Public Spaces in a Pandemic. Peripheral Danubian Cities

EasyChair Preprint 5934

Abstract

The "emergency epidemiological situation" has fundamentally changed the concept of free movement and the sense of security of the urban man. It is increasingly likely that such restrictions will be possible in the future in cases of epidemics. The public spaces of the Danube cities are among the most negatively affected due to the challenges of overcoming peripherality, population aging, depopulation, urban decline, collapse of tourism, transboundary pollution. In this text I’m looking for answers to questions of an urban and architectural point of view, attracting attention more sharply than ever. These are issues common to the cities, but also with specifics for the declining Danube cities. Are there well-developed and attractive healthy public and green areas, evenly distributed throughout the cities and accessible on foot to the entire urban structure? Is the Danube River fully used as a spatial, aesthetic, cultural and ecological phenomenon in the riparian zones? Are the streets and boulevards comfortable and healthy for people and cars? Are the bike lanes safe? How home and living environment can be easily transformed into an "arena" not only for living, but also for work at home, for education, for contacts with relatives and friends? Alienation or empathy grows between people and how does this affect the urban space? What is the behaviour of the traveling person in the new reality? Is protecting of the European heritage an outstanding opportunity to improve the quality of public spaces? In my doctoral thesis I pointed out 5 principles of urban planning, that continue to meet the public interest and a concept of a healthy city: nobility and humanism; effective system of pedestrian spaces, public transport and bicycle access network; nature in the urban environment; economic aspects of the quality of life; unique sites and urban spaces with their own economy.

Keyphrases: Danube, Design, Healthy, Pandemic, urban

@booklet{EasyChair:5934,
  author    = {Peter Petrov},
  title     = {Public Spaces in a Pandemic. Peripheral Danubian Cities},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 5934},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2021}}