Public Space/Public Life Design: resilience in integrated regeneration processes

The chapter aims to introduce the main emergent issues and inspiration sources related to public space design discourses (without any presumption to be exhaustive). Introducing the public space/public life from an urban design disciplinary point of view (possible definitions of public space/public life), the chapter focuses on public life and on the strategic role that an integrated public space design is asked to play in responding to complex and urgent questions of our contemporary urban contexts. In these terms, the public spaces/public realm has a tremendous and strategic role in reaching, for instance, the UN-HABITAT New Urban Agenda. A renovation of public space debate and design is needed to catch the opportunities to integrate multi issues and design solutions solving crosscutting phenomena in order to improve social inclusion and the cohesion between urban communities and new citizens, to support environmental and ecosystem quality, providing a good quality of habitat for human and natural life, to face climate pressure phenomena, to support new economies, to innovate the mix of public and urban functions and services, and to support the community process towards the public spaces re-appropriation and improvement. The chapter presents some selected points to highlight the urgency of a renovated and more open debate able to integrate different approaches, disciplines, differentiated knowledge, and organizational governance processes.