Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

A FRAMEWORK OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT ATTRIBUTES FOR EVALUATION OF CONVIVIALITY OF A PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

Leena Thombre and Charumitra Kapshe

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify attributes and indicators of the built environment to evaluate the conviviality of public open spaces. In literature, conviviality is discussed as the subjective quality of public spaces. Conviviality means, being happy in the company of others. From different studies, it was found that there are physical aspects as well as socio-psychological aspects of public open space design which influence conviviality. The paper discusses contribution of physical and built factors in increasing human interaction at public open spaces. First of all review of literature on the social, psychological and human behavioral aspects of conviviality are carried out. An attempt is made to relate cognitive, affective interpretative perception with the physical space to contributing attributes of the built environment. Attributes are further explained to derive quantifiable indicators of built form which can be evaluated for any public open space on conviviality. This study propose a scientific and applicable framework of indicators of the built environment attributes with an understanding of human perception in public open space. The suggested set of indicators can be used by urban planners, designers, and developers in various interventions of building open spaces for human interaction.