Public art is an artistic expression created in streets, squares and other public spaces, including parks. Using the two popular public parks in the New York City, Central Park and the High Line, this paper explores the affordances offered by public art in these two urban environments, with a focus on physical, intellectual and emotional connections between the visitor, the artwork and the landscape setting. Using affordance theory as a framework, it considers the design of the landscape as a behaviour setting that affords viewing, acknowledgement and reflection of the artwork within the contemporary cultural context. Using preliminary qualitative observations of six artworks within the two parks, this research suggests that public art has the potential to afford such diverse opportunities for public park visitors. In order for these affordances to be actualised, the design of the park and the artwork’s intentions should be coordinated to ensure that the experiences of the visitor align with the claimed benefits of public art.
Public spaces constitute one of the first urban elements to be threatened in times of instability. Their efficient supply
and management becomes a concern for both public authorities and individual users. This paper examines the role and objectives of social entrepreneurs in supplying temporary public spaces within an unstable setting and focuses on small group collective action. The mechanisms used to identify potential land, negotiate use-rights and promote these
spaces are discussed for the case of Beirut, Lebanon, a society segregated by the effects of war and political upheaval.
The case of an organic food market is used to illustrate temporary public spaces in the critical period of 2005–2007,
when political instability reigned in the country and rendered conventional public spaces undesirable. The paper
concludes by drawing lessons for land readjustment in crisis situations from the movement of temporary public
spaces within a city while still attracting people that formerly had difficulties meeting elsewhere.
