Who Use Public Spaces?

We have learnt so much already about public spaces, but who uses public spaces? We mentioned that there were cultural, social and political events in public spaces, so obviously there would be people who use the space. The use of public spaces is dependent on time of day and day of the week, and is affected by what is on offer in a particular place at a particular time. People who are of different age groups would use public places at different times. Typically during the day you will find older persons shopping, for example on St. James street Port of Spain, there is a plethora of street vendors and shoppers flooding the streets. Retired persons and young children can also be seen using public spaces during the day. In the afternoon children and young people are usually prominent after school hours, however out of school or during the vacation many young persons can be seen occupying much of the public places. At night, young persons usually dominate around this time. Some groups tend to self-segregate themselves with respect to their use of various public spaces. Women also tend to use streets and public spaces more often than men and for a greater amount of reasons as well. Places such as beaches, playgrounds and promenades serves as a melting pot for socialising among the various age and ethnic groups. We cannot forget the group of people we tend to neglect, the homeless also occupy public spaces. Public Spaces is where they usually go when they become displaced, they consider the streets their home.

People at Maracas Beach, Trinidad

The image above shows various different people using the beach. This just goes to show that everyone enjoys going to the beach, no matter the age, gender or ethnicity, This is definitely one public place which has no boundaries with respect to who comes or not. Maracas Beach is public beach people have the pleasure of using at their convenience. There has also been public events hosted on the beach which adds to the attraction of the beach.

Independence Square Port of Spain Trinidad

This picture shows the ever so lively and busy Independence Square in Port of Spain. It is plain to see that people use this square whether it is to rest their tired feet, lounge around, wait for a taxi or just passing through. Independence Square is a popular Square in Port of Spain and is frequently used by many persons. Here there might be some decreased social interaction among the different age groups. School children would seldom make any eye contact or conversations with the older folks.

  

Children Playing at a Public Park

The photo above shows a public park where children are seen playing and sitting on the grass. People can also be seen sitting on the bench behind them. One way in which this public place was successful was the provisions of benches and a playground. The benches made it comfortable for parents ti sit and wait as their children play. It can also entertain a different crowd of people in the night, young adults may even come to sit or picnic. 

For more info:http://www.pps.org/reference/jjacobs-2/
http://www.rudi.net/books/
http://futureofplaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/FoP_Benefits-of-Public-Space.pdf