What possibilities for action are there in public space? And for whom?

The demands on public space are manifold, and are likely to increase due to the densification of cities and diversification of societies. How can we better understand public space, and plan spaces that accommodate a wider range of users and activities?

This article puts forward the concept of affordances as a powerful tool when studying or designing public space. Affordances are possibilities for action that users can engage in when in an environment or using an artefact. We address three questions regarding these possibilities for action in public space: who produces affordances, what and how do they afford, and to whom?

We identify five types of affordances: expected, extended, secondary, intentionally shaped and unintentionally shaped. Expected affordances are those that are designed into the artefact and culturally ‘preferred’. They are complemented by extended and secondary affordances, which emerge when users perceive additional, more creative uses of the artefact. Affordances can also emerge from users’ modifying and augmenting the environment. This can mean intentionally placing or removing things (or living beings) to encourage or constrain certain activities. We show, however, that the arrangement of things and bodies can also have unintentionally shaped affordances.

The different types of affordance serve as a reminder for researchers in urban studies and for the urban design profession that uses of urban settings go beyond what is formally designed into them. We propose a set of key questions to ask when studying or designing a public space and its affordances, to anticipate or understand mismatches between design objectives and actual use, potential use conflicts or unmet demands for activities.

The article, written by Hannah Widmer and Patrick Rérat, was published Open Access in the journal European Planning Studies.