Guidelines for Municipalities in the Design of Quality Urban Places

Welcome to the GMDQUP web site.

Please view our Introductory pages which contain:


A general statement of purpose

Easy instructions for participation and an invitation to participate

15 Defining Principles

and

a Preface

Or, just go straight to

THE CATALOGUE

sublime

What's this web site about??  Just this: ask yourself a simple question.  In the town or city where I live, what outside public places do I really enjoy being in?  (Other than your own back yard, which is not public after all).  If you are lucky enough to live in a city or town that still has beautiful and useful outside public places, or if you have ever visited or read about the same, please send in a photo of this place or places, along with a description of it in words stating what you like about the place.  This web site is intended to become a catalogue of such images and descriptions. 

If the catalogue becomes large enough over time, then it might become useful as an idea generator for new urban places.  It might also become useful in formulating and categorizing the kinds of public places that people enjoy being in.  We all might perhaps learn something about the characteristics that tend to make public outdoor places enjoyable places to be.

We are mostly interested in the kinds of places that are truly urban, in the traditional sense.  That is, we admit an initial bias toward places that are interesting mixtures of a variety of different functions: shopping, residing, offices, schools, churches, government buildings, all unified by vitalizing public place like squares, plazas, streets, courtyards. . .  But we will post any and all images submitted to this site as long as they are accompanied by a statement of what is liked about the place.