Despite developments in urban design during the last few decades, architects, urban planners and designers often continue to produce areas of bland, commercially-led urban fabric that deliver the basic functional requirements of shelter, work and leisure but are socially unsustainable and likely generators of future problems. Convivial Urban Spaces argues that successful urban public spaces are an essential part of a sustainable built environment. Without them we are likely to drift into an increasingly private and polarized society, with all the problems that ensue. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this book draws on new primary research, and the literature and theory of environmental psychology and urban design, to advance our understanding of what makes effective public spaces. The result is a practical and clearly presented guide to urban public space for planners, architects and students of the urban environment.

Table of Contents:

1) Introduction; 2) Public Spaces: Why Have Them and Who Are They For?; 3) What Makes a Space Convivial? 4) How Can One Create and Sustain Successful Public Spaces?; Conclusion: The Constituents of Conviviality; References and Bibliography; Index.