I would like to take\u00a0part in the research group about public space. Public space plays\u00a0an essential role in defining a city: it forms social and cultural connections, while it also creates a personal history of the area in relation to the individuals\u00a0living there, as Hayden described [1]. More specifically, I would like to research the various designs and methods of creating green public space. In a time in which people are\u00a0becoming more cognizant\u00a0of their\u00a0environmental impact, public green space provides that personal connection between\u00a0a person and the\u00a0environment while also shaping an aesthetically pleasing and purposeful space, beneficial to the environment.<\/p>\n
In Hayden’s The Power of Place<\/em>, she emphasizes the idea that a space can be shaped and characterized by the qualities within it and its relations with the people using the space. She believes that through public space, people can\u00a0“use the social history of places to make more resonant connections to public memory” [2]. This highlights the importance of public space in a city because it can form the cultural identity of a location, which affects\u00a0both\u00a0the present\u00a0state of the city\u00a0and\u00a0the future. Similarly, in Townsend’s lecture concerning his\u00a0novel Smart Cities,\u00a0<\/em>he\u00a0focuses\u00a0on the individualized experience of the citizen through public accessibility. He states that cities should be constructed “bottom up”, meaning that the people should be empowered to design the city rather than a “top down” approach facilitated by\u00a0big companies. [3] Public space\u00a0directly affects the\u00a0people using them and can be used to create a more personal location and a deeper cultural identity.<\/p>\n Part of\u00a0my interest in green public space stemmed from one of my trips to New York City to the High Line, which is a public park built on top of an old train line that is no longer in use. It beautifully recreated the\u00a0space\u00a0on the elevated tracks\u00a0into a public walkway for people of all kinds to use. It is free to the public, home to many forms of vegetation,\u00a0and has\u00a0art displayed throughout the park. The entire park is creatively built so that it incorporates the natural beauty of the vegetation, while also emphasizing the beauty of the city itself through various architectural structures, such as a glass wall overlooking the streets of\u00a0Lower Manhattan. This park made me more interested in the balance of creating an environmentally friendly public space that connects the cultural\u00a0environment of the city.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. Dolores Hayden,\u00a0The Power of Place\u00a0<\/em>(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1995), 14-43.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Dolores Hayden,\u00a0The Power of Place\u00a0<\/em>(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1995), 43.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia [Anthony Townsend]<\/em>. 2013.\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z1evCV6_e8Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I would like to take\u00a0part in the research group about public space. Public space plays\u00a0an essential role in defining a city: it forms social and cultural connections, while it also creates a personal history of the area in relation to the individuals\u00a0living there, as Hayden described [1]. More specifically, I would like to research the … Continue reading Greening Public Spaces in Cities<\/span>