The idea of public space has moved from a critique to an orthodoxy, embraced by most stakeholders as an important part of urban development. In this process, however, it has been co-opted in ways which may be at odds with its earlier ideals. This paper develops a critique of this process of transition, showing how the rhetoric of the public space as a multidimensional space of interaction may be used, but practically targeting the creation of a space of attraction, an instrument of delivering investment and maximizing rewards. The paper examines four areas of this transition in the broad processes of political, economic and cultural transformation, and the gaps between rhetoric and reality in the provision and character of public spaces reflect these processes in concrete ways.

中文翻译：

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重新思考公共空间：在修辞与现实之间

公共空间的概念已从批判转变为正统观念，被大多数利益相关者视为城市发展的重要组成部分。然而，在这个过程中，它以可能与其早期理想不一致的方式被吸收。本文对这一转变过程进行了批判，展示了如何使用公共空间作为多维互动空间的修辞，但实际上旨在创造一个吸引力空间，一种提供投资和最大化回报的工具。本文考察了在政治、经济和文化转型的广泛过程中这种转变的四个领域，公共空间的提供和特征中的修辞与现实之间的差距以具体方式反映了这些过程。