General Terms Design

Public spaces are important building blocks of local communities. They facilitate social encounters, create a sense of belonging, and can provide relaxation, excitement, and learning opportunities. However, a single public space may be shared by different social groups only at different times, effectively keeping those groups separate. At the same time, other social groups may share common interests yet do so across physically separated spaces. Public Displays can play an important role in bridging such gaps in social interaction – across spatial barriers, temporal barriers, and social barriers. The following article discusses the role of public spaces in the social fabric of communities and outlines the challenges in bringing separated communities together, based on a literature review in urban design studies and related disciplines. It then describes the potential of public display technology to address those challenges with the help of four illustrating scenarios