45th national meeting of urban planning agencies - Public space(s) under debate(s)

From public space in the sense of the political agora to that of public spaces in the sense of public places, this polysemy reflects in a certain way the evolution of lifestyles and societies over time. Public space is a space of appearance, an embodied space, a place of visibility. It reveals itself in word and action. Public spaces are places accessible to the public, walked by residents. They materialize through nuances of urban forms and cultures; streets, squares, paths, avenues, squares, gardens, banks, etc. These spatial dimensions intersect with temporal dimensions, referring to availability, audiences and uses.

The qualification of public space(s) emerged and spread in the 60s/70s when the city adapted to the advent of the car. At the same period, the artistic movement designated today by the term "street arts" experienced a boom with the departure from conventional frameworks to stage the city and the landscape in a combination of aesthetic research and concern for evolution of the contemporary world.

The transitions – resulting from a marked societal and environmental context – that we must face today reveal new relationships and expectations with regard to public space(s): health crisis, loss of biodiversity, climate change, social movements, security issues, dewaterproofing/renaturation, etc. It is all this diversity of issues and the search for common ground that will be explored during this 45th national meeting of urban planning agencies in Audomarois.