Atown square (orpublic square,urban square,city square or simplysquare), also called aplaza orpiazza, is an openpublic space commonly found in the heart of a traditionaltown orcity, and which is used for community gatherings. Related concepts are thecivic center, themarket square and thevillage green.
Most squares arehardscapes suitable for openmarkets,concerts, political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. They are not necessarily a truegeometric square.
Being centrally located, town squares are usually surrounded by small shops such asbakeries,meat markets,cheese stores, andclothing stores. At their center is often awell,monument,statue or other feature. Those with fountains are sometimes called fountain squares.
The term "town square" (especially via the term "public square") is synonymous with the politics of many cultures, and the names of a certain town squares, such as theEuromaidan orRed Square, have become symbolic of specific political events throughout history.
Many cities in Australia's eastern states, such asMelbourne andSydney, did not have a central town square in their design, due to a fear of rebellion.New South Wales GovernorsRichard Bourke andGeorge Gipps notably ordered surveyors to not include a town square in city designs, including Melbourne, to prevent the spirit of democracy from arising.[1][2]
Thecity centre of Adelaide and the adjacent suburb ofNorth Adelaide, inSouth Australia, were planned byColonel William Light in 1837. The city streets were laid out in agrid plan, with the city centre including a central public square,Victoria Square, and four public squares in the centre of each quarter of the city. North Adelaide has two public squares. The city was also designed to be surrounded bypark lands, and all of these features still exist today, with the squares maintained as mostly green spaces.[3][4]
In 2025, theCity of Sydney council approved plans to accelerate the construction of a public square near the currentTown Hall.[5][6]
The German word for square isPlatz, which also means "Place", and is a common term for central squares in German-speaking countries. These have been focal points of public life in towns and cities from the Middle Ages to today. Squares located opposite a Palace or Castle (German:Schloss) are commonly namedSchlossplatz. ProminentPlätze include theAlexanderplatz,Pariser Platz andPotsdamer Platz in Berlin,Heldenplatz in Vienna, and theKönigsplatz in Munich.
A large open square common in villages, towns and cities of Indonesia is known asalun-alun. It is aJavanese term which in modern-day Indonesia refers to the two large open squares ofkraton compounds. It is typically located adjacent a mosque or a palace. It is a place for public spectacles, court celebrations and general non-court entertainments.[citation needed]
In traditional Persian architecture, town squares are known as maydan or meydan. A maydan is considered one of the essential features in urban planning and they are often adjacent to bazaars, large mosques and other public buildings.Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan andAzadi Square in Tehran are examples of classic and modern squares. Several countries use the term "maidan" across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Ukraine, in which the term became well-known globally during theEuromaidan.
Apiazza (Italian pronunciation:[ˈpjattsa]) is acity square inItaly,Malta, along theDalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. Possibly influenced by the centrality of theRoman forum to ancient Mediterranean culture, thepiazze of Italy are central to most towns and cities. Shops, businesses, metro stations, and bus stops are commonly found onpiazzas, and in multiple locations also featureRoman Catholic churches, such as in places known as thePiazza del Duomo, with the most famous perhaps beingthe one in Milan, or government buildings, such as the Piazza del Quirinale adjacent to theQuirinal Palace of theItalian president in Rome.
The Italian term is roughly equivalent to the Spanishplaza, French termplace, Portuguesepraça, and GermanPlatz. The concepy should not be confused to an unrelated usage of the term referring to a feature of architectural or urban design, such as thepiazza atKing's Cross station in London orpiazza as averandah or frontporch of a house or apartment in the United States,[9] such as atGeorge Washington's historic homeMount Vernon.[10]
In theLow Countries, squares are often called "markets" because of their usage asmarketplaces. Most towns and cities in Belgium and the southern part of the Netherlands have in their historical centre aGrote Markt (literally "Big Market") in Dutch orGrand-Place (literally "Grand Square") in French[11][12] (for example theGrand-Place inBrussels and theGrote Markt inAntwerp). TheGrote Markt orGrand-Place is often the location of thetown hall, hence also the political centre of the town. The Dutch word for square isplein, which is another common name for squares in Dutch-speaking regions (for exampleHet Plein inThe Hague).
In the 17th and 18th centuries, another type of square emerged, the so-calledroyal square (French:Place royale, Dutch:Koningsplein). Such squares did not serve as a marketplace but were built in front of large palaces or public buildings to emphasise their grandeur, as well as to accommodatemilitary parades and ceremonies, among others (for example thePlace Royale in Brussels and theKoningsplein inAmsterdam). Palace squares are usually more symmetrical than their older market counterparts.[13]
In Russia,central square (Russian:центра́льная пло́щадь,romanised:tsentráĺnaya plóshchad́) is a common term for an open area in the heart of thetown.[citation needed] In a number of cities, the square has no individual name and is officially designatedCentral Square, for exampleCentral Square (Tolyatti).[citation needed] The most famous central square is the monumentally-proportionedRed Square which became a synecdoche for theSoviet Union during the 20th century; nevertheless, the association with "red communism" is a back formation, sincekrásnaja (the term for "red") also means "beautiful" in archaic and poetic Russian, with many cities and towns throughout the region having locations with the name "Red Square."[citation needed]
Gwanghwamun Plaza (Korean: 광화문광장) also known as Gwanghwamun Square) is a public open space onSejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It's opposite the background of A Gwanghwamun Gate (Korean: 광화문).[14]
In 2009, Restoration of Gwanghwamun Gate made the gate's front space as a public plaza. The square has been renovated to modern style has new waterways & rest Areas, exhibition Hall for Excavated Cultural Assets in August 2022.[15][16]
TheSpanish-language term for a public square isplaza.[a] The termplaza comes fromLatinplatea, with the meaning of 'broad street' or 'public square'.[17] Ultimately coming fromGreekπλατεῖα (ὁδός)plateia (hodos), it is a cognate of Italianpiazza and Frenchplace (which has also been borrowed into English).[18] The term is used across theSpanish-speaking world, including Spain, the Americas, and thePhilippines.
In addition to smaller plazas, thePlaza Mayor (sometimes called thePlaza de Armas[b] in the Americas) of each administrative centre held three closely related institutions: thecathedral, thecantabile or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor'spalace, and theaudiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. Diminutives ofplaza includeplazuela and the latter's double diminutiveplazoleta, which can be occasionally used as a particle in a proper noun.[19]
In the formerSpanish Empire, most cities constructed by the Spanishconquistadores were designed in a standard military fashion, based on agrid pattern[20] taken from theRomancastrum, of which one block would be left vacant to form the Plaza de Armas. It is often surrounded by governmental buildings, churches, and other structures of cultural or political significance.[21][22] The name derives from the fact that this would be a refuge in case of an attack upon the city, from which arms would be supplied to the defenders.
Like the Italianpiazza and the Portuguesepraça, the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equaled by the market-place. Aplaza de toros is abullring.Shopping centers may incorporate 'plaza' into their names, andplaza comercial is used in some countries as a synonym forcentro comercial i.e. "shopping center".[23]
In theUnited Kingdom, and especially inLondon andEdinburgh, a "square" has a wider meaning. There are public squares of the type described above but the term is also used for formal open spaces surrounded by houses with private gardens at the centre, sometimes known asgarden squares. Most of these were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. In some cases the gardens are now open to the public. See theSquares in London category. Additionally, many public squares were created in towns and cities across the UK as part of urban redevelopment followingthe Blitz. Squares can also be quite small and resemble courtyards, especially in theCity of London.
In some cities (in theUnited States), especially inNew England, the term "square" (as its Spanish equivalent,plaza) is applied to a commercial area (likeCentral Square inCambridge, Massachusetts), usually formed around the intersection of three or more streets, and which originally consisted of some open area (many of which have been filled in with traffic islands and othertraffic calming features). Many of these intersections are irregular rather than square.[24]
"any open area usually located near urban buildings and often featuring walkways, trees and shrubs, places to sit, and sometimes shops"[citation needed]
atoll plaza, where traffic must temporarily stop to pay tolls
an area adjacent to an expressway that has service facilities (such as restaurants, gas stations, and restrooms)
Today's metropolitan landscapes often incorporate the plaza as a design element, or as an outcome of zoning regulations, building budgetary constraints, and the like. SociologistWilliam H. Whyte conducted an extensive study of plazas inNew York City: his study humanized the way modern urban plazas are conceptualized, and helped usher in significant design changes in the making of plazas. They can be used to open spaces for low-income neighborhoods, and can also the overall aesthetic of the surrounding area boosting economic vitality, pedestrian mobility and safety for pedestrians.[26] Most plazas are created out of a collaboration between local non-profit applicants and city officials which requires approval from the city.[27]
Throughout North America, words likeplace,square, orplaza frequently appear in the names of commercial developments such as shopping centers and hotels.
^The Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout(PDF). Australian Heritage Database: Places for Decision: Class: Historic. For consideration for National Heritage List. Australian Government. Dept for the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts. 9 July 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 22 October 2019. Retrieved29 November 2019.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^Grevisse, Maurice; Goosse, André (2008)."543 Le type grand-mère.".le bon usage: Grammaire française (in French) (14 ed.). Bruxelles: De Boeck & Larcier. p. 703.ISBN978-2-8011-1404-9.Grand accompagne (avec trait d'union H2) des noms féminins dans quelques expressions figées :grand-croix, grand-maman, grand-mère [..]. En outre, des expressions cantonnées dans des vocabulaires spéciaux,grand-chambre, grand-garde, grand-hune, grand-salle, grand-voile ; – des emplois régionaux, commegrand-place, surtout courant dans le Nord de la France et en Belgique. H2 543 Historique On a longtemps écrit grand'mère, etc. avec une apostrophe parce que l'on croyait qu'un e final avait disparu comme dans l'élision. C'est en 1932 que l'Ac. a remplacé par un trait d'union cette apostrophe injustifiée.
^Morris, Michèle R. (1988)."4.5.2 Cas d'élision".Mieux écrire en français: Manuel de composition et guide pratique à l'usage des étudiants anglophones (in French) (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. p. 29.ISBN9780878402250.Lee de grande s'élide dans certains noms composés comme : grand-mère grand-tante grand-maman grand-duc grand-messe grand-rue grand-route grand-chose à grand-peine Observez que dans les noms précedent on utilise le trait d'union et non l'apostrophe (orthographe vieillie).
^Florian Prouteau,Comment repenser nos places, centralités historiques remises en cause ? (in French), Sciences agricoles, 2013
^Herzog, Lawrence A. (1 May 2006).Return to the Center: Culture, Public Space, and City Building in a Global Era(Google Books). University of Texas Press. p. 116.ISBN9780292712621. Retrieved10 March 2021.The Romans elevated the plaza to a place of political power (the forum) within the city. Spain inherited the Roman concept of the city, and by the time of the Renaissance, her powerful kings were ready to build a new Spain, an empire across the ocean, whose engine would be a system of cities and towns. At the microscale, these cities would be anchored by the spacial nucleus, the central place of power - the Plaza Mayor.
^Herzog, Lawrence A. (2001).From Aztec to High Tech: Architecture and Landscape Across the Mexico-United States Border(via Google Books) (reprint ed.). JHU Press. p. 169.ISBN9780801866432. Retrieved10 March 2021.King Philip II of Spain, in his Royal Ordinances passed on the colonialists in 1573, decreed that the central public square, or Plaza de Armas, would serve as the fulcrum of colonial town life, and the main nexus for important public and religious buildings.
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