The Glue of the City, Designing an Interconnected System of Public Spaces in Calgary’s Centre City

Abstract

Public spaces are one of the major elements that form urban structure. The ability of public spaces to work efficiently in the overall urban system is firmly connected to their placement in a city. Continuity of public spaces can enhance public space quality and bring a sense of unity for the users. The centre city of Calgary (located in Alberta, Canada) is the study site for this research. Calgary, despite its various high quality public spaces, includes many places which are not well connected and that are neglected by pedestrians. An assumption of this research is that if people are provided with a network of public spaces rather than single destinations, this will encourage greater use and lead to a higher quality of public realm. Keywords: Public realm, public space, connectivity, urban spatial structure, Calgary’s center city