ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the potential for developing the public realm and enriching public life. In seventeenth century France and later in eighteenth century England, the rulers' parks burst from their imparkments. Capability Brown's imagination, leaping the fence, saw that all nature was a garden. Many of England's royal and aristocratic parks were opened to the public. In the nineteenth century, special new spaces, known as 'public parks', were provided for the poor. The very essence of a park is safety. Bounded space must not be confused with boundless space, though both are necessary. History is a good starting point for reconsidering park functions. Urban squares, pedestrian streets, footpaths and surrounding farmland will probably be white. The author wants readers to lay a piece of tracing paper over the plan and reach for their marker pens. All the space to which pedestrians have free access should be shaded with a grey tone.
