And now I am back with my recurring topics, in this case Public Spaces, Commons… On ArchDaily I discover how amazingly diverse the architecture of Vienna is. And formally rich. As much as Berlin or Amsterdam or Hamburg… Unlike Paris which is still hesitant, inconsistent in its integration of the contemporary within its classical and Hausmannien declinations.
But what interests me most in this issue is: Why Public Spaces Matter, by Setha Low. It looks like it could be a good source for me to articulate better the significance of Public Spaces in ‘a Tale for Reparations’. Because, more than a positive presence in any urban geography, the Public Space, the COMMON seems to open itself to the concept of Reparations, where everything is, at least should be, an experiment, social, political and architectural, artistic that is. I am further interested because Setha Low proposes a process to get the people’s voice heard and listened to before and during the design phase of a project.
For example, she presents 5 points which are defining a Public Space:
- Physical aspects
- Ownership
- Governance or management authority and funding
- Control and influence, rules and regulations, and access
- Symbolic/historical meaning
- And political activity
Of her process, she also writes: “It is not a design toolkit, but an ethnographic one developed to enable you to become your own social scientist and get directly involved in public space activism to improve cities for the future.
Now that Charleston has elected a Mayor-Developer, where the former two executives were only Mayor-RealEstate Agents, we should be ready to brandish Setha Low’s visions at him as an offensive instrument! At this juncture, my worst joke of the day would be this riddle:
- Why has Enough Pie decided to disband now?
- Because it has accomplished its mission! Now Charleston will be ruled by a developer, after all! (Cogswell is the owner of the Cigar Factory, among other extravaganzas).