For this assignment, we had to watch 3 videos discussing topics related to public spaces and write about each one of them
1.William “Holly” Whyte
This short video shows examples of social life in public spaces. The movable chairs that allow anyone to accommodate the space into their needs, musicians attracting more people, and the idea of making all space usable for everyone. It shows the idea that people need to take this space back from cars and turn it into their space.
I was surprised about the moving chairs when I first got to New York, nowadays designs are usually made to be static and previously established and I love how the chairs give people the opportunity to change and adapt the space to what they need. Also, it’s so nice to have a space to sit down, talk, eat, interact, or just to exist, in a city where everything is overwhelming because of the number of people and cars.
2. Amanda Burden
Amanda Burden talks about the importance of green public spaces in a city. She believes that the places where people meet are what makes a city, so these public spaces are key. They have power over people and their view of the city and they can affect how people live in it.
I agree with what she says about how public spaces affect our lives, especially in a city like New York where there are so many people, cars, buildings, and noise, that sometimes you need to get away from all of it and be surrounded by trees and plants. These places create a small scape from the chaos that the city is and gives people the chance to have a place to gather.
3. Evelina Ozola
Evelina Ozola talks about how we can design better streets that have more balance between mobility and social life. She hopes for all streets to be a space where social life can grow and where people can come together to exchange knowledge and create something collectively. Ozola believes that public life is the essence of cities and therefore she wants people to take their space back from cars and shops.
I loved the experiment she did on that street and how she uses color for most of her projects. If there is a space on the streets, people will use it. It’s so nice to have a place to sit outside and escape our daily work and the confined spaces where we spend most of our days. I was in the Netherlands a couple of years ago and the dynamic on the streets is totally different than anywhere else, people, cyclists, cars, trams and coffee shops sharing the streets in a peaceful way.
