ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the concept of public space quality through the lens of aesthetics, with a specific focus on how art contributes to the “regeneration” of public spaces. The authors examine the interplay between aesthetics and spatial quality, acknowledging how aesthetics, often contrasted with functionality, has gained traction in contemporary urban design as a means of fostering social cohesion, identity, and participatory engagement. Drawing on empirical materials such as symposia, exhibitions, and interviews conducted with artists and curators in Italy, they identify three interpretative dimensions of spatial quality: Affective, engaged, and entangled. These perspectives highlight how public art can create immersive, meaningful experiences and facilitate social critique. However, the authors’ analysis also reveals the risks associated with literalism and the functionalization of art, which can confine artistic expression to predetermined social objectives, thereby limiting its symbolic and transformative potential. In advancing the discussion on the quality of public space, they propose that a true democratization of art lies in fostering an aesthetic approach that resists functionalist constraints and invites critical, open-ended engagement with the public. Only by preserving the ambiguity and depth of artistic expression can public art sustain its role as a transformative force within urban and social landscapes.
