Abstract
For public space to be adequately used and considered to be for the good of all citizens, it must not be privatized, and it is desirable for it to be safe. Tertiary activities have taken primacy by introducing the concepts of consumer society, the information age, and globalization, while the context and phenomenon of public urban space has found its parallel counterpart in cyberspace. The virtual world has offered new spaces for meetings and socializing, relieved of the limitations imposed by space and time and enriched with numerous possibilities and benefits. It has become a new reality, more important than the physical environment. The authors draw a parallel between public urban spaces and virtual reality, focusing on the aspects of safety of use, as an important factor in the quality of life. The problem of how to provide the desired level of security, without encroaching on privacy and personal freedom, without conducting surveillance, and without imposing exclusivity, remains the same, and even in the virtual world, it is becoming more pronounced.
TopIntroduction
Types of Environments
Our surroundings are the general environment in which we live, the characteristics of which affect us all, and we can change those characteristics with our own activities. The notions of the natural, built, social, economic, political, cultural and technological environment are different. Natural surroundings require an ecological approach to environmental protection. The built environment is especially dominant in urban areas and includes all human-made structures above and below the ground. The social environment is a demographic mix of people of different ages, backgrounds and incomes, as well as the social services created to meet their needs. The economic environment encompasses opportunities for employment, success and independence from the community. The political environment is one capable of making decisions in the name and for the benefit of all, i.e., finding compromise solutions and organizing society. The cultural environment should reflect the freedom to use and express one’s cultural heritage or choice. The technological environment is the most recent concept, and it defines all the cyber and virtual innovations that make up everyday life. The balance, correct measure and coherence of all these environmental components can be considered as achieved sustainability. At the level of the urban environment, all of the mentioned types of environments overlap and are “condensed” within the same spatial units, and it is difficult to estimate which is more dominant. It is natural for the built and technological environments to be limited and subordinated, while the social, cultural, political and economic environments are simultaneously represented and interdependent.
Defining The Concept Of Public Space
Open public space is one of those urban phenomena for which there is no single, permanently applicable terminological definition. The definition of open public space is fluid and depends on the need and context in which it is used, and it covers a wide spectrum, from philosophical, even metaphorical, explanations, to very precise determinants that give their functional, proprietary, compositional, aesthetic and other characteristics. In general, public spaces and public facilities are perfect indicators of opportunities in the urban and wider community. They are a product of actions by the government and citizens in exactly the relationship that dictates the values that guide the community. Public (city, urban) space refers to the space available to all citizens, regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, age or socio-economic status, where there is no monetary compensation for its use. Most commonly, it refers to city streets, squares, parks, etc. Public goods are a special case of external effects, i.e., a type of market imperfection (Samuelson, 2004), because of which state intervention in the form of urban planning is necessary (Moor & Rowland, 2008). Their main characteristics are the absence of rivalry in consumption and non-exclusivity. This means that the costs of providing public goods to an additional consumer are close to zero and there is no possibility of excluding consumers from enjoying them, i.e., consumption by one person does not reduce the amount of goods for other consumers. Also, once goods are available, it is not possible to limit or stop their use, even when they are not paid for. Specifically, public goods can be public areas, communal infrastructure, institutions or services.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Environment: In general surrounding, consisting of different aspects: natural, built, social, economic, political, cultural, and technological.
Public Place: A spatial and cultural term for an urban public good, open and accessible for all, place of gathering.
Urban Design: Designing and shaping of the public urban places in order to be user friendly and creating city image.
VR/AR: Virtual reality and augmented reality, digital technology for creating three-dimensional virtual world.
Social Networks: Dynamic places for gathering on Internet, without physical contact and with no spatial or time boundaries, influencing everyday life.
Cyber Space: Parallel digital online world, as a product of the Internet, new place for socializing.
Metaverse: Imaginative new space, combination of the physical world of the reality and virtual technology.
Feeling of Safety: Personal perception of the safety issue in the surrounding, connected with spatial characteristics and other users.