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Small scale urbanism and social sustainability - Interdisciplinary research of public space in Zagreb

Public space is the connecting tissue of a contemporary city, it is important for people's satisfaction with their city, overall quality of life, inclusiveness and social sustainability. This paper addresses the changes that transform contemporary cities and their public space, and using the example of interdisciplinary students’ research of public space in Zagreb city-districts, shows the potential of small-scale projects and interventions regarding the issues of urban sustainability, quality of life and participation. Small-scale urbanism and interdisciplinary research of public space at city-district level emphasized as important for a creation of more sustainable city with the adequate participation of citizens in the transformation of urban space. The quality of public space on city-district level is what people encounter on daily basis, so it is very important for overall satisfaction and quality of life. Big-scale urbanism should provide adequate network of public space, but small- scale urbanism and smaller interventions should be the main tool for constant improvement of quality of life based on local knowledge and every-day needs of the citizens. Beside this, small-scale urbanism and interdisciplinary approach to urban planning are important for education of young professionals on space, namely architects and sociologists. It is still through an open dialogue between the experts in different fields (social sciences and humanities and technical field of architecture and urbanism) concerning the public space, common good and social sustainability, that future experts should learn how to work in interdisciplinary teams on transformation of urban space in accordance with the local community.

public space, small-scale urbanism, interdisciplinary education, sustainability, participation

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