Why Public Spaces Fail 17
The Market Square, the Town, and the Planet
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 27 June 2013.
Just as there is no secret about what makes public open spaces succeed, there’s no secret about what makes them fail. People who study these matters just go and look at actual places – observe them at different times of day, in different weathers, and so on. The biggest overall indication of failure is that they’re not used, or are used only as a shortcut to get from one side to the other. A space that is empty and uninviting, and that looks bleak in every kind of weather, is a failure.
The reasons aren’t hard to find. Here are some.
For one thing, places that fail are almost always uninteresting to look at and are surrounded by blank or boring buildings. There are few if any interesting features within the space – no furniture, trees, water features, nothing that allows the eye (and the human behind) to rest comfortably and relax. In a successful public space, the presence of people attracts other people, and the opposite is also true: in a badly designed space, emptiness leads to emptiness.
Furniture is crucial. It has to be thoughtfully designed, and there has to be a variety of it – benches, chairs, tables, walls of the right height to sit on. There have to be chairs and benches with backs, and at least some of them have to be movable. If there’s no comfortable place to rest and watch the world go by, of course people will just keep walking. The important thing is to provide them with an opportunity and an invitation to linger a while.
There has to be food and drink available, and there have to be litter bins and other conveniences such as a board showing the city map.
There has to be greenery to provide shade and colour, a variety of textures, something that moves in the breeze. Trees and flowers also attract birds: everyone enjoys watching birds. If possible there should be a water feature. Public spaces where these amenities are lacking or tastelessly designed discourage lingering.
Size is a factor in some places, but our Market Square is fortunately almost the ideal size. Even so, the design eventually adopted should recognize that some people like to do their eating and drinking and relaxing in smaller spaces – among trees or under awnings. The rest of the area can be left more open for public gatherings and big events.
Some cities have redesigned their squares so that they are good venues for programmed events, but have forgotten that between such events the area ought to be suitable for individual, random, casual use – meeting friends, eating, drinking, relaxing, people-watching, resting one’s feet, allowing little kids to play. According to the Project for Public Spaces, “design first needs to work without any programming”. Programming is important, but the space has to “work” without it.
Bad design controls people and limits their actions. It limits the flexibility and usefulness of a space. If seating is so uncomfortable that you can’t perch there for long, you won’t stay. If there is no seating in the shade, and no portable chairs, then you won’t linger on a hot day. If there are badly placed curbs and other irregularities, the area won’t be used by people on wheelchairs or scooters.
The good news, of course, is that getting it right is not really difficult. Stratford’s Market Square starts with good bones – very good bones. There is no need for our design to fall into any of these traps, once we know they’re there.
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website.
Published in the Stratford Gazette, 27 June 2013.
Just as there is no secret about what makes public open spaces succeed, there’s no secret about what makes them fail. People who study these matters just go and look at actual places – observe them at different times of day, in different weathers, and so on. The biggest overall indication of failure is that they’re not used, or are used only as a shortcut to get from one side to the other. A space that is empty and uninviting, and that looks bleak in every kind of weather, is a failure.
The reasons aren’t hard to find. Here are some.
For one thing, places that fail are almost always uninteresting to look at and are surrounded by blank or boring buildings. There are few if any interesting features within the space – no furniture, trees, water features, nothing that allows the eye (and the human behind) to rest comfortably and relax. In a successful public space, the presence of people attracts other people, and the opposite is also true: in a badly designed space, emptiness leads to emptiness.
Furniture is crucial. It has to be thoughtfully designed, and there has to be a variety of it – benches, chairs, tables, walls of the right height to sit on. There have to be chairs and benches with backs, and at least some of them have to be movable. If there’s no comfortable place to rest and watch the world go by, of course people will just keep walking. The important thing is to provide them with an opportunity and an invitation to linger a while.
There has to be food and drink available, and there have to be litter bins and other conveniences such as a board showing the city map.
There has to be greenery to provide shade and colour, a variety of textures, something that moves in the breeze. Trees and flowers also attract birds: everyone enjoys watching birds. If possible there should be a water feature. Public spaces where these amenities are lacking or tastelessly designed discourage lingering.
Size is a factor in some places, but our Market Square is fortunately almost the ideal size. Even so, the design eventually adopted should recognize that some people like to do their eating and drinking and relaxing in smaller spaces – among trees or under awnings. The rest of the area can be left more open for public gatherings and big events.
Some cities have redesigned their squares so that they are good venues for programmed events, but have forgotten that between such events the area ought to be suitable for individual, random, casual use – meeting friends, eating, drinking, relaxing, people-watching, resting one’s feet, allowing little kids to play. According to the Project for Public Spaces, “design first needs to work without any programming”. Programming is important, but the space has to “work” without it.
Bad design controls people and limits their actions. It limits the flexibility and usefulness of a space. If seating is so uncomfortable that you can’t perch there for long, you won’t stay. If there is no seating in the shade, and no portable chairs, then you won’t linger on a hot day. If there are badly placed curbs and other irregularities, the area won’t be used by people on wheelchairs or scooters.
The good news, of course, is that getting it right is not really difficult. Stratford’s Market Square starts with good bones – very good bones. There is no need for our design to fall into any of these traps, once we know they’re there.
Brandis has lived in Stratford since 1996 and is a full-time writer. She is the author of a number of books – visit Marianne's website.