Bottom-Up Public Space Design and Social Cohesion

This chapter critically discusses the relationship between bottom-up processes, public space design and social cohesion, and the need for an interweaving dynamic between these. The case study of a self-developed neighbourhood park in an informal settlement of Bogotá, Colombia, is used to demonstrate the role of bottom-up public space design in fostering social cohesion. The aim is to contribute to the debate concerning the relationship between public spaces and social cohesion from a Global South perspective, since discussions around these topics are usually focused on Anglo-American studies framed in the formal, planned city.