Access to public spaces for people differs around the world. According to the UN, Europe boasts the biggest share of the population (70.73%) that has access to open public places. Oceania comes in second place with 68.79% of people having convenient access to shared spaces.

North America is doing pretty well: they're above the world average of 44.21% with 56.84% of spaces being conveniently available to the public. Developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa, and Asia have it slightly worse, placing below the world's average.

It's strange when we think about how much we and our moods are influenced by the environments we're in. Apparently, visually unpleasant environments can make us feel more lonely. A 2024 report by the UK's Centre for Social Justice, for example, revealed that ugly buildings contribute to the epidemic of loneliness.

The respondents in their survey claimed that architects and city planners don't know what the local people really want. And they want green spaces; three-fifths of people with access to green spaces said they never felt lonely. And two-fifths thought that urban planners aren't designing public spaces with community spirit in mind.

The senior researcher at CSJ, Josh Nicholson, said the the UK government's new policy to build 1.5 million new homes should take into consideration that people want more communal and green spaces. "The country urgently needs more homes, but this should not mean cutting corners, degrading the built environment, or concreting over green community space," he observed.

In the U.S., people also believe that good public spaces should have a positive influence on people's mental health. Approximately 86% of the respondents in the State of Community Facility Design survey said that mental health and wellness should be a high priority in the design of community buildings.

So, what do public spaces need in order to be successful? The Project for Public Spaces has a few ideas. They offer some features that a public place should have for it to be functional, aesthetically pleasing, and well-liked among the people who are using it. Let's go over some of them.

They start with places to sit. Nowadays, many public spaces use hostile architecture to deter people from sitting or sleeping there. Others are planned poorly, with no places to sit in the shade or the sun (depending on the climate), not near a playground, and not close enough to other activities. A good public space should have all these things, allowing people to sit down and spend some time there.

A good public space should also have a place for people to gather around. That can be a food cart, some seating, or even a bus stop. The PPS gives the Parc de la Villette in Paris as a bad example; the seats force people to sit far away from each other, and the signs ask them not to climb the sculpture. A good gathering place should have food, activities, and lots of places to sit.

People decide if they want to enter a public space depending on its entrance. If it's narrow, not inviting, and you can't see what's inside, you likely won't want to come in. Bryant Park in New York City, for example, has coffee and sandwich kiosks at the entrance, making it that much more inviting. You can also see the inside of the park from the street, so you're more inclined to come in.

There's much to be said about how car-dominant cities are nowadays. However, the experts at the PPS note that a good public space shouldn't be dominated by vehicles and traffic. Streets have to have crosswalks, and not be too wide, and people need to be able to cross them comfortably, even if they have to wait for a little while.

What public design features get the rise out of you most, Pandas? Do you see any of them on this list? Share your thoughts on public space design with us in the comments! And while you're here, don't forget to check out our previous posts about questionable design choices for communal spaces here, here, and here!