Inclusive public space: rethinking practices of mitigation, adaptation and transformation
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EDITORIAL
Inclusive public space: rethinking practices of mitigation, adaptation and transformation Karina Landman1 Published online: 13 August 2020 © Springer Nature Limited 2020
Recent decades have brought about an increased focus on public space as part of building more inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods and cities. Not only are the development of public space highlighted as important in the Sustainable Development Goals and in the New Urban Agenda, but they have also become the focus of movements such as New, Sustainable and Tactical Urbanism. However, recent events such as the outbreak of Covid-19 and protests by Black Lives Matter, have shaken our ideas and perceptions of public space. It forces us to pause for a moment and reconsider the meaning for and threats to inclusive public space. Broadly, inclusive refers to something containing a specified element of a whole or not excluding any section of society or any party (Oxford Dictionary 1999, p. 717). In this sense, inclusive public space would allow for different parts or groups of society to be accommodated in public space or in other words for social and physical inclusion. For example, making space for young people (Crane 1999), skate-boarders (Carmona 2010) and different race groups (Edgell 1998) in public space or for informal livelihoods (Chen and Kihato 2018) and pop-up markets (Madanipour 2017). However, the notion of inclusive public space has also been challenged by growing security concerns and debates related to whether inclusive or exclusive spaces would be safer. Consequently, certain spaces become monoculturally dominated, undermining the intention for public spaces to be democratic places for all (Shaftoe 2008, p. 16). This has also recently been extended to question the validity of certain actions, such as protests in the name of maintaining security. How can we consider the safety of people * Karina Landman [email protected] https://www.up.ac.za 1
Department of Town and Regional Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Room 1‑4, Building 8, South Campus, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa
without excluding some? How can we make room for different groups of society in the public space? How can we allow for different groups to voice their concerns within public space without the fear of being arrested? How can we ensure that the nature of public space is culturally inclusive and do not evoke traumatic memories? These questions need to be considered if we strive towards more inclusive public spaces. This special issue of Urban Design International invited different scholars and practitioners to offer their insights through in-depth case studies and practical interventions. This issue seeks to not only question the notion of inclusive public space in its various manifestations but also to interrogate it within different contexts. Consequently, perspectives from both the global South and North are represented, as well as from the East and West. This does
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