Model for Assessment of Public Space Quality in Town Centers

Public space is an important element of urban structure, playing various spatial, social and economic roles in towns/cities. Its quality influences the quality of life of the inhabitants and the attractiveness of the town as a whole. Public space located in town center is the most representative of its identity and image, and also serves multiple functions and activities. The quality of urban space depends on different factors, which have been discussed in professional literature for the last few decades. The author of this paper developed a model for assessment of the quality of public space in town centers based on studies of methods already used in Poland and abroad, and the analysis of trends and ideas which should be taken into consideration while constructing a set of criteria for assessment methods. The main goal of this paper is to present the methodology of research on the quality of public space in town centers using this model. An important element of the model is the proposed method of delimiting the research area – the town center – based on identification of key public space of a town. The model comprises three methods, which can provide valuable information on the quality of public space, and also serve as a basis for constructing ratings of towns in each of these methods and the model as a whole. The research conducted using this model in chosen medium-sized towns of the Łódź region showed that the results of ratings obtained using particular methods and the whole model coincide with subjective opinions on public space in town centers given by its users and professionals evaluating it.