What does Shared Space mean
Shared Space is a way of thinking and a way of working, which helps to improve quality of public space. It includes a new philosophy and set of principles for the design, management and maintenance of public spaces, based on the integration of various forms of human activity.
The most recognizable characteristic of Shared Space is the absence of conventional traffic signals, signs, road markings, humps and barriers – all the clutter essential to the highway. The driver in shared spaces becomes an integral part of the social and cultural context, and behaviour (such as speed) is controlled by everyday norms of behaviour.
From 2004 – 2008 seven European partners from five countries have been sharing knowledge on Shared Space. All of them realised a pilot project, which drew the attention from all over the world.
Shared Space offers a basis for addressing safety issues, for overcoming community severance, for tackling congestion and for enhancing economic vitality in streets and public spaces. However, Shared Space implies more than simple design techniques. It also requires an innovative approach to the process of planning, designing and decision-making. New structures for municipal organisation and public involvement are the result.
When working under the framework of Shared Space, we always must have in mind what a place means for people. Shared Space empowers citizens to create their own spaces for their own purposes, and to be responsible for these places. Of course, they cannot do that in their own. Sharing space needs working in responsible partnerships. Such responsible co-operation in the past years turned out to affect not only our thinking about how to design our streets and public spaces, but also on how to tackle the power of rules and legislation in politics and in our daily lives. Our old habits and models are beginning to show their limits. Shared Space gave way to the search for new ways to achieve key improvements in the interrelated areas of safety, spatial quality, economic prosperity, governance, community capacity and confidence. It stimulates the capacity of communities to be more creative in the way they tackle a broad range of issues, without abdicating all the responsibility to government or other sectors of the community. But it also assists politicians, decision-makers, city staff and residents to 'think outside the box' when looking for ways to address community issues.