ABSTRACT
Space and place are central notions to this book. They are common terms tied to architects and planners engaged in urban design, institutional planning and research by design. The terms usually evoke alternative prospects about place qualities and their prospective possibilities to cultivate concepts, viewpoints and opinions about the organisation of space, its forms and functions. 1 Yet, questions emerge on the qualities of space and place within various disciplines. The achievement of quality is commonly acknowledged as an inherent aim in all human belief systems, actions and desires, one that guides our motivations throughout our daily lives, practices and attitudes. Good-quality spaces are often used to describe a scale of perfection, but this is rarely, if ever, achieved. While quality is an important aspect of the built environment, it is not a simple or unitary practice. It emerges in different ways, according to the person, place and circumstances; as a subjective evaluation of values that describes ‘the totality of physical characteristics of a certain context that bears its ability to satisfy stated needs’. 2 Related values, such as inclusiveness, integration and public interest, are concepts that have been used simultaneously by governments, agencies and, especially, fields of industry like manufacturing. The generic concept of quality has evolved to encapsulate other fields, such as education, healthcare and information technology. Perhaps the variety of expectations of what quality means for each practice allows specialists to interpret the term differently. However, searching for a definitive meaning in the built environment may be an impossible task, as suggested by Michael Parfect and Gordon Power. While successful examples of well-designed places do exist, planners and urban designers have not yet searched deeply enough into the meaning of quality, or at least there is no agreement on the most effective means of achieving it.
