Visions 2200 - A Perspective on the Future

Plazas, Squares & Public Gardens

A sunny Sunday afternoon in April looking out over San Francisco's Dolores Park with the city skyline in the distance. Well over a thousand people were enjoying the sun that day.
Kites in smog shrouded Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China

According to Webster's Dictionary, a plaza is defined as, "a public square or open space in a city or town." With more detail it defines a square as, "an open area or plaza ... formed by the meeting or intersecting of two or more streets and often planted with grass, trees, etc." A public garden is defined as, "space, commonly with ornamental plants, trees, etc., used as a park or other public recreation area." Wiktionary calls a plaza, "an open area used for gathering in a city, often having small trees and sitting benches."

These definitions are pretty much interchangeable. Although the names differ, the spaces so variously titled are similar. Jointly they describe a public open space dedicated to social activity of the city. Such spaces will continue to exist in the future city as they have for millennia in the past.

Criteria for Success

Pedestrian way entering Plaza Grande in Quito, Ecuador

More important than a space's name is the actuality of success as a public space enjoyed by the people in the city. Many cities have attempted to create such spaces to bring people together. Not all have succeeded as a public gathering place. Too many are notorious for their emptiness rather than famous as a vibrant gathering place.

The search here is for a commonality among successful urban open spaces. What have urban philosophers and supporters of urban spaces discovered on the subject? What are the attributes which they have found lead to success?

Nine Physical Attributes of Successful Urban Open Spaces*

Quiet time at end of December looking out on the 'Esplanade' of Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.
Space and map view of Yerba Buena Gardens

The Esplanade and the Children's Garden of Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco well illustrate the attributes discussed here. Of the nine attributes, only Alexander's size standard appears violated, or in this case, exceeded.

Even better, the complex masks one of the most aesthetically destructive urban edifices, the convention center. The city wisely located most of this facility underground beneath the Yerba Buena Gardens.

In contrast, Tiananmen Square appears to violate most of the attributes. By some measures, it is the largest square in the world. Its vitality is saved by its location at the center of China's capital city adjacent to the Forbidden City of the former emperers. Without the people drawn within by the adjacent uses, it would be a most forbidding (pun intended) place .

  • Enclosure - Make all the outdoor spaces ... positive. Give each one some degree of enclosure; surround each space with wings of buildings, trees, hedges, fences, arcades, and trallised walks, until it becomes an entity with a positive quality and does not spill out indefinitely around corners [CA, 522]. Although buildings should not cut sun from a park - if the object is to encourage full use - the presence of buildings around a park is important in design. They enclose it [JJ, 138]. Public squares should be enclosed entities. The main requirement for a plaza, as for a room, is the enclosed character of its space [CS, 170].

  • Diversity - Possesses a diverse rim and diverse neighborhood hinterland... Only diverse [economic and social] surroundings have the practical power of inducing a natural, continuing flow of life and use [JJ, 125, 132]. The streets and sidewalks around a square greatly affect its accessibility and use, as do the buildings that surround it. An active, welcoming outer square is essential to the well-being of the inner square [PPS].

  • Intricacy - Intricacy at eye level, change in the rise of ground, groupings of trees, openings leading to various focal points - in short, subtle expressions of difference [JJ, 136]. Any great square has a variety of smaller "places" within it to appeal to various people [PPS].

  • Sun - Sun is part of a park's setting for people, shaded, to be sure, in summer [JJ, 138].

  • Clear Centers - That the center of plazas be kept free. To the ancient rule of placing monuments [and buildings] around the edge of public squares is thus allied another ... to place monuments and ... fountains at points in the square untouched by [vehicle] traffic [CS, 162, 163].

  • Size - A good proportion beween the size of a plaza and that of its buildings is of primary importance. [A plaza] that is too large is ... awkward because even the mightiest of structures seems dwarfed in relation to it [CS, 177+]. Make a public square much smaller than you would at first imagine; usually no more than 45 to 60 feet across, never more than 70 feet across. This applies only to its width in the short direction. In the long direction it can certainly be longer [CA, 313].

  • Irregularity in Shape - Irregularities [of old plazas] do not have an unpleasant effect at all, but on the contrary, they enhance naturalness, they stimulate our interest, and, above all, they augment the picturesque quality of the tableau [CS, 186].

  • Flexibility - The use of a square changes during the course of the day, week, and year. To respond to these natural fluctuations, flexibility needs to be built in. Great squares ... change with the seasons. [PPS].

  • Access - A square needs to be easy to get to. The best squares are always easily accessible by foot. Just as important as the edge of a square is the way that streets, sidewalks and ground floors of adjacent buildings lead into it. Elements within the square are visible from a distance, and the ground floor activity of buildings entices pedestrians to move toward the square [PPS].

Washington Square is one of the 12 top squares in the United States and Canada according to the Project for Public Places. Union Square was one of Jane Jacobs' favorites, although she referred to the previous version. As she said in her book, Union Square in downtown San Francisco has a plan that looks deadly dull on paper or from a high building; but it is bent into such changes in ground level, like Dali's painting of the wet watches, that it appears remarkably various. The changes in ground level still remain.

*The attributes come from four sources. The particular source is indicated by the author's abbreviation and the page number.
 

H Graem © 2008