Renewing the Public Realm
The New Public Realm and the Sustainable City
CONSIDER the public realm of the city as we live in it today: streets and sidewalks are clogged with air-polluting vehicles; green spaces are few and far between; waterfronts are dirty, unpleasant places to visit; food that could be grown locally is imported from across the globe; and citizens are detached from the very environment in which they live.
The way we shape the world reveals the way we view it, and, for a long time, we have treated the planet as something to be engineered according to our will and immediate needs. Urban regions are the most concrete expression of this attitude. Born as sites of industry and commerce, they are the physical embodiment of a worldview that has had numerous negative effects on the health of both humankind and the planet.
Yet urban regions simultaneously offer respite from the deleterious effects brought about by climate change. By living in a shared, compact space, we can work towards reducing the impact we have on the natural world and improve our own lot in life, too. If we can conceive of urban environments as places that exist in tune with the natural world rather than in domination of it, we and the planet will be better off for it. In other words, through carefully planned urban regions we can achieve a sustainable relationship with the natural world.
The planning of urban environments has always been - directly or indirectly - about influencing and reflecting social behaviour. Whether installing streetlights to control traffic, building churches to inspire fervour and reverence, or designing plazas for public leisure, urban planners have long shaped environments that reflect cultural priorities. In this way, the public realm of a city forms a collage, a collection of snapshots of the societies that lived in and shaped it.
If the generations before us left a concrete expression of misuse of the natural world, what will our traces reveal about us? What cultural priorities do we want to contribute to the public realm collage? How will we meet the challenges posed by climate change, and how will we plan our urban regions to express our response? Perhaps most importantly, how will begin to think of the urban and natural regions as inextricably connected, with the actions taken in one having direct effects on the health of the other?
There are no simple answers, but we must discuss the questions if we are to prepare for a sustainable future. To continue living in the same manner that has caused climate change is to openly invite disaster. In urban regions, the first place we can begin to make this transition is in the public realm.
Now imagine a new kind of city: a city where vehicles are a minority on the streets; where green parks are filled with children at play; where the waterfront is a safe and pleasant place to visit for a walk, meal, or swim; where people of all ages can safely and easily access every neighbourhood; where public art connects citizens to the past and inspires them about the future; and where food is locally grown and prepared.
This column will look at the public realm as it appears today, and will also dare to dream about what could be, if, with proper motivation, support, and implementation, we allow our perspective of the world to shift. It hopes to truly re-imagine both the natural and the built environment as Our Space.
Discussion
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it really is a sad fact that we will be leaving a world of clutter if we would not make a way to change everything. But that would be by starting to educate ourselves. I had attended the PIA seminar and I was stunned by the effects of the most recent disaster. Although I am not living in Iloilo City, my family was also affected but not that serious. And I consider myself lucky that I live far away from all the clogged drainage system. I do my share in preserving the environment by not just loitering like throwing my wrappers through the car window. Although im Holiding a key position in school, I dont know if I could get through to the student body. BUt i do try my best.
Thank you again for opening the eyes of the youth during that seminar.
(and thanks for the photo. I was the first to ask you for the photo session. My classmates envy me. hehehe).More power to you and what you do.