1. law, govt and politics
2. legal issues
3. legislation

S T R E E T S A S P U B L I C S PA C E S A N D
DRIVERS OF URBAN PROSPERITY
C ON F E R E NCE RE PORT
BUE NO S A I RES 2014
CONFERENCE R EPORT
BUENOS AIR ES 2014
Contents
Key messages
Preamble
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
From UN-Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
From Ax:son Johnson Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Trendlines
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Key justifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Sub-theme one: The global challenges of urbanization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
Sub-theme two: Solutions for the 21st century cities & streets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
Sub-theme three: Streets & life in the formal & informal realm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
Sub-theme four: Streets as sociable & inclusive public spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
Sub-theme five: Turning principles into practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
Key messages
The following messages reflect the views of the
Future of Places participants and may provide policy
guidelines or form recommendations for governments’
urban development strategies or international urban
development agendas- including the Post 2015 Development Agenda and Habitat III. This statement represents both the key messages that arose out of Future
of Places I and II and reflects on the principles of the
Charter of Public Space and the Global Toolkit for
Public Space.1 In this context, Public Space is used as
an encompassing term referring to areas that are considered to be part of the ‘public realm’ or ‘the commons’- including but not limited to streets, squares,
parks, open spaces/places and public facilities.
“We affirm the role of public spaces as
the connective matrix on which healthy
and prosperous cities must grow.”
Public spaces – streets, squares and parks – afford
an essential human capacity for interaction, exchange,
creativity, and knowledge transfer. They support the
capabilities of residents to improve their own prosperity, health and wellbeing, and to modify their
own relations to one another and adapt to conditions
and opportunities. On such a connective matrix,
great cities grow.
But public spaces have essential requirements, without which they cannot function. These requirements
are largely known through evidence and history, but
they are too often ignored as the result of professional,
administrative and political limitations, and perverse
incentives producing unintended consequences.
Meeting this challenge will require key reforms in
current practices.
P EOP L E- C E N TR E D A P P R OAC H TO
SPAT I A L P L A N N I N G
As an arena for public use and social interaction,
public spaces are most often developed, managed and
maintained on behalf of the municipal government. If
1.
the municipal government adopts a people- centred
approach to urban planning, where the people guide
the development of the city, they will more effectively achieve sustainable development. Emphasis needs
to be placed on a shared responsibility between community and private entities in regards to the localized
planning and maintenance of public space.
INCLU S IVE P U BLIC S PACE FO R ALL ,
PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE GROUPS
Planning and designing public space for all implies
taking special account of the most vulnerable portions of the population and those who have been
excluded from formal processes. Attention needs to
be placed on members of the population that are in
vulnerable situations, recognizing their contributions,
and ensuring equal, safe and healthy access to the
public realm. Vulnerable groups, most particularly the
urban poor, those in high-density neighbourhoods,
and those with small dwellings, need to be satisfied
from a social, political and spatial perspective when it
comes to the public realm. This is not only a matter of
social justice; evidence shows that, when equitable
access to the public realm is not secured, the entire
city under-performs socially, environmentally and
economically, relative to its potential.
T H E IMP O RTANCE O F P U BLIC S PACE
IN RAP IDLY U RBANIZ ING CIT IES
Cities urgently need to establish spatial plans, strategies and frameworks that aim to accommodate and
guide urban population changes and rapid growth
rather than constrain or fragment them. Orderly
re-densification, revitalization and expansion processes are all needed with the aim of defining a
coherent public realm through fine-grained block
patterns, arterial and street grids and other forms of
public spaces. Informal processes should be accommodated and guided, giving residents the capacity to
be active co-creators of their city and its public spac-
Global Toolkit for Public Space www.urbangateway.org/publicspace.
Future of Places • Conference Report 2013
2014
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es. Catalytic investing in main squares and parks
with the help of legislation can help to create a high
quality public realm, despite periods of rapid change.
P UB L I C S PAC E AT A H U M A N S CALE
Studying the social behaviour of the users of public
space is essential. Through observation and understanding of human biomechanics, senses and
behavioural patterns throughout different intervals in
time, public space can be designed to cater to a variety
of human variables, including speed, shape and distance. This can then be followed by simple temporary
interventions to promote positive behavioural patterns.
A CI T Y WI D E A P P R OAC H TO P U B L IC
SPACE
The consequences of poor urbanism can be detrimental and that is why a holistic, evidenced-based
approach to the city is needed. When designing public spaces, attention needs to be placed not only on
the space itself, but the form, function and connectivity of the city as a whole. Promotion of public
space interventions directed at enhancing passages,
establishing crossings, breaking down barriers and
upgrading other functional localities throughout the
city should be promoted.
P UB L I C S PAC ES D ES I G N E D AS
MULT ID I S C I P L I N A RY A R E N AS O F
SUSTA I N A B I L I TY
Public space has a responsibility to be flexible enough
to serve a variety of users and uses, ranging from
informal to formalized activities. Properly designed
public spaces not only contribute to improve the overall visual character of a city, but they also stimulate
economic activities and enhance the functionality of
the city. Compact, liveable areas with adequate public
spaces and infrastructure that facilitate non-motorized and public transport encourage walking, cycling
and other forms of eco-friendly living, thereby reducing carbon emissions and cutting down reliance on
fossil fuels and other limited resources.
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
ST REET NET WO RKS AS
INT ERCO NNECT ED P U BLIC S PACES
Streets in cities of the 21st century should serve
as multimodal networks of social and economic
exchange, forming the urban framework of interconnected public space. Walkability, social interaction
and multimodal mobility should be supported by a
fine-grained block and street network lined with
compact buildings providing amenities and services
with a mix of uses. Tools and regulations to
strengthen the relationship between the ground floor
and the street will improve the interaction between
private, semi-private, semi-public and public spaces.
ACCES S TO P U BLIC S PACE
– P U BLIC AND P RIVAT E S P H ERES
There has been a substantial reduction in access to
public space creating unclear boundaries between the
public and private spheres; this has the potential to
limit democracy. There is a need for a new paradigm
that should recognize the inability of the market to
ensure the creation of a hierarchy of public and private open spaces protected over time. We need a
more nuanced approach to planning with new tools,
protecting and designing the urban hierarchy of open
places including semi-public and semi-private space.
P U BLIC S PACE REFLECT ED IN
T H E S U STAINABLE U RBAN
DEVELO P MENT AGENDA
CO -B E N E F I TS O F P U B L I C S PAC E
Evidence shows that investing in public space can
have powerful social, economic and health benefits
for cities. If people are committed to their future in
a specific place, they tend to invest more time and
capital in that place; as a result, having a positive
impact on the local economy and creating a virtuous
cycle of economic growth. The economic factor
shows that public space has potential to offer localized economic returns on investment. Land value
capture can be utilized as a tool employed by the
municipality to collect captured value in the form
of taxes as a result of their public investment.
The decline of functional public space is a core
component of unsustainable urban growth, and its
restoration must be a key goal of sustainable urban
development. In order to create people centred cities, public space, as an interdisciplinary and intermodal sphere of interaction and capacity that interacts with all segments of the population, needs to
be highlighted in the international sustainable urban
development agenda. There is a need to establish
a network of public space actors equipped with
common principles and tools to ensure that adequate
policy and management of public space are adopted
and monitored in and beyond the Post 2015 development agenda, including the sustainable development
goals and the New Urban Agenda that will arise out
of Habitat III in 2016.
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Preamble
From UN-Habitat
The purpose of Future of Places is to highlight that
a people-centred approach to urban development is
fundamental to the discussions surrounding the ‘New
Urban Agenda’ that will be decided upon at the Third
United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in 2016.
Since the establishment, Future of Places has demonstrated its value in serving as an appropriate apparatus to achieve this ambitious agenda and ensuring that
public space will be at the forefront of the discussion
in 2016. The positive outcome can be attributed to the
fact that it has created a real movement for public
space bringing together more than 1000 individuals
from over 300 organisations – a wide array of actors
(i.e. academia, civil society, developers, local governments, interest groups, etc.) who most often do not
find themselves at the table together.
The Habitat III conference promises to be unique in
bringing together diverse urban actors such as governments, local authorities, civil society, the private
sector, academic institutions and all relevant interest
groups to review urban and housing policies affecting the future of cities within an international governance framework; with a view to developing a ‘New
Urban Agenda’ for the 21st century which recognizes
the ever-changing dynamics of human civilizations.
A reinvigorated urban planning approach has the
ability to optimize economies of agglomeration,
promote sustainable density, encourage social diversity and mixed-land uses, foster inclusiveness, maximize heterogeneity, promote liveable public spaces
and vibrant streets, and thus make the city more
functional, maintaining environmental balances.
As part of the Post 2015 Development Agenda,, a
urban Sustainable Development Goal has been proposed: Make Cities Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and
Sustainable; with a target on public space: “by 2030,
provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, particularly for women
and children, older persons and persons with disabilities”. This outcome would avail us yet another
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
opportunity to ensure that future cities are built in an
inclusive manner which places emphasis on the space
between buildings instead of the objects themselves.
The theme of the second Future of Places conference
reminds us that streets have to be seen as an integral
part of our cities and their system of public spaces.
The proportion of the city’s surface covered by
streets varies greatly, from 33 per cent in Barcelona
to only 11.5 per cent in Nairobi. Streets are crucial
for providing the ability to reconnect the city as a
sophisticated network; when we regard streets as
public space we really discuss multi-functional spaces which contribute to creating a safe, lively and economically productive public realm.
FoP II presented the opportunity to explore this concept in more detail. Our belief is that when we place
the right people in the room, we put the right issues
and opportunities on the table, the Future of Places
forum and conference series will transform into the
Future of Places movement – allowing us to achieve
beyond public space, into sustainable city-building
– creating ‘The Future We Want’.
Thomas Melin,
Head, External Relations
Division, UN-Habitat
From Ax:son Johnson
Foundation
At the first Future of Places conference (FoP I)
scholars, practitioners, policy makers and activists
agreed on the need for a major shift from objects to
places in relation to urban development. Public
space must be the arena for urban life and the conference acknowledged a need for a people oriented
agenda in the understanding, construction and management of place. For the second conference we
decided to put focus on the backbone of the city –
the street – because the organised physical layout
and street interconnectivity are crucial elements for
sustainable urban development.
Throughout the history of cities, streets have played
an important role by connecting people and places
– and therefore promoted the exchange of ideas,
goods and development. Streets as an element of
public space contribute to the cultural, social, economic and political functions of cities. Streets function as networks of communication, infrastructure
for transport, and spines of social life and urban
vibrancy; it is important that cities around the globe
understand this multidimensional role. The multifunctionality of streets must therefore be promoted
through sensitive planning and design. The rational
and modernistic planning paradigms of the past have
promoted a separation of functions; now we must
shift away from these mind-sets and view the street
as a network for people – not solely for transportation. As public spaces, streets must also be understood as places of equity and inclusion – a common
and inclusive space regardless of age, gender or
economic status. Today, people are reclaiming their
streets as public spaces in all corners of the world.
In the fast growing cities of the developing world
the street is a public space, serving the function of
commerce and leisure; this is where people meet
and ideas come to fruition.
In 2013 UN-Habitat published the report Streets as
Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity
which advocates a holistic approach to streets as
public spaces that embrace the concepts of liveability and completeness. Based on data from more than
100 cities around the globe the report states that a
good street pattern boosts infrastructure development, enhances environmental sustainability, supports higher productivity, enriches quality of life,
and promotes equity and social inclusion. Dimensions ranging from infrastructure to environmental
concerns as well as equality and social inclusion are
linked to the quality of the street pattern.
We decided to elaborate on this theme for the conference in order to reflect the importance of modern
street design in enabling or damaging the well-being
of city dwellers. This topic takes on special urgency
in light of the growing challenges that cities face all
over the world – in particular rapid urbanization. The
conference therefore moved beyond an understanding of the characteristics of streets as public space,
and instead aimed at identifying a core agenda of
action for science, education, policy and best practice; particularly at the service of the most vulnerable
and marginalized urban populations, not at least in
developing and least developed countries where the
largest and fastest growing numbers of victims of
rapid urbanization are to be found.
Peter Elmlund,
Director Future of Places,
Ax:son Johnson Foundation
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Background
A FO R U M FO R P U B L I C S PAC E
Future of Places is a forum for public space providing a platform for an international conference
series and a movement for policy advocacy leading
up to Habitat III in 2016. The objective of the Future
of Places is to discuss the importance of public
space and the impact it can have on the New Urban
Agenda being engineered for the 21st century, in
particular the discussions leading up to the Post
2105 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in
2015 and the Third United Nations Conference
on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development
(Habitat III) in 2016.
Future of Places is a multi-stakeholder initiative
established by UN-Habitat, Ax:son Johnson Foundation and Project for Public Spaces in 2012. The
forum is an alliance of over 300 organisations and
more than 1000 individuals. Its approach is multidisciplinary convening the leading global thinkers
(academia), decision makers (local and national
government officials), practitioners (urbanists, planners, architects), civil society (NGOs, international
organisations) and private sector (builders, developers) that understand the transformative impact that
public space can have in a city and are willing to
ensure that public space is at the forefront of the
urban agenda.
FO P 20 1 3 –2 0 1 5
The first Future of Places conference held in Stockholm in 2013 (FoP I) convened the leading global
thinkers on public space to discuss and prioritize the
key elements of public space that need to be included as part of the New Urban Agenda.
The second Future of Places conference in Buenos
Aires in 2014 (FoP II) differentiated itself from its
predecessor in two ways: firstly, it focused on the topic of Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban
Prosperity, and secondly, it elevated itself from a
conference aimed at collecting knowledge on public
space into a conference that aimed at leveraging the
political processes of the United Nations system. It
resulted in a carefully crafted set of Key Messages
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
that may be used to influence the preparatory discussions in the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals
as well as the Habitat III process; both of which are
currently shaping the global development agenda.
The key statements from the first two conferences
may provide a base for policy guidelines or form
recommendations for governments’ urban development strategies or international urban development
agendas. The Key Messages will serve as the basis
for participants’ advocacy and will be brought to the
third Future of Places conference that will be hosted
in Stockholm in 2015 (FoPIII). The third conference
will sum up the entire conference series and provide
policy guidance and recommendations towards global processes such as the Post 2015 Development
Agenda and the Habitat III conference in 2016.
A P U BLIC S PACE AGENDA
The conference series strives to build a network and
develop strategic documents and tools for advocacy
contributing to an inclusive Public Space Agenda
that can influence the debate leading up to Habitat
III in 2016, as well as other global processes.
The value and the strength of this Public Space Agenda will be based on the interactive process of discussions, workshops, panels, brainstorming sessions, and
other deliberations throughout this period. This will
be done in collaboration with each and every participant, where a process of formulating universal guidelines and principles on public space will emerge.
This network of individuals, professionals, city
administrations and institutions will influence all
levels of government and a variety of sectors and act
as an agent of change in urban development. Once
adopted, the Public Space Agenda will provide
advice and tools to improve the capacity of member
states and cities.
Whether the Future of Places initiative will succeed
in putting public space and a people-centred urban
planning on the agenda will depend on the capacity
of all participants to influence their local and national leaders.
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
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Trendlines
UR BA N D E VE LO P M E N T C H A LL E NGES
In 1950, only one-third of the world’s population
lived in cities, but already in 2008 humanity had
become 50% urban. This proportion is expected to
continue to grow to 70% by 2050. In addition, the
spatial growth of cities is accelerating even faster
than the population; over half of our cities remains
to be built.
But already today streets, squares, and parks, especially in the informal settlements of a city, are often
chaotic, poorly planned and maintained – if they
exist at all. In addition, nearly one billion people are
living in slum-like conditions. In this context, there
are multiple challenges presented by the public
spaces themselves.
However, even if today’s urbanization process faces
great challenges it also presents great opportunities.
A fundamental challenge for most mayors and city
administrators today is that the apparatus for building
and managing cities – professional and legal systems
– is adapted for a 20th century industrialist realm
focusing on technical systems, whereas the 21st century focus should instead be on human interaction.
A political initiative on the local level is needed in
order to change these objectionable building traditions that conflict not only with the contemporary
economic system, but also with the long term goals
of the building industry and the needs of ordinary
people.
SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
AS A D R I VE R FO R P R O S P E R I TY
Throughout modern history, urbanization has been a
major driver of development and poverty reduction.
Governments can respond to this key development
opportunity through Habitat III by promoting a new
model of urban development that is able to integrate
all facets of sustainable development to promote
equity, welfare and shared prosperity. Habitat III can
help systematise the alignment between cities and
towns and national planning objectives in their role as
drivers of national economic and social development.
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
The new international order emphasising decentralisation and participatory approaches, provides more
room for cities and regional economies to contribute
to national development through direct participation
in the global economy. This offers the community of
nations a unique opportunity to achieve global strategic goals by harnessing the tremendous force for
sustainable urbanization. This opportunity remains
available despite the formidable challenge presented
by the continued influx of billions of people to our
cities and towns.
GLO BAL P RO CES S ES
Habitat III, the third United Nations conference on
Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, will
take place in October 2016 in Quito. The conference
welcomes the participation and contribution of all
Member States and relevant stakeholders, including
parliamentarians, civil society organizations, regional and local government and municipality representatives, professionals and researchers, academia,
foundations, women and youth groups, trade unions,
and the private sector, as well as organizations of the
United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations. The Habitat III conference aims to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable
urbanization and to focus on the implementation of
a ‘New Urban Agenda’. Habitat III has the power to
change the future of our cities and this is therefore
our historical opportunity to influence the trajectory
of urbanization. If we fail, we risk that the cities of
tomorrow are built without a people centred focus.
It is the primary objective of this three part international conference series to ensure that a people-centred agenda highlighting Public Space becomes part
of the discussions leading up to the Habitat III conference in 2016, hopefully marking the beginning of
a new approach to urbanization.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda is poised to
replace the MDGs upon their expiration in 2015.
The Rio+20 document The Future We Want resolved
to establish an inclusive and transparent intergovernmental process on SDGs that is open to all stake-
holders with a view to developing global Sustainable
Development Goals – the new framework for achieving a world of prosperity, equity, freedom, dignity
and peace.
ME LL A N R U B R I K
The General Assembly of the United Nations has
recommended that the report of the Open Working
Group on SDGs should be the basis for the intergovernmental negotiations on the outcome document of
the post-2015 development agenda. This report proposes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of
which “Making Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable”, currently
referred to as SDG-11, consisting of 7 action targets
and 3 means of implementation targets. One of the
targets is specifically related to public space: 11.7 by
2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and
accessible, green and public spaces, particularly for
women and children, older persons and persons with
disabilities. Continued support for SDG-11, and in
particular public space Target 11.7, will be crucial
for its final acceptance. This support will be even
more important to ensure adequate means of implementation and a sound monitoring framework that
will be necessary to catalyze action on public space
as a contribution to sustainable cities and human settlements. If approved by the General Assembly in
September 2015, this goal and target would constitute the most significant attention ever to public
space in the global policy arena.
Other global processes such as the United Nations
Climate Change Conference (COP21 or CMP11)
which will be held in Paris in December 2015, will
have major impact on the New Urban Agenda.
Replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the conference
objective is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all the nations of the
world.
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
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Key justifications
At the first Future of Places conference Ali
Madanipour defined public space as follows: ”Public
Spaces can be described as places outside the
boundaries of individual or small group control,
mediating between private spaces and used for a
variety of often overlapping functional and symbolic
purpose. Descriptively, therefore, public spaces have
been multi-purpose: accessible spaces, distinguishable from and mediating between demarcated exclusive territories of households and individuals.”2
W HY I S P U B L I C S PAC E I M P O RTA NT ?
Early examples of public space were the commons;
the resources which a community had rights or
access to. Historically, public space has often been
limited to town centres, piazzas, and places of religious importance, often situated around a central
monument. These spaces often functioned as commercial, political, social and or cultural arenas.
In terms of the pillars of sustainability (economic,
social and ecological and often even cultural), a
quality public space environment can have a meaningful impact, significant benefits and play a major
role in the economic vitality of urban centres – be it
large or small. Public space is therefore a necessary
part of any successful regeneration strategy in
towns, cities, and the wider communities.
Public space has always been the nexus of conflict
and potential struggle over claims to its control and
over the rights of occupation of different groups in
society. The escalating economic crisis and the societal divide has created new forms of insurgency and
appropriation of public spaces in the wider sphere of
the right to the city by different ethnic, social, economic, age and cultural groups. The idea of the right
12
to the city has spread to a global movement where
citizens rediscover their cities, calling for a bottom-up oriented approach to urban life.3
W H Y DO ES P U BLIC S PACE NEED TO BE
P ROT ECT ED AND EMP OW ERED?
As the social dimensions of public spaces are essential in terms of democracy, inclusiveness and openness to all citizens, regardless of age, ethnicity and
gender. This place should be characterised by inclusivity, the disregard of status, and serve as the
domain of the common concern.4
But the public sphere can also be explained as a
place linked to the very emergence of democracy.
With adequate design and management, public spaces can create contemporary agora’s and foster social
ties, links and networks of a kind that are undeveloped or recently has been disappearing in many
urban areas.
As we see a global trend of increasing urban
inequalities, be it economic, social, ethnic, cultural
or political, and at the same time the place for public
space is shrinking – public space sometimes even
becomes privatised property. In other cities public
space is simply neglected and left to deteriorate.
Instead, quality public space should and can provide
connectivity and physical access, protection from
crime, shelter from climate, seclusion from traffic,
opportunity to rest, opportunity to work and the
occasion to congregate. For being a truly democratic
and functioning place, the public space must therefore take the needs and intentions of its users into
consideration.
2.
Ali Madanipour (2003) Public and Private Spaces of the City, Routledge: London, pp 232–233.
3.
Henri Lefebvre (1968) Le Droit à la ville, Paris: Anthropos (2e ed.) Paris: Ed. du Seuil, Collection Points.
4.
Jürgen Habermas (1964) ”The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia” in New German Critique, No 3, 1974, pp. 49–55.
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
P UB L I C S PAC E AS D R I VE R FO R U RBAN
P R O SP E R I TY
Traditionally, cities and their need for attention have
had the unfortunate consequence of perpetuating the
view that the city is an assembly of parts, rather than
a whole. This fragmented perspective has led to a
disconnection between the various elements of the
city and the people who actually utilize it.
Public Space provides us with an opportune platform, allowing us to bring together various elements
of the city and tailor it in a people-centred manner
that helps solve some of society’s greater concerns.
By including elements of social inclusion, urban
safety, mobility, urban economy, education and governance public space creates an environment where
the individual parts of a city come together to serve
the people. This conference series provides us with
the opportunity to develop a public space agenda
that can positively influence the New Urban Agenda
for the 21st Century.
The Future of Places forum is convinced that cities
need to embrace a people-centred approach in order
to achieve positive urbanization and not fall victim
to the negative attributes of urbanization. However,
at this moment, many cities – the world around – are
broken or failed; this is likely a result of the notion
of viewing the city as an assembly of parts and not in
holistic terms or at an appropriate scale. Urbanization has the ability through agglomeration and economies of scale to achieve positive attributes such as
knowledge exchange, economic efficiency, reduction
in our reliance on natural resources and much more.
“Excearum quibea conecti odiciumque
essimporiore cus es resersp iciam,
ilique veliqui buscia peraeseque porate
plis a consecta” Namn Namnsson
However, as the positive attributes of urbanization
come to fruition, so do the realization of negative
realities; such as the urbanization of poverty, congestion and social segregation. In the future, successful
cities will be the ones that begin with the public realm
as the starting point and place people at the centre of
its vision. By including elements of social inclusion,
safety, mobility, walkability, urban economy, education and governance, public space provides us with an
opportune platform to create a dynamic mixture of
urban life and tailor it in a people centred manner.
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
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Themes
The second Future of Places conference (FoP
II) took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1–3 September 2014. The theme, Streets as Public Spaces
and Drivers of Urban Prosperity, reflects the significance of modern street design in enabling or damaging the well-being of city dwellers. ; streets serve a
broader function than the efficient conveyance from
one location to another. Together with their adjacent
spaces they form a network within the city, influencing or limiting, social and economic development.
The second Future of Places conference brought
together participants from all over the globe who are
interested in advancing the Public Space Agenda.
These issues are essential to not only building good
public spaces, but also to promoting key principles
of sustainable urban development – such as integration instead of segregation, compactness instead of
sprawl and connectivity instead of congestion.
“Excearum quibea conecti odiciumque
essimporiore cus es resersp iciam,
ilique veliqui buscia peraeseque porate
plis a consecta” Namn Namnsson
The conference focused on a number
of sub-themes:
The Global Challenges of Urbanization.
Solutions for the 21st Century.
Streets and Life in the Formal and Informal
Realm.
Streets: Sociable and Inclusive Public Spaces.
Turning Principles into Practice.
FoP II participants per region
Europe (18%)
North America (12%)
Asia (2%)
Africa (2%)
Latin America (61%)
South East Asia (5%)
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SUB-THEME ONE: THE GLOBAL CHALLENGES OF URBANIZATION
The conference started with discussing challenges and opportunities of urbanization. In the age
of urbanization and global culture, the public realm
represents an important expression of physical and
social dynamics of a society. Urban prosperity and
liveability is connected to vibrant and inclusive public places.
Mandate
What makes a great city is when the design has economic and social implications stimulating positive
development. As the street is the most common form
of public space its design embeds a great potential.
However, many cities are currently undergoing a
movement that redefines the street as we know it;
consisting of less individual buildings with a
personal character and instead of single building
blocks lacking the people-centred approach. Instead,
a design stimulating particular patterns allowing for
diversity, safety, experiences, access, etc. – that is a
fine grain plot structure – would be ideal. On a political level leaders must recognize that it is not necessarily the buildings per se, but the places in between,
that can have the most significant impact – by operationalizing the place and the public space.
When UN-Habitat received its mandate in the 1970’s,
the world was not yet dominantly urban. Today, not
only a majority of the world’s population is urban,
but our cities are also growing at an enormous pace.
As history has shown, urbanization can be both positive and negative. However, if we build cities the
wrong way it is simply too complicated to make
FoP II participants per sector
Academia (31%)
Professionals (25%)
Government (26%)
Organisations (18%)
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
15
them right afterwards – the cost could potentially be
more than nine times greater than the initial investment needed. This is why UN-Habitat concentrates
its work on cities that are not yet on the right track.
Even though the urban challenges are great we are
currently facing a profound opportunity to take
advantage of the political processes that are at our
disposal; namely the Post 2015 SDG process and the
Habitat III process towards establishing a New Urban
Agenda after 2016. We must remember that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were created
to improve specific areas of the world that member
states felt were important in a time frame of 15 years.
The new goals (Sustainable Development Goals –
SDGs) will replace the MDGs to fulfil what they
missed out and to adjust the goals to tackle new pertinent issues. The Post 2015 SDG process has recently yielded strong results with its adoption of the
Open Working Group report on the Post 2015 Development Agenda. Included in this report is a goal on
urbanization and a specific target on public space.
Habitat III will discuss a new urban development
agenda and we want public space to be part of this
agenda. The Future of Places can influence the discussion throughout the world to ensure that public
space is addressed. As the preparatory process
towards Habitat III advances, we must therefore
begin incorporating the inputs of our key partner
constituency. Future of Places therefore has an
opportunity to establish itself as a convening group
towards the preparatory processes of Habitat III and
share its message to encourage the establishment of
people-centred cities. The purpose of this conference is also to give you information and ideas on
how you can influence the Habitat III process
throughout this conference and beyond.
incapacity to distribute the profits of urbanisation, a
growing inequality between centre and periphery
has often become a consequence.
One key argument is that prosperity is commonly
associated with growth, but at the same time as GDP
has increased in general, public good and facilities
have not automatically increased with it. It has been
argued that the public realm often has been lost in
the economic growth-oriented public-private partnerships and that the levels of prosperity for all citizens are increasingly unequal between the centre
and the periphery. For example, in many cities the
number of streets has often been reduced by half,
even though research has proven that poor street
connectivity affects the urban prosperity. In opposition, the report proves that the higher the Street
Connectivity Index of a city, the higher the Urban
Prosperity Index will be.
A different model is therefore proposed, a more
holistic, transformative and inclusive approach to
urban development in order to change the form and
function of society in a sustainable direction.
Because sustainability will need compact, energy
efficient, heterogenic, public service oriented and risk
reducing cities providing for and protecting public
goods. Most crucial for the creation of urban prosperity is therefore to point out what works and what
does not work in practice. By studying the street connectivity in 150 cities all over the world and integrating the form of the city in the research, the report
comes up with recommended values for streets. Policy and decision-making must therefore draw advantage of this research on positive urban growth.
“Poor connectivity doubles distances.
Poor connectivity affects all dimensions
of prosperity.” Eduardo Moreno
“The Public is the city”
Thomas Melin
Proposed Entry Points
Challenges and Opportunities
The UN-Habitat report Streets as Public Spaces and
Drivers of Urban Prosperity which has inspired the
second Future of Places conference, explores
numerous examples of linkages between street connectivity and urban prosperity. The report identifies
the major global trends of urbanisation and conceptualises current challenges. Generally, cities have
grown three times more than necessary, and with
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In order to set the framework for a platform influencing global policy, it is crucial to discuss and
understand the history, the present challenges and
the future of places in various geographical regions.
The second conference particularly highlighted cases from Latin American and Asian cities, their public spaces and streets.
In Latin America, there has traditionally been a
strong urban conception of the development of the
city but also with a strong connection to nature and
cycles. Bringing status and power to the public spaces was also at the centre as politics took place within
that space. Influences from Roman cities through
Spanish colonisation and with the Laws of the Indies
focus of location design for cities, placed the plaza
at the centre of the city with four main roads leading
from it, letting markets and other activities taking
advantage of these public spaces.
A period of rapid urbanisation took the region from a
proportion of only 40 per cent living in cities to 70 per
cent only 40 years later – this is equivalent to the pace
Africa and Asia are urbanising today. Public space
was during this period affected by functionalism and
planning defined by zoning. However, this rapid
urbanisation of the continent was often met by a laissez-faire policy which in turn led to the establishment
of poor informal settlements at the urban periphery.
In the 21st century some cities are growing more
than their population – sometimes up to six times
more – creating an even more fragmented, congested and polluted city. These Megacities are also
becoming the most unequal cities. The most serious
challenge for Latin America today is demography
with a declining population by 2020, which will
have serious effects on the economy.
Many cities have also failed to provide adequate
public space for its inhabitants as policy, planning
and construction have not mirrored the use and
needs of the urban dwellers because of lack of interaction with their populations. That is why it is crucial for all stakeholders involved to take responsibility and approach their policy makers with national
recommendations to be incorporated in the Habitat
III discussions.
“Many architects assume how people
live, but rarely ask. Cecilia Martínez
Over the past 60 years China’s urban population has
increased seven-fold. China has managed to move
from 20 per cent urbanized to 40 per cent in 20
years; this is 2 times as fast as most countries. If this
trend remains, then 900 million Chinese will live in
cities by 2020, in cities being built at rapid scale,
height and speed.
However, China has benefited from rapid urbanization in terms of social and economic interests and
has thereby improved the social and economic situation of the population. That being said, public space
and public life have suffered. Potential problems are
degradation of public space and public life, as traffic
has torn down old traditional buildings to make way
for new development in the name of modernity. In
many cases the social life that has been developed
around these locations have also suffered.
Various cases across China demonstrate the important role the street plays in Chinese cities and how
there is a need to protect traditional methods. Overall, it is of great importance to focus on common
factors among cities and using creative solutions to
address these concerns. Not only best practices but
also poor practices that undermine the social life of
cities have become demonstrating examples of the
Chinese growth model. Good practices can put forward ideas on how this can be safeguarded preventing to the demise of social life in many important
places and providing examples how Chinese cities
could be built for the people.
”You can imagine a leopard from seeing
his spot” Chinese idiom
Generally, as the public realm represents an important expression of physical and social dynamics of a
society; urban prosperity and liveability is connected to vibrant and inclusive public places. Many
streets provide important public space in itself but as
they provide necessary links to and from these public spaces they tend to loose the social and economic
values that enrich cities.
A main consequence of a built environment influenced by ’a bird’s perspective architecture’ is that it
does provide the necessary public space which people need. When we discuss streets as public spaces
sustainable mobility therefore becomes key – good
transportation is therefore the mean and not merely
the goal.
It is therefore crucial to keep reminding that even if
the private sector has an important role to play in
developing public space – the public sector always
must have the responsibility to set the guidelines
hence being held accountable for the final result.
The public serve the people and their common interest but the private has the liberty to only serve specific interests.
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Issues for Discussion
The inclusion of all parts of society is at the centre
of the discussion on global challenges of urbanization. Key is how to support communities to be able
to help themselves; planners should play an active
role in supporting communication between communities and visionary mayors and decision makers
that are sensitive to the needs and wishes of the people. Further, in order to influence – it may be a local
project, a city-wide development plan or an international policy making process – it is important to
understand and influence people who can influence
others, such as advocacy specialists within local,
national and international politics.
The question of density and compact cities is another question of debate as density in itself is important
– but even more important is to support connections
and regulations. Building high – ie occasional Skyscrapers – is not the answer but building with a consistent relatively high density as density is actually
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
“Walking and cycling should be a
human right.” Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa
reducing all over the world. Instead we have to
strive for sustainable density; important is to have
achieve a strategic construction of cities to enable
density and good planning which can reverse this
global trend of decreasing density.
Finally, another issue at the centre of discussion is
why building for pedestrians and reducing speed has
such an impact on the security and quality of pedestrian spaces. As an example it is important to keep
reminding that the number of people killed on our
streets is directly linked to traffic speed; at 30 km/h
there is only a 5 per cent risk to be killed, but at 50
km/h the risk is 85 per cent.
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SUB-THEME TWO: SOLUTIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY CITIES & STREETS
The conference further explored different conceptual urban solutions. The right design for a walkable city is a true recipe for vibrant street life. Public
spaces allow not only the car, but the pedestrian, the
bicycle and public transportation to move freely
within the urban structure.
Overview
Some streets are celebrated greatly, while some disappoint people quickly. When the street is well-shaped,
comfortable, connected and safe it creates a sense of
enclosure, refuge and prospect; good streets are not
achieved by building regulations that push building
away from each other, but rather by building closer
together. The key success of streets in becoming places for people is more than just efficient engineering
but related to the ‘art’ of designing streets as inspiring, engaging, interactive, provocative and communicative places.
“Human beings love other human
beings” David Sim
Crucial to note is that streets last longer than buildings, uses or citizens. Each line we draw on a map
will resonate strongly in the future and that is why
we must make sure that our future spaces will places
where people want to be even in the future. Essential
for good street design is the value of being able of
visualising and drawing up changes before they
occur; simply to show what is going to happen in the
future. The art of street design is to picture people’s
desires and making places where people want to be,
which in addition adds value to the place. Streets, as
the most important public spaces, should therefore
embed certain characteristics following people’s
desires and emotions.
“We love those streets designed with
enough intimacy to make us feel at
home”. Victor Dover
Fundamental for a good street design is that they are
made for people – and that people around the world
are basically the same; our scale, our senses and our
needs are the same: We all want to meet others,
smell coffee, hear birds singing, water flowing and
feel that we are part of nature. Human beings are
still hunters and gatherers, even if our environments
have developed.
Challenges and Opportunities
On a global scale, cities of today face a multitude of
problems – traffic, corruption, pollution and health
issues. Simple measures can have huge impact if
they help create places where people simply can be
human beings and experience everyday life. By creating good places; economic, social and health benefits will follow. Health is today the largest public
expense, and by creating environments that make
people healthy, money can be saved. Small scale
projects can have greater impact than imagined.
The concept of mixed streets is lifted as an important opportunity that is often overlooked. They have
immense potential because of their complexity in
composition – this street type captures the very
diversity and contrasts of cities. These streets are
continuous and connecting, often unremarkable, but
bind the city together. In some cities, ‘the high
streets’ represent just a few percentages of the street
network, yet it is where millions of people work
every day. Yet they are often ignored by those who
have the administrative responsibility of them.
The amount invested into these high streets is minor,
which is evidence of the unbalanced development
priorities. There is a need for processes of management that look at streets in a holistic way and a need
for investments prioritized in public realm improvement. Mixed streets such as ‘high streets’ are therefore sites of huge development potential, particularly of high relevance to the sustainability argument as
they are walkable and multi-functioning.
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“One global challenge is to spend
the time to better understand our
streets, and if we do we will see that
our streets are critical drivers of
urban prosperity.” Matthew Carmona
In particular taking sustainable mobility into consideration in planning will be crucial for reducing the
urban exclusion on all levels. The solutions also
include the seeking the convergence of agendas
(environment, security, efficiency, health, poor
groups, equity), improving urban amenities (densification, recreation, avoiding gentrification) and new
technologies for smarter cities.
Issues for Discussion
A main issue for discussion is the need to see the
street, block and quarter as one entity as the quarter
and block being ‘the provider of life to the street’.
The functions of the street often come from behind
the façade, for example workplaces, and until you
know what is happening there, you cannot really
know what will happen in the street.
Proposed Entry Points
The 21st century presents a number of challenges for
the Latin American continent. This highly urbanised
region where over 80 per cent are living in cities has
witnessed the growth of some of its cities to enormous size. Its four megacities face particular challenges but so do many other cities of different urban
patterns in time this very heterogeneous region. In
addition, the urban poverty in Latin America is widespread with 124 million living under the poverty line.
But again, these challenges vary over the continent
which is the most unequal region in the world.
An overall goal is therefore reducing inequality in
Latin America and to end extreme poverty by 2030
along with increasing the prosperity for the poorest
40 per cent. In order to meet these goals the region
will in particular have to find sustainable solutions
for its growing urban exclusion, both when it comes
to physical, spatial, economic and social exclusion.
However, the urban challenges also provide opportunities since the city is the platform for prosperity.
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
Another issue widely debated is gentrification and
its negative social consequences for a neighbourhood. Consequently, transforming areas must also
focus on affordable housing and smaller businesses.
At the same time it is important to remember that
cities change constantly and being aware of these
changes over time is a precondition for sustainable
urban transformation. Transportation is a key component of a diverse city. Traditionally transportation
planning has focused on the car – which is by far the
most costly way to move people from one spot to
another. If we are serious of getting the benefits of
gentrification without pushing people out we need to
be focusing on affordable housing and public transport in that area.
Another issue of immense importance, particularly
in cities in developing countries, is the presence of
adequate data. It is difficult to be sensitive to the
needs of the communities in designing urban areas,
if data is lacking. If the public sector is to assume its
responsibility in providing adequate public space to
all, this capacity is imperative for governments to
better know, listen to and work with the community,
particularly the poorest and least powerful parts of
the population.
3
SUB-THEME THREE: STREETS & LIFE IN THE FORMAL & INFORMAL REALM
The key theme of the conference “streets” was
elaborated upon from different perspectives and presented various solutions from different regions.
Streets are the fundamental public spaces in each
city, the social and economic exchange life lines.
They are venues for a range of community activities
vital to urban life and city liveability.
Overview
The state of public space and streets differs greatly
in the formal compared to the informal realm. In
many slums for example, public space is a political
issue for vulnerable groups. There is a need to
ensure vulnerable groups are satisfied from a social,
political and spatial perspective.
The most pressing issues for slum dwellers are often
land and basic services. The growing prices of land
tend to peripheralize and push the urban poor further away from the city, thus further away from livelihoods. As a result, there is a constant battle to
negotiate their rights and to ensure that space is adequately suitable.
Slum dwellers recommendations for local government is that they have their own information and
their own money, but they need the city to allow
them to be part of the processes and make land
available for them. The better the slum dwellers
can collect information and resources, the better
they are able to negotiate with the city.
In practice, public space in slums often tend to be
directly linked to the basic services needed – such
as sanitation or livelihood. Public spaces therefore
often either evolve around or involve the development of community toilets, community centres or
community markets.
“Slum dwellers are an asset to the city,
and not a liability.” Celine D’Cruz
Challenges and Opportunities
An urban environment which is not adapted to the
needs of either the formal or the informal population
is a common challenge for many local governments.
Taking both these needs into consideration, a fundamental transformation of the public spaces and services which go with them is possible. However, political will is key, and visionary Mayors and urban
planners can if governing the space at their disposal
adequately, make a difference during only a mandate.
As an example, Surabaya is the second largest city of
Indonesia, with a night population of three million but
which during the day grows to between six and seven
million. It is also home for a large population of informal settlers. A method the mayor applies is everyday
morning listening and talking to the citizens in the
street, in order to improve the city for all inhabitants.
The policies that has followed on these dialogues have
had high legitimacy and the measures implemented
have been regarded by the public as very successful.
It has also enhanced the willingness of the citizens to
actively helping to transform their traditional resident
areas and slums with help from the city.
The mayor has in particular managed to improve
quality of life and life expectancy for the citizens by
actively working to improve public space and housing. New housing has been build and centres for
handicraft and street vendors have been organized
to help citizens to improve their economic situation.
The city’s work has also focused on transforming gas
stations into public parks. These public parks have
free Wi-Fi, libraries, computer learning centres and
various sporting facilities. Preserving and developing
its green areas has had positive side effects on safety
and resilience such as reducing the flood risks significantly. In addition, a program for waste handling
was set up with the creation of a waste bank where
organic waste is composted and non-organic sold.
The money goes to school tuition and recreational
projects and in parallel the schools have developed
eco-programs teaching the children waste handling.
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“All physical works need to have social
results, our teams work in the slums
and are not removed to central offices”
Marina Klemensiewicz
Proposed Entry Points
The city of Buenos Aires has consistently been
working with the implementation of social management in urban planning and transformation. For
example, the conforming of informal settlements
into the formal city of Buenos Aires has managed to
incorporate previous slum areas into the general city
fabric. This social management initiative took shape
as previous attempts to house the poor had included
in vertical slums built by renowned architects but
where these areas had not generated the desired outcomes and remained highly marginalised.
All over Latin America, starting in the city of
Medellín, the concept of social urbanism has been
introduced as a holistic solution to inclusive urban
planning. Social urbanism goes far beyond building
objects as a solution. Instead the focus is on building
social capital and including residents in the processes of improving these living areas. Key is building
the social architecture that’s going to underpin the
physical architecture – all physical works need to
have social results. Involving the private sector in
the policy has been important to seeing that there is
continuation with these efforts beyond the current
government and into the future.
Another model of urban development in the region
has been to closely link mobility to public space,
democratic principles and social inclusion. For
example, Bogota’s model of growth where illustrated by an expanding road systems and focus on the
car as the main transportation system had broken the
small town logic by placing highways through
neighbourhoods. For example, express lanes – often
hailed as the solution to all traffic problems in developing countries – can be very difficult for pedestrians to cross. The ground level between the facades
or barriers and the street is where we can judge the
urban quality of a street and who is welcome.
As a response, the concept of shared space, ie the
street as a shared space not to be fought over between
cars and pedestrians, is now being implemented in
projects. By civilizing some of the cities space, there
is a path back to a sense of community. By under-
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
standing the street as a collective space –that the
street is not only a space for access to and from home
and work – we can allow streets to become places
that will contribute to the redevelopment of communities. Thinking of the benefit of who is essential. To
return space to those who have lost space to the car,
witnesses of a change of paradigm and priorities.
Similarly, another urban regeneration project – the
Plan Microcentro – set out to tackle the enormous
challenges of Buenos Aires such as the excessive
visual pollution, sidewalks in very bad condition,
streets clogged with traffic, deteriorating cultural
heritage, waste in the streets, along with severe
security issues. Since this is the most highly connected part of the city in terms of transit, an oppor-
“Understanding the street as a
collective space, will allow streets to
become places that will contribute to
building communities.” Isabel Arteaga
“People knows their own mess and
there is a logic to their mess”
Celine D’Cruz
Issues for Discussion
Ironically, several of the actual slum dwellers that
were invited to the conference had unfortunately not
been able to travel due to visa restrictions. Even if
their interests were well represented by many of the
speakers present, it was an illustrating example of
how difficult and sometimes humiliating it is for
people of the south to travel, may it be to an international conference or even into the city centre of their
home town.
The discussion was focused on the financing for slum
dwellers’ initiatives and policies focusing on the poorest and informal communities. Again, most agreed
that public transport and investment in public libraries
should be focus for policies to support mobility and
improve the education level. The government officials
present were clear on the efforts needed to reach
change in poor areas; all policies should be financed
by their own budget through taxes. This is definitely
possible, but requires the right political prioritization.
“The poor is not on anybody’s priority
list” Celine D’Cruz
tunity was present to capitalize on the connectivity
of the district. The plan’s focus became to in only
five years change the ratios between car trips and
pedestrian trips. When many modes of transportation are in bad condition people are sometimes
forced to choose the slow, less expensive alternative
to the fast and more expensive alternative.
The issue of different prices is also considered a
social equality issue. But a limited funding for transportation can be dealt with in creative ways with
help from simple material such as colour (colouring
streets and sidewalks) and making people aware of
that places should be shared and cared for by all.
Street design can change the perception and use of
the city in simple ways and this will affect the mindset of people.
The crucial role marketplaces can play in slum
dwellings is a common standing point. There are
many actors involved in creating good market places; the vendors, the public sector as well as developers and investors. When all vendors and inhabitants
in the area come together to create public places the
task can seem overwhelming at first but by breaking
down areas in smaller parts and understand the different needs it is possible to find solutions for all
communities.
Empowerment is often a key word when discussing
the improvement of slum dwellings. One important
tool is community savings; by helping people to take
small loans and learning to pay them back they can
be able to later invest in larger projects by taking
larger loans. However, savings in itself will never be
enough, and development in the informal areas is
therefore dependent on the existence of political will.
Finally, all mayors need to remember that they are
elected by the people and should serve the people –
i.e. the entire population. It is crucial to understand
the population – but also the poor – as a heterogenic
group.
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SUB-THEME FOUR: STREETS AS SOCIABLE & INCLUSIVE PUBLIC SPACES
The conference further explored the sociology of
streets. Streets should be sociable and inclusive public
spaces that are accessible to everyone and essential to
the health of a true urban community. They should
foster contact and communication between people
and help shape and compose the built environment.
Mandate
There is a need of a broader framework of justice in
public spaces. Fundamental to the development of
such a framework is the understanding that current
transformation of public space is the result of several aspects; the increased number of immigrants and
social segregation on micro level, lack of social
interaction, tensions of globalization, greater social
and economic disparities and less public money for
maintenance.
These changes in public space cause greater conflicts between individuals. Thus, additional securitization and social and physical control is needed.
Increasing the level of control makes a new structure
of feeling fear of ‘others’ in public spaces. Sense of
fear in public is followed by more privatization and
exclusion in the form of gated communities, surveillance cameras and restricted rules and regulations.
On the other hand, individuals and groups get involved
in these issues differently due to their financial status,
gender, age or social class. Social justice in public
spaces today must therefore regard the micro level and
including all individuals within their differences.
”We need to recognize and understand
these spaces, and even more important,
support, advocate, and even fight for
the right to exist.” Margaret Crawford
Therefore, in order to include the consequences of
these restrictions, evaluating social justice in public
space need to be broaden to incorporate the follow-
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Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
ing criteria; distributive justice (in order to achieve a
just city there must be enough public space for
everyone), recognition of difference (are all recognized in the public space?) interactional justice
(does the public space allow all individuals’ interaction safety and fairly?), ethic of caring (does the
public space encourage people caring), and procedural justice (is there any fair system to support the
use and access of public space?).
Challenges and Opportunities
This notion of social justice in public space automatically introduces a perspective on linked to ideas of
citizenship and democracy. A number of challenges
has to be addressed such as: “What makes vibrant
public spaces?” and “Who makes these places?”
Many different groups of people actively create their
own places, and redefine the meaning of what ‘public’
and what ‘space’ is, often without the aid of designers
and experts. However, “Who is the public?” and is
there not rather ‘multiple publics’ made up of both
strong publics and weaker. Though there are many
examples of the desire to make public space inclusive
to everyone, the reality is that access to public space
often depends upon which public you belong to.
”Your access to public space depends
on what public you belong to.” Margaret
Crawford
The essence of public space is that it is complex, contradictory, and paradoxical. There is also a range of
connections between democracy and citizenship in
public space: One is ‘choice’, meaning that a variety
of environments are available to you. For example
using the example of transportation – the more
options the better. The second is ‘inclusivity’, meaning you’re allowed to be anywhere you want in public
space. The third is ‘participation’ which can come in
many different degrees of citizen participation. The
fourth connection is ‘the right to a livelihood’ emphasising current major struggles for street vending and
day labourer’s right to occupy public space. The fifth
connection is ‘the right to make demands’, the right
to use public space to make demands upon the economy and state, which can change public discourse and
bring new issues into a broader public discussion.
Finally, ‘the right to make your own spaces in the city
rather than have people make them for you’, is the
most transformational power in producing new types
of spatial citizenship, and yet it is the most contested.
Proposed Entry Points
Various forms of contemporary urban public space
present different challenges but also opportunities
for social justice linked to citizenship and democracy in different ways. One type of public space where
these notions becomes particularly clear is in the
passage. As each transport mode has its own logic
they become independent systems by their hierarchies. Buenos Aires is one of the examples of a clear
hierarchy in the street system with detached railway
lines and BRTs. This autonomy of modern transport
systems poses barriers for urban tissues.
The solution is to connect the horizontal networks by
small incidental vertical connections to combine the
networks, i.e. create passages. These passages can
create a double effect: They expand the capacity of
the system by combining the networks; but also solve
the conflict between traffic flows of different hierarchies. However, more often constructed passages are
for pedestrians that have to pass under or over a major
throughway. These passages are rarely well designed
nor connected enough. The result is deteriorated quality and management of tunnels and passages often
with a sense of fear of using them as a consequence.
”Making place is a process. Making
place is a struggle.” Setha Low
The design attitudes to overcome these problems
and to improve the quality of passages are often
focusing on beautification. However, the design
treatment is not enough. We should go beyond the
design and create meaningful spaces with social
meaning. The characteristic of passages can change
by combining them with different activities.
innovative passages: by attracting activities for
neglected itineraries or by identifying optional
crossing for gathering space for the neighbourhood.
Our attitude towards passages should revive itineraries by drawing attention to pieces. It makes passengers to remember the journey and turn optional
crossing into gathering places.
Issues for Discussion
A discussion evolved around safety highlighting that
unsafety does not just depend on one parameter but
it is rather about layers of factors. The desire for
safety is not always constructive and certain, mostly
advantaged people feel more afraid than they necessarily should. There is a need to argue for a diverse
human ecology in public space; many different
kinds of people in the public space will make them
safer. Social interaction, and not forced interaction,
tends to create a positive safe environment.
According to the panellists, an ideal public space
should include all: homeless, unemployed, old, teenagers. If any group takes over a place it is not real
diversity. There is not one kind of ordinary people,
everybody can be an ordinary person but it is
important to remember that some people and institutions have more power than others. The role of institutions and regulations in the public space is crucial.
“Design cannot do it by itself without
understanding the human ecology of
place” Setha Low
Both gentrification and revitalization are complex
processes as places are constantly being shaped and
reshaped. Capital and consumption are key elements
to the way public space is conceptualized today and
we need to learn that there are other ways to provide
for public space paying attention to different aspects
of race, class, gender and nationality –acknowledging that ‘publictiveness’ is something constantly
being made.
Considering passages as part of public realm, there
are two simple design attitudes towards creating
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
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5
SUB-THEME FIVE: TURNING PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE
The workshops and discussion forums throughout the conference provided an opportunity for various
stakeholders and their different practical applications
by actively involving all conference participants. They
were organised by different stakeholders within the
field of public space and aimed at sharing their experience on the practical applications of public space.
Mandate
Essential for the place public space will play in our
future cities is the formulations in the New Urban
Agenda. Crucial for this agenda is not only the Habitat III outcome document but also the CoP21 Climate
Convention and the Post 2015 Development Agenda
– the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Of particular importance is bringing public space
into the SDG framework. The Open Working Group
(OWG) report on the Post 2015 SDG’s has included
a proposed SDG on Making Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable
accompanied by a target related to public space. The
objective of the discussion forum was to hear from a
variety of stakeholders (civil society, academia,
local government, and international organisations)
how the target related to public space could be measured within the criteria of this agenda as well as
how it could be monitored and implemented. Further to this, this session highlighted key messages
related to public space as part of the new urban
agenda that would arise out of Habitat III.
UN-Habitat emphasised that in order for this process to work effectively, there is a need to ensure the
participation of the citizens when it comes to decision making; this is the only way to secure public
buy-in. In order to achieve true results out of the
SDG’s, we must also ensure that the targets are outcome oriented. Further to this, the notion of public
requires a level of analysis on what we mean by the
public realm. Many countries for example, have
laws to regulate the amount of public space available
26
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
in a city. But these do not always ensure the local
government is delivering this amount of public and
green spaces; we should therefore look at enforcement mechanisms as well.
The workshop discussed in detail the proposed
SDG-11 as well as its targets and indicators. The
participants provided valuable input which UN-Habitat will bring forward in the further work with formulating the urban SDG.
Challenges and Opportunities
One commonly expressed challenge is how to define
public space – what the concept entails and how to
practically provide quality public space. The Charter
of Public Space and the Global Public Space Toolkit
seek to meet these challenges by providing opportunities, frameworks and tools for implementation.
The Charter of Public Space and the Global Public
Space Toolkit was presented at the 7th World Urban
Forum in Medellin in April 2014. The workshop on
the Charter and Toolkit during the Future of Places
conference sought to test and further develop the
tools in collaboration with participants.
“Design only gets better when there is a
diversity of people doing it.” Fred Kent
The main goal was to share with workshop participants the rationale, main contents and potential uses
of the Global Public Space Toolkit. One of the Toolkit’s main thrusts is the connection, illustrated by
real-life examples, between the general principles
contained in the Charter of Public Space adopted by
the Biennial of Public Space, as well as constraints
and opportunities for the creation, management and
enjoyment of public space in cities.
As the Toolkit is currently being translated into
Spanish the workshop offered presenters and participants an opportunity to share their experiences from
Latin America and other regions in improving the
supply, quality and distribution of public space, and
to offer suggestions on the most effective strategies
for the dissemination, use and on-line enrichment of
the Toolkit.
Proposed Entry Points
A workshop focused on the topic “Reclaiming Latin
American Streets”, highlighting that access to mobility is to have right to the city. The quality of public
spaces and the intermodal means of transportation are
essential for this. The contribution on this research is
to investigate which of the actual streets have qualities
of inclusion and which do not. The streets are the public space par excellence, they represent between twenty-five and thirty per cent of the cities and they are the
essential element that shapes the cities. The workshop
presented different study cases which were afterwards
discussed within small groups, drawing conclusions
of which are the elements of urban politics that the
decision makers should be taking into account. We
always talk about inclusive streets, but the important
question is, “who must be included?” and “how
should the street of the twenty-first century be”?
“Architects should design from the 3rd
floor up.” Fred Kent
Another session elaborated on tools for “Placemaking
at the street level”. The workshop set the framework
for activating public space by working with the community in different ways, enabling the community to
shift from complaining to bringing their ideas forward. What does it mean to be a “place-led” community and recognized the need for transformational
change to achieve place-led approaches. A useful diagram was created to show the spectrum of development from project-led to expert-led to place sensitive
to place-led, and what the relationship of those styles
of development are to capacity building. The workshop outlined how they are implementing a place-led
approach, including implementing a strategy, using a
shared language, and introducing pilot projects.
“Placemaking is the single most important strategy
that governments can adopt to build community and
citizen capacity over time Peter Smith
A discussion forum on the building of the Global Public Spaces/Placemaking Movement discussed the definition, highlights and momentum of placemaking as
an international movement. Together, the group outlined the obstacles, discussed key challenges that need
to be addressed like urban equity and rapid urbanization, and developed plans for collectively taking the
movement to the next level. The workshop emphasised that the power of communities in making better
places for people; that design simply gets better when
there is a diversity of people doing it. As a community-based process, placemaking entertains people to
create and improve their own public spaces. Through a
focus on place we can better consider who the design
should serve. Use of public space results presence of
people that attracts other people. The benefit of great
places is natural organic economic development.
Another workshop highlighted the importance of
best practices and constantly looking from the users’
perspective. The work evolved around how streets
and public space can provide everyday life for people hence underlining the importance of the public
realm. Starting point was participants’ hometown
practices. The goal was not to come up with general
characteristics of the public realm, but to address all
varieties of different nationalities, groups, genders
and culture. They discussed the characteristics of the
best street/public space of their own city as an 8 and
80 years old and identified the activities and community roles that streets/public space fulfil for citizens in their communities.
A discussion evolved around the importance of the
education of professionals – those who will build
our future cities. Architectural and design schools
have a responsibility to teach how to build good
urban form and understand what people need in
terms of public space. However, there is far too often
a narrow focus on shape, which also excludes people
from the design process. This has isolated schools of
architecture and design and they will therefore not
fully understand the needs of communities. It is crucial that the professionals learn top listen and
observe and that architectural institutions help
spreading that architects cannot be detached from
the communities that they are working with. At the
end of the day the role of professionals should be to
share tools and methods on a local scale. Knowledge
should be used in a humble way with respect to the
site in focus and with an understanding of important
social values among those professionals are planning for. Crucial is to observe and listen to what the
community want and have respect for local and cultural values in order to understand what a community need in terms of planning public space.
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
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Conclusion
TOWA RD S A N E W U R BA N AG E N DA
The first and second Future of Places (FoPI and
FoPII) conference together with all regional FoP
conferences have fed into an outcome document
reflecting the views of its participants, delivering ten
key messages on public space to the Secretary General of Habitat III Dr. Joan Clos. This shift in focus
has now positioned the Future of Places to spearhead the public space agenda in the preparatory discussions in the lead up to Habitat III in 2016; which
will eventually establish the New Urban Agenda in
the 21st century.
The Future of Places is unique in this endeavour,
collecting expertise from a range of stakeholder
groups, and providing a forum for a broad alliance
of organizations advocating for public space. This
movement, besides being a multi stakeholder initiative of more than 1000 individuals and 300 organisations, is also multi sectorial and carries a global
scope. It therefore has the capacity and legitimacy to
contribute to putting public space on the New Urban
Agenda creating ‘The Future We Want’.
However, whether the Future of Places initiative will
succeed in putting public space and a people-centred
urban planning solution on the agenda will depend
on the capacity of all participants to influence their
local and national leaders. Habitat III has the power
to change the future of our cities and this is therefore our historic opportunity to influence the agenda. If we fail, we risk that the cities of tomorrow are
built without the needs and interests of the people at
its centre.
How is the Future of Places initiative moving forward?
TIMELINE
28
10 September
2014
15–17 October
2014
27–28 February
2015
Open Consultation,
UN Secretariat,
New York
Urban Thinkers
Campus,
Caserta
UCLG/FoP
Regional
conference, Manilla
17–18 September
2014
24 February
2015
PrepCom I,
UN Secretariat,
New York
UNECE/FoP
Regional workshop,
Geneva
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
14–16 April
2015
21–24 May
2015
29 June – 2 July
2015
PrepCom II,
Nairobi
Biennial of
Public Space,
Rome
Urban Thinkers Campus:
Future of Places III,
Stockholm
26–28 March
2015
17–23 April
2015
3–4 June
2015
9th International
Public Market
Conference,
Barcelona
UN-Habitat
Governing
Council,
Nairobi
European Development Days,
Brussels
Future of Places • Conference Report 2014
29
“Understanding the street as a collective
space, will allow streets to become places
that will contribute to building communities.”
Isabel Arteaga