Raisa Galea talks to Antoine Zammit, a practicing architect and urban designer, about challenges and hopes pertaining to open public spaces in Malta.
Collage by the IotL Magazine
Why is public space important? The answer is obvious: our immediate environment has a direct impact on our lives. In other words, we design the city and the city designs us. It’s palpable that contemporary urban planning in Malta addresses our needs as consumers and as consumers only. We can enjoy the seaside by sipping coffee at an open air café, but the same spot is becoming less accessible to us as pedestrians or civilians.
Thus, urban life boils down to a simple formula: spaces are for those who can pay. Pavements, squares and the seaside may be available to the public, but only at a certain price.
How do we define a public space? How do we design a public space? And, finally, how do we defend a public space from continuous overbuilding? Raisa Galea talks to Antoine Zammit, a practicing architect and urban designer, about challenges and hopes pertaining to open public spaces in Malta. Spoiler: there still remains hope.
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