Assessment of the quality of public spaces in the new city of Ali Mendjeli in Constantine (Algeria)

Abstract

The contemporary city is built around open spaces, which have always contributed to the improvement of the image of the city and the living environment of its inhabitants. These open spaces, also called public spaces, remain neglected spaces in urban planning in Algeria. Our article focuses on the assessment of public spaces based on a multi-criteria analysis able to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of open spaces. Using structured observations throughout the day over a period of 15 days following an observation grid, we calculated a Public Space Index (PSI) across five dimensions, including inclusiveness, meaningful activities, safety, comfort, and pleasurability. The Public Space Index (PSI) is constructed from 45 variables to assess the five dimensions of public space. Our choice focused on the new city (Ali Mendjeli) located at Constantine, Algeria, a city that has been built recently (about thirty years). In this city, we have neglected the issue of public spaces in its planning. Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the need to improve the image of the city and the living environment of its inhabitants. So, the aim of this research is to assess the quality of its public spaces. The results of our research showed that the design of its public spaces had not taken into consideration many things in relation to the users of the space. Despite this, the public space studied meets the quality criteria for the five dimensions studied with a score of 69 out of 100.

Keywords

• city
• open space
• public space
• public space index
• living environment