Espaços públicos de propriedade privada: os Pops de Nova York

Abstract

This article discusses the implications of transferring the provision and management of collective public places from the public to the private sphere as well as the impact and/or contribution of this transference to the urban landscape and the citizens’ quality of life. The subject of this study is the bonus system adopted in New York City to create privately owned spaces for public use, known as POPS (Privately Owned Public Spaces). Based on Jan Gehl’s theoretical principles, a quantitative and qualitative survey on Park Avenue was carried out. The analysis of the collected data showed that buildings’ corporate plazas not only contribute to public use of free spaces but also ennoble the urban landscape of the area. Yet, people’s effective use of these open public spaces still depend on the degree of accessibility and visual permeability between the POPS and the public circulation areas, the sidewalks.