Rethinking Public Space

by Ali Madanipour

Taking a critical perspective, this book rethinks public space in the context of contemporary global health and economic crises, as well as technological, political and cultural change. In order to do so, Ali Madanipour brings together two often unrelated public space and social inclusion, interrogating the potential for public spaces to contribute to inclusive social practices.

Organized in two parts, the book first highlights various common meanings and philosophical concepts of public space, examining them in their constitution and application. Madanipour runs these concepts past the test of social practice, through the economic, political and cultural dimensions of social exclusion and inclusion. Chapters further analyse public space in its different physical, institutional and technological, offering a wide-ranging and thought-provoking take on the concept.

Timely and innovative, this book will be an invigorating read for urban studies, planning and human geography scholars, particularly those focusing on public space, social inclusion and urban processes.

194 pages, Hardcover

Published January 10, 2023

About the author

Ali Madanipour has studied (MArch, PhD), practised, researched, and taught architecture, urban design and planning, winning design and research awards, and working with academic and municipal partners from around the world. His work has been translated into French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Persian and Spanish. His visiting positions include the City of Vienna Senior Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Vienna (2010), the Wits-Claude Leon Distinguished Scholar at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (2011), and Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic of Milan (2015).

Forthcoming book:

Handbook of Planning Theory (2017, co-ed, Routledge);
Published books include:

Cities in Time: Temporary Urbanism and the Future of Cities (2017, Bloomsbury)
Planning Theory, Volume I, Planning with Creativity, (2015, ed, Routledge);
Planning Theory, Volume II, Planning with Efficiency, (2015, ed, Routledge);
Planning Theory, Volume III, Planning with Flexibility, (2015, ed, Routledge);
Planning Theory, Volume IV, Planning with Contingency, (2015, ed, Routledge);
Reconsidering Localism (2015, co-ed, Routledge);
Urban Design, Space and Society (2014, Palgrave-Macmillan);
Public Space and the Challenges of Urban Transformation in Europe (2014, co-ed, Routledge);
Handboek Ruimtelijke Kwaliteit (2013, co-ed, ASP)
Knowledge Economy and the City (2011/2013, Routledge);
Whose Public Space? International Case Studies in Urban Design and Development (2010, ed, Routledge);
Designing the City of Reason (2007, Routledge);
Public and Private Spaces of the City (2003, Routledge);
Social Exclusion in European Cities (1998/2003, co-ed, Routledge);
Urban Governance, Institutional Capacity and Social Milieux (2002; co-ed, Ashgate);
The Governance of Place (2001, co-ed, Ashgate);
Tehran: the making of a metropolis (1998, Wiley);
Design of Urban Space: An inquiry into a socio-spatial process (1996, Wiley);
Managing Cities (1995, co-ed, Wiley).