We see public space of the twenty-first century as the most powerful part of the urban realm. It not only has to meet the need for healthier outdoor areas and create stronger links with its urban, natural and cultural contexts while continuing to provide places where people immersed in a digital world can physically meet; public space also has powerful, unexplored possibilities, such as the capacity to become infrastructure. In keeping with Rahul Mehrotra’s assertive statement on infrastructure as the notion by means of which “we relate to each other as a community, because it becomes a shared asset, it is an extension of the idea of the commons” (3), we think that infrastructure, together with public space, should form an indissoluble partnership that stands the test of time for its capacity to unite the community and remedy today’s inadequate waste collection, water and sanitation, and transport systems (4), mainly in informal urban settlements around the world. The type of public spaces addressed here are usually derelict areas, urban wasteland, neglected landscapes or, at best, abandoned parks, squares, and outdoor playgrounds and sports courts.
Over the last several years we have had the chance to research, design and build some public spaces in informal urban settlements around Mexico City, Nogales and Tijuana, in Mexico. Although each case has its particularities, in our experience there are major recurrent strategies that have proved beneficial for the communities living in the surrounding areas.
1. Public space should be an infrastructure that serves more than one need, mitigating problems related to the misfunction of traditional infrastructures such as water, sanitation and waste collection, requiring maintenance by the community. This must be accompanied by a conscious design that allows for the least maintenance, thereby promoting the idea of contemporary commonality, and encouraging local people to watch over and take care of the intervention without much effort or investment.
2. Public space must offer the surrounding community dignity and identity, especially in areas devoid of these qualities due to their recent creation, limited resources and informal nature. It must continue to be a place for people to meet and share, reinforcing social values.
3. Public spaces can create a framework to highlight the natural context and show the benefits of caring for the local ecosystem, in some cases including reintroduction.
4. Public space must link surrounding urban fabric, enabling wall-free access and free circulation that connects roadways, and suturing the intervention to the surrounding city.
5. Public space should aim to ensure user safety 24 hours a day, with open vistas during daylight hours and appropriate lighting at night, overlooked by surrounding neighbours.
Public space not only has to meet the need for healthier outdoor areas and create stronger links with its urban, natural and cultural contexts; public space has powerful, unexplored possibilities, such as the capacity to become infrastructure