This online lecture course is concerned with the collective nature and political potential of urban public spaces. It sees public space as an arena whose form and function are determined, at one side, by the authority of political, economic, religious and cultural forces, and by an expression of social desire at the other.
The course examines how urban public space functions in real and in theory in support of democratic life, and its status as a basic asset through which, in principle but not necessarily in practice, resources such as freedom, privilege, equality and justice are made possible. The course examines how space can be a facilitator of civic order, a site of resistance, association and exercise of power, and a stage for creativity and performance. The course brings together separate models for critical analysis of public space with 'classic' and contemporary readings in order to illustrate the theoretical foundations of public space, enable discussion of capital issues, resource allocation, accessibility and availability, and offer ways to address public policy issues and public space management.
The themes of the course cover three district moments. They offer a critical overview of key concepts of public space as they were introduced in the ancient and the modern city, deal with the changing notions of the realm in the contemporary city, and propose a speculative prediction of public space in the near future. We will focus on the spaces of modern and contemporary man, the street corner and the factory’s canteen, the artificial infrastructure and the battlefield, above and under the ground, as well as a representation and a work of art. We will begin with a lecture titled “Bubble Protocol: Epidemic Public Space”, and finish with a lecture about “Seconds and Centimeters - The Workings of Radical Measurements”. Particular emphasis will be given to a discussion of the private and public distinction - the ‘grand dichotomy’; to study the relationship between what belongs to the protected area of the individual, in his or her personal domain, and what is to ‘take place’ in the interpersonal domain of the public, in the public sphere.
The course spans over fifteen classroom sessions. We will devote them to lectures and class discussions of assigned readings, practice critical thinking and develop analysis skills of urban public space related topics.