Summary

Public spaces are inseparable from their context: the fluctuating cultural, economic, political, social and technological factors that constitute their spatial and temporal reality. Discussions about the historical and spatial attributes of public spaces in Sarajevo in previous chapters denoted their transitory condition, or their state of in-betweenness. This state is manifested in a series of dichotomies, such as pre- vs. post-, here vs. there, public vs. private, and us vs. them.

The zeitgeist of the contemporary epoch is generally characterised by instability and rapidly accelerating global change. These changes can be regarded as obstacles, challenges or opportunities, and depending on the approach, can be either resisted, embraced without reservation, or accepted with a critical setback. Frequent changes and divergences are not new to Sarajevo. In the previous chapter, public spaces were regarded as products of transition processes, temporal changes from one state to another, such as socialism to capitalism, or low-tech to smart technology. Public spaces are often situated between opposed concepts or polarities, such as formal and informal, global and local, and East and West. An analysis of each aspect affecting the identity of public spaces in Sarajevo was followed by case studies that proved transition or in-betweenness are not necessarily obstacles, and can be transformed into opportunities for future development.

Socio-economic transition

Alongside the global economic transition to a liberal economy by the turn of the third millennium, Central and Eastern European cities underwent political and social shifts, and witnessed the transition from modernism to postmodernism. The multi-layered transition process in post-socialist cities affected their urban environments significantly. One of the consequences of this was an acquired aversion to the common values of the previous era and regime, which led to a general disregard of public spaces. Even almost three decades after the end of the 1990s war, the city of Sarajevo and its public spaces are drifting in transitional limbo: a post-socialist, post-communist and postmodern state of in-betweenness. The “pre-” and “post-”, “public” and “private”, “socialist” and “capitalist” dichotomies are blocking the fate of public spaces. Cases like the urban transformation of Moirii Canal in the Romanian city of Reghin show that it is possible to reclaim communal space, even after the post-socialist period allows it to be physically blocked and randomly, privately appropriated. The lesson of this urban makeover is in the proactive role of the architects, who initiated the project through linking the local community with the town council.

Technological transition

Late 20th-century theories on withdrawal from the public to private realm as a result of technological progress have been validated by the contemporary global urban lifestyle. The metaphors of “Internet as the new public space” and “the screen as the last wall” have become less fiction, and more everyday reality. The discussion of technological impact on the urban environment diverges into two perspectives: (1) the critical stance, blaming technological progress for the further decline of real public spaces; and (2) the progressive stance, favouring the emergence of new, technologically enhanced forms of public space. A more balanced approach is the perspective on public spaces as hybrids, in which physical and material elements interact with virtual layers to increase their social contact, sustainability, real-time management and maintenance. The application of smart technology in the 2016 transformation of Piazza Risorgimento (the Planet Smart Square) in Turin, Italy, was a key feature of this collaborative project between businesses, urban planners, and the IT, private and public sectors. The project used an online application to monitor the improved qualities of the public space, primarily focusing on social interaction and sustainability. Learning from successful projects of this kind, and following the path of similar initiatives in Sarajevo, can raise awareness on how the application of smart technologies can result in these spaces having a higher level of performance than traditional urban public spaces.

In between formal and informal approaches

Formal, traditional planning strategies that echo the modern urbanism movement and post-war reconstruction are not synchronised with real-time urban dynamics, and highlight the need for the role of planning institutions to be redefined. Market pressure to increase the competitiveness of cities to attract more capital results in island urbanism and a series of urban voids (Oswalt, et al., 2013). Planning authorities are gradually becoming entrepreneurship agencies, striving for the goals of cities’ political economies, instead of citizens’ public interests. Rather than profit-based urban activities, an alternative approach can be taken, which prioritises the needs of citizens and the sustainability of public spaces. This lies in a combination of formal planning via institutionalised channels with the bottom-up informal practices associated with terms such as placemaking (Whyte, 1980), temporary urbanism (Madanipour, 2017),and ephemeral interventions. Cases of the integration of bottomup initiatives and temporary interventions into the course of formal planning (such as Gezi Park in Hamburg or the Danish Town Planning Institute’s Network for Private-Public Urban Cooperation) show the qualitative benefits of the collaborative approach to the development of public spaces. Though there has been an increase in the number of informal initiatives concerning the current status and perspectives of public spaces in Sarajevo, there has been an insufficient response and initiative from local authorities to explore and embrace the potentials of public and private partnerships in urban development.

In between global and site-specific

Global consumer culture has had a great influence on the public realm, resulting in an anonymous, generic and mass-produced architecture and urban environment. Simultaneously, the theme-parking (Sassen, 2006) trend in urban development emerged in the 21st century, parallel to homogenisation, the loss of identity in public spaces, and the proliferation of non-places (Augé, 1995). The latter profit-based phenomenon, however, lacks the authenticity of homogenised environments, and fails to capture the identity and sense of a place. Conversely, projects such as the Stadshal Market in Ghent, Belgium show that the quality of public life in a city centre can be achieved by interacting with context through site-specific interventions. As an alternative to the design competition’s programme to construct an underground parking garage, the new market echoes the demolished gothic blocks, and resonates the genius loci of Ghent’s historic city centre. These kinds of projects represent a design approach to urban transformation that adds new value to public spaces, enhances the identity of a place, and resists the supremacy of globalisation.

In between East and West

Because of its geographic location, Sarajevo has been exposed to both Western and Islamic-Oriental mind-sets and influences throughout its history. Consequently, the socio-cultural identity and the identity of public space in Sarajevo can be associated with hybridity and the state of in-betweenness. Its multi-layered historical legacy makes the city architecturally and culturally idiosyncratic, but also determines its ambivalent relationship towards the notion of public spaces, and the appreciation of common, shared values. The contextual narrative of the coexistence of Eastern and Western traditions in Sarajevo is specific, making other examples and role models hard to find. For this reason, the most suitable approach to its public spaces would be one that emerges from the authentic context of the city. The urban regeneration of the Besiktas Fish Market highlights the “software” of the public space, by translating the site’s traditional oriental atmosphere, its sense of community and the spontaneity of its social interaction into contemporary Western elements, such as form and materials.

The previous chapter’s consideration of causal relationships between context and public space was intended to show the advantages of transitions and dichotomies, rather than viewing them as obstacles. Polarities can yield new values and instigate progress, instead of stagnating and maintaining the status quo, or, as in the case of public spaces in Sarajevo, the status in-between. Even dichotomies can be viewed from the perspective of an integrative, inclusive approach. When viewed through this lens, public spaces can highlight social values in the age of capitalism; use smart technologies to enhance their traditional qualities; and collaborate to bring authorities, the community and professionals together. Design can embody both global and site-specific hardware and software; embracing the oriental paradigm does not necessarily exclude the Western perspective, and vice versa.