Reading local streets through an analysis of overlapping public-private interfaces

Abstract

The street is a living organism where strangers feel “socially distant yet physically close”, according to Bauman. It is a shared space wherein private entities plug into the public realm at a defining edge. Private and public spaces form an in-between realm, due to overlapping interests and functions. The resulting interface is a micro-assemblage formed by subtle demarcations and revealing a deeper narrative of how people live in the city. The impact of the interface on public space depends on the degree of vulnerability and overlapping between realms. The edge of the street exhibits patterns of human flow, which projects onto the urbanity of the collective street. An interface may take different physical and social forms and a framework of interface typologies is created. This paper investigates the micro-urban analysis of two streets in Malta, an island which is facing rapid urban development. The streets portray vernacular traces and must address the needs of a contemporary demographic. Everyday transformations of the interface are observed to draw out an understanding of the street. The socio-spatial results redefine the multiple possibilities of interface typologies. The paper discusses the dynamics extracted from such observations, revealing the way people perceive, appropriate and traverse streets. It concludes by indicating the utility of interface approach in planning and design policymaking.