Describing and locating public open spaces in urban planning

One of the problems that planners face currently is the difficulty in finding appropriate guidelines for organizing public open spaces in urban areas. This invokes the need to create a system tool to describe and guide the planning of such components of the urban space. This research explores the problems related to the description and the location of public open spaces, and defines a system that integrates three distinct and complementary phases – appraisal, description, and location of public open spaces – each involving a specific methodology and associated tools. The main purpose is to provide computer-readable descriptions of patterns for planning urban space, to make available programmatic strategies and design options to the participants of the urban development process. 1 Introduction Although different authors say it differently, there is the common belief that open spaces deeply benefit the urban condition. The Council for Europe identifies public open space as " an essential part of the human heritage, a strong element in the architectural and aesthetic form of a city ". The definition points towards the educational role of open spaces, and its importance in fostering social interaction and promoting community development, by supporting " economic objectives and activities " .