The rise of smart cities has raised innovative ideas on public designs that provide opportunities for community building. Despite extant academic conversations discussing community formation and community management through urban design, there is a lack of literature on the role of the public sector in community building and redevelopment of spaces for the local community. This research aims to gain a better understanding of the importance of how local governments in various countries create and operate public facilities that are intended to allow residents to exchange ideas, learn, and have fun, and how they also pay attention to the esthetics and design of their surroundings to create comfortable spaces for the people. Examining through the perspectives of city design, political science, and urban sociology, and considering the impact that COVID-19 had on the use of these spaces, this research proposes a benchmark for community building through urban design and analyzes in detail case studies from four different cities: Sapporo, Helsinki, São Paulo, and Singapore. Findings from our proposed benchmark contribute to the theory, and inform public stakeholders and local government to create, activate, and manage current and future public spaces to better serve the residents and attract new residents.
Policy Implications
- Future urban (re)developments of public spaces should allow civic participation from the local residents.
- Public facilities planning should include aspects of user experience and community building as key factors in future developments.
- Governance of public spaces and facilities could take a reactionary stance in adapting to the public's perception of the public space through time.
- Public space planning should envision spaces, both physical and virtual, that enable people to discuss, participate, and engage with one another so that we can fulfill the promise of the right to the city.
Photo by Luis D. Alvarez