THE THEATRICALITY OF PUBLIC SPACE & THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF URBAN PLANNING

Abstract

Working for the Louisiana c/o Venice exhibition ‘Life Between Buildings’, organized by the Museum of Modern Art, located in Humlebæk, Denmark, and in collaboration with Gehl Architects, I had the opportunity to get familiar with the projects realized by Jan Gehl and his collaborators in cities around the world. Having concluded my undergraduate degree in Theatre Studies, I have always been charmed by the fact that our life could be compared to a theatre performance, which takes place in a city identified as a theatre stage, with a temporary setting and props, and where all of us play one or even more roles during our lifetime. As it is often written in theories, it is evident the presence of an ‘invisible hand’ which conducts our lives, and which, from my point of view, could be detected in the projects done by Gehl Architects and especially as the ‘hand’ of Jan Gehl, who is acting as a metteur en scène, setting his scenography in public spaces, creating a people-friendly environment, where life can flourish, and inviting citizens to interact, influencing their life conditions, their social relationships and the business affairs. In the present research paper I will try to support my opinion through the theories written by philosophers and theorists of the theatre and social life. Also I would like to develop these ideas by presenting the case of urban strategies studied by Gehl Architects, which could contribute to the way people should live, in cities planned according to the ‘human scale’, achieving the return of the quality of life in the urban spaces, re-introducing the long forgotten terms of interaction, communication and participation in everyday social life – notions that, seen from a perspective of mise-en-scène, are also used in the ‘theatre language’ for what the theatre is trying to attain between the actors and the audience in a commonplace prescribed by rules. Through this case there is another issue that emerges and I would like to touch: How could a good urban planning influence not only the social life of the city but also the entrepreneurship? How could policies create a fertile terrain where talent and creative people will be attracted to cluster? A soil, which will be tolerant to the diversity, innovation and new experiences and use this incoming creativity as an economic and social motor, which will bring welfare to the society? A ground, which will invite businesses to invest, pointing to a positive impact in the economy of the city during the creative industries’ era, turning the urban setting in a smart city?