And Square Dialogue

A Square is one of the most important outer places in the city. It is definitely not only apiece of man-paved space,but to a large extent,a stage for people'public life and an actual parlor in the city. In modern society the need of communication among people increases. Therefore, the demand for places of public ctivities in modern cities arises. In some ways , people's most common and direct impression towards a city comes from the square , the quality of which immediately represents the standard of the city's design and also influences the citizens'feelings and lives. Square is built to serve people,the behaving subject in the square. People's activities enliven the square , fill the square with vigor and vitality,and embody the city's soul. Only the square can be defined as humanized,which shows cares for humanities,conforms to people's behavioral characteristics and has environmental awareness. This essay is based on the theory of environment—behaviouristic psychology. In the essay, environment —behavior psychology is combined with the designing of city square's public space,and the starting point is how people use the square. Centering on the fundamental principle of "design must be for people",the essay theoretically studies the common features of designing public space,like the square,which is an essential part of city's open space. The essay then initially puts forward the "pattern language"of designing city square's public space. In the last part of the essay, some suggestions for improvement are also proposed after the case analysis of Hanzhongmen Square in Nanjing, with the aim to apply the theory into practice. The whole essay includes two parts:literature overview and the main body. The literature overview mainly introduces some primary concepts , like environment —behaviouristic psychology , city square , public space ;developments of related disciplines and research results. The main body is further divided into five chapters: 1,Foreword. 2,The constitution of city square and its public space:It chiefly touches upon both the history and status quo of city square's developments home and abroad;the historical experience of developing city square's public space and the recognition of public space's attributes. 3,The study of the behavioral and psychology in the surroundings of city square's public space : It firstly presents the major research methods of environment—behaviouristic psychology,analyzes how to behave in the city's outer space,and further applies it to the analysis and evaluation of the current city square's public space ; then concludes people's types of behaving in outer space and the behaving rules of both individuals and groups. 4,Pattern language—the common features of designing squares:After the above analysis and study,the ultimate goal is to apply the related theories of environment—behaviouristic psychology to the designing of square's public space in the future. Accordingly, in this chapter,some pattern languages of designing square's public space —the common designing features are tentatively and comprehensively induced from different angles and with various measurements. 5,Case analysis based on observation and research—squares in Nanjing:It selects several typical squares of different times in Nanjing as examples. The data of one year of square on-the spot observation,shootings and recordings was collected, sorted out and analyzed repeatedly;the gains and losses in designing are tentatively raised from the microcosmic point of view about the from of square's space, people's behaviors and how people use the space,among which Hanzhongmen square in Nanjing is chosen as the case for focal analysis. This essay opens up the way for the combination of behaviouristic psychology and landscape architecture , and makes a preliminary preparation for a broader research in the future.