Shade, water and benches: public space for hotter summers
What European cities are trying as summers get hotter: trees, shade, drinking fountains, misting, cool streets and better benches, plus a street checklist.
Strand
Architecture & Space
Squares, courtyards, stairs, benches and housing: the built frame of public life and the decisions behind it.
Stairs, bridges and shortcuts: small structures that change a walk
From Zagreb's tiny funicular to Lisbon's lifts and Plečnik's bridges in Ljubljana, why some stairs, bridges and shortcuts make a city walk so much better.
Leftover spaces and tactical urbanism: what small street fixes teach
Parklets, painted plazas and pop-up chairs: how tactical urbanism reclaims leftover street corners, what Barcelona scaled up, and the questions it raises.
Vienna's Gemeindebau courtyards: council housing as public space
How Vienna's Gemeindebau courtyards work as shared space, from Red Vienna and the Karl-Marx-Hof to art on housing, and how to walk through them with respect.
What Temporary Art Does to a City Square, and How to Judge It
Installations that stay a few weeks can change how a square is used. Lessons from the Fourth Plinth, Vienna's MuseumsQuartier and summer pavilions.