6 Examples of What Makes a Great Public Space

People often ask us, “What makes a public space great?”

When PPS was recently approached by USA Today to provide a list of the best city parks in the U.S. for their upcoming interactive webpage, we were excited for the opportunity share our thoughts on this question that has been at the core of our work for 40 years. After narrowing down our extensive library, our co-founder Kathy Madden submitted 20 parks for consideration. A handful of our selections were chosen for the shortlist (now available online for your vote)! Some of those chosen included some longtime favorites, such as Central Park in NYC, Jackson Square in New Orleans, Millennium Park in Chicago, and Boston Public Garden.

Although famous spaces like Central Park will always top lists like these, we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight some other examples of great public spaces around the world—including a few that may sometimes fly under the radar.

So, how do we decide if a public space is great? Good question, since it might seem pretty subjective—one person might feel deterred from the same place that another feels a deep attachment to. This is why we created our Place Diagram.

See the diagram and read the rest of the story here.