Minimalist Parameters for Public Spaces

Abstract

The minimalist lifestyle, which has been very popular in the last decade, especially in developed countries, mostly emerged as a reaction to the phenomena such as the increase in consumption habits and mass consumption. Similarly, in the face of negative consequences such as urban areas produced by the influence of neoliberal policies, rapid consumption of resources, the emphasis on the investment value of land in recent years, a minimal/simple perspective and understanding is needed in urban planning and the approaches that shape the space. Minimalist philosophy has always been seen in most of the belief systems and societies in different terminologies such as Zen, Wabi, Sufism, etc. It is an intentional downsizing the possessions in order to live a meaningful life. Therefore, minimalists may voluntarily choose consuming, recycling, and reusing sustainably, or looking for smaller-scale life forms (Vannini and Taggart, 2013). Minimalism often related with individual possessions. However, from the moral aspect of minimalist philosophy, public spaces as publicly owned lands are the central subject of this study. The property systems prevailing in pre-capitalist societies were often based on the understanding that the public was essential to use the land. Especially after the Industrial Revolution, with the intense development of high technology and mass urbanization trends and intentions, the philosophy of producing the built environment has started to leave that understanding. The society produces the city and at the same time the city influences the society, vice versa. As stated by many urban planning theorists such as Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl, Matthew Carmona, the physical environment affects human behaviour and lifestyle. But “before deciding what kind of physical environment to build, it should be determined what kind of world and what kind of life is desired” (Sim, 2019, p.293). In this context, the study focuses on looking at the urban space from a minimalist perspective with the aim of describing the urban codes and property relations that minimalism as a sociological phenomenon will reveal on the public space. Within the scope of this minimalist approach, qualitative and quantitative analyses were made by determining minimalist parameters on streets and public spaces, which are among the main urban coding topics (Marshall, 2011). Pedestrian activities, urban furniture, trees and green spaces, the relationships between road width and building height, open space dimensions, width of pedestrian crossings-arcades, simplicity of buildings have been examined in different public spaces. Results show that urban coding systems of public spaces differ according to the governance of cities. Property policies that are emphasizing the usage value of land are more likely to provide minimalist parameters for public spaces than the policies that put first the investment value of land. The parameters that emerge as a result of the comparisons are noteworthy for obtaining innovative policies of governance by institutions or societies that attach importance to minimalism.