Public spaces have power

“Cities are about people, and where they go and where they meet are at the core of what makes cities work.” In her Ted talk, this celebrated former director of New York City’s planning department takes us to parks and plazas that have transformed their neighborhoods.“Don’t tap into your design expertise. Tap into your humanity,” she said. “Design isn’t just about just how something looks. It’s how your body feels on that seat in that space.”Burden acknowledges that commercial development and public purposes compete for open space in cities and describes her advocacy for the High Line Park and her nine-month fight to protect the final leg of it from developers.“A city has to take the long view,” she said. “The view for the common good.”