Democracy and public spaces

Ján Legény, Robert Špaček

SUMMARY

The emergence of democracy and of the first public space – Agora dates back to the ancient Greece. Urban environment is an essential attribute of development of cultures and civilizations. It concentrates the nature of environment, history, people’s mentality and affects the way and quality of life of inhabitants. Public spaces have played and will always play an important role in the life of every society by providing the place for revolutions, executions, controlling the masses (by barricades, cameras, through their layouts) and for the demonstration of political and economic power. In general, democracy in relation to public spaces implies the equality of access and approach on grounds of age, physical predisposition, sex, wealth and faith. It represents the freedom of movement (with minimum of prohibitions), safety, environmental friendliness and an opportunity to explore new “secrets” of public spaces.

Keywords: public space, town, democracy, society, urban design