It’s easy to dismiss rising interest in public spaces as something that only the wealthy can afford to worry about. But take a look at any bustling place anywhere in the world–from the markets of Africa and Asia to the squares of Latin America to the street corners of Europe and North America-and you’ll find it’s poor people who depend on public spaces the most.

Jay Walljasper | June 2005 issue
Enrique Peñalosa—former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia—notes that rich people enjoy the pleasures of big homes, backyards, private clubs and country houses. Poor people have only their local street to hang out in—and if they’re lucky, a park, library or playground nearby. He made public spaces the centerpiece of his administration, creating or refurbishing 1,200 parks and playgrounds, establishing 300 kilometres (186 miles) of bike trails, building 13 libraries and inaugurating the world’s longest pedestrian street running 17 kilometres (10 miles) through the city. Since leaving office he has become a globe-trotting ambassador helping out cities from Jakarta (Indonesia) to Dakar (Senegal) improve life for their citizens. “Public spaces are not a frivolity,” he asserts. “They are just as important as hospitals and schools. They create a sense of belonging. This creates a different type of society. A society where people of all income levels meet in public spaces is a more integrated, socially healthier one.” (See Ode, October 2004, for a profile of Peñalosa.)
Public spaces also play a key role in countries learning the ins and outs of democracy. The New York-based group Project for Public Spaces (PPS) promotes squares, parks and other community places as a symbol of civic participation in Eastern Europe, where authoritarian regimes not only controlled all levels of government, but kept strict tabs on public gathering spots. In the Czech Republic, PPS’s efforts to help citizens reclaim the public realm led to the formation of a sister organization, the Partnership for Public Spaces, which works throughout the country on projects ranging from cleaning up streams in small villages to refurbishing a major square in Prague.
In the war torn Balkans, revitalized squares and markets offer hope that communities can be brought back together. Croatia is planning a nationwide public places program, similar to that in the Czech Republic, while in Serbia citizens of Novi Sad created their first organic farmers’ market with PPS’s help. Public place workshops were also held in Montenegro for the first time last November.
In Capetown, South Africa, the Dignified Places Programme is developing a public spaces strategy to help heal racial wounds and instil the city with a sense of unity. Louise Grassov, a project manager at the Copenhagen urban consulting firm Gehl+Associates, has been involved in the far-reaching initiative, which hopes blacks can acquire a sense of ownership in a city where for many years they were not allowed to enter without permission. The immediate goals, Grassov says, include, “getting more affordable housing in the centre of the city and giving back some dignity to people who walk rather than drive cars.”
The proliferation of autos, and the low social rank afforded anyone who doesn’t drive is an issue all across the developing world. Lisa Peterson of the New York-based Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) notes that bicycles are being banned from roads in China and cycle rickshaws banned in India and Bangladesh. “Cars are seen as status for people. Big, fast roads are seen as status for cities. That is still the idea of progress in many places.”
ITDP and the Utrecht, Netherlands-based Interface for Cycling Expertise are two international organizations challenging this view by showing the benefits of better balanced transportation policies. Peterson sees a number of signs in Asia, Africa and Latin America that people are realizing it’s a mistake to pursue the same kind of auto-dominated development that has created environmental problems and eroded the vitality of public life in the West—especially in countries where the great majority of people can never afford a car. The World Bank has recently backed off from its auto-oriented development guidelines, while cities like Bogotá and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania provide new models of urban development with a strong emphasis on transit and bicycles. A number of places are also creating pedestrian districts. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China and Cartagena as well as Bogotá in Colombia offer successful examples; Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad in India are in the planning stages.
“People in the U.S. now recognize there are problems with building cities for cars and not for people,” Enrique Penalosa says, “and we in the Third World need to know that.”