The Role of Urban Public Spaces in Bonding the Community & Vitalizing the City

Abstract

Over the last few years, growing awareness of the impact and benefits of successful urban public spaces (UPSs) in cities has been touched. Such success and impact have been linked to the way they are designed, managed and funded. Huge efforts have been spent and still on how to design livable and successful UPSs and effective and relatively satisfying guidelines have been reached by different socio-spatial pioneers. However, what is more challenging now is how to provide, manage and fund UPSs successfully. Today, many governments became more open to the new change in urban governance in general and UPSs governance in particular and other sectors became encouraged to get involved in UPSs’ governance due to their proved benefits. Yet, selecting and supporting the most appropriate sector to be the main governing body of UPSs must be related to the circumstance of each UPS, the common sector’s method of involvement and the well-defined and controlled other sectors’ involvement, for reaching better results and minimum negative impact.