European/Contemporary/Urban Public Spaces

3 units

The aim of this seminar is to describe and understand contemporary urban public space in Europe from the late 20th century to the present, as well as to anticipate possible future developments. The seminar will examine this complex subject by investigating the following complementary topics: historical considerations of elements of public space generation; the continually evolving definition of public space; possible boundaries between urban, non-urban, and landscape; scale and other parameters (density, urban fabric); physical and geometrical magnitudes of urban public space; social and political parameters; and other non-apparent/non-physical conditions. Barcelona, Amsterdam and Berlin will be used as examples of cities able to produce celebrated qualified and diverse public spaces. In addition, a series of 12 relevant case studies will be examined. The possibility of mutual interactions with American cities will be considered, using St. Louis as a reference. The educational objectives of the course are to provide some tools and basic knowledge to understand, analyze, and propose a contemporary public space. We will learn how to distill the various elements that compose 'urbanity,' and to recognize the interactions between them. Fulfills Urban Issues elective requirement.