Grimm-Pretner, D., 2004, Public parks and squares in viennese urban renewal areas – sites for everyday life, in: OPENspace, ‘Open space, people space’, OPENspace, Edinburgh
- Author : Grimm-Pretner, D.
- Year : 2004
- Published in Book : Open space, people space
- Abstract in English : The authors explore in this study the characteristics of public parks and squares within the social context of those quarters of Vienna subject to urban renewal. These recreational sites are rare, small and intensively used. Our goal is to examine how these spaces function to serve residents and to define key issues for the redesign of these sites in a spatial, social and gender-specific context. Empirical studies have shown that five times more boys than girls are making use of these sites and that their range of activities is very limited. Nevertheless, these sites have an important function within each such quarter. The authors will discuss the influence of spatial design concepts on the mixture of users and their range of activities. Learning from the ineffective aspects of functionalised design concepts, our study determines that a spatial concept has to offer open, versatile and functionalised spaces in reasonable proportions. It is find that flexibility of space allows users to interpret spatial structures differently, according to both gender-specific and age-specific pattern of perception.
- Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: use of public open space, urban renewal, design concepts, exclusion, parks, squares. [paper 5 p].