The beautiful Piazza Navona, which as far as we understand is not owned by JP Morgan
The great Italian piazza. The German platz. The Spanish plaza. In summer; a fountain in the middle and cafes spilling over with people, residents and tourists alike. This is the phenomenon of the public square which exists all over Europe from Dresden to Athens to Lubljiana.
But if you ask to meet a friend in a square in London, the options will be Trafalgar, Sloane or Parliament (though no one has ever done this unless armed with placards). These tarmac-ed locales are generally drab, proffering the odd mediocre Christmas market. Let’s be honest: despite the prestigious National Gallery presiding over it, no self-respecting Londoner would seriously consider “chilling in Trafalgar Square”.
It’s not just the sun that makes the European scene work. After all, Paris’s climate is similar to ours, yet the French capital boasts magnificent squares and restaurants that decorate the streets in the manner of an urban living room.
London does have green spaces, the most in Europe. But a good square serves a unique function. They were historically used for trade, information, recreation, protection and piety. Nowadays they’re more likely to be used for binge drinking and anti-war protests but the ancient function abounds.
Asian cities shows us the absence of the square taken to the extreme. In Hong Kong, residents have just 2.7-2.8 metres squared of open space per person. And the “public space” they do have mostly consists of shopping malls. In the pandemic, pictures emerged of workers huddled in mall toilets; once shops closed there was simply no where else to go. The disparity between Hong Kong and Paris is largely historical. Paris is one of the least bombed cities in Europe and therefore benefits from the medieval city structure which prioritised town halls and existed when land wasn’t really subject to market value.
London is a hybrid. As such it has found an in-between: privately-owned public spaces (known as Pops by urbanist boffins) which act as an incentive for developers. In exchange for circumventing zoning regulations, developers must open some space to the public. London has been embracing Pops for 30 years: think of Battersea Power Station, Canary Wharf, the Olympic Stadium and the area by the Thames near City Hall.
Unsurprisingly, Pops are rife in the US, where developers have cleverly co-opted the words place, square and plaza to use as names of commercial developments. A plaza can also mean a toll plaza or an area adjacent to an expressway that has service facilities (such as restaurants, gas stations, and restrooms). And no one wants to philosophise outside Burger King in Salisbury motorway services.
As Richard Rogers, who built Paris’s Pompidou Centre, observed: “Market forces have sapped the vitality of the high street, replacing it with the heavily policed world of the shopping mall, where only those with enough money, the right clothes, or the right coloured skin are allowed in.”
It would be foolish to suggest the private sector has nothing to offer Londoners. The Granary Square development in King’s Cross symbolises the so-called public-isation of private space. The developers built public space out of nothing incorporating Regent’s Canal, a charming fountain feature and well-designed seating areas.
A forum it is not, but in fairness local authorities are strapped for cash. Some pseudo-public space (as its critics call it) is beneficial if not essential. And Bishops Square next to Spitalfields Market in London is a delightful place for a pint – though bare in mind the relaxation haven is ultimately owned by JP Morgan.
The Centre for London think tank suggests the London Mayor acts to ensure London’s spaces remain “public-feeling” and open to all by removing security and minimising commercialisation. No branded sun loungers. Give us more benches, reduce cameras and security guards, permit reasonable protesting.
The Europeans got public space right. The town square is the natural evolutionary step up from the agora of ancient Greece. If we want urban dwellers to participate in the marketplace of ideas, London needs to do better than a measly patch of grass on the edge of Spitalfields Market.
Piazza power! London needs to embrace the European public square
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23.11.2023
The beautiful Piazza Navona, which as far as we understand is not owned by JP Morgan The great Italian piazza. The German platz. The Spanish plaza. In summer; a fountain in the middle and cafes spilling over with people, residents and tourists alike. This is the phenomenon of the public square which exists all over Europe from Dresden to Athens to Lubljiana.
But if you ask to meet a friend in a square in London, the options will be Trafalgar, Sloane or Parliament (though no one has ever done this unless armed with placards). These tarmac-ed locales are generally drab, proffering the odd mediocre Christmas market. Let’s be honest: despite the prestigious National Gallery presiding over it, no self-respecting Londoner would seriously consider “chilling in Trafalgar Square”.
It’s not just the sun that makes the European scene work. After all, Paris’s climate is similar to ours, yet the French capital boasts magnificent squares and restaurants that decorate the streets in the manner of an urban living room.
London does have green spaces, the most in Europe. But a........
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