Recycling Spaces

One of the most important questions facing urban centres today is how to keep people attracted to live in, invest in, and participate in the city. Working on the premise that 'places that resonate with people are sustainable places', Martha Schwartz creates spaces that aim to make people feel emotionally connected, engaged and invested in their long-term viability. This expanded notion of sustainability is the basis of the firm's public work, and is illustrated here by a selection of the firm's recent design projects, including Grand Canal Square in Dublin, Exchange Square in Manchester and the Central Park Monte Laa in Vienna, many published in this book for the first time. Readers will be able to explore some of the issues raised through the projects through essays on such topics as: the role of the urban landscape in the sustained health of the world's cities; landscape as urban infrastructure; the aesthetics of sustainability; why people choose to live in cities; and the qualities that make them attractive.