February 28, 2025

Habitat

Using public spaces to celebrate social unity and improve the quality of life

Park at the Warsaw Uprising Mound, Warsaw (Poland), 2023

Park at the Warsaw Uprising Mound, Warsaw (Poland), 2023

"A new park in central Warsaw integrates the area's history by recycling World War II ruins to create an accessible, enjoyable public space that combines memory, leisure and ecological sensibility."

The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial award that honors exceptional projects that create, transform, or restore public spaces in European cities. This honorary prize highlights the vital role of public space as a catalyst for urban life.

A jury of architects, planners, designers, critics, historians, and curators evaluates projects based on several criteria, including the significance of the intervention, public ownership or a strong public-spirited mission, citizen participation and engagement, environmental improvements and innovations, and the project's ability to reduce social divides and enhance quality of life.

Their website is an inspiring survey of why public spaces matter.

WEBSITE: PublicSpace.org

Habitat

We forget that we are nature.

BOOK: Biophelia. The Human Bond with Other Species

Habitat

The buildings that last are the buildings that learn.

BOOK: How Buildings Learn

Habitat

We don’t build community. We build the conditions from which community emerges.

BOOK: Life Between Buildings. Using Public Space

Habitat

Why crappy buildings make us feel crappy

BOOK: Welcome to Your World. How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives