Space, Place and the City: Emerging Research on Public Space Design and Planning

摘要

Our understanding of urban public space has evolved dramatically in recent decades. On the heels of urban race riots and civil strife in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the social sciences-in particular, the fields of social geography, urban planning and legal studies-began to take a more critical look at the role of space and place in understanding the city. The debate was framed by philosophers like Henri Lefebvre who argued that space should not be merely thought of as a physical place, a neutral container or backdrop for action, but as an entity actively produced by society.