Public spaces are often overlooked — or over-regulated — but they remain essential to vibrant urban life. They shape how we gather, interact, and find common ground in a dense, disconnected world.

Our latest episode examines how architecture, policy, and private investment can converge to create meaningful public spaces, even in the most crowded cities.

Public spaces once defined our cities, offering connection, identity, and civic pride. But car-centric planning and commercial sprawl have hollowed them out.

Public spaces were an integral part of many historical civilisations such as Rome (Italy).

These spaces are more than green patches between buildings. They’re platforms for social life, mental health, and democratic expression. They’re also under threat, especially in rapidly growing cities where land is scarce and profit trumps community.

To reclaim their place in urban life, public spaces must be accessible, useful, and lovable. These three principles anchor the episode’s discussion, which examines what it takes to design shared environments that work — for both people and investors.

We explore CapitaSpring in Singapore: a 51-storey skyscraper that doubles as a vertical village. Designed by BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati, it’s a mix of office, retail, and food centre, layered with publicly accessible gardens, bike infrastructure, and event spaces. From its ground-floor plaza to its sky-high urban farm, CapitaSpring proves that good design can bridge public and private goals.

CapitaSpring is a 280-m high integrated development that offers spaces to live, work, and play.
© Finbarr Fallon

Its success lies in deliberate placemaking: dedicated teams, active programming, and clear communication about access. The result? Increased visitor traffic, higher occupancy rates, and a more substantial community presence.

Policy also plays a critical role in shaping our public spaces. In the United States, developers in cities like New York can gain floor area bonuses for including public amenities. These small concessions, replicated across hundreds of buildings, have the potential to reshape entire neighbourhoods.

The episode highlights how zoning incentives have resulted in over 590 privately owned public spaces across Manhattan, creating green, walkable oases in one of the world’s densest cities.

The High Line (New York City, USA) is a 2.33-km public park created on a previously abandoned elevated railway road.
© Max Touhey

But it’s not just about design or incentives. Without community input, even well-intentioned projects can fall flat. Culturally tone-deaf spaces risk becoming sterile or exclusionary.

Examples like the High Line in New York and Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland show what’s possible when public agencies and private partners collaborate with local communities.

This episode invites us to rethink what public space can be, not just as leftover land, but as a tool for urban vitality. The question is no longer who owns it, but whether it works for all of us.