ANALYZING PUBLIC SPACE AT A METROPOLITAN SCALE: NOTES ON THE POTENTIAL FOR USING GIS

Abstract

This paper examines the potential for using GIS to analyze public space at a metropolitan or regional scale. The paper outlines contemporary discussions about public space-in geography, planning, and urban studies—showing how work to date has focused on specific sites and types of environments, rather than the larger landscape of public space. The paper then discusses the metropolitan-level issues where analysis using a GIS would answer important questions, and particularly where GIS could be used as an exploratory tool. It argues that there is the potential for developing some useful new indicators and measurements of public space. Currently, however, there are three barriers to using such data to analyze public space: data categorization and “thinness”; data inconsistencies, incompatibilities, and gaps; and economic and “cultural” differences in the research approaches. These barriers are partly cause by the dominant role of environmental and infrastructure interests in creating existing databases. [Key words: GIS, public space, metropolitan areas.]