Public spaces are the connecting elements in a city. Their design influences the public life of its inhabitants. Thus, decisions on the design of public spaces must be taken with greatest care. However, an ongoing question is, what makes a public space a good public space? In a master thesis this guiding question can lead into multiple directions, focusing on certain types of public spaces (e.g. streets, squares, backyards, parks), certain qualities (e.g. human behavior, spatial experience, social cohesion). Furthermore, many different methods can be applied to the study of public spaces. For instance, using questionnaires, on-site observations or big-data (e.g. from social platforms) the life in public spaces and opinion of people about public spaces can be captured. The results of this data collection can be correlated to design parameters (e.g. shape of space, mobility, greenery). Further, using Virtual Reality, experiments can be created, in order to systematically study the effect of certain parameters on human spatial experience. Therefore you can use our self-developed study toolbox VREVAL.

Required Skills: Computational Urban Analysis, Study Design, Statistics

Supervisors: Sven Schneider, Martin Bielik

Get inspired by related Master Theses:

Alberto Villa (2017) Quantification of Urban Variables in the walkability of Madrid’s city center.

Aishwarya Chila (2020) The Social Realm of Public Transit Stations.

Nils Voerste (2019) Evidence based lighting design for urban environments.

Aurelija Matulevičiūtė (2019) Public Spaces in Northern Ethiopia.

Alejandra Urrutia (2019) Typologies & Spatial Patterns of Belief.

Maria Behler (2018) City, Migration & Cohesion.