Place making journey: transition in urban public open spaces from ancient to modern age

Abstract

Urban planning and design has proven to be an important element in shaping life styles, solving problems and giving new ways of living in the urban arena. The quality of urban life is one of the big goals that the field tries to reach. Urban open spaces are known to enhance the quality of urban life. So, every city needs these spaces. The planning and design of urban open spaces have been practiced in different parts of the world in different ways. The practice and use of these spaces differed from place to place as well as from time to time. A good approach in the planning and designing of these spaces is to first study the past and current trends of urban open space usage in a place. The paper covers a general history and development of urban Square from Ancient to Modern Age and tries to demonstrate transition occurred in design. The development and current use of this space will indicate the direction of urban open space trends in the city. This will in turn help the future approaches in planning and design of such spaces. So, the paper includes the sustainable approaches for design of urban squares for better community interaction in urban life.