The space between buildings
When people think of city development, they usually picture buildings: towers, housing blocks, shops and offices. But a city is as much the space between buildings as the buildings themselves. Streets, sidewalks, squares, parks, courtyards, waterfront walks and the other open areas people can use without buying anything make up what planners call the public realm.
This article argues that the public realm should be treated as essential infrastructure, on the same footing as roads, pipes and wires, and not as a decoration added at the end. It covers why that matters in new development and in renewal, without repeating the case for any particular type of space.
Infrastructure in a broad sense
Infrastructure is what a city needs to function: water, sewers, power, roads, transit. The public realm shares important features with these systems.
- It is used daily. People cross streets and squares to get to work, school, shops and home. Most of life in a city involves some time in the public realm.
- It has a network quality. Individual spaces gain value from being connected. A park reachable only through a hostile road serves fewer people than a park on a pleasant route.
- It must be built and maintained. Like pipes and bridges, it wears out and requires investment, which is often underbudgeted.
- It serves everyone, including those with no alternatives. Many residents have no private garden and limited space at home, so the public realm is their main shared room.
Calling it infrastructure does not mean treating it as purely functional. The experience of the public realm, its comfort and beauty, affects how it is used. But the framing helps in budgeting, planning and priority setting.
What it does in daily life
The public realm supports movement, with sidewalks, crossings and plazas where routes meet. It supports gathering, with places for meeting, markets, play and rest. It supports civic life, such as celebrations, protests and ordinary social contact. It provides light, air and relief from dense buildings, and, if well designed, shade and greenery that make neighborhoods more bearable in hot weather. For people living in small apartments, it extends the home.
It also forms the face of a neighborhood. A pleasant street with active edges gives residents pride and a sense of belonging, while a neglected one signals disinvestment.
Role in development projects
New development depends on the public realm in several ways. Streets and spaces connect a project to the city and decide how people arrive and move around. Residents and tenants often value the quality of surroundings, so the public realm can contribute to the appeal and, in some markets, the value of a project. A new housing block without sidewalks, play space or any place to gather will be less attractive than one with them.
The value argument has limits. It is difficult to calculate precisely how much a good public realm contributes to a project’s price, and it varies by market. Still, developers and cities often recognize that a well-planned setting helps projects succeed. Planning tools such as a development pro forma can show how the cost of providing public space affects what a project can afford.
Who provides it and who pays
In practice, public space in new development is provided in several ways:
- By the city, through direct construction and maintenance of streets, parks and plazas.
- By developers, who build spaces as part of projects. These may be owned by the public or privately owned and publicly accessible. Private ownership raises questions about rules, hours and who is welcome.
- Through bargains with developers. Cities sometimes negotiate for public space in return for extra height or density, a trade explained in density bonuses.
- By sharing costs. Mechanisms such as impact fees can contribute to parks and open space.
Each method has strengths and weaknesses. City provision is stable but needs funding. Developer provision brings resources but may produce spaces oriented toward the project rather than the wider neighborhood. It is worth being clear who is responsible for upkeep from the start.
Public realm in renewal
In renewal, the public realm is often both the problem and the opportunity. Streets may be unsafe or unpleasant, squares neglected and parks run down. Improving them can be a visible, relatively quick way to signal change and to support other investments. Streets already being rebuilt are an opportunity to upgrade sidewalks, lighting and planting at modest additional cost.
But renewal can also affect existing public space. Redesign may remove informal gathering spots, privatize land or change who feels welcome. Existing users deserve a voice, a point developed in our discussion of what renewal does to shared public places.
Mistakes to avoid
- Leaving it to last. Public space often gets what remains after buildings have been designed. Planning it first, or alongside, produces better results.
- Leftover space. Windswept corners and strips between buildings and roads are not much use.
- No maintenance plan. A fine design with no budget for care soon deteriorates.
- Ignoring connections. Spaces that are cut off from surrounding streets are rarely used.
- Assuming one design suits all. Local culture, climate and uses differ.
- Overpromising. Public space contributes to quality of life and can support investment, but it does not guarantee economic or social outcomes.
A practical stance
Treating the public realm as infrastructure suggests a handful of habits: include it in early plans, assign a budget and a responsible body, check it for access by people of all abilities, connect it to the surrounding network and review it after opening. With these in place, development and renewal projects are more likely to leave behind a city that works well for the people living in it, though results will always depend on local conditions.