“This deeply free and public space plays a vital role in our world, equally important in our digital age as in Greco-Roman times, when they were marketplaces for goods and ideas. As common ground, squares are equitable and democratic; they have played a fundamental role in the development of free speech.” DemocracyCommon GroundPublic Space Book:City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World Source: City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World
“Squares have defined urban living since the dawn of democracy, from which they are inseparable. From the start, the public square has been synonymous with a society that acknowledges public life and a life in public, which is to say a society distinguishing the individual from the state [Michael Kimmelman, "Culture: Power of the Place"].” DemocracyPublic Space Book:City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World Source: City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World