AFFECTS OF PUBLIC SPACES DEVELOPMENTS BASED ON THE CASE OF SAINT STEPHEN SQUARE OF SZEGED

Abstract

Public space renewals have been disposing of an increasing role within urban developments. The aforementioned phenomenon may be attributable to several reasons. The significance of public spaces appears acutely in decision makers’ approach. The functional role of public spaces and the dominance of European Union sources also have become more emphasized in the last few years. Furthermore public spaces possess key roles in the life of the closer neighborhood or in the city itself due to the community functions, thereby their social role may be notable too. Even so often only one (political, financial, or architectural) aspect is dominant during the development processes. During a public space development many factors might be determining, like the tight deadline, limits set by the tender or actual political circumstances. These factors can influence the outcome of the development to an originally unwanted way.

The paper intends to introduce partial results of an ongoing research. I analyzed the case of the renewal of the Saint Stephen square of Szeged and made interviews with different experts. The main goal of the paper is to outline a general picture about public space developments and to present the process through a case study. Accordingly the paper presents the conceptual issues and the significance of public spaces based on the literary antecedents. Moreover the paper introduces the renewal and the actual life of Saint Stephen square based on the interviews and the participant observations. The study investigates how the different competent experts perceive the same issues.

Based on the outcome of the interviews it can be stated that public space developments get great importance within urban developments in Hungary, but in many cases the main motivation is to use the European Union sources or to strengthen the actual political position. Therefore only a few cases are appropriately reasoned and not many of them based on long term considerations, also there is not real dialogue between the different actors of the development. The case of Saint Stephen square confirms the hypothesis that the square has lost the majority of its functions and its earlier role (as a public market) has reduced. The newly created, more representative square is not that popular among the square users. Several recommendations can be formulated based on the research that can function as a support for decision makers to create more usable and greater public spaces.