From Liberalism to Experimentation: Reconstructing the Dimensions of Public Space

Udo Pesch*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeChapterScientificpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper describes how particular normative dimensions have become embedded in public space. It identifies four periods of urban history, starting with that of the liberal city which introduces a heterogeneous set of liberal and democratic values. The sanitary city of the nineteenth century came to depict public space as a system of flows that needed to managed. The twentieth century rational city endorsed functionality and efficiency as key values, as manifested in modernist architecture and neo-liberal policies. Recently the experimental city emerged, in which digital technologies give rise to ‘smart’ systems, but also to new forms of civic engagement. It is argued that the experimental city needs to accommodate the normative dimensions of public space developed in preceding historical periods, which necessitates that conflicts between these dimensions need to subjected to democratic trade-off processes.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPhilosophy of Engineering and Technology
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages291-317
Number of pages27
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Publication series

NamePhilosophy of Engineering and Technology
Volume36
ISSN (Print)1879-7202
ISSN (Electronic)1879-7210

Keywords

  • Public space
  • Public values
  • Urban history
  • Urban politics

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