| Public spaces used to be those locations where people interacted in the course of their daily lives and exchanged information.In today’s digital era,arising from the fourth industrial revolution,such spaces are gradually falling into disuse.China is also facing the issue of urban public spaces losing their significance.In this study,Blumer’s theory of symbolic interactionism and the monistic perspective of Dewey’s empiricist philosophy are used to study and redefine the ontological concept of public spaces.Based on design science and against the backdrop of the modern era,the qualitative research method is used to summarize the attributes of public spaces that are used as a social medium.Deduction is then used to define the three attributes through which public spaces function as a social medium.Next,the four constituent elements facilitating these spaces’ role as a social medium are identified,followed by the construction of their operating mechanisms and proposal of the MCEM(Material,Connection,Engagement,Meaning)modeling tool.The empirical method and scientific experiments are then used to test the proposed tool by applying it to case studies and examples.The paper consists of six chapters grouped into three sections.The first section consists of Chapters 1–2.In Chapter 1(the introduction),the field investigation and a detailed literature review are presented to provide a preliminary overview of urban public spaces in the city of Wuxi,China.This is followed by a statement of the objective of the study,which is to examine the attributes of public spaces against the backdrop of the modern era and to propose a new modeling tool for analyzing and evaluating those attributes.This will provide the academic community with new ideas,perspectives,and methods for conducting research on public spaces.Chapter two provides a statement of the research basis,the idea that urban social spaces must possess the characteristic of “publicness.” The historical development and context of research on this characteristic is then summarized,followed by an identification of the three typical models of “publicness” and the connotations of this characteristic in relation to public spaces in the modern era.The second section covers Chapters 3–5.In Chapter 3,urban public spaces are defined as areas that have the attributes of a social medium,i.e.,that they serve as a platform,act as a channel,and perform a role.The four elements enabling a public space to be a social medium include its material basis,type of connectivity,method of participation,and possibility of holding significance.The MCEM model is the means through which these four elements operate.The model is constructed in Chapter 4,together with a description of its two types of operating mechanisms.In Chapter 5,specific case studies are used to further interpret the practical applications of the model’s operating mechanisms.Chapter 6,which comprises the third section,illustrates the practical application of the MCEM modeling tool through workshops using scientific experiments.This process validates the practical significance of the proposed tool in the design of public spaces and adequately proves its theoretical reliability,thus providing a new method and perspective for designing and researching public spaces.This study illustrates that public spaces have the attributes of a social medium through the ontological research of urban public spaces,extraction of specific elements of their characteristics,and construction of a modeling tool.The study advances the depth and breadth of research on such spaces and provides new perspectives and methods to study them.It also gives designers and researchers an actual modeling tool to design and evaluate urban public spaces.This theoretical exploration via ontological research not only provides experience and examples for the study of such spaces,but also serves as a useful reference for other urban design studies. |
