The contemporary city has witnessed sweeping changes in terms of structure and image. New glittering globalised urban forms emerged, however, associated ‘anywhere’ contemporary urban spaces are often criticised as bland and meaningless. The global crisis of 2008 brought with it a heightened realisation of the need to manage cities differently and more sustainably. In recent decades, the concept of a public space/garden has changed from something largely ornamental and often to be viewed ‘passively’ to creating spaces for ‘active engagement’ as well as, relaxation and socialisation, and with resultant positive impacts on community health and well-being. Small spaces have the potential to bring people together to create places of community cohesion, but they may also hold the key to addressing broader issues such as increasing biodiversity and repairing environmental damage. This study of pocket parks suggests that 13 distinct ‘types’ of pocket park have emerged since they were first identified as a special kind of urban space in the late 1960s. They now possess a wide range of spatial configurations and perform a variety of functions. However, these new possibilities need a variety of skills and knowledge to exploit them to their full potential and in pocket park creation.

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Abstract:In the contemporary city, the transformation of abandoned industrial landscapes offers great potential for experimentation and in creating new urban environments. Industrial heritage plays an essential role in this respect and it goes beyond its strong cultural and symbolic value. In fact, industrial-cultural heritage is able to re-enact people's capability to maintain the culture of the past while looking forward with appropriate and innovative design solutions. This paper focuses on the design of regeneration of the former Philips' electronic industrial area named Strijp S in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The master plan is pioneer in experimental rules on development areas due to the Crisis and Recovery Act (2010), a new Dutch law in response to development and economical crisis. The authors identify four criteria of analysis in order to show the complexity of this urban transformation and assess the results of this work-in-progress transformation. Moreover, it will discuss the challenges for industrial architecture/heritage when incorporating different objectives of redevelopment and to which extent the local dynamics are linked to the design of reuse. As conclusion, the paper will debate on the comprehensive urban framework, which puts forward sustainable design criteria, sets out principles in temporary and long-term reuse of the old buildings, and on their implication in terms of urban quality of indoor and outdoor spaces.