Attributes of urban public spaces that contribute to qualitative public life; study of emerging public spaces in Colombo

Abstract

Urban Public Space (UPS) is a vital component in the formation of a cityscape. Such spaces further enrich the public requirements of activity nodes facilitating people’s interaction and relaxation. Thereby quality of UPS has a direct impact in terms of public benefits which may be in two folds of physical and psychological. It is a fact with the rapid urbanization, UPS becomes an essential component and Sri Lanka too has no exemption to such prerequisite requirements. But in close scrutiny it will be disclosed that many Urban Public Spaces’ in Sri Lanka, had emerged without prior prerequisite requirements and thereby compelling, not to have proper design or standards in quality. The lack of quality and standards is mainly due to the fact that Left over Spaces (LOS) had been turned as UPS’s; than creating the UPS’s in advance, as a key component of the cityscape. In these circumstances the need has arisen to redirect the emerging urbanization to consider proper urban design and planning aspects in terms of UPSS which would in return contributes to the public and their Standards of living through Quality of Urban Public Space (QUPS). The paper, intends to explore qualitative aspects in UPS’s, that had turned out of LOS’s; by comparing the international models authored by Jan Gehl and Helen Beck, and which in return would create a comprehensive analysis and evaluation model to achieve qualitative Urban Public Life (UPL). The methodology adopted had two folds, namely a literature survey and social survey and the said social survey had been carried out by a structured survey through a questionnaire. The data gathered in the said social survey had been compiled and analyzed by using the derivatives attached to each and every questionnaire. The Galle Face Green (GFG), Diyatha Uyana in Battaramulla (DUB), Dutch Hospital Courtyard (DHC) and Urban Wetland Park in Nugegoda (UWP) are samples for the Social Survey. The first two of the samples that is GFG and DUB have been considered as open spaces and the latter two that is DHC and UWP have been considered as urban spaces in its analysis. Further it is to be noted that non availability of UPS’s, the aforesaid four spaces were selected as the most suitable case studies for the research. In the analysis of UPS’s in terms whether it has been predesigned UPS or LOS turned as UPS, the impact over standard of living and thereby the QOL, is almost the same. But in detail analysis had divulge that QUPS has a direct impact over the public in the usage of the facilities provided.