公民吉事：世界五大廣場 ｜GUTS:PUBLICA: Five squares from four corners of the world
廣場，並不只是一片空地，它大多與城巿的歷史連結、位處巿中心，性質可以是集散點、交通匯點，總括而言如俄國文學家巴赫金所說，廣場總是為百姓所有的。在香港，比起皇后像廣場、或其他稱為「廣場」的商場，維園球場或許更受香港人喜愛，那麼世界上最好的廣場，又有哪些？
巴黎共和廣場（Place de la République）
位於議會大廈旁的共和廣場，是當巴黎人遇上社會不公時，總會來這裏從共和國理念回歸初衷的地方，不少集會或遊行以此為起點及終點。2014年，巴黎巿長Bertrand Delanoe提倡把公共空間還給巴黎人，於是重新設計巿內其中一個最重要的「共和廣場」，把車道收窄、擴闊行人空間，讓巿民走過這個總是成為集會、遊行的共和廣場時，可以更好地邁步向前。
倫敦海德公園（Hyde Park）
英國倫敦享負盛名的海德公園，早期是英國皇室的打獵場地，後來開放予公眾使用。19世紀，公園東北角的拱門旁，逐漸出現一個「演講角」（Speaker's Corner），人人也可以站站在箱上高談闊論，表達自己的理念。在這裏抒發過論述的人，包括馬克思、列寧、喬治歐威爾等，成為世界上最著名的言論廣場之一。
倫敦聖喬治廣場（St George's Fields）
堪稱和平集會發源地的聖喬治廣場，位於泰晤士河南岸南華克區。早在18世紀末，這裏是一片草地，當年是主要的露天集會場地。所謂「集會」，在此之前一直是指參與政策討論，直至法國大革命時期的聖喬治廣場一連串集會，才成為人民表達訴求的形式，甚至影響了後來不同國家的非暴力抗爭。後來，隨著附近的住宅發展，草地早被建築所湮沒，巿集也早已消失。
伊斯坦堡塔克西姆廣場（Taksim Square）
在土耳其伊斯坦堡的巿中心，塔克西姆位處獨立大道附近，雖然是個看上去凌亂不整的公共場地，但這裏是富有歷史、具多元文化意義的地方，深受土耳其人喜愛——19世紀，塔克西姆是個貧窮的移民區，居民大多來自歐洲，直至1980年代，這裏雲集小酒館，是同性戀者的天堂，有大量夜總會、播放外國片的戲院等。約10年前，政府準備在巿郊另建集會場地、把塔克西姆廣場改成「步行廣場」、主題公園，掀起社會反彈，可以想像這個廣場對土耳其人的重要性。
新加坡芳林公園（Hong Lim Park）
芳林公園位於新加坡的巿中心，這個偌大的綠化空間，是這個國家唯一可以合法表達訴求的公共空間。雖然在這裏「集會」實際上受到不少限制，並不如真正的倫敦海德公園演講角，但自2009年起舉行的國際同志運動「粉紅點」（Pink Dot），每年吸引逾萬人在芳林公園參與，卻又讓這裏難得展現開放平等的一面。
相片來源：網上圖片
地點 : 巴黎, 倫敦, 伊斯坦堡, 新加坡
Public squares are more than just open spaces. Squares located in urban centres have been around for a long time and they provide a metaphorical link to the city’s physical history. They also serve practical functions as gathering places and transportation nodes. Just as Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin remarked in his essay Carnival and Carnivalesque, the town square becomes the epicentre of the carnival and embodies the carnivalesque idea of being universal and belonging to all people.
In this reading, a square might not necessarily be named a square or planned as such, so long people acknowledge and use it as a popular congregation space. For example, Victoria Park’s football fields might resonate among Hong Kong residents more readily than designated sites like Statue Square or privately owned public spaces attached to malls.
So, where are some of the most successful squares around the world and what do they share in common?
Place de la République, Paris
Former Paris Mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, initiated plans in 2014 to redesign one of its major city squares, Place de la République. Intrusive traffic islands were removed, while roads were narrowed to create a continuous plaza of 120m by 300m for pedestrians to enjoy. Named after the statue of Marianne, the symbol of the French republic, located in the centre of the plaza, Place de la République is Paris’s largest open space and affectionately known as the “open field at the heart of the city”. It has literally become the heart of the country, serving as the congregation site or flag-off point for major protests in the city. By giving public space back to Parisians, the municipality also empowered them to congregate and express their views.
Hyde Park, London
The idyllic Hyde Park in the centre of London began life as a hunting grounds for Henry VIII and subsequent British monarchs before it opened for public enjoyment in 1637. Since the mid-19th century, the northeast corner of Hyde Park closest to the Marble Arch is recognised as the earliest and one of the most influential Speakers’ Corner around the world. The freedom for anyone to express their opinion on almost any topic, attracted luminaries such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and George Orwell to articulate their positions.
St George’s Fields, London
Acclaimed as the birthplace for peaceful demonstrations, St George’s Fields is in Southwark along the south bank of the River Thames. Although first recorded during the city’s Roman occupation as uninhabited low-lying marshlands, St George’s Field had become a meadow field opened for recreational and market activities since the late 18th century. It naturally evolved into a popular gathering spot for discussing politics of the day until the onset of the French Revolution around 1789, which transformed the fields into a site for the public to voice their anger and displeasure through peaceful ways. This would become a model for subsequent peaceful struggles around the world. Today, residential development in Southwark has obliterated both the field and its old market, leaving no tangible traces of its history behind.
Taksim Square, Istanbul
Upon first glance, Taksim Square appeared to be an unruly and unorganised public space despite its location in the heart of Turkey’s capital Istanbul and its prominent location next to Istiklal Caddesi or Independence Avenue in Turkish, one of the city’s most popular shopping district and tourist attraction. Taksim Square is different. It embodies the historic and multi-faceted core of the Turkish people and Istanbul’s changes since the 19th century. Area around the square then was an enclave for poor European immigrants. By the 1980s, the square had become a haven for homosexuals, with bars, nightclubs, and theatres showing imported films which create a vibrant nightlife scene, and a liberating place for protests. This changed about ten years ago, as the government proposed to shift the unofficial protest area to the suburbs, such that Taksim Square could be redeveloped into a pedestrian mall. The ensuing public backlash showed how Taksim Square clearly holds significance for the Turkish people.
Hong Lim Park, Singapore
It is hard to find such a large open green field like Hong Lim Park right in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District. It is even more special as the park is the only public space in Singapore where speeches and demonstrations are allowed legally, albeit with a number of restrictions unlike the true freedom of speech practised at Hyde Park in London. Yet despite the restrictions, Hong Lim Park has played host to the local version of Pink Dot since 2009, an annual gathering that attracts crowds in thousands in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community in Singapore. Such encouraging turnouts clearly demonstrated the people’s wish for a more progressive and equitable society.
Photo source: Internet
Location: Paris, London, Istanbul, Singapore
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