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Streets as Platforms of Public Life

Author

Listed:
  • Jenni Cauvain

    (Department of Social and Political Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, UK)

  • Antonella Bruzzese

    (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano, Italy)

  • Andrew Karvonen

    (Department of Architecture and the Built Environment, Lund University, Sweden)

Abstract

Streets are emerging as vibrant platforms of public life. While mobility continues to be the dominant function of these spaces, streets are being reconfigured by various stakeholders to promote multifunctional benefits, including socialisation and inclusion, play and rest, political action, economic opportunities, biodiversity, and cultural expression. This thematic issue includes a wide range of contributions to address how streets are being (re)configured as public spaces. The contributions build upon existing scholarship that addresses the role and governance of public space in cities, including notions of the “right to the city” and everyday life. These perspectives inform the rising concerns about privatisation and securitization of public space in cities globally, and about the diminishing emancipatory potential of streets for urban residents. At the same time, there are increasing calls to design more people‐centred cities and enhance the safety and wellbeing of urban residents by transforming vehicle‐centric streets into multifunctional spaces—actions often driven by local governments. The contributions to this thematic issue demonstrate how these strategies are playing out in a wide range of contexts, highlighting the emancipatory potential of street transformations for residents, practitioners, and scholars.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenni Cauvain & Antonella Bruzzese & Andrew Karvonen, 2026. "Streets as Platforms of Public Life," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:urbpla:v11:y:2026:a:12105
    DOI: 10.17645/up.12105
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Martin Emanuel & Nima Karimzadeh & William Hilliard & Andrew Karvonen & Daniel Normark, 2026. "Experimental Logics of Street Transformations," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11.
    3. Fran Tonkiss, 2013. "Austerity urbanism and the makeshift city," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 312-324, June.
    4. Lene Wiell Nordberg & Rikke Borg Sundstrup & Marie Stender & Rikke Skovgaard Nielsen & Mette Mechlenborg & Claus Bech-Danielsen, 2026. "The Social Zipper: Redefining the Role of Streets in Disadvantaged Housing Estates," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11.
    5. Sarah Turner & Hạnh Thúy Ngô, 2026. "“Can She Handle It?” Women Delivery Drivers and the Gendered Politics of Hanoi’s Streets," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11.
    6. Antonella Bruzzese, 2026. "Reclaiming Public Space Through Governance Transformation: The Case of Piazze Aperte, Milan," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11.
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