ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the development of public realm design theory in reaction to the grand gestures of modernist planning that had failed to create places that were human in scale and where communities could flourish. The demise of the public realm, particularly during the 1960s, led to reflections on what history could teach us about the qualities of public spaces in order that city spaces could be successfully redesigned or created. Public squares were described as nodes, as places of decision-making within the urban fabric, as well as pause points that reinforce memories of that place. Understanding an existing place or a site for a new public space, its immediate context and specific physical attributes, is vital in appreciating the constraints and identifying opportunities that will inform a design. Geographer and sociologist Doreen Massey looked at the dynamic quality that influences the use of the public realm.
