaningful," and Ghel (1987) stated,
"outdoor activities can be further classified as necessary, optional and
social along with use and sociability." Based on
explanations are given by Carr et al. and schema
provided by Jan Gehl, the paper proposes a theoretical framework for evaluation
of public space. The framework comprises of five key parameters, which are an
essential quality of public space. They are Mehta (2014): 1)
"Inclusiveness":
Quality of including different types of people and treating them all equally.
In other terms, "Flexible and Ambiguous." 2)
"Meaningful
activity": to be able to acquire place attachment by means of various
activities and sociability. 3)
"Comfort":
to be able to relieve from climatic factor as well as a physical factor such as
the arrangement of seating etc. 4)
"Safety":
Quality and physical condition of the place, which gives a sense of security,
such as the presence of people around the day, surveillance measure, etc. 5)
"Pleasurability": spatial character which contributes
to the positive aspect of the public place. The sub-parameters
are created based on structured and semi-structured observation and interviews
during different times of day in various public places. The weights are
assigned by randomly asking the user to give a rating to various parameters on
a scale of 0 to 2. The results
produced by the Public Space Index help us to know the deficient characteristic
of public space and gives a direct clue of where to improve so
as to make a public space successful. As per the author, applying PSI in
a different context will give different results as well as there is scope to
develop another parameter as per requirement. Johannes Parlindungan Siregar in 2014
evaluate the qualitative aspect of public place by GPSI. To analyze
and evaluate indicators produced by GPSI, multiple linear regression is correlated
between GPSI and various build and outdoor components. The findings of MLR are
motorized vehicles have a negative impact on GPSI. Impacts on GPSI that are
both positive and negative are directly correlated with social use intensity
and visitors' length of stay Siregar (2014). GPSI can be
further developed in the qualitative parameter of aesthetics and placemaking,
along with extensive indicators to measure the success of public space in
relation to appropriate outdoor activities and the impact of built components
of surroundings. In order to achieve precise results,
the scientific method can be developed to measure various indicators of GPSI. Dietrich & Kengyel (2016) aim to determine the characteristics that
contributes for creating livable public space. Along
with the influence and impact of urban spaces on society is studied. Twelve
conventions for designing of public space by Jan Gehl are taken as the basis of
the study. All the twelve criteria were analyzed at
different urban public spaces for designing adequate public space, and other
parameters were removed from the scope. The twelve conventions initially
proposed by Gehl are referred to independently, which losses its complete sense
of matrix. The finding of surveys carried out showed that focusing only on
designing parameters would not lead to achieving successful public space Dietrich & Kengyel (2016). The necessary infrastructure, like
availability of water, sanitation facility, comprehensive speech right, etc.,
are must considerable factor for successful public space. Author Dorota Mantey discussed a new six axial model for assessment of
Publicness based on an empirical study of the existing parameter of Publicness.
All the proposals till now have a significant drawback of a limited number of
parameters for identification and quantification that too are based on the
author's observation. It consists of three-dimension which are further divided
into subgroups Mantey (2017). Diversity: The
Diversity of activities, The Diversity of users Mantey (2017) Management: Type
of management, Freedom of access, use, and behavior Mantey (2017) Accessibility:
Financial barriers Fees, Spatial barriers Mantey (2017) The proposed model
was tested in various public spaces of the small town 'Podkowa
Leśn.' It was found that comfort, proximity, and
association with nature are a prime factor of public places for the residents
of Podkowa Leśn.
Findings also showed that different age groups of people have different choices
of public space. The results of the six-axial model are represented by a graph
representing various dimensions of Publicness. Jocelyn Evans,
attempted to evaluate the public open space by PSI (Public Space Index) tool
and analyzed the result for a mid-sized city park.
The different types of public spaces comprised in the study are parks,
playgrounds, squares, etc. However, applying PSI in a medium-size city brought
in opportunity for enhancement and transformation of parameters to capture
qualities in medium-size cities. In a large city, people may commute to distant
POS due to insufficient availability of green areas. Thus, it is concluded that
there is much scope for improvement in PSI for middle size city. The
modifications are suggested for parameters: "Pleasurability
and meaningful activities" Evans et al. (2019). The majority of
parks suffered in scoring due to lack of Diversity of users, food services, and
natural Diversity, which are not essential for residential neighborhood
parks. Mohd. Shoeb Jafri and Mohammad Rajaullah,
focused on revealing the importance of green open space in an urban setup. The
trends of recreational space of significant cities in India were studied,
including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh city, etc. Due to development
pressure in these cities, open recreation spaces are depleting at an alarming
rate. Thus, burden on remaining recreational open space is raised, which is
having a direct impact on human health. The author has emphasized the
importance of green open space by directly correlating the same with public
prosperity and lifestyle aspect. The benefits of green open spaces are
categorized as tangible and intangible benefits. Tangible benefits comprise
Ecological Benefits, Planning Benefits, and Economic Benefits and intangible
benefits comprise Health Benefits and Social Benefits. The author
presented the following argument Mohd et al. (2018). ·
Inadequate
public open spaces: According to planning regulations, 0.2 Ha/1000 people of
land must be set aside for green, open recreational places, however many cities
have not kept up with this requirement. ·
Deficient
playground: There aren't many parks available, and also,
they don't accommodate all age groups. ·
Preservation
of green recreational area: due to insufficient capital, most recreational
spaces are not well maintained thus are non-inviting to the public. Problems like lack
of parking and equipment were also discussed. Planning of public open space can
be done by 1. Demand approach, and 2. Supply approach. It was concluded that
due to imprudent decisions, land use is changed from public open space to
others without considering environmental and health benefits associated with
it. Accessibility and per capita availability should be an integrated part of
urban design following international standards. Shahfahad et al. (2019) highlights
the issue that any agency gives no defined cap for per capita availability of
POS along with its size, spatial distribution, and characteristics. As per WHO
9sqm, UN 30sqm and EU 26 sqm. The study's primary goal is to comprehend how
urban green space affects POS, particularly in Delhi's northern region. The
five parameters chosen after rigorous literature study for classification of
POS are vegetation, parks and playgrounds, open green patches, open space/
barren land, population density. Google Earth is used as the data source for
the collection of the above-said data. In the first step, experts from various
fields such as Architect, planners, geographers, and sociologists were
requested to rank the parameters. In the second step, 130 residents were
requested to assign weightages Kumari et al. (2019). The
final relative weightage is calculated using the analytic hierarchy process
(AHP) Priority Calculator. Udas-Mankikar (2020) raised the issue of depleting public open
space over hasty expansion. The paper highlights the current legal framework
from the central to the municipal level associated with open space. Municipal
Corporation of Mumbai has raised the percentage of open space area from “26% in
2012 to 46% in 2016 only by changing open space”. This change has raised the
percentage of open space in Mumbai, leaving behind Australia and Sydney in the
race. Planning organizations in India adhere to the URDPFI recommendations, which
recommend that 10-12 sqm./person are ideal (Formulating Open-Space Policies for India ’
s Cities : The Case of Mumbai, 2020). The paper concluded that open space
development should be done in a holistic manner since it has a direct impact on
people. Revision in existing policies is recommended. Salih & Ismail (2018) focused on enlisting the criteria/
parameters that contribute to socially interactive public open space. The study
found out that "design, activities, access and linkage, administration and
maintenance, place attachment and users' characteristics" are essential
for adequate socially interactive public open space. A per analysis done by 25
different research papers and books concludes that access and linkage is the
prime parameter where "sociability, activities, and degree of
comfort" are secondary parameters Salih & Ismail (2018). Nurhayati Abdul Malek and Amanina
Nashar (2018) have raised the concern of
underutilized neighborhood parks in the majority of Asian cities and
Malaysia to be one of them Services (2018). Numerous researches
are conducted on the quality of good parks, and no consideration is given for
green open spaces in developing countries. The research intends to develop an
assessment tool to assess the Quality of Neighbourhood Park from a Malaysian
point of view. The following three
theories are used as a ground to develop an assessment tool. They are Maslow's
Theory of Human Needs (1954), Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), by Ajzenand Fishbein (1975), and Theory of Urban Parks and
City Sustainability (Cheisura, 2004). After analyses,
an assessment tool for Neighbourhood open space is proposed was proposed. The
assessment criteria of QNP are distance, location, facilities, accessibility,
landscape elements, necessary facilities, maintenance, ambiance, natural
surroundings, safety, natural preference, design preference, participation, and
satisfaction. Thilakaratne (2019), examined the various criteria that directly
impact the livability of public space. For the
purpose of the study, seven open spaces from the dense urban area of Hong Kong is selected, from where data is collected by various methods
such as photographic survey and photographic survey Thilakaratne (2019). The open spaces are easily accessible,
whereas whether conditions like High humidity, hot weather, stagnant wind, and
air pollution are significant hurdles. As per the planning department and draft
outline zoning plan, safety is considered as a prime factor along with
location, identifiable entrances, surface texture, and facilities, etc. The parks are small in size and are close to residential and commercial
buildings with limited facilities. The open spaces do not receive direct
sunlight due to the mutual shading of high-rise buildings. The open space
doesn't have a designated area for different activities like walkways, relaxing
areas, etc. The author suggested focusing on user comfort, safety, appropriate
material choice, and native trees and plants should be adopted to reduce water
management, which will also contribute to improving the microclimate. Eriawan & Setiawati (2017) raised the issue of unused open space or
absence of Publicness in public place.
To evaluate public place, “Public Space Index” Mehta (2014) proposed by Mehta (2007) is used as a tool for evaluation. The Imam Bonjol Park lacks the variety of users, length of activity,
lack of social interaction among users, and relatively short average time spent
by visitors utilizing this public space Eriawan & Setiawati (2017). Seemantini Soraganvi
highlighted the concern of women's safety in a public place. In Indian cities,
violence against the female in public space remains anonymous; thus, the same cannot be measured Soraganvi (2017). Two successful projects, one of Vienna and
the other of Paris, were taken as a case study. Results concluded that Eye on
street, accessibility, no visual hindrance, different activity, proper lighting,
etc., are an essential factor to have safe public space. The author also
suggested that the planners need to understand and think out of the box about
the usage of city space from men's and women's perceptions and how both coexist
at the same time. The need of people for public places also changes from place
to place according to culture and lifestyle. Raeisi et al. (2010) As per the report
of Municipal cooperation Bhatinda, "Action Plan to Increase Green Cover in
Bhatinda City," it was proposed to count agricultural land in the outskirt
of the city into green cover to increase the percentage of green cover in the
city. Around 32.49% of MC Bathinda are used for agriculture. According to the
announcement, the Municipal Corporation already has more green space than 15%
of the overall area. With the assistance of the relevant departments, the
Municipal Council will draught a Green Area policy to ensure an increase in
green cover during and in conjunction with future development Imam & Banerjee (2016). Theory of broken
windows: The "broken
windows" theory was proposed by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in the year 1982 and used as metaphor for
anti-social behavior and civil disorder Van et al. (2017). According to the "broken windows"
idea, apparent indicators of disorder and neglect, such as broken windows or
litter, might enhance criminal activity and antisocial behaviour Ren et al. (2019). This is assumed that neglecting to maintain
and care for public parks might result in a rise in crime and other unwanted
activities According to the theory, when a park is poorly maintained and
exhibits signs of neglect, it sends a signal that no one cares about the park,
and that it is a place where illegal activities can take place without
consequences. This can lead to an increase in activities such as drug use,
vandalism, and other forms of criminal behavior Schappert (2017). On the other hand, a clean, well-kept park
communicates the message that illegal activity will not be permitted and that
the park is respected and cared for. This can discourage illegal activity and
encourage civil behaviour in the park. Prioritizing upkeep and maintenance,
such as routine cleaning, planting, and repairs, is crucial for putting the
broken windows theory into practice in public parks. Community, local
government, and park management organisations can work together to accomplish
this. In conclusion, the
broken windows theory can serve as a useful framework for comprehending the
connection between upkeep and crime in public parks and can serve as the
foundation for policies that encourage good social conduct and discourage
criminal activity. Maslow’s theory of
Human needs Maslow's hierarchy
of human needs (1954) is well-known when it comes to the topic of human needs
in urban studies. Maslow's theory suggests that human needs are arranged in a
hierarchy, with lower-level needs needing to be satisfied before higher-level
needs can be addressed Mehan (2017). The hierarchy includes five main levels as
shown in the figure below. Figure 1
Table 1
Overall, public
places that aim to satisfy the diverse range of human needs can create a more
inclusive and welcoming environment for all individuals. Theory of Reasoned
Action Martin Fishbein
and Icek Ajzen created the Theory of Reasoned Action
(TRA), a social psychological framework, in the 1970s. It contends that a
person's attitude towards a conduct and their subjective norm-the perceived
societal pressure to engage in or refrain from engaging in a behavior—have an impact on that person's behaviour. A person's
attitude towards an activity is influenced by their ideas about the behaviour
and its effects, claims TRA. Their impression of what they believe others want
them to do and their desire to live up to those expectations shape their
subjective norm. According to the model, a person's attitude and subjective
norm together determine whether they will engage in a particular conduct, which
in turn affects their actual behaviour. The hypothesis has been used to explain
a variety of behaviours, including consumer, social, and health behaviours. The dimensions of
public spaces proposed by various authors are compiled in tabular format, to
identify correlation and research gap. Table 2
3. Methodology Various research
paper related to public space from journal database (Scopus, WoS, Google scholar etc) and websites are reviewed.
Structured content analysis is used as research tool to identify various
components and concepts of public space. The approach helps to conclude
inferences from the text by condensing large amount of text to fewer words. Salih & Ismail (2018). Further analysis is done by preparing
matrix of components identified from literature review. The similarities,
differences and gap are identified. 4. Review and Discussion In this section,
the major components from literature study are represented in graphical form.
It is observed from the literature review that dimension proposed in the
initial time focused much more on ownership and its management, whereas
publicness is added as major parameter in latter time. Along with addition of
components weightages were also introduced. Initially dimensions of public
space were interdependent which were gradually shifted to independent
components on latter stage. Accessibility,
inclusion, and safety are most prominent and explored dimension of public space
as shown in figure 1. Function and use, users, management, sociability, amenities,
and comfort are moderately explored components, whereas research on perception,
control, secured, linkages, micro-climate and scale are least explored
components of public space. It is found that management of public space in
terms of routine maintenance lacks in major studies. The activities conducted
around public space also directly affects its usability. Figure 2
5. Conclusion The study reflects that components of public space development mostly emphasize on tangible components whereas exploration of intangible components like perception, women safety, gender ratio, engagement in and around the public space yet needs to be worked. The scope of work exits in tangible components like control, linkages, micro-climate, and scale, as very few research is done in this context. Also, the listed tangible and intangible components have minimum or no weightage in development/ evaluation indexes. The three C’s i-e Concrete, cognitive and convivial for development of public space is proposed in the paper. Assigning weightage to dimensions can be taken as future scope of work. The public space development matrix cannot be generalized as it changes as per size, density, and culture of city. The theory of broken window, Maslow's Theory of Human Needs and Theory of Reasoned Action needs to amalgamate for formulation of components and subcomponents of public space.
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