Rethinking the Urban Square
3.0 History and Evolution of Public Squares According to Levy (Levy, 2012), the main difference between a public park and a public square is that “on a square, citizens are not connected to manifestations of nature, but to the heart of urban culture, history and memory”
3.0.1 Classic Period 3.0.1a AGORA Historically, the town square, for example, the Greek Agora, was both a civic centre and a marketplace. In this way the city can leverage the economic potential of its waterfront and enjoy a separate hub elsewhere in the city's fabric for its political life. As a result of the traffic pressures of crossroads, squares were created and were included as crossroads features in a new city plan. 6000 years ago, the first city formations emerged and city squares were formed at the crossroads of major trade routes. A well-known early example of the public squares of today is the "Agora" of Greece. In shaping Greek towns, democracy played a significant role. In the city center, the Agora was an open space where political social and economic events took place. Greek agoras were public spaces for all sorts of events such as political meetings, athletic and musical games, theatre performances and commercial activities. The form of the agora geometrically was usually square or rectangle. (Memluk, 2013)
Figure 7: Agora of Priene (Aydın, Turkey)
Yashita Khanna|Fifth Year B.Arch.|L.S.Raheja School of Architecture
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