Public realm is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a need to have – and the tonic we need

Today, it is harder than ever to find a place to simply be. As the cost-of-living crisis deepens, local services shrink, more people are out of work and housing becomes increasingly unaffordable, our access to space that is free, welcoming and truly public is the tonic we urgently need.

Across the country, millions are contending with overcrowded housing, insecure tenancies or being priced out of their communities altogether. For many, home is no longer a sanctuary. In these conditions, the importance of shared public space becomes starkly clear. It is not a luxury. It is essential infrastructure.

Good public realm offers what private life increasingly cannot: space to play, sit, walk, think. It allows children to run freely and their parents to host birthday parties – things you simply can’t do in cramped flats. It provides older people with benches and gentle walking routes to combat isolation. (I love the trend of conversation benches I’m seeing.) Crucially, it enables everyone, regardless of income, to exist in the city without the need to spend money.

The best public spaces also encourage something rarer in our increasingly atomised society: spontaneous connection.

Whether in a well-designed park, a high street with ample seating or a quiet square with trees and grass, the public realm makes interaction possible. It creates the conditions for communities to form and for civic life to flourish. It is where friendships are made, festivals are held and where we find time to rest and reflect.

Unfortunately, local authorities are cutting back, often leading to the decline or disappearance of our parks, libraries and community centres. What remains is frequently under-maintained or designed around managing ‘anti-social behaviour’ rather than fostering inclusion.

This loss is not just physical, it is psychological. When people feel they don’t belong in public, they withdraw. Social isolation grows. Trust declines. Democracy itself weakens.

Yet there is hope. Some local councils, despite limited resources, are reimagining what public space can be. From traffic-calmed streets turned into play zones to pocket parks, there is a quiet movement towards reclaiming the commons. Initiatives like London’s Mini-Hollands or Scotland’s 20-minute neighbourhoods show that investment in the public realm is not only possible, it is popular.

We must champion this shift. At a time when too many are struggling to get by, the public realm can offer dignity, respite and joy. It signals that society still values everyone, not just those with means.

The economy is biting. More people are out of work. But investment in public realm is transformative – for our communities, our wellbeing and our sense of belonging.