Spaces For People

Responds to current need for guidance on inclusive design in outdoor environments Deals with all situations, urban and rural Highly visual presentation Includes contributions from leading names in landscape, architecture and design

Abandoned lots and litter-strewn pathways, or rows of green beans and pockets of wildflowers? Graffiti-marked walls and desolate bus stops, or shady refuges and comfortable seating? What transforms a dingy, inhospitable area into a dynamic gathering place? How do individuals take back their neighborhood? Neighborhoods decline when the people who live there lose their connection and no longer feel part of their community. Recapturing that sense of belonging and pride of place can be as simple as planting a civic garden or placing some benches in a park. The Great Neighborhood Book explains how most struggling communities can be revived, not by vast infusions of cash, not by government, but by the people who live there. The author addresses such challenges as traffic control, crime, comfort and safety, and developing economic vitality. Using a technique called "placemaking"-- the process of transforming public space -- this exciting guide offers inspiring real-life examples that show the magic that happens when individuals take small steps, and motivate others to make change. This book will motivate not only neighborhood activists and concerned citizens but also urban planners, developers and policy-makers.

Who controls space? Powerful corporations, institutions, and individuals have great power to create physical and political space through income and influence. People’s Spaces attempts to understand the struggle between people and institutions in the spaces they make. Current literature on cities and planning often looks at popular resistance to institutional authority through open, mass-movement protest. These views overlook the fact that subaltern classes are not often afforded the luxury of open, organized political protest. People’s Spaces investigates individual’s diverse approaches in reconciling the difference between their spatial needs and spatial availability. Through case studies in Southeast Asia, India, Nepal, and Central Asia, the book explores how people accommodate their spatial needs for everyday activities and cultural practices within a larger abstract spatial context produced by the power-holders.

Discover what kind of stunning spaces for creative work you can build in your own home no matter your budget with this inspirational DIY guide. Art, craft and all things homemade have never been more popular and the trend for working from home continues apace. But it can be tricky to carve out a space in your house that lets you indulge your passion or earn a living from your creativity. Studio and study spaces are special places—full of creative spirit and practical potential—and there’s never been a greater demand for a book that shows you how to carve out a corner that allows you to not only practice your craft, but inspires and facilitates the very work you create. Real-life case studies from seven different countries, ranging from crafters, writers, designers and artists, show readers just what can be achieved on every budget. Many of the studio owners featured have a dedicated and ever-expanding social media following, including fashion designers Kiel James Patrick and Sarah Vickers, woodworker Ariele Alasko, designer Sarah Sherman Samuel, fine artist Lisa Congdon and decor blogger Holly Becker. Detailed chapters outline the vital pieces needed to create a functioning and inspirational studio space, while also taking an in-depth look into different styles of studios for craft and creative activities. With Studio, Sally Coulthard shows you that spaces for creativity can be easy to make, look beautiful, and fitted into any home. Praise for Studio “A visual feast of a sourcebook . . . features real-life home offices to inspire even the most spatially challenged of us.” —Fabric magazine “A fantastic and inspiring volume.” —Holly Becker “A lovely peek into lots of different creative studios, from potters to knitters, textile designers to fine artist, and every one is a delight.” —The Women’s Room “Working from home has never been so stylish.” —Ham & High

This unique book provides comprehensive, readable information, supported by research, on all aspects of outside spaces for people with dementia. It includes material on human rights issues, cultural differences, microclimate, urban spaces and activities, as well as practical guidance on design and materials. There are numerous case studies from different countries and settings.

The Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People is a thorough and practical resource for all who wish to influence policy and design decisions in order to increase young people’s access to and use of public spaces, as well as their role in design and decision-making processes. The ability of youth to freely enjoy public spaces, and to develop a sense of belonging and attachment to these environments, is critical for their physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development. Young people represent a vital citizen group with legitimate rights to occupy and shape their public environments, yet they are often driven out of public places by adult users, restrictive bylaws, or hostile designs. It is also important that children and youth have the opportunity to genuinely participate in the planning of public spaces, and to have their needs considered in the design of the public realm. This book provides both evidence and tools to help effectively advocate for more youth-inclusive public environments, as well as integrate youth directly into both research and design processes related to the public realm. It is essential reading for researchers, design and planning professionals, community leaders, and youth advocates.

For more than forty years Jan Gehl has helped to transform urban environments around the world based on his research into the ways people actually use—or could use—the spaces where they live and work. In this revolutionary book, Gehl presents his latest work creating (or recreating) cityscapes on a human scale. He clearly explains the methods and tools he uses to reconfigure unworkable cityscapes into the landscapes he believes they should be: cities for people. Taking into account changing demographics and changing lifestyles, Gehl emphasizes four human issues that he sees as essential to successful city planning. He explains how to develop cities that are Lively, Safe, Sustainable, and Healthy. Focusing on these issues leads Gehl to think of even the largest city on a very small scale. For Gehl, the urban landscape must be considered through the five human senses and experienced at the speed of walking rather than at the speed of riding in a car or bus or train. This small-scale view, he argues, is too frequently neglected in contemporary projects. In a final chapter, Gehl makes a plea for city planning on a human scale in the fast- growing cities of developing countries. A “Toolbox,” presenting key principles, overviews of methods, and keyword lists, concludes the book. The book is extensively illustrated with over 700 photos and drawings of examples from Gehl’s work around the globe.

The Social Life Of Small Urban Spaces.

Manhattan’s Public Spaces: Production, Revitalization, Commodification analyzes a series of architectural works and their contribution to New York’s public space over the past few decades. By exploring a mix of urban mechanisms, supportive frameworks, legal systems, and planning guidelines for the transformation of the city’s collective realm, the text frames Manhattan as a controversial landscape of interests and concerns to authorities, communities, and, very importantly, developers. The production, revitalization, and commodification of Manhattan’s public spaces, as a phenomenon and as a subject of study, also highlights the vicissitudes of the reconciliation of the many different agents, which are part of the process. The challenge of the book does not only lie in the analysis of good design but, more importantly, in how to understand the functional mechanisms for the current trends in the production of space for public use. A complex framework of actors, governance, and market monopolies, which invites the reader to participate in the debate of how these interventions contribute, or not, to an inclusive environment anchored in the existing built fabric. Manhattan’s Public Spaces invites reflection on the revitalization of the city’s shared space from all dimensions. Beautifully illustrated in black and white, with over 50 images, this book will be of interest to scholars and students in architecture, planning, and urban design.