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Date and time: Wednesday 22nd February 2006,
2-6 pm
Venue: Room 214 Department of Geography, Queen
Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1
4NS
Public space in the city
Public spaces are essential to the quality of urban
life, and are a central focus of the government’s
‘cleaner, safer and greener’ agenda for
urban regeneration. Parks, squares, markets and other
public spaces should be open and accessible to, and
enjoyed by, everyone. But many public spaces in the
city are poorly designed and badly managed, and exclude
many urban residents, particularly women, because of
concerns about access and safety.
In a 2005 Demos report, Melissa Mean and Charlie Tims
concluded that public spaces are ‘co-produced’
and that key principles for their development include:
leaving room for self-organization; diversifying activities
to encourage diverse people to participate; and maximizing
access and availability (www.demos.co.uk).
This report is part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
research programme on ‘Social value of public
spaces,’ which aims to improve the understanding
of how people use public spaces, the extent to which
public spaces are shared places, and implications for
neighbourhoods and for the planning, design and management
of public spaces (www.jrf.org.uk).
As part of the ESRC-funded seminar series on ‘Capital
Designs: Women and Planning in Contemporary London,’
this seminar addresses public spaces as gendered spaces,
and considers the ways in which London’s public
spaces can be made safer, more accessible and sociable
for women. Key questions include:
- How and why do women and men use public spaces
differently?
- How is the social value of public spaces, and the
ability to share public spaces, shaped by gender?
- To what extent is gender mainstreamed in the planning
and management of urban public spaces?
Speakers
Wendy Davis Director, Women’s
Design Service
Melissa Mean Senior Researcher, Demos
Julia Thrift Director, CABE Space
Discussant
Vicky Cattell Queen Mary, University
of London
Speakers
Wendy Davis Director of the Women’s
Design Service
The Women’s Design Service ‘works to ensure
that the design and use of the built environment reflects
the needs and aspirations of women’ and ‘looks
forward to a future where all our buildings, transport
systems, streets, parks and open spaces are designed
to incorporate the needs of women.’ As a key part
of this work, the Making Safer Places project, funded
by the Big Lottery Fund (formerly the Community Fund
England), has addressed the safety of women in public
spaces, focusing on ‘the experience of black and
minority ethnic women, older women and disabled women,
whose social and physical vulnerability – both
real and perceived – makes an impact on their
quality of life.’ Developing from this work, WDS
was commissioned by the GLA in 2004 to produce a toolkit
around Women’s Safety in Parks and Open Spaces,
and is working in partnership with Anne Thorne Architects
to deliver the toolkit in 2006. This work focuses on
four very different parks: Spa Fields, Islington; Ruislip
Woods, Hillingdon; Burgess Park, Southwark; and Greenwich
Park (www.wds.org.uk).
Melissa Mean Senior Researcher,
Demos
Demos is ‘the think tank for everyday democracy.’
Demos believes that ‘everyone should be able to
make personal choices in their daily lives that contribute
to the common good. Our aim is to put this democractic
idea into practice by working with organisations in
ways that make them more effective and legitimate.’
Demos focuses on six areas: public services; science
and technology; cities and public space; people and
communities; arts and culture; and global security.
Melissa Mean will talk about her research on the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation funded project ‘Public Spaces;
Shared Places?’ which examines ‘how and
why public spaces are shared and valued in different
ways.’ ‘The project starts from the standpoint
that public space isn’t something that is simply
created on the architect’s drawing board, but
develops over time as a result of the interaction of
complex social relationships.’ The research seeks
to ‘widen the understanding of public space from
something that exists in squares and parks, to a prism
through which an entire city can be viewed’(www.demos.co.uk).
Julia Thrift Director of CABE Space
CABE Space, established in 2003, is part of the Commission
for Architecture and the Built Environment and is publicly
funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. CABE
Space ‘aims to bring excellence to the design,
management and maintenance of parks and public space
in our towns and cities. Parks and other public spaces
are for everyone, places to live and breathe, walk and
run, rest or play. They are where we meet together,
where we stop to reflect, where we revive our spirits.
But many of these spaces are poorly designed and badly
managed.’ Through its work with local authorities
and other bodies responsible for public space, CABE
Space encourages ‘local councils to think holistically
about their green space, and what it means for residents’
health and well being, routes to school and work, and
recreation through play and sport. Our goal is to ensure
that every person in England has easy access to well
designed and well looked after public space’ (www.cabespace.org.uk).
Discussant
Vicky Cattell Queen Mary, University
of London
Vicky Cattell is a sociologist and a Senior Research
Fellow in the Wolfson Institute for Preventive Medicine,
QMUL. Her research has centred on the role of co-operative
social ties in poor neighbourhoods. Her current research
includes a study on ‘Public spaces and social
relations in East London’ with Sarah Curtis, Nicholas
Dines, and Wil Gesler (www.wolfson.qmul.ac.uk/psychiatry/staff/cattell.htm).
This research is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
as part of its ‘Social value of public spaces’
research programme. It focuses on the potential of public
spaces for social integration and cohesion, as well
as health and well-being. A particular feature of the
research is its focus on social interaction in urban
public spaces, including casual interaction.
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