Public Space - A Necessary Component for Democracy

Martin Dreiling of CSS Architects in Burlingame, CA and Dan Ionescu of DIAP Architects in San Mateo, CA are proponents of public gathering spaces in cities and towns to provide citizens space for entertainment, public meetings, and enable a variety of social interactions. On a recent trip to Puerto Vallerta Mexico I took some pictures of just such a space and just such a gathering. On a Sunday night local families were sitting, talking, and dancing to a band playing. Interestingly at the moment we were, we saw the other intended use of open space - a group of protesters came fighting of all causes, the proposed elimination of these squares. More to come...