Urban Squares is a unique site that video catalogs public, urban spaces in various cities around the world. Typically, he stands in the middle of the space, and circles his camera around at eye level to take a singular panorama shot. Its real great for getting an idea of proportion, use and activity of historical vs. modern spaces.
From their website:
- psychogeography – the subjective analysis of neighborhood behaviors related to a geographic location. a chronological process based on the order of appearance of observed topics with a time delayed inclusion of other relevant instances.
One of my favorite squares in Rome is documented as “the most magnificent square in the world”, according to their evaluation method. Jonathan and I visited the space on our first day in the city, climbed up the stairs of the Palazzo Senatorio and watched an unbelievable sunset with a view of the whole city. It’s located on the tallest of the seven hills of Rome, the Campidoglio.
On their blog, they list the parts of an “urban renewal kit”. Things like sidewalk canopies, movable piazzas, kiosks, green walls, public toilets and bus stops are all discussed in terms of cost, instillation difficulty, and design ideas.
