Squares: A Public Place Design Guide for Urbanists

by Mark C. Childs

Vital public places—squares, post office steps, playgrounds, street corners—are centers of joyful celebration, heartbroken communion, civic discussion, or for simply hanging out. Squares is intended to help designers, planners, public officials, students, developers, and community leaders understand the history and theories of public commons, elicit community dialogue and desires, respond to the natural and built environment, and design compelling places. Mark C. Childs contends that places built to support conviviality are critical components of a good town. He includes theory, brief case studies, and 126 design queries and discussions. These questions range from the general--"How can the life of the community be strengthened by the planning of a civic place?"--to the particular--"Is the place delightful on a Tuesday morning?" "What makes a good place for a rendezvous?" Childs explores the design implications of the automobile, electronic media, the natural environment, urban furniture and structures, public safety, and public art. Interspersed with Childs's text are brief essays by other authors addressing particular kinds of public parks, urban beaches, farmers' markets, and community gardens.

Hardcover

First published November 15, 2004

About the author

Librarian note: There are multiple authors with this name in this data base.

M.C. Childs’ award-winning urban design books include The Zeon Files: Art and Design of Historic Route 66 Signs (UNM Press 2016), Urban Composition (Princeton Architectural Press 2012), Squares: A Public Space Design Guide (UNM Press 2004). He is a Fulbright Senior Scholar and interim dean of architecture at the University of New Mexico. He lectures internationally on story and placemaking, public art and public spaces, and context analysis.

His poetry has recently appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, Abyss & Apex, Focus, Liminality and many others. He was a member of M.I.T.’s International Tiddlywinks Team.