Perceptions, planning and principles of Public Open Spaces (POS)

Perception of public open spaces has a repercussion in the way it is used and also the way they are planned, provided, managed and maintained. This attributes to the state of public open spaces in the fast developing cities, where they are diminishing not only in quantity but they are deteriorating in quality. The research looks at the way public open spaces are dealt with in theory and in practice through looking at their meanings, roles and characteristics (in a literature review) and their provision (from a case study in Kosovo in Cape Town). The meanings, roles, characteristics and planning of public open spaces are embedded in the principles of sustainability and livability and their relationship. Sustainability for public open spaces is a broad concept which a common man finds difficult to comprehend, whereas livability is more related to the daily living environment. However, livability builds the block for sustainability. Therefore, it is difficult to exclude anyone while studying public open spaces. This research highlights the principles of sustainability and livability from the meanings, roles, characteristics and planning of public open spaces to find out the links and gaps that are useful for the way public spaces are dealt with. There is no single blueprint for a good public open space. It is dependent on every actor's perception and expected `role and characteristic' from the space. However, there are principles that are vital to define their roles and characteristics which favourably or unfavourably influence the use or non- use of the space. From the literature review, it is found that the understanding of public open spaces is based on certain principles such as status, size, catchment, accessibility, planning, design, nature, function, form, use and perception. `Public open spaces' is a broad term that encompasses a hierarchy of open spaces ranging from city level spaces like national parks to the neighbourhood level market and community level courtyards; ones that are accessible to all. The most important role of public open space is that it is a `multifunctional space'. Being multifunctional, public open spaces fulfil socio cultural, environmental, economical and political functions of an individual and the society at large. They play a fundamental role in determining the quality of living. They are an indispensable element of the urban form. The development of public open spaces depends on the existence of `public life'. The characteristics that shape public life bring a broader understanding of the principles that influence the vitality of public open spaces. The characteristics are embedded in the principles such as socio-cultural characteristics of the community, environmental characteristics of the space; economic opportunities offered by the space and the institutional/ political set up of the space. From the case study, it is found that public open spaces in Cape Town are classified based on their physical scale, characteristics, activity, and most importantly based on the management approach by the local authority. It is also found that provision (160 sq.mts per person) is not an issue since greening is always in the Cape Town's policy agenda. However, principles like accessibility and management, productivity and image are crucial. Kosovo has an active public life in the streets. For future plan, the public spaces in Kosovo have to be welcoming. It is a function of conviviality, sociability and above all multiplicity of use. The hierarchy of public open spaces and the relation between the different levels of spaces are crucial to Kosovo. These justify a link to sustainability and livability principles.