Town square

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is basically copied from an external source and has not been approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.
The content on this page originated on Wikipedia and is yet to be significantly improved. Contributors are invited to replace and add material to make this an original article.

A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, plaza (from Spanish), piazza (from Italian), and place (from French).

Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets, music concerts, political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. Being centrally located, town squares are usually surrounded by small shops such as bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores, and clothing stores. At their center is often a fountain, well, monument, or statue. Many of those with fountains are actually named Fountain Square.

In the United States a town square typically consists of a park or plaza in front of the original county courthouse or town hall.

In urban planning, a city square is a planned open area in a city, usually or originally rectangular in shape. Some city squares are large enough that they act as a sort of "national square".

In some cities, especially in New England in the U.S., the term "square" (as its Spanish equivalent, Plaza) is applied to a commercial area (e.g., Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts), usually formed around the intersection of three or more streets, and which originally consisted of some open area (many of which have been filled in with traffic islands and other traffic calming features). In the Boston area, it is used by municipalities to designate an intersection in honor of a local resident (usually a member of the military or police officer killed in the line of duty), see memorial square.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, and especially in London and Edinburgh "square" has a wider meaning. There are public squares of the type described above but the term is also used for formal open spaces surrounded by houses with private gardens at the centre. Most of these were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. In some cases the gardens are now open to the public. See the Squares in London category.

China

In Mainland China, People's Square is a common designation for the central town square of modern Chinese cities, established as part of urban modernization within the last few decades. These squares are the site of government buildings, museums and other public buildings. The probably best-known and largest such square in China is the Shanghai People's Square.

See also

Template:Commons