ABSTRACT

This chapter shows how urban design principles can be applied to the making and remaking of urban environments. One particular theme is explored in detail: the importance of designing public spaces for public social interaction – the public realm. public art has become important for the way it contributes to a greater sense of place by upgrading the quality of the built environment, creating meeting places and talking points, coming to represent important points of reference and its capacity to animate public space. People can be stimulated by their environment in many ways: by its design, the colours and textures used, perhaps by events and small gatherings, even by public art. The public art programme has been designed to operate within "five spatial urban design systems": water, parks and open spaces, vehicular systems, pedestrian systems and landmark systems. Landmarks, meeting places and smaller scale signatures have always played an important role in the life and design of cities.