To attract investment and tourists and to enhance the quality of life of their citizens; municipal authorities are paying considerable attention to the quality of the public domain of their cities ndash; including their urban squares. Politicians find them good places for rallies. Children consider squares to be playgrounds; the elderly as places to catch-up with each other; and for many others squares are simply a place to pause for a moment.Urban Squares as Places; Links and Displays: Successes and Failures discusses how people experience squares and the nature of the people who use them. It presents a lsquo;typology of squaresrsquo; based on the dimensions of ownership; the squarersquo;s instrumental functions; and a series of their basic physical attributes including size; degree of enclosure; configuration and organization of the space within them and finally based on their aesthetic attributes ndash; their meanings. Twenty case studies illustrate what works and what does not work in different cities around the world. It discusses the qualities of lively squares and quieter; more restorative places as well as what contributes to making urban squares less desirable as destinations for the general public. The book closes with the policy implications; stressing the importance and difficulties of designing good public places.Urban Squares offers how-to guidance along with a strong theoretical framework making it ideal for architects; city planners and landscape architects working on the design and upgrade of squares.
#3773832 in eBooks 2006-04-01 2016-07-14File Name: B01IFKKO2A
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