Public/private urban interfaces: type, adaptation, assemblage

Abstract

The public/private interface has long been recognized as a key issue in urban design theory. This article presents a typology for the mapping and analysis of urban interfaces – the typical ways in which private territories plug into public networks. Drawing on mappings of the mixed morphology of the Australian inner city, a simple typology of five primary interface types is articulated according to criteria of access, setback, transparency and mode of access. The interface is construed as a socio-spatial assemblage wherein types are diagrams of connectivity that enable the creation, production and reproduction of ideas, goods, services and identities. In the second part of the article we exp..